We’ve reached the end of July, two-thirds of our Summer Writing Challenge. How are you doing on your summer goal? Share your progress in the Comments.

In this week’s episode our talk is with cozy fantasy mystery writer Elle Hartford.

• Elle writes the award-winning Alchemical Tales series, a blend of cozy mystery and cozy fantasy. She has also published a spin-off series, Pomegranate Cafe Romance, and numerous short mysteries in anthologies.
• For other writers and authors looking to go “wide,” Elle is excited to offer coaching services and support. She made all the self-publishing mistakes, and you can learn from her experience! Check out her indie publishing blog at ellehartford.substack.com.
• When not writing, Elle is an active member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. As a historian and educator, she believes in the value of stories as a mirror for complicated realities. She currently lives in New Jersey with a grumpy tortoise and a three-legged cat. Find free stories and more at ellehartford.com.

We start with a Quick Tip on creating Reader Magnets, and we conclude with our Check-In.

Let’s begin.

TIMINGS

• 00:40 Welcome and Quick Tip # 9
• 02:50 Interview with Elle Hartford
• 25:45 Check-In # 9
• 28:05 Closing

Total Run Time = 29:04

LINKS

Elle's website: https://ellehartford.com/

The Silver Deck Link: https://books2read.com/the-silver-deck *The ebook is still free for new newsletter subscribers! The purchase link is for anyone interested in the special print edition.

Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2025/07/630-summer-writing-challenge-week-9.html

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Summer Writing Challenge, 13 episodes every Wednesday in June, July, and August, to achieve 65,000 words or 5K a week. We’ll have a quick tip on writing, interviews from writers on challenges, and check-ins. Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KE2gUjunhC7MgkXmsLiQap

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
• Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

It’s Week 8 of the Summer Writing Challenge.

Eight is symbolic of two disparate meanings: 1] almost to completion, when completion is symbolic 10, and 2] a step beyond perfection, as 7 is the perfect number.

We’re not perfect. We’re not even a step before, let alone beyond. We do try.

After a Quick Tip on the 2 Requirements for Every Story, we have our interview with writer Paula Messina. Closing, as usual, is the Check-In.

• Paula Messina grew up on the site of the Ursuline convent and school destroyed by a violent, hate-filled mob on August 11 and 12, 1834. She writes contemporary, historical, and humorous fiction and essays.
• Her work has appeared in various publications, including Black Cat Weekly, Devil’s Snare, Wolfsbane, Indelible Literary and Arts Journal, and Ovunque Siamo. She is writing a novel set in Boston’s North End during 1944. She does not own a cat.

Let’s begin.

TIMINGS

• 00:40 Welcome and Quick Tip # 8
• 04:30 Interview with Paula Messina
• 20:46 Check-In # 8
• 22:55 Closing

Total Run Time = 23:55

LINKS

Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2025/07/629-summer-writing-challenge-wk-8-and.html

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Summer Writing Challenge, 13 episodes every Wednesday in June, July, and August, to achieve 65,000 words or 5K a week. We’ll have a quick tip on writing, interviews from writers on challenges, and check-ins. Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KE2gUjunhC7MgkXmsLiQap

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
• Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

Welcome to our mid-July week for the Summer Writing Challenge.

Our interview introduces Ron Katz, who brands his mysteries as The Sleuthing Silvers.

We open with a Quick Tip on Antagonists and close with a Check-In. I’m burning ahead to my goal—which is always a good place to be.

On to the episode!

• Ron Katz, a lifetime Baby Boomer, was a trial lawyer for over four decades. A Rhodes Scholar, in 2016 he was a Fellow at Stanford University’s Distinguished Careers Institute, which inspired him to start a new writing career.
• He has given a one-hour presentation, “Becoming a Mystery Writer at Age 74”, to numerous groups in person and by Zoom. For more information, visit his website https://www.thesleuthingsilvers.com

TIMINGS

• 00:40 Welcome and Quick Tip # 7
• 3:30 Ron Katz’s Interview
• 18:17 Check-In # 7
• 20:18 Closing

Total Run Time = 20:52

LINKS

Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2025/07/628-summer-writing-challenge-interview.html

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Summer Writing Challenge, 13 episodes every Wednesday in June, July, and August, to achieve 65,000 words or 5K a week. We’ll have a quick tip on writing, interviews from writers on challenges, and check-ins. Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KE2gUjunhC7MgkXmsLiQap

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
• Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)