Maggie lives in the Northern Rivers of NSW, where she spends her days developing her writing skills and raising three teenagers. After meeting her husband, she immigrated to Australia from the U.S., and spent the bulk of her career in a variety of marketing roles before returning to her long-held love of the written word. Expression through words has become a driving passion in her life, a tool for healing her own abusive past. Maggie is a member of several writing groups that meet regularly and continue to nurture her craft.

As a trauma survivor, she shares her courageous commitment to wholeness, while confronting stereotypes surrounding MPD/DID. She educates and encourages others to break down the barriers and stigma around mental health.

Her work appears in the Anthology, Don’t Let Suicide Kill You, and an early draft of SPLIT was long-listed for the Richell Emerging Writers Prize. SPLIT also recently won the International Goody Social Awareness Awards for Memoir and Psychology.

What's inside this episode?

• Maggie describes co-writing with her alters (particularly Annie), how they contribute unique perspectives and voices, and how she facilitates their writing.
• She explains her decision to self-publish her memoir, emphasising her desire for creative control and the freedom to market her book in her own way.
• Maggie talks about her approach to marketing her book, focusing on authenticity, connecting with readers, and changing the conversation around complex mental health disorders.

Listen now if you need...

... guidance in how to hold boundaries when writing your personal story

My favourite quote:

“If I’m out there and I’m talking about and sharing the book, it will naturally sell. I don’t need to worry about that, but it’s about getting out there and using my voice, my unique platform to start changing how the world talks about mental health.”

📖 What is the last book that Maggie read and loved? Boy, Lost by Kristina Olsson

Split by Maggie Walters is available to purchase wherever you buy your books. Alternatively, check in with your local library. If they don’t have a copy yet, put in a request!

Extra (important) information!

✨ You can find Maggie Walters (she/ her) at maggie-walters.com

✨ Download The Ultimate Checklist to PREPARE, WRITE and PITCH your Book for FREE!

✨ Subscribe to The Writer, seeks. (I answer writing and publishing questions - for free!!)

✨ Join the Debut Books private writing community!

✨ Buy my debut book, The Little Black Book of Publishing!

✨ Check out the list of Debut Australian authors for 2024 and 2025

✨ Check out Big Pitch Energy, a self-paced online course to help you pitch and submit your manuscript to Australian agents and publishers with clarity and confidence.

✨ Join Your Novel Adventure, a one-of-a-kind mentorship program that utilises a subscription model, increasing accessibility for aspiring authors without an application process - this mentor program is available to any aspiring author who wants and needs it.

👋🏼 Until next time friend!

Jess is a mother to two wriggly boys, a Drama/English teacher, and a senior English curriculum Principal Education Officer. In 2020, when her own family unit changed dramatically, Jess wrote this book, Some Families Change, for her boys (at the time aged two and four) to help them understand the changes that their family was about to navigate.

She is passionate about working with school children of all ages, engaging them in play, learning and literacy. Jess believes picture books are where the magic of reading begins! Representation in picture books is the key to getting all children interested in reading and understanding their world.

What's inside this episode?

• Jess delves into the personal circumstances that led her to write the book, specifically the need to explain her separation to her young children.
• She discusses the support and knowledge she wished she had discovered earlier in her publishing journey.
• Jess shares her perspective on picture books as important tools for building empathy and understanding of diversity in the young people reading them.
• Learn about the author/illustrator relationship and creative collaboration in creating picture books.

Listen now if you need...

… insights into creating authentic and impactful stories for children.

My favourite quote:

"I wish I'd known that there was a community out there that were already doing this that could have given me all of the answers I needed at the time, and I wished I'd met them sooner, because they are gorgeous."

📖 What is the last book that Jess read and loved? If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura

Some Families Change by Jess Galatola is available to purchase wherever you buy your books. Alternatively, check in with your local library. If they don’t have a copy yet, put in a request!

Extra (important) information!

✨ You can find Jess Galatola (she/ her) at jessgalatolaauthor.com

✨ Download The Ultimate Checklist to PREPARE, WRITE and PITCH your Book for FREE!

✨ Subscribe to The Writer, seeks. (I answer writing and publishing questions - for free!!)

✨ Join the Debut Books private writing community!

✨ Buy my debut book, The Little Black Book of Publishing!

✨ Check out the list of Debut Australian authors for 2024 and 2025

✨ Check out Big Pitch Energy, a self-paced online course to help you pitch and submit your manuscript to Australian agents and publishers with clarity and confidence.

✨ Join Your Novel Adventure, a one-of-a-kind mentorship program that utilises a subscription model, increasing accessibility for aspiring authors without an application process - this mentor program is available to any aspiring author who wants and needs it.

👋🏼 Until next time friend!

Born in Adelaide as the daughter of German immigrants, Kyra Geddes spent her infancy in the South Australian opal fields before moving to Sydney. Following a successful career in marketing, Kyra returned to university to study English and pursue her life-long dream of writing, publishing two short stories and earning the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Academic Excellence.

The Story Thief is her debut novel, and the culmination of almost a decade of research and writing. When not at her desk, Kyra can often be found visiting one of Sydney's many art galleries or daydreaming about future travel with her husband and two children.

What's inside this episode?

• Kyra's journey of writing The Story Thief, inspired by The Drover's Wife by Henry Lawson and her own connection to the Australian outback.
• A deep dive into Kyra's extensive research process, including academic study, historical fiction, and online resources across 10 years.
• An honest account of the post publishing demands of an author

Listen now if you need...

... permission to take time writing your book.

My favourite quote:

“I think one of the biggest myths for first-time authors is that writing the manuscript and getting it in a publisher's hands is the hardest part. It's not. It is everything that comes afterwards!

📖 What is the last book that Kyra read and loved? Breath by Carly-Jay Metcalfe

The Story Thief by Kyra Geddes is available to purchase wherever you buy your books. Alternatively, check in with your local library. If they don’t have a copy yet, put in a request!

Extra (important) information!

✨ You can find Kyra Geddes (she/ her) at kyrageddes.com

✨ Download The Ultimate Checklist to PREPARE, WRITE and PITCH your Book for FREE!

✨ Subscribe to The Writer, seeks. (I answer writing and publishing questions - for free!!)

✨ Join the Debut Books private writing community!

✨ Buy my debut book, The Little Black Book of Publishing!

✨ Check out the list of Debut Australian authors for 2024 and 2025

✨ Check out Big Pitch Energy, a self-paced online course to help you pitch and submit your manuscript to Australian agents and publishers with clarity and confidence.

✨ Join Your Novel Adventure, a one-of-a-kind mentorship program that utilises a subscription model, increasing accessibility for aspiring authors without an application process - this mentor program is available to any aspiring author who wants and needs it.

👋🏼 Until next time friend!