Teri shares feeling overwhelmed by multiple upcoming projects and events, including a book launch in April, an anthology short story release in May, a recent short story collection printing delay, a two-week writers’ retreat, becoming a grandmother again, and a July residency in Greece with travel through Barcelona and Rome. Teri and Edith discuss Teri’s humorous contemporary novel Unhinged, scheduled for April 7, and the challenges of writing sustained humor and maintaining a consistent narrative voice. Edith describes using strict word-count flash fiction prompts with 13-year-old ESL students and a school collaboration with a nearby retirement home, prompting talk about compiling student work into a booklet. They also cover author feedback and reviews, the “characters talking” writing process, scheduling challenges, Amazon pricing differences across markets, and how publishers and designers affect pricing, covers, and interior formatting, including Teri’s work on the Carolina Tides local-author anthology.
00:00 Welcome Back
00:25 Launch Season Chaos
01:34 Travel Plans and Meetups
03:57 Unhinged Release Talk
06:23 Writing Humor and Voice
08:34 Women of a Certain Age
11:02 Teaching Flash Fiction
15:09 Prompts and Student Stories
19:52 Publishing Kids Work
23:24 Reviews and Creative Flow
28:53 Writing Life and Workspace
33:34 Book Pricing Sticker Shock
38:28 Pricing Books Right
39:45 Amazon Market Differences
42:55 Tracking and Shipping Costs
46:02 Author Control and Covers
48:10 Cover Trends and Branding
53:56 Designers and Interiors
59:01 Anthology Teamwork Challenges
01:04:55 Editors and Reader Clarity
01:12:35 Book Recommendations Wrap
Music: artlist.io