Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing: EP 280 - J.C. McKenzie and Jo-Ann Carson on the 2023 JoZie Planner for Authors

EP 280 - J.C. McKenzie and Jo-Ann Carson on the 2023 JoZie Planner for Authors

Dec 8, 2022

Mark interviews J.C. McKenzie and Jo-Ann Carson, a mother and daughter team of Vancouver Island authors who share a strong desire to organize their hectic writing lives and have created the JoZie Planner for Authors by Authors.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a brief personal update, comments from recent episodes and patreon, and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark, J.C. and Jo-Ann talk about:

How J.C. was indoctinated into the writing world via her mother, Jo-Ann being a creative person and writer
Returning to Canada from New Zealand and how a combination of reading a lot and some vivid dreams led to the first book she wrote
Looking at the first two books she wrote which she considers were a "hot mess"
SHIFT HAPPENS, J.C.'s third book, and first published book, and the other 6 books that were published by The Wild Rose Press
Jo-Ann's initiation into the world of writing, how she didn't start taking writing seriously until she retired, and the long-term view she has taken for her writing career
How storytelling has always been important to Jo-Ann her entire life.
J.C. writing locations that she doesn't often see represented, as well as the way she likes to drift back to urban fantasy with her writing
Jo-Ann also enjoying writing about witches and vampires, and having a good time injecting more humor into her fiction
Despite writing in similar genres, and critiquing one anothers' work, the fact they have not collaborated on any fiction projects yet
The JoZie 2023 Planner, and how the name was created from a combination of their two names
About the planner itself, and the binding (spiral bound) which allows it to lay flat
Where this idea came from and why they feel this planner is important to writers and a writer's needs
Their desire for more feedback to continue to improve the planner for 2024
The option of hole-punching the pages from the binder each year and keeping previous year pages in a binder
The current floral pattern of the planner, and their interest in looking at different styles for future years
Tips for writers who have never actually used a planner before
And more...

After the interview, Mark shares a couple of reflections, Mark welcomes new patrons and reminds them of their chance to indicate their interest in winning one of four copies of the 2023 JoZie Planner for Authors.

Links of Interest:

J.C. McKenzie and Jo-Ann Carson are a mother and daughter team of Vancouver Island authors who share a strong desire to organize their hectic writing lives. Some would call it an obsession. Together they’ve created the JoZie Planner for Authors by Authors.

J.C. McKenzie is a book loving, gumboot-wearing, unapologetic science geek. She predominantly writes urban fantasy and post-apocalyptic dystopian fantasy with strong romantic elements. When she’s not spinning tales, she’s in the classroom sharing her passion for science and mathematics while secretly warping the young impressionable minds of our future to carry out her evil plans for world domination. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family.

Jo-Ann Carson is an award-winning Fantasy author of 31 books who loves the magic of storytelling. She places unique characters, in fast-paced plots, to tell tales about love, friendship, and family. Recently a critic likened one of her main characters to, “… Stephanie Plum with magic.”Jo-Ann’s last four series are the Dial Witch trilogy, Perfect Brew trilogy, Ghost & Abby Mysteries, and Gambling Ghosts novellas. Buy links for all her books can be found on her website.

A firm believer in the magic of our everyday lives, Jo-Ann loves watching sunrises, walking beaches near her home in the Pacific Northwest and reading by a crackling wood fire.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0