Jan 30, 2026
In this episode Mark interviews author and artist Tanya Hales.
Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word about this episode's sponsor.
This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report.
In the interview Mark and Tanya talk about:
- When Tanya and Mark first met: at Superstars Writing Seminars
- The sketch that Tanya made of Mark at SSWS when he was speaking there
- Identifying herself as equal parts author and illustrator
- The value of CREATING EXPERIENCES with people
- How long Tanya has been creating art and how her mother was instrumental in getting her into art
- The "nature-based" element and love of animals that are recurring in Tanya's art
- Writing novels in spiral-ring notebooks by the time of Fifth Grade
- The first time Tanya put her art out into the world at the age of sixteen
- Handy and helpful resources available to Tanya in her high school
- The "Doodle Dudes" that Tanya had created back then
- Doing a lot more digital art lately for logistical parental reasons
- How one of Tanya's skills is being able to adapt to new things relatively easily
- Being in different modes, such as writing, editing, art
- Various Kickstarter projects Tanya has done and is currently doing
- The Animal Magica Coloring Books Tanya has created
- Why Tanya thinks that it's evitable that she creates the way she does
- The first full-length novel in the Animal Magica universe
- The first cozy fantasy novel that Tanya recently released
After the interview Mark reflections on passion and creating experiences.
Links of Interest:
- Tanya Hales Website
- Tanya's Substack Article: "It Was Inevitable"
- Tanya's "Go, Writer, Go" - Humorous Parody Book for Writers Kickstarter
- Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%)
- Buy Mark a Coffee
- Patreon for Stark Reflections
- Mark's YouTube channel
- ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)
- Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
- An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
- The Relaxed Author
- Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
- An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
- Wide for the Win
- Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
- The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
- Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
- Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
- I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises
When Tanya Hales was a baby, she enjoyed books by chewing them to pieces before eventually moving on to the higher art of reading. Tanya splits her time between her work as a writer, an illustrator, and a mother, all of which she loves intensely. She now lives in Utah with her husband and four children, illustrating coloring books, writing YA fantasy, making cute stickers, and daydreaming constantly about imaginary worlds.
Tanya is the creator of YA epic fantasy as well as the Animal Magica fantasy coloring book series, books made in collaboration with dozens of other authors who contributed beautiful short stores to pair with the art.
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