Feb 27, 2026
Mark interviews author Julie Hiner about creating an unforgettable book event for a book launch.
Prior to the interview Mark shares a brief personal update a word from 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 Julie talk about:
- Julie's branding as being strongly tied to the 80s and music even though she fought it at first
- The first book Julie published about road biking (JUST A GIRL ON A BIKE) which was the story of how she overcame a lot of fears and anxiety and the donations she makes with sales of that book
- The 21 switch-backs on the road biking in France that became the 21 steps in Julie's book
- The value of learning so much about self-publishing when Julie attender her first When Words Collide conference
- Julie's ongoing obsession with true crime, serial killers, and 80s metal
- Interacting with and interviewing Homicide Detective Dave Sweet
- Julie's books in the Detective Mahoney series that started with the book FINAL TRACK
- The original venue Julie used for her first book and the newer one she has partnered with
- The special VIP pre-order packages Julie makes available
- The way the collaboration with the musicians work, including Julie creating lyrics for the bands to adapt into songs
- How horror is a really safe place to explore extremely dark things
- Studies that show that aggressive music can help calm the brain
- The creepiest serial killer that came up in the research Julie did
- Some of the things authors should consider when looking at their branding
After the interview Mark shares about an event Julie has coming up in April 2026, and then talks about the importance of pulling out atmospheric elements from the book/story/characters/setting as well as the idea of writing with authenticity and passion.
Links of Interest:
- Julie Hiner's Website
- Just a Girl and a Bike
- 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
Julie Hiner spent her childhood lost in the pages of books. The only thing that took precedence was her Walkman. She is still an 80s rocker.
On a break from her career as a computer scientist, she published an inspirational book about facing fears by cycling up mountains.
Julie now writes horror/suspense infused with heavy metal. She has published a serial killer series, three horror novellas, co-curated an anthology, and had short stories published. She recently had a deep-sea horror novella published by Torrid Waters of Crystal Lake Publishing.
You can find her at KillersAndDemons.com serving up metal and murder.
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