Sep 3, 2026
Mark interviews author, artist, and editor LCW Allingham of Speculation Publications.
Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsors.
This episode is sponsored in part by...
Mark's forthcoming book A BOOK IN HAND. Click here to get to the Kickstarter listing and be notified when the Kickstarter for the book goes live in mid September 2026.
In the interview Mark and LC talk about:
- How LC has always believed that she was born a writer based on the creative endeavours her family were constantly involved in pursuing
- Being encouraged, when very young, to find ways to express herself
- Her first "books" written when she was 3 and 6 years old
- An amazing fifth grade teacher she had and a special assignment that kicked off her non-stop writing
- Writing her first real full-length novel when she was 17 years old
- How, because of undiagnosed ADHD, once the "training wheels" of school fell off, it took her a while to find her writing groove
- The way finding writing workshops helped her hone her craft and develop her writing
- Finding out how to edit and get works out into the world was part of the larger struggle
- How rejection can be one of the hardest things for a writer
- Going to journalism school as the entire industry was transitioning and even disappearing
- Also being an artist and a musician
- The importance of finding the right kind of workshop
- The origin of Speculation Publications
- Some of the books and projects this publisher has done
- Attracting new authors and under-represented and marginalized voices in publishing
- Enjoying the process of creating and editing and publishing an anthology
- The way the press incorporates a joint vision from the editors
- How the press is now doing novellas and how they take submissions
- LC's new novella, Muse and how it helped her work through the grief of losing her mother
- The 2026 Hardcover version release of Muse that has a new cover and illustrations
- Making the decision to both traditionally publish and self publish
- How LC met her agent and navigating publishing with an agent
- Advise LC would offer to other writers
- And more...
After the interview Mark reflects on a few things LC talked about in their conversation.
Links of Interest:
- LCW Allingham's website
- Speculation Publications website
- EP 457 - A Show That Makes You Smile with The Patrick Scott Patterson Project
- EP 489 - The Balanced Approach to a Writer's Life with Ann Charles
- 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)
- Stark Reflections articles on Substack
- 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
- Stark Realities Book
- 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
LCW Allingham is an award-winning author, artist, and editor. Her publications include her novel, LADY, and novella MUSE, as well as short fiction. She is the co-founder and executive editor of the indie press, Speculation Publications, a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Horror Writers Association. She resides near Philadelphia with her family, her animals, and her ever growing art collection.
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