The Resilient Writers Radio Show

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An outline doesn’t have to limit your creativity. It can give you the freedom to explore your story without losing your way.
In this episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m joined by award-winning Canadian author Gail Anderson-Dargatz to talk about her new novel, The Atlas Keeper, and the writing process behind this complex time travel romance.
Gail has written across genres, from literary fiction and domestic thrillers to hi-lo books and speculative fiction. Her novels include The Cure for Death by Lightning, A Recipe for Bees, The Spawning Grounds, The Almost Wife, and The Almost Widow. 
With The Atlas Keeper, she gave herself permission to follow a longtime love of time travel stories and simply play.
That sense of play is at the heart of our conversation.
Gail shares how the idea for the novel began with a question: What would a map of someone’s life look like? 
With help from her husband, a GIS analyst with an interest in astrology, she developed an intricate structure based on a lunar month, the twelve astrological houses, and a character who can visit different moments in her own life.
Writing a story with so many moving pieces required a clear map. Gail explains how she begins with a synopsis, moves into an outline, and then creates a chapter-by-chapter plan. At the same time, she writes snippets of scenes and allows room for discovery.
Her process offers a helpful reminder for writers who worry that outlining will take the magic out of writing. The outline is not a cage. It is a guide you can adjust as the story develops.
We also talk about what literary writers can learn from genre fiction. Whether you are writing literary fiction, romance, suspense, or fantasy, your character still needs a goal. Something must stand in their way. The reader needs a reason to keep turning the pages.
Gail also opens up about reaching a stage in her career where she is less concerned about awards and expectations and more interested in enjoying the act of creation. After experiencing burnout, she found her way back to the pleasure of writing by exploring new genres and remembering why she started.
This episode is a warm and honest conversation about outlining a novel, experimenting with genre, staying curious, and making writing feel playful again.
Listen now to discover how structure can support creativity, why writers benefit from trying new genres, and how finding the fun in your process can lead to a stronger book.

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Strong historical fiction does more than recreate the past. It pulls readers into another time, helps them understand what was at stake, and keeps them turning the pages.
In this episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m joined by lawyer, finance and fintech innovator, and historical fiction author Terry Kirk. 
Terry is the author of Pitfall and Plunder, two financial thrillers that bring major moments in history to life through memorable characters, high stakes, and plenty of suspense.
Terry came to writing later in life after spending several decades practising law. She shares how her professional experience inspired her to write fast-moving stories that make the world of finance interesting and accessible, particularly for readers who might otherwise find it intimidating.
Her latest novel, Plunder, takes place in London in 1940, as World War II intensifies and America considers entering the war. Terry’s protagonist, Frank Cork, has been given an enormous task: find the money needed to help finance the war.
We talk about the research required to write historical fiction convincingly, from studying fashion and magazines to understanding how people communicated before email, text messages, and instant access to information. 
Terry explains why the smallest historical details can make the biggest difference, and how she immerses herself in an era before she begins writing.
We also dig into the craft of writing suspense. Terry shares how she keeps a story moving even when the historical realities involve delays, letters, and slow communication. 
Her approach includes strong chapter openings and endings, changing points of view, and resisting the urge to rely on words like “suddenly” to create tension.
As a committed plotter, Terry uses Excel to track her chapters, characters, word count, and story development. She sees the spreadsheet and the blank Word document as two different creative spaces, one for structure and one for imagination.
Our conversation also explores writing characters whose lives are very different from our own, the challenges of cultural appropriation, her surprisingly quick path to publication, and the discomfort many writers feel when they have to move from quiet creative work to marketing their books.
Terry’s story is a lovely reminder that it is never too late to begin writing. After decades in another career, she found that becoming a writer felt like coming home.
Listen to learn:
How to research historical fiction without overwhelming the story
Ways to create suspense and maintain narrative pace
Why chapter endings and multiple points of view keep readers engaged
How plotting tools can support the creative process
What Terry learned from beginning her writing career later in life
Why writers need courage during both publishing and promotion
Listen now for an honest and encouraging conversation about historical fiction, plotting, publishing, and finding the writing life that feels like home.

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AI is everywhere right now, but for writers, the conversation has become a lot more complicated.
Can you use ChatGPT to brainstorm your novel? What about getting feedback on your plot? Can AI help you edit? And where is the line between using AI as a tool and letting it do so much of the work that your authorship, copyright, or even publishing opportunities could be affected?
Those are exactly the questions I wanted to dig into in this episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show.
I’m joined by Ana del Valle, novelist, CEO of StoryGroove.ai, and someone I turn to when I want to understand what’s happening with AI in the writing world.
Ana works with writers who want to understand how generative AI can fit into a creative process while staying aligned with current copyright guidance and recommendations from organizations including the Authors Guild and the Association of American Literary Agents.
And one thing becomes very clear in our conversation: there is a big difference between asking AI to help you think and asking AI to write your book for you.
We talk about where Ana believes that line sits, including the difference between using AI for brainstorming, outlining, analysis, and preliminary feedback versus asking it to rewrite, polish, tighten, expand, or generate your prose.
Ana also walks us through four different categories of AI tools writers are encountering right now.
We look at AI book generators that can produce entire books, more technical tools such as NovelCrafter that connect writers with large language models, AI-powered writing programs such as Sudowrite, and platforms designed around analysis, feedback, and editorial support.
We also talk about tools writers may already recognize, including ProWritingAid, AutoCrit, Scrivener, Plottr, Dabble, Claude, and ChatGPT.
But this conversation isn’t really about finding the newest shiny tool.
It’s about understanding what the tool is actually doing.
Is it helping you think more clearly about your story?
Or is it beginning to replace the creative work that only you can do?
Ana also shares why she believes experienced editors and publishing professionals can often recognize AI-generated prose, even without technological detection tools, and why writers need to think carefully before handing their sentences over to a chatbot for “just a little polishing.”
If you’re curious about AI but worried about accidentally crossing a line, this episode will give you a much clearer framework for thinking about it.
You don’t have to use AI in your writing process at all. I don’t.
But if you choose to explore it, understanding the boundaries matters.
Listen to the full conversation and decide what role, if any, AI should have in your writing life.

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Some stories begin with an idea. Others begin with a single question that refuses to let go.
In this episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I had the pleasure of sitting down with bestselling historical novelist Lynn Austin, whose books have touched millions of readers around the world. 
We talked about her latest novel, The Lumber Baron’s Wife, and the fascinating journey behind creating a story that bridges two timelines while remaining deeply rooted in the emotional truths that connect women across generations.
One of the things I loved most about our conversation was hearing how Lynn approaches history. She admits she never loved history class because it focused on wars and politics. 
Instead, she became captivated by diaries, letters, and firsthand accounts that reveal what everyday people, especially women, were experiencing while history unfolded around them. That perspective has shaped her entire writing career.
Lynn takes us behind the scenes of The Lumber Baron’s Wife, explaining why this is her first true dual timeline novel. Rather than connecting the stories through family alone, she chose to connect them through place. The same historic homes become the bridge between two very different eras, allowing readers to see how love, motherhood, marriage, courage, and resilience remain constant even as the world changes.
We also dive into the surprising history behind Michigan's lumber boom, an era that transformed both the landscape and the people who lived there. Lynn shares how learning about the environmental impact of the lumber industry became an important part of the novel and how that history naturally connects with one of her modern-day characters, an environmentalist working to protect the forests that were once devastated.
Of course, we couldn't talk about historical fiction without talking about research. Lynn shares her wonderfully practical approach, describing how research becomes what she calls "book soup." 
She gathers facts, visits locations whenever possible, collects fascinating details, and slowly watches her characters emerge from everything she's learned. Rather than outlining every chapter, she writes as a discoverer, allowing the story to surprise even her.
We also spend time talking about something every writer struggles with: finding time to write. Lynn offers refreshingly honest advice about protecting your writing time, setting realistic daily goals, and committing to the work even during the busiest seasons of life. Her own practice of writing five new pages a day has carried her through raising children, building a successful career, and publishing dozens of novels.
Before we wrapped up, Lynn gave us a sneak peek at the research behind her next novel, inspired by the remarkable true story of the Hello Girls, the bilingual women telephone operators who served during World War I. It's exactly the kind of forgotten history that has made her novels so beloved by readers.
If you love historical fiction, enjoy discovering little-known moments from history, or simply need encouragement to keep showing up for your own writing, this conversation is full of wisdom, practical advice, and plenty of inspiration. I think you'll come away ready to protect your writing time and maybe even visit your local library with fresh eyes.

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What if the best way to write a successful series is to stop thinking about the series and focus on writing one excellent book?
In this episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m joined by Canadian author and writing coach Kevin T. Johns for an honest, funny, and deeply practical conversation about finishing ambitious writing projects, writing a trilogy, and giving your current book everything you have.
Kevin recently completed The Page Turners trilogy, a genre-bending series about three teenagers who discover a magical book of spells and accidentally release the fictional villains from the stories they love. 
Across the three books, Kevin moves through horror, science fiction, and fantasy while exploring much bigger themes, including family, anger, identity, loneliness, and what it means to grow up.
But this conversation is not only for writers working on a trilogy.
It’s for anyone whose book has become too big, too complicated, or too precious to finish.
Kevin shares why every book in a series still needs to stand on its own, with a complete emotional arc, a clear theme, and a satisfying story. His advice is simple and powerful: do not save the good material for book three. Put your strongest ideas, scenes, emotions, and creative energy into the book directly in front of you.
We also talk about the “punk rock” mindset that transformed Kevin’s writing process. Instead of trying to create his version of The Lord of the Rings, he began asking how he could make the story shorter, more focused, more passionate, and more entertaining. That shift helped him finish the first book and allowed the rest of the trilogy to grow naturally.
Kevin also offers thoughtful advice for writers who love complex stories. A multigenerational epic with several timelines, continents, and points of view may sound exciting, but complexity does not automatically create depth. Sometimes the more focused your story becomes, the more deeply you can explore what truly matters.
We dig into revision too, including the challenge of returning to a manuscript written ten years earlier. Kevin explains how adding fresh material helped him reconnect with the story while honouring the younger writer who first imagined it.
And because this is a conversation about the real writing life, we talk about self-doubt, dark art, creative resilience, and why writers are rarely the best judges of their work in the moment.
Your readers are not waiting for you to fail. They want to love your book.
So stop saving your best ideas for later. Write the strongest version of the book you can write today.
Listen now to hear Kevin’s practical advice on writing a trilogy, simplifying an ambitious story, revising an old manuscript, finding your audience, and finishing the book in front of you.