This week’s guest is JJ Elliott (There are No Rules For This, She Writes Press, May 2023). We discuss how a family tragedy formed the backdrop for this debut which JJ wrote to challenge herself rather than with a eye to being published, how picking up a random book to read led her to a retreat that reawakened her to her love of writing, how she resisted the lure of big-name publishers who wanted to change her core message, why she changed her initial title, and how this last year has been one of saying “yes” to unexpected and serendipitous marketing opportunities, including a mention in Katie Couric’s newsletter.

JJ Elliott’s debut novel, There Are No Rules For This, is the winner of two Zibby Awards—Best Book for Best Friends and Best Book That Made You Cry. It was also a finalist in Best New Fiction in the International Book Awards.

Elliott lost her mother to suicide as a teenager, and spent over two years volunteering on the suicide hotlines in LA. One of the reasons she wanted to write her novel is because she is increasingly frustrated by the way suicide is treated in print and on-screen, as a mystery to be solved rather than a multi-layered, complex mental health situation that can rarely be boiled down to one specific "reason." A native of Northern California, JJ now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two teenage kids, and two poorly trained bulldogs. She loves to read, drink wine, play tennis, and eat cheese.

To learn more about JJ, click here.

This week my guest is Tracey Buchanan (Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace, Regal House, June 2023). When Tracey was tapped to write a script for an historical re-enactment troupe in her small Kentucky town, little did she realize it would propel her into a whole new career as a novelist. We discuss the life lesson her lead character learns during the course of her book which wound up being one Tracey herself experienced, the difference between developmental editing and working with a book coach, how Tracey believes daydreaming about your novel should count as writing time. Finally she shares the atypical venues she’s used for successful book events and the quirky trait she and I share.

Tracey Buchanan crashed into the literary world when she was six and won her first writing accolades. Fast forward through years as an award-winning journalist, mom, volunteer, freelance writer, newspaper and magazine editor, artist, small business owner, and circus performer (not really, but wouldn’t that be something?) and you find her happily planted in the world of fiction with her debut novel, Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace. Tracey and her husband, Kent, live in Paducah, Ky., with their dog, Leapin’ Naughty Lottie Moon. They travel to see their kids and eight grandchildren as often as possible. Tracey hopes to see her second novel come out soon-ish (the publishing world is frustratingly slow). She is working on her third novel while she waits.

To learn more about Tracey, click here.

Our guest this week is Rachel Corsini (Sushi and Sea Lions, Creative James Media, May 2023). What started out as journal entries morphed into Rachel’s debut which she wound up writing in standalone scenes rather than chronologically, later splicing them together using the Save the Cat story structure. We discuss her query process in depth, which resulted in 100 rejection but also 20 agent requests for full manuscripts and three offers from small presses. She went with Creative James Media and shares the pluses and minuses in working with a small press as well as how to market your book after the launch hoopla dies down.

After declaring herself a pretty pink princess during her first ballet class, Rachel dreamt of sugar plums and began pirouetting her way through life. While studying to become a ballerina, she compulsively read books under her covers by flashlight and scribbled in spiral-bound notebooks. The urge to tell stories culminated in her graduation from Columbia College Chicago with a B.F.A. in fiction writing. Never one to keep her feet on the ground, she traveled the world from Prague to Cape Town. Once settled back in Queens, she dabbled in journalism before working as an Editorial Assistant for a medical publisher. Seeking a more fulfilling career, she earned her MAT from Queens College and currently works as an English teacher in an alternative program in NYC. Rachel spends her time sipping coffee, trying to cook, and practicing her pirouettes. She currently resides in Freeport, Long Island.

To learn more about Rachel, click here.