Join Shawna Rodrigues as she chats with Yvonne Battle-Felton on this episode of Author Express, where an exciting narrative journey awaits. Yvonne, a seasoned writer and creative force, reveals snippets of her rich life experiences and their impact on her writing. Discover the inspirations behind her debut, Remembered, and get a preview of her upcoming release, Curdle Creek, an American Gothic novel. They explore themes like identity, family, and the peculiar charm of small towns that perfectly set the stage for thrilling tales. Perfect for book lovers and aspiring writers, this episode is brimming with insights and heart.

Yvonne Battle-Felton is an author, academic, host, creative producer, and writer. Her debut, Remembered, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction (2019) and shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize (2020). Winner of a Northern Writers Award in fiction (2017), Yvonne has six titles in Penguin Random House’s The Ladybird Tales of Superheroes and The Ladybird Tales of Crowns and Thrones. She has received a British Library Eccles Centre Fellowship (2019) and a Kimbilio Fiction Fellowship (2023). Yvonne is Senior Commissioning Editor at John Murray Press (UK) and the academic director of creative writing at Cambridge University Institute of Continuing Education. Host of Write Your Novel with Yvonne Battle-Felton and Bookable Space, her second book, Curdle Creek, an American Gothic about a sinister town with a strict population policy, will be published in October 2024 with Dialogue Books (UK) and Henry Holt (US).

Learn more about Yvonne on her website https://www.yvonnebattlefelton.com/.

You can catch up with Yvonne on socials on X, Instagram, and tiktok @whyiwritebattlefelton

Support your local bookstore & this podcast by pre-ordering your copy of Curdle Creek or getting your copy of Remembered at Bookshop.org, or pre-order it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQHJG76H

Shawna Rodrigues left her award-winning career in the public sector in 2019 to consult and publish her first novel Beyond the Pear Blossoms. Her desire to connect and help others led to the launch of her podcast The Grit Show shortly thereafter. When she learned women host only 27% of podcasts, her skills and passion led to the founding of the Authentic Connections Network. She now helps mission-driven entrepreneurs better connect with their audiences by providing full-service podcast production and through a community for Entrepreneurs & Podcasters – EPAC. Podcasting is her primary focus, so she continues to support the writing community through this podcast, and her writing time is mostly focused on anthologies.

She offers a free 7 Steps to Perfect Your Podcast Title to anyone interested in launching a podcast. You can also follow her on Instagram-

Aimie K. Runyan writes to celebrate the spirit of strong women. She has been honored as a Historical Novel Society Editors’ Choice selection, as a five-time finalist for the Colorado Book Awards, and as a nominee for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer of the Year. Aimie is active as an educator and speaker in the writing community and beyond. Her next books Mademoiselle Eiffel, which was released September 10th, 2024, and The Wandering Season, which in coming April 1st, 2025 and will be released by Harper Collins. She lives in Colorado with her amazing husband, two (usually) adorable children, two (always) adorable kitties, and a dragon.

To learn more about Aimie, please visit www.aimiekrunyan.com.

She is also active on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and occasionally TikTok and enjoys engaging with readers

Support your local bookstore & this podcast by getting your copy of Mademoiselle Eiffel at Bookshop.org.

Kristi Leonard is a modern Renaissance woman deeply rooted in the book world. When she's not immersed in crafting novels, she's orchestrating writing retreats through her business, Writers in the Wild, or lending her voice to non-fiction audiobooks. She leads the Women’s Fiction Writers Association as the president of the board, and interviews her writer pals as one of the hosts of the Author Express Podcast. She will start querying her first book in 2024.

Beyond the realm of words, Kristi embraces the Florida sunshine by hiking with her writer-hiker group and leisurely walks on the beach. She and her husband juggle a couple side businesses and take turns sharing the couch with their goofy Golden-doodle, Maddie. Kristi enjoys travel adventures with her twin sister and living vicariously through her grown children. You can learn more about her and connect at: https://linktr.ee/kristileonard.

Be sure to follow or subscribe to Author Express wherever you listen to podcasts and to follow us on Instagram @AuthorExpressPodcast

Learn more about our hosts, the guests we've had, and their books -

https://linktr.ee/AuthorExpressPodcast

On today's episode we get to chat with Hadley Leggett, award-winning author of the debut novel, All They Ask Is Everything. A love letter to the messiness of motherhood, the book tells the story of three very different women who each want custody of the same two little girls — and discover they have more in common than the children they’re fighting for.

Hadley fell in love with storytelling as a child, but as a people-pleaser born into a family of scientists, it never occurred to her she could become a novelist. Instead she went to medical school, became a science journalist, and then spent nearly a decade as a stay-at-home mom of three. During those years, she was too busy trying not to drown in breast milk and toddler tantrums and postpartum anxiety to write, but when her youngest daughter finally started preschool, she returned to her childhood dream of becoming an author.

For her first book, Hadley wanted to explore modern society’s brutal expectations for mothers—how moms are expected to give everything to their children, all the time, without any real assistance in terms of childcare, paid time off, or mental health support. She drew on her experiences both in medical school and as a mother, and also did extensive research on the foster care system in her home state of Washington.

Bestselling author Ann Garvin describes the book as “a relevant and absorbing exploration into parenting, foster care, and love,” and NYT-bestselling author Tara Conklin says, “This book spoke to me on so many levels. I didn't want it to end.”

You can learn more about Hadley at www.hadley.ink.

Follow her on Instagram, Threads, and Facebook as @hadleyleggett.

Support your local bookstore & this podcast by getting your copy of All They Ask Is Everything at Bookshop.org.

Author and musical composer Kathleen Basi is mother to three boys and one chromosomally-gifted daughter. Her debut novel, A SONG FOR THE ROAD, follows a musician on an unconventional road trip. Bestselling author Kerry Anne King writes, “In a novel filled with music, heartbreak, and surprising laughter, Basi takes us on a journey that encompasses both unimaginable loss and the powerful resilience of the human heart.”

Meaty, earnest, occasionally humorous, and ultimately uplifting, Kathleen’s fiction highlights the best within ourselves and each other. She writes monthly reflections on life, writing and beauty on her newsletter. Subscribe at https://kathleenbasi.substack.com/.

Be sure to follow or subscribe to Author Express wherever you listen to podcasts and to follow us on Instagram @AuthorExpressPodcast

Learn more about our hosts, the guests we've had, and their books -

https://linktr.ee/AuthorExpressPodcast