#WriterWednesday Author Interview with Kalee Boisvert

I’d like to welcome author, Kalee Boisvert, to the blog for a New Year’s Eve #Writer Wednesday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Getting started. A new project can feel daunting at the beginning, before the story finds its footing and the blank page stops feeling so loud.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Noticing. Stories are everywhere, in my kids, in quiet moments, in the things we almost miss. Caring deeply and paying attention has always come naturally.

Things you need for your writing sessions: A quiet pocket of time, a warm drink, and the freedom to write badly at first, knowing the good stuff always shows up once I start.

Things that hamper your writing: Overthinking the opening line, interruptions, and the belief that I need the whole plan figured out before I begin.

Words that describe you: Creative, curious, intuitive.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Messy and busy.

Something you’re really good at: Seeing meaning in small moments and turning them into stories that feel true.

Something you’re really bad at: Doing things slowly, especially when I’m excited about an idea and want to do everything at once.

Last best thing you ate: Ahi tuna that reminded me how good simple food can be.

Last thing you regret eating: A hot dog that absolutely did not live up to the moment.

Things you’d walk a mile for: Going on rides at Disney, every single time.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Awkward small talk and meetings that could’ve been an email.

Things you always put in your books: Stories that resonate—moments that feel familiar, emotionally true, and quietly reflective of real life.

Things you never put in your books: Anything written just to shock or impress.

Favorite places you’ve been: Italy.

Places you never want to go to again: None yet—I’m loving traveling and always up for a good adventure.

Favorite books (or genre): Spiritual books and fiction of all genres.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Overly technical books.

Favorite things to do: Travel, spend time with my kids, and get lost in a good creative project.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Forced networking and small talk.

The first 8-track, record, cassette, or CD you ever bought: New Kids on the Block.

A type of music that’s not your cup of tea: Country.

My favorite book as a child: Nancy Drew books and The Babysitters Club.

A book I’ve read more than once: The Alchemist.

Your favorite movie as a child: A Goofy Movie.

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night (as a kid or adult): Saw (as an adult)

About Kalee:

Kalee Boisvert has spent over fifteen years in the financial industry, driven by a desire to rewrite the money story she grew up with. Raised in a single-parent household, she became passionate early on about financial empowerment and helping others create freedom and confidence through money. But her path didn’t stop there.

Over time, Kalee’s work expanded into something deeper: a soul-level invitation for women to remember who they are. Today, she writes both financial and spiritual books—offering practical tools, tender truth, and gentle reminders that you are already enough.

 Let’s Be Social:

More information can be found at: Kalee Boisvert - Your Money Guru | Contact

Heather's Favorite Books of 2025

Here are my favorite reads this year in no particular order…

Favorite Cozies:

• Vice and Virtue by Libby Klein

• Chocolate Can Be Deadly by Kim Davis

• Welcome Home to Murder by Rosalie Spielman

• Basket Case by Nancy Haddock

• A Plus One for Murder by Laura Bradford

• A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor by Darci Hannah

• Mousse and Murder by Elizabth Logan

• Axe Me No Questions by Paula Charles

• Whiskey Business by Adrian Andover

• The Jig is up by Lisa Q. Mathews

• A Zappy Little Christmas by Paula Charles

• Paint the Town Dead by Nancy Haddock

Favorite Suspense and Thrillers:

• The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown

• King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby

• The Pharaoh’s Tomb by LynDee Walker and Bruce Coffin

• The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly

Favorite Historical Mysteries:

• Harry Houdini Mysteries: The Dime Museum Murders

• Disco Dead by Marcia Talley

Favorite Police Procedural:

• Hidden in Smoke by Lee Goldberg

Favorite Nonfiction:

• Heaven Help Us: How Faith Communities Inspire Hope, Strengthen Neighborhoods, and Build the Future by John Kasich

What were your favorites this year?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from our house to yours! Happy Reading!

Things to Know about Newsletter Services

You need an email service to create, distribute, and maintain your unsubscribe list for your newsletter. There are lots of services out there with lots of different pricing models.

Here’s what I learned:

• Find a service that you like and can easily use. Many have built-in templates to get your designs started.

• Make sure the service you choose allows you to import and export contacts for your mailing list. You may want to change services one day, and you’ll need a way to get the data in and out.

• Always export your email list to ensure you have a backup of the names and addresses.

• Check out what you get with the free services. Many offer that for a certain number of subscribers or newsletters a month. There are paid subscriptions when you reach a certain number of followers. Always compare the packages to see what you’re getting.

• Talk to other authors to see what service they are using and what they like.

• Make sure you can connect your email list to your website, so visitors can register online. Most of the time there is a way to link or set up a widget on your website builder.

• Ensure that your service offers access to basic metrics. You’ll want to know how many of your newsletters were opened. Also, many have historical data so you can see trends over time. This will help you target days and times where your readers are active.

• See if it offers a scheduler. My service lets me schedule my newsletter for specific times during the date. This helps me choose optimal times that may lead to more eyes. (For example, people get a ton of emails over the weekend. Monday morning is probably not the best time to send your information.)

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Veronica Lee

I’d like to welcome the wonderful Veronica Lee to the blog today for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Knowing when my manuscript is ready to submit. I too often jump the gun.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Is there something easy about being a writer? If there is, I can’t think of what it would be. LOL!

Something you’re really good at: I can make really good homemade cheesecakes.

Something you’re really bad at: Making hamburgers and biscuits. They both turn out hard as hockey pucks.

Favorite music or song: I love “Over the Rainbow,” by Judy Garland.

Music that drives you crazy: Songs full of really foul language.

Things you always put in your books: There’s usually a subtle faith-based message in them.

Things you never put in your books: I haven’t written a furry side-kick in any of my stories. But I’d really like to!

Favorite places you’ve been: I visited Krakow, Poland about ten years ago. It was absolutely gorgeous. The whole country was!

Places you never want to go to again: Can’t come up with any place that I really hated.

Favorite books (or genre): Anything Jane Austen related.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Political Thrillers. Just not my cup of tea.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I worked as a housekeeper in a nursing home during the pandemic and often had to go into the covid units to clean and help out.

Something you chickened out from doing: Performing Arts Workshop when I was a teen.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: Eva Mozes Kor. She was a Holocaust/Mengele twin survivor who created the CANDLES Museum.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: I have never met any famous celebrities in person.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: That my book was their favorite.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: One suggested I used AI to write it. I swear, I didn’t!

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: Well, my book The Keeper of Lost Daughters was partly inspired by how in Poland, Jewish children were left with Christians during the war to save their lives. After the war, the Jewish families would try to reclaim their children only to find that the Christians didn’t want to give them up.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: I don’t think anyone has suggested anything in my book was about me.

My favorite book as a child: When I was little, I had this picture book about a mouse and on every page with the mouse was a little bird. Well, my dad came up a story based solely on the bird, calling it “Little Birdy Buddy.” Over time the story evolved. His storytelling was so enthralling that others would listen to him tell it too. Unfortunately, the book fell apart and I have no memory of what the story actually was.

A book I’ve read more than once: Pride and Prejudice.

Your favorite movie as a child: The Wizard of Oz.

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): Braveheart. When I was a kid, my dad had bought the VHS and was watching it, and I saw the scene where William Wallace is being tortured/executed. I was sick to my stomach for days. Probably didn’t sleep at night after watching it.

About Veronica:

Veronica Leigh has been published in numerous publications, such as Saturday Evening Post, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and The People's Friend. She recently published her first novel, The Keeper of Lost Daughters. She aspires to be the Jane Austen of her generation and she makes her home in Indiana.

Let’s Be Social:

veronicaleighauthor.wordpress.com

facebook.com/veronicaleighauthor

twitter.com/veronicaleighauthor

instagram.com/veronicaleighauthor

#WriterWednesday Author Interview with Devon Delaney

Devon Delaney is my special guest today for #WriterWednesday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Finding daily solid blocks of time may be the hardest for. I am involved with lots of activities and have many interests and writing is often wedged in between watercolor painting class and tennis clinics.

Easiest thing about being a writer: I write what I know so I have no shortage of story ideas revolving around cooking, recipes, and competition.

Things you need for your writing sessions: To be a productive writer I need a long walk with my dog, a seat on my couch under the picture window and a cup of honeyed green tea. Maybe some quiet, too.

Things that hamper your writing: The modern world of distracting internet, my iPhone, incoming texts, and my uber-busy imagination are the distractions that hamper my writing when I don’t practice restraint.

Words that describe you: I’ve been described as athletic, determined, inspiring, strong-willed, patient, energetic, artistic, goofy, funny, eager to improve.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: I’ve also been described as anxious, goofy to a fault (my own interpretation) and slightly obsessive.

Something you’re really good at: I’m successful at competing in and winning recipes contests.

Something you’re really bad at: I’m not so good at saying no.

Last best thing you ate: We had a dinner of slow cooked short ribs and kimchi fried rice that was out of this world.

Last thing you regret eating: Fresh spinach I didn’t wash well and the leaves were so gritty I gagged.

The last thing you ordered online: A snuggly winter hat.

The last thing you regret buying: Winter boots that were only water resistant not waterproof and what good is that in winter!

Things you’d walk a mile for: Authentic Swiss milk chocolate, my grandchildren, a new set of spa-grade bath towels, my dog (not nec in that order)

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Rhubarb, the smell of burnt bacon, my husband’s discarded dirty socks on the floor

Favorite places you’ve been: Positano, Italy. Missoula, MT, Charleston, SC and London

Places you never want to go to again: Costco, but I’m going next week

The coolest person you’ve ever met: John Travolta

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Kelly Ripa, she’s so much prettier in person which is amazing

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “I have been reading this series for a very long time and never must not. Between the mystery and recipes, what not to love? The author does such a great job but as soon as you turn that last page, you’re looking to see when the next entry will be published. It’s that good!” (thank you, reviewer!)

The craziest thing a reader said to you: Can you send me all your recipes?

My favorite book as a child: Misty of Chincoteague

A book I’ve read more than once: Agents of Change, Winning Ugly

Your favorite movie as a child: Sound of Music

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone

About Devon:

Devon Delaney is the author of the cooking competition cozy murder mystery series. She is also a wife, mother of three, grandma to four, accomplished cooking contester, sometime empty nester, and lifelong resident of the Northeast. She has been handsomely rewarded for her recipe innovation over the last twenty-plus years, including a full kitchen of major appliances, top cash prizes, and four trips to Disney World She has also won the Grand Prize in a national writing contest for her “foodie” poem, “Ode to Pork Passion.” She began writing cozy mysteries when she relocated to Connecticut and saw the opportunity for a career change from teaching Lego Robotics and computer education.

Let’s Be Social:

https://www.instagram.com/devonpdelaney/

http://www.devonpdelaney.com

https://www.facebook.com/devon.delaney.16

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069231386805

Newsletters and Email Lists - Do I Need to Bother?

I did a workshop recently on author platforms, and someone asked me if they really needed to bother with a newsletter.

My answer is, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” When I started my writing journey, I was overwhelmed with all the marketing tasks, and I was a really reluctant newsletter sender. I usually sent one out when I had a new book.

And because I didn’t build up relationships with a regular or consistent schedule, I didn’t see much success or value in it in a long time.

The importance of owning the list of email contacts hit home when Twitter changed to X, and there was a mass exodus of followers, and they weren’t the only social media platform to make changes in policies and functionality. I had rather large followings on several, and I had no way to contact fans, readers, and followers if the system folded or the platform closed my account.

Here’s what I learned about newsletters for authors:

• You own your list of followers/subscribers. You can contact them when you want.

• Always make sure to export your list of subscribers regularly from your service to ensure you have a backup of all the contacts.

• You need to establish a regular cadence for publication. If you only send one out when you have a new book, then it looks like you’re only trying to sell something. Too many emails can be annoying, and if you rarely send one, they’ll forget about you. Find out what works for you and your readers.

• Target readers who read your genre. You’ll have more success with retaining followers.

• Make sure to do signups at every event, especially if they buy a book. Invite them to register.

• Be careful of author services that sell you newsletter lists. Vet everything. Five thousand email addresses aren’t helpful if they don’t read what you write.

• Your newsletter is an opportunity for readers to get to know you. I love when I get emails from newsletter readers.

What would you add to my list?

And if you’d like to sign up for my monthly newsletter, here’s the link: Contact — Heather Weidner.

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Maggie Blake Bailey

I’d like to welcome Maggie Blake Bailey to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Patience.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Ideas. I love coming up with new ideas, asking WHAT IF? Following a strange line of thought, going down an internet rabbit hole. Did you see the article about the raccoon that broke into a liquor store and passed out in the bathroom in Virginia? I would love to write a scene with something like that now I that I have read about! Ideas, for me at least, are everywhere.

Things you need for your writing sessions:

Things that hamper your writing:

Words that describe you:

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t:

Something you’re really good at: being goofy. I have been described as a muppet more than once. And just last week, a fifth-grade friend of my kids complimented my “car energy” when I was dancing to a song. I know it sounds like he was being sarcastic, but as a former high school English teacher, I promise I know when something is a real compliment!

Something you’re really bad at: learning other languages. I still try, but I am NOT a natural, and I really envy people that have a great ear for language and accents.

Last best thing you ate: soup dumplings! There is a highway in Atlanta called Buford Highway that has incredible Asian food, and I had a date night with my husband at North China Eatery and we had fantastic soup dumplings.

Last thing you regret eating: To be honest, I think I ate one soup dumpling too many. They were just so good! But I might have pushed it a little far.

Things you’d walk a mile for: Pizza. Or a great craft store. Or a great bookstore. But hopefully a corner of some town that would have all three next to each other.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Mayonnaise. I can’t stand it. I made it in second grade in some sort of science lesson? All I took from that lesson was to never eat mayo. Believe me, I know how strange that sounds.

Things you always put in your books: FOOD! Food is one of my great joys in life, and I think food also does a great job of evocating a certain place. Any time I go somewhere, there is food I want to eat associated with that place. Like lobster when I am seaside in the northeast, peaches when I am in North or South Carolina, shrimp when I am down in Southern Georgia, etc.

Things you never put in your books: Really intense violence, what I call “girl in a box underground” stuff. The sort of violence you would see in an episode of CRIMINAL MINDS. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of authors do it incredibly well and it can be done masterfully to serve an excellent plot. But it is not for me to write.

Favorite places you’ve been: I love traveling—and I have been lucky enough to go on some wonderful trips over my life so far. Last year, I went to the Isle of Mull in Scotland and as soon as I left, I was dreaming about how to get back. I also went to Norway last year and jumped in a fjord on the winter solstice, and I desperately want to do that again some day.

Places you never want to go to again: Las Vegas- I went once with friends and had a great time, but I don’t like heat or gambling or late nights, so once was enough for me!

Favorite things to do: Read, write, sew, knit, nap, watch British Murder Mysteries on tv, sit by the fire, walk my dogs, go to concerts, and most importantly laugh and just spend time with my kids and husband.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Ride a bike. I am really afraid of bikes. I have done it a handful of times, but I was terrified every time!

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: climbed to the basecamp of Everest.

Something you chickened out from doing: ever properly learned how to dive. I just resort to an inelegant cannonball.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: I made a huge quilt for my best friend that works as an I SPY but also has the names of everyone in her family hidden in the quilt. It is MASSIVE and bright and was very, very complicated to make.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: Everything? There is always space between my ideal plan and the actual outcome, but then I see people enjoy the imperfect and I remember to relax and enjoy it!

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: In my first book, a terrible first date ends with a fist bump that sort of explodes into jazz hands when the main character thinks the guy is going in for a kiss. Completely happened to me. Mortifying!

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: Divorce. My main character is pulling her life back together after a tough divorce. Thankfully, I am married to an amazing guy and only imagine that outcome rather than living through it.

Your favorite movie as a child: I loved THE PRINCESS BRIDE! I still do and I am lucky enough that one of my kids also loves it. I know the movie SO well—years and years ago I was at a showing on my college campus. The sound went out toward the end (to the pain) and I started doing the lines for the friend I went with to the show. People yelled for me to say them louder, and I ended up reciting the rest of the movie for the whole crowd!

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): I also loved THE LABYRINTH, but I will admit that it gave me nightmares the first time I watched it as a kid. A babysitter showed it to me when I was about six, which might have been a bit early? But it is a classic that I love now, so I can’t complain too much!

About Maggie:

Maggie Bailey, an enthusiastic sewist and maker, is a graduate of Stanford, Oxford, Brown, and Sewanee Universities. Her Measure Twice Sewing Mystery Series includes QUILTY AS CHARGED and SEAMS DEADLY, both from Crooked Lane Books. Maggie Bailey has previously published two volumes of poetry. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, two young children, her dogs, and a growing fabric stash she can’t help but add to on a regular basis.

 Let’s Be Social:

Website: https://www.measuretwicemysteryseries.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/measuretwicemysteries/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maggsblake