SWRT 299 | Authors Talk Women’s Fiction

June 6, 2024

This week at the Story Works Round Table, five authors sit down to talk women’s fiction. Alida Winternheimer is joined by D. Liebhart, Heidi McIntyre, Amanda Speights, and Jen Telger to discuss their genre and their stories. There is a lot more to women’s fiction than strong female characters or women authors. The diversity of the genre makes it distinct from other genres, keeping the writer’s hands unbound by conventions or reader expectations. Though writing stories that range from historical to magical realism to contemporary and medical, they have a lot in common…especially a deep commitment to realism and their characters’ emotional journeys.

Get Alida’s musings on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils and stay up to date on book launches, special offers, and more at booksandpencils.substack.com

Are you ready to get more out of your writing, grow your writing skills, and get that book written? Do you want community, feedback, and the mentoring of an expert story craft coach? Check out group coaching for novelists and memoirists. A new session is beginning soon. Get details & schedule your free discovery call today at www.wordessential.com/fictioncoaching

Are you ready to work with a developmental editor or writing coach? Alida works with fiction and nonfiction writers on all kinds of writing projects. Email or schedule a discovery call. www.wordessential.com.

VIDEO

AUDIO

D. Liebhart

D. Liebhart is a nurse and writer. She writes (and sometimes lives) stories about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, where they learn that life is rarely predictable and answers to life’s most complex questions are almost never black and white.

House on Fire, her first novel, won the 2023 Page Turner Award for both fiction and debut. It was long-listed for the 2022 Petrichor Prize and received an honorable mention from Writer’s Digest. Her essay Thalassophobia (a true account of a very out-of-the-ordinary honeymoon) won the 2021 Linda Julian Creative Nonfiction Prize from Emrys Journal and is available on her website.

Visit D.

Heidi McIntyre

Always an avid reader, Heidi was inspired to write by her college professor who convinced her to switch majors to English. From then on, she harbored a secret wish to write a novel one day. Heidi spent most of her marketing career as a consultant specializing in fresh produce where she worked with a variety of growers, commodity boards, and associations. She currently enjoys working with authors as a Book Marketing Coach.

Sea Magic is her debut novel and the first of the Hidden Gems series, which was also a finalist in the 2022 Page Turner Awards. Originally from New Jersey, Heidi lives in Oviedo, Florida with her husband, Tim, and their dogs Pumpkin and Lizzie. She loves coffee, chocolate, yoga and visiting historical places.

Visit Heidi

Amanda Speights

Amanda has combined her love of daydreaming and reading to write romantic historical women’s fiction with a touch of spice. Based in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, she enjoys homeschooling her young daughter and reading works of historical fiction featuring strong female characters.

Amanda offers a newsletter to keep fans updated on her latest releases and books. Followers can also connect with her on Instagram or TikTok @amandajspeights.

Visit Amanda

Jen Telger

Jen Telger was born and raised among the cozy bluffs of the Mississippi River valley in southeastern Minnesota. Her writing includes What Heals the Heart, Sticks and Stones, short stories, screenplays, humorous childrearing accounts, and stories following the adventures of her family’s two Miniature Schnauzers. Regardless of which tale you pick up, you are sure to be entertained by engaging, relatable characters who immediately pull you in and make you feel like one of the gang. Casual, witty humor and a storytelling rhythm that simultaneously yanks on your heartstrings, makes you laugh out loud, and chucks you to the curb in tears will leave you wanting more. Jen is available for Book Clubs, podcasts, interviews, and event talks. You can find her on Facebook at Jen Telger Books, Instagram @JenTelger_Writer.

Visit Jen

Alida Winternheimer

A native Minnesotan, Alida grew up with wholesome Midwestern values and a daily dose of “Minnesota Nice,” but always sensed there was more going on behind people’s closed doors. Her stories explore the core of our humanity with richly emotional, darkly themed tales about strong women, their families, and the secrets that haunt them.

Winner of the Page Turner Award, Confluence Prize, three times nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and a notable in Best American Essays, Alida is a developmental editor and story craft coach with a podcast for writers and readers curious about writers, called the Story Works Round Table.

Visit Alida

SHOW NOTES

What we talked about:

Introductions! (0:39)

Celebrating Women’s Fiction Day – what is Women’s Fiction? (3:15)

The issues of Women’s Fiction as a category. (5:38)

Is this just a marketing category? Do you identify as a Women’s Fiction author? Do you have to explain it to readers? (11:08)

What defines Women’s Fiction? (17:15)

Does being labeled as Women’s Fiction turn away readers (specifically men)? (28:45)

Female protagonists! (30:20)

Do our protagonists start with us? (40:04)

What about writing what we don’t know (especially male characters)? (52:40)

Working your way through the story. (63:21)

Is the emotional component essential to Women’s Fiction? And how do you craft them? (68:05)

Key Takeaways! (78:05)

LINKS

Have thoughts, questions, other examples? Join the conversation at the Story Works Writers Facebook group.

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About Your Hosts

Alida Winternheimer is an award-winning author with an MFA in writing from Hamline University. She pursues her fervor for all things story as a writing coach, developmental editor, and teacher. Two of her short stories were nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She is the author of The Story Works Guide to Writing Fiction Series. Alida lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her Golden Retriever, Seva the Wonder Dog. She camps, bikes, and kayaks in her free time. Unless it’s winter, in which case she drinks chai by the fire. You can find more at www.alidawinternheimer.com.

Kathryn Arnold writes fantasy and anything else that sparks her creativity from her home in Kingston, Washington. She currently earns her living as an insurance underwriting assistant, where she also creates marketing and web copy. When not writing, she plays (and teaches) piano and keyboard in a band (or two), and is working on starting a ministry team with her husband. You can find Kathryn at www.skyfirewords.com.

Robert Scanlon was born in Australia, but whisked off to England when only a baby. After many years complaining about the weather, he did the sensible thing and moved back to Australia. Despite a career in the music industry, followed by decades teaching public speaking, Robert is an introvert who adores reading. Robert grew up on a diet of sci-fi masters, eventually discovering he had read the library’s entire science fiction section. Now he has to write his own. Robert is the author of Constellation, book one of the Blood Empire space opera series. Find out more at www.RobertScanlon.com

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