Podcast

Debra Bokur’s new Release: The Fire Thief

by

The first book in Debra Bokur’s mystery series, The Fire Thief, was released last month to rave reviews. The series is set in Hawaii and you can check it out on her website at https://www.debrabokur.com/.

Debra visited with me on The Writer’s Voice this week, and we talked about how her career as a celebrated journalist and editor of magazines and literary journals did NOT prepare her for writing and publishing fiction. You can listen to the podcast episode here. A short video excerpt will appear on my YouTube channel on Friday, here.

As most writers will agree, we tend to write long or short. When you’re a journalist, as Debra is, you tend to write to specific word counts required by the outlet publishing your work, such as 1,000 per piece. When you write fiction, you tend to write thousands and thousands of words … only to find you need to slash your word count by as much as 25%.

My experiences have been different from Debra’s. I found that writing a newspaper column and magazine articles actually helped me keep my fiction writing tight and in accordance with required word counts. Then again, I began writing fiction first and found it fairly easy to cut word count. Not every writer can toss away words with relish.

But when you begin writing short nonfiction it’s much more difficult to retrain yourself. Give Debra’s interview a listen and then share YOUR take on how writing one particular type of work did or did not prepare you for tackling another type.

Sarah Osborne, author of the Ditie Brown Mystery Series

by

I recently sat down with Sarah Osborne to discuss cozy mysteries, pantsing versus plotting, and her take on writing the first draft so many writers dread.

You can:

Visit Sarah online at: https://doctorosborne.com/

The most recent book in the series, Murder Most Southern, was released last month.

Legal Liability and the Pandemic

by

People are talking about lawsuits these days, even more fervently than usual. Why? Because the big question is: What will happen if a person claims he or she contracted COVID-19 at a restaurant, or store, or at work … and then sues the business owner? Will the business’ insurance policy pay the claim?

At the moment, it’s impossible to answer that question with any certainty because we have no precedent to follow. In other words, we’re in uncharted waters.

One of the first things to remember about insurance claims (with or without associated lawsuits being filed) is that liability insurance only pays if the insured was legally liable for causing bodily injury or property damage. And legal liability can only be determined by the courts.

It’s true that many insurance companies settle claims without lawsuits being filed or trials having to be undertaken. And that’s because the facts associated with the claim are so clear cut the insurance company is confident that if the matter went to trial, their policyholder would be deemed negligent and, therefore, legally liable.

Nothing about COVID-19 is especially clear right now. Therefore, how can we determine whether an individual or business exercised due diligence in preventing its spread?

My best guess is that if every business follows federal, state, and local guidelines about social distancing and preventing the spread of coronavirus, proving it was negligent is going to be very difficult. However, many believe some guidelines are not feasible, or reasonable. What then?

Only time will be able to answer these questions. However, I do talk more about this topic on Episode 8 of my podcast, so take a listen here.

Writer’s Voice Guest: Connie Johnson Hambley

by

Connie Johnson Hambley is the author of tense, twisting thrillers with a strong moral code. She visited with me earlier this week on The Writer’s Voice podcast to discuss writing and the community of writers.

Connie currently serves as the president of Sisters in Crime New England and two her award-winning books, which are part of The Jessica Trilogy, won the Best English Fiction literary award at the EQUUS International Film Festival in NYC.

You can listen to Connie’s appearance on my podcast here, or watch the YouTube video of that conversation here.

Podcast Guest: Barb Gavitt Talks Insurance Licensing in a Pandemic

by

Barb Gavitt is Vice President of Product Development and Education at A.D. Banker & Company, one of the leading insurance pre-licensing and continuing education providers in the country. She is also the 2020 president of the Securities & Insurance Licensing Authority.

Barb sat down with me recently to discuss the challenges many have been facing, and continue to face, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. Although the insurance and financial services industries have been deemed “essential” during shelter-in-place orders, the licensing test centers were not.

This means that individuals who were already hired to work in the industry could not obtain their licenses, despite having paid significant fees and devoted tremendous amounts of time studying. Similarly, those wanting to be hired or wanting to obtain an additional license or line of authority on an existing license find themselves equally frustrated and stymied.

On Episode 6 of my podcast, Taking the Mystery out of Insurance, Barb explains what’s been happening to date, how the states are opening up now, and what she anticipates in the future.

A video of our chat will appear on the podcast’s YouTube Channel later in the week.