From critically acclaimed author Kevin Hincker (“Best Books of 2023,” KIRKUS REVIEWS) comes an irreverent, suspenseful, profoundly original novel about a group of science fiction writers hired to gameplan an alien invasion, led by Larry Palczewski—a struggling writer who can’t perceive time.

What starts for Larry as a desperately needed source of free lunches turns sinister and inconvenient when the alien snails the group is fictionalizing actually do begin invading—by taking over humanity’s novels. After that, it is up to Larry, unlikeliest of protagonists, to author a new ending before humankind is eaten by the ultimate bad story—his own.

Read on for an interview with Kevin Hincker, author of The Story Eaters of Yamm.

Q: Why do you think humor is important, especially in science fiction?

A: Science fiction as a genre is about reaching for—and across—boundaries, proposing definitions for the unknown, exploring truths in ways that other forms of fiction aren’t designed to do. But a lot of these truths are dark. A lot of them, when considered honestly, are frightening or upsetting. And it’s EXACTLY here, in the midst of confronting fear and paradox, that laughter serves its highest purpose. It brings us back to our bodies, our present, where no, there are not giant parasitic mind eating snails invading your planet with spore bombs – so just relax and have a giggle.

Q: How did you react to learning that your character Larry may be neuro-divergent?

A: My earliest beta readers returned with feedback that they appreciated the fact that Larry was “clearly nuero-divergent” but that I’d never explicitly called it out in the book as such, to which I replied, “Umm… huh?” Larry comes straight out of my subconscious and he seems—though extreme in some of his strategies—perfectly normal to me. Like if I was ever faced with giant, parasitic, mind eating snails while at the same time discovering my mother might be a terrorist, and gathering clues about who my mysterious father really was, I would react in exactly the same way Larry does. He’s just a normal person dealing with extreme circumstances, isn’t he, I asked them? At which point these readers made an “I don’t know, I’m just saying…” face, then smiled and patted me on the arm fondly. Like I was missing some important point. That’s how I reacted.

Q: Much of your book mirrors the tropes and influences of other science fiction novels. Why did you choose them?

A: Well, since I have a policy of never remembering things (which is actually a strategy to hide the fact that I would never remember anything even if I tried (a strategy I just defeated by revealing my bad memory)) I can’t say for certain—but I think the science fiction writers I picked to include were authors of some of the earliest books I ever became obsessed with and dreamed in the language of for weeks after I finished reading. As for the tropes I picked, “Umm … huh?” Those are not tropes. Those are realities about the world that I have learned through reading and dreaming in the language of thousands of science fiction stories.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from your book?

A: I want readers to have a wildly good time reading the story, but I also hope it inspires readers to think about stories in a more general sense, and to ask this question: how many of the things in your life that you think are “real” or “true” are really just stories you are telling yourself? I think the answer is practically 100% of the things in your life. Though maybe that is because I am an author, and have a vested interest. All I know is, humans understand the world, categorize the world, give meaning to the world- and so give purpose to our own lives – with stories. They can trap us, or they can fulfill us. It is our choice.

Q: What are you working on next?

A: I was a playwright before anything else. I’m going back to my roots at the end of the year with a musical.

Kevin Hincker is a critically acclaimed author (“Best Books of 2023”, KIRKUS REVIEWS), award-winning playwright and (almost accidentally) holds a humanities degree. Kevin began writing his first novel when he was fourteen, 7000 feet up in the glacial coniferous beauty of the Sierras where he was raised. Very romantically, he met his wife while living in Westfalia. Now residing in Los Angeles, Kevin surrounds himself the beauty and inspiration in his wife, son and their bird.

He loves dogs (even though they now have a bird), fiction readers and fiction books with permanent flaws and stakes that are built, not bought. Learn more about Kevin on his website.

The post An Interview with Kevin Hincker, Author of The Story Eaters of Yamm appeared first on Digital Pubbing.

For fans of novels featuring strong, smart female protagonists, the first in a series about the novice female American spies in North Africa and the Mediterranean that changed the tide of World War II.

In 1942, during the height of World War II, Wild Bill Donovan, the director of the United States’ first spy agency, believes women are the key to winning the intelligence battle with the Nazis. To that end, he partners fledgling agent Kit Thomas with British MI6 agent Mark Williams and sends them to one of the most perilous places in the world—Massawa, Eritrea—to investigate the theft of millions of military payroll dollars.

In Massawa, Kit and Mark discover a conspiracy by Nazi sympathizers, known as the Vichy, to shut down the only Allied naval base on the Red Sea—which is an essential resource in stopping the Nazi invasion of North Africa. As they work to reveal the conspirators, Kit and Mark engage in a dangerous and tempestuous dance of trust versus mistrust.

Read on for an interview with Pam Webber, author of Massawa.

Q: How did you learn about Massawa and the role it played in the Allies winning WWII?

A: After my last book, “Life Dust,” was published, I knew I wanted to start a new series. I talked with my brother, an incredible historian with a special interest in the little-known stories of World War II. He told me about the Miracle at Massawa and the facts leading up to it.

Q: Why was Bill Donovan interested in working with women agents?

A: Bill Donovan was a very intelligent man. He was also well-connected in the world of European espionage. He paid attention to what worked and what didn’t as he designed America’s Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which was the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency. Donovan was also a notorious womanizer, which I am sure played a role in his belief that women were the best emetics of secrets.

Q: How were early OSS agents prepared for their role in the war?

A: In the year before the OSS was formed, President Roosevelt appointed Bill Donovan as Coordinator of Information and ordered him to initiate America’s espionage activities. From that position, Donovan recruited male and female spies. Initially, MI6, Britain’s spy agency, helped prepare American agents and guided the building and development of our training facilities, many of which were located in our national parks. Places like Camp X,  RTU-1 Farm, Catoctin, and Prince William became primary training sites.

Q: What role did M16 play in training American agents?

A: Most of Bill Donovan’s mentors in the development of the OSS and training of American agents worked for or with MI6:

• Admiral John Godfrey, Director of Intelligence for the Royal Navy,
• Sir Steward Menzies, head of MI6,
• Ian Fleming (yes, that Ian Fleming), a British Naval commander, and
• William Stephenson, aka Intrepid, who was one of Britain’s most famous spies.

Q: How did you create your protagonist, Kit?

A: Kit is a composite of America’s women spies in WWII, with all of their patriotism, courage, and naivety. However, I must admit she has a little of my alter ego sprinkled in.

Q: What do you hope readers will take away from “Massawa”?

A: 

1. A powerful story
2. Characters they consider lifelong friends
3. Eager anticipation for the sequel

Q: What can readers expect from the rest of the series? What’s next for you?

A: I’ve already started the sequel to “Massawa.” Based on true events, it promises to be as thrilling as Massawa, if not more.

Purchase your copy of Massawa here.

Pam Webber is a second career, bestselling author of historical fiction. Her novels, “The Wiregrass,” “Moon Water,” and “Life Dust” have garnered multiple regional and national awards from organizations such as the Historical Novel Society, the Southern Literary Review, and the Military Writers Society of America.

In her personal life, Pam is an internal medicine nurse practitioner, an avid traveler, and nature lover. She and the love of her life, Jeff, live and work in Northern  Virginia.  Learn more about Pam at: www.pamwebber.com.

The post An Interview with Pam Webber, Author of Massawa appeared first on Digital Pubbing.

When I started writing The Invisible Canvas, I realized that life doesn’t unfold in a straight line. Memory behaves similarly, especially with emotionally complex experiences. What surfaces rarely follows any clear or predictable order.

That insight guided how I approached the structure of the novel. I needed a way to capture how memory truly works—emerging in fragments, often prompted by the present rather than revealed in a clear sequence of events.

In the story, the main character is forced to confront her past after a series of difficult moments in her life begin to trigger an onslaught of painful memories. Following an emotional breakdown, she enters a mental health facility.

The therapy setting offered a natural framework for building the narrative. It created a contained space where the past and present could exist in conversation with one another. Within that structure, I could weave in flashbacks—not as isolated interruptions, but as extensions of the character’s current experience.

Rather than presenting the past as a fixed backstory, these flashbacks arise from specific interactions, emotions, or tensions within the therapy sessions. A question, a pause, or a moment of discomfort can open the door to a memory. Sometimes only part of an experience is revealed; other times, the narrative returns to the same moment from a different angle. This allows the past to feel dynamic rather than static—shifting in meaning as the character’s understanding grows.

Without that structure, it would have been tempting to explain the character’s past more directly. The therapy framework helped me resist that urge. It allowed information to come into view gradually, trusting the reader to piece together meaning instead of providing a complete picture all at once.

At the same time, this structure came with its own challenges. It would have been easy for the therapy sessions to become overly explanatory, turning into summaries rather than scenes that felt real. I had to be intentional about keeping each moment grounded in the present—shaped by the character’s interactions, tension, and what remained unspoken, rather than relying entirely on exposition.

This approach also demanded restraint. Not everything needed to be articulated. The character’s silence or struggles to express herself can matter as much as what is said. These gaps invite the reader to engage more actively with the story.

Structuring the novel this way kept me closer to how people actually process difficult experiences. Understanding grows through repetition, reflection, and moments that later take on meaning.

Working within this structure also changed how I thought about pacing. Because the past is revealed bit by bit, each return to it needs to feel purposeful. A single memory can carry different meanings depending on when it appears and what the character is ready to understand at that point. This required careful placement—not just of what was revealed but when. Too much, too soon, and the narrative would lose tension; too little, and the emotional arc would feel incomplete.

Ultimately, the therapy-based structure became more than a narrative device. It reflected the reality that healing, memory, and self-understanding rarely follow a defined path. They unfold over time—disjointedly, sometimes quietly, and in ways we often recognize only in retrospect.

Writing the novel this way allowed the story to move more as memory does—returning, revising, and revealing itself in ways that feel less constructed and more lived.

Kalyani Adusumilli is an attorney, author, and poet. The Invisible Canvas is her debut novel. She is also the creator of The Happy Wildflower series, collections of reflective essays and poetry that celebrate authenticity and the quiet strength of living with intention.

Born in Southern India and later moving to the United States, Kalyani first pursued a career as an epidemiologist before earning her law degree and practicing as an attorney. Yet her lifelong passion for storytelling eventually led her to write full-time. Her work often explores identity, generational complexity, and the resilience of women navigating silence and stereotypes.

Through her writing, Kalyani seeks to foster empathy, break cultural barriers, and offer readers a sense of connection and hope. When she isn’t writing, she can be found lost in a book, traveling the world, or enjoying time with her husband and two children.

You can connect with Kalyani Adusumilli on her website or Instagram. Purchase your copy of The Invisible Canvas here.

The post Guest Post: Writing Fiction Through Memory and Narrative Layers by Kalyani Adusumilli, author of The Invisible Canvas appeared first on Digital Pubbing.

Set against the backdrop of vibrant 1980s LA, this wild and intimate debut memoir follows a young woman’s quest for marriage, meaning, and lasting happiness.

At thirty-two, Laurie outgrows her sleepy beach town and moves to the epicenter of the anything-goes eighties: Los Angeles. There, she befriends a teenage wizard and a Russian defector. She enrolls in a Hogwarts-style psychic college. She gets a job at a hilltop Hindu convent, where she considers taking her monastic vows. She dates an Indian guru and shares heart-to-heart conversations with a Catholic priest.

But it is only when her home nearly burns to the ground that Laurie finds what she is looking for: her true calling. Reading passages from a cache of 300 old diaries that were spared by the flames, Laurie locates clues planted in her past and gradually comes to a realization: She must let go of the conventional, “white-picket fence” marital vow she has sought for decades, and instead must fashion an entirely different kind of vow for herself.

With this knowledge in hand, Laurie sets about fulfilling her sacred contract. In turn, she experiences for the first time an intense rightness—a sense that this is how her life is meant to be.

Read on for an interview with Laurie Collister, author of A Different Kind of Vow.

Q: What inspired you to journal?

A: At the age of eighteen, I moved to England to attend the University of London. For the first time, I was separated from all that I knew—family, friends, hometown, and country. At the same time, a bustling new city bombarded me with experiences and sensorial details. At a Marks & Spencer, the 100+-year-old British retailer, I bought a small, lined notebook. While waiting for the tube, between classes, and before I fell asleep at night, I scribbled down my observations, thoughts and feelings. I viewed my four-by-six-inch, makeshift diary as a good friend, always willing to listen. My impulse purchase proved just what I needed as a young lady, a little lost and lonely, hungry for communication, as I settled into a foreign land.

Q: How did you keep yourself going for 50 years? That’s quite a commitment.

A: That question is sort of like asking, “How could you have brushed your teeth every day for half a century?” Journaling became a daily habit. If I skipped it, I felt the effects. I became more scattered, less confident, more anxious. Indeed, research shows that confession is deeply healing. James Pennebaker, Ph.D., a former psychology professor at University of Texas, Austin, found that journal keepers who disclose deeply personal emotional or traumatic secrets through writing reduce stress and improve immune system function. (Expressive Writing: Words That Heal, James W. Pennebaker, Ph.D. and John F. Evans, Idyll Arbor, 2014.) Journaling about painful experiences, be they romantic breakup or run-in with a boss, helped me diminish my heartache. My practice has even reduced the symptoms of recurring migraines, like vertigo and nausea! So, journaling has become no different than brushing my teeth; it is an integral element of my daily self-care regime.

Recently, I was able to write and publish two memoirs based on raw material culled from three hundred volumes of past diaries. This journal excavation allowed me to see two periods of my life with fresh eyes—my romantic and spiritual quests in the eighties and nineties, as well as my fourteen years working on LA’s skid row, from 2008 to 2022. The day-to-day details captured in my entries—quotes, scenes, character studies, dilemmas, etc.—lent an authenticity to my writing that I could never have achieved if I’d relied solely on my memory. Recognizing my diaries as a creative resource motivates me to keep on journaling.

Q: Any advice for readers who are considering journaling?

A: First, choose a convenient venue to make daily entries, be it a file on your laptop or a favorite journal. I prefer handwriting in a lined, hardbound diary, manufactured by Leuchtturm1917, a 109-year-old, family-owned German stationer. And be sure to store your cache of diaries in a safe place. During the recent Palisades and Altadena fires in LA, I packed my boxes of diaries in the trunk of my car, prepared to flee the flames if need be.

Rereading your journals every five or ten volumes can prove illuminating. “Aha” moments, lessons learned, and common themes can serve as bread crumbs leading you out of any darkness you face. Your past entries may feel like transcripts of mini-therapy sessions that still inform your life months or years later.

Don’t worry about the length of your diary entries. As you pen your entries, you may find that a certain daily page count hits a “sweet spot.” For me, that is six pages. For you, it may be two or ten pages.

Books about journaling provide prompts if you’d like more structure, such as “What are you most proud of accomplishing today?” or “What thought crossed your mind today that made you pause a moment and wish to explore it more?”

But I prefer the stream-of-consciousness approach Julia Cameron speaks of in her seminal book The Artist’s Way (Tarcher, 2016). Cameron advocates “morning pages”—three pages written stream of-consciousness to clear mental clutter, alleviate anxiety and silence the inner critic. I just keep going beyond the three pages for as long as I want, preferring to leave my diary as an open plain where I can trot back and forth as I wish, with no harness or reins to impede me.

Q: How did your professional experience as a counselor inform the theme of A Different Kind of Vow?

A: In my seventeen years as a career counselor, at employers ranging from UCLA to an LA skid row mission, I helped clients identify their ideal profession. But after counseling thousands, I realized the issue to address needed to be far broader: “Why was I born? And, in turn, how should I use my time on earth to fulfill that destiny?” The answer could inform, not just what an individual chose to do professionally, but also what avocations they pursued, whom they befriended, what classes they took, etc. That blueprint, what I term a “vow” in my memoir, lends coherence, direction, meaning, and goals – all particularly crucial as the world appears to be spinning out of control.

Q: How is your memoir relevant to the current societal upheaval in America?

A: As various systems—political, economic, environmental, healthcare—fall apart, I think a lot of people feel impotent, unable to put a stop to the disintegration.  Similarly, the protagonist in my memoir (i.e, me) feels impotent to achieve what society tells her will make her happy—the white-picket-fence marital vow. The answer to both types of impotence is the same: Learn the reason you are here. Choose the difference you want to make in the world. Let that vow grant you potency.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from your book?

A: If you write down what you experience each day, you will discover all the elements of good writing: specificity of detail, conflict, colorful scenes, authentic dialogue, mini and major arcs of change, idiosyncratic characters… well, you get the idea. Your journals will serve on a silver platter all the raw material you need to write your memoir, novel, essay, etc.

Journaling can provide the revelations of therapy, but without the price tag, commute and narrow time slot. Not only that, but diary entries can also provide an immediate written transcript of your “session”—explorations of your thoughts and feelings. (Not that I’m suggesting journaling should replace therapy, only that it can serve as a valuable adjunct!)

The path to your calling can be a long and circuitous one. But everyone does have a calling—a reason they were born. The trick is to find it and to marshal the courage to follow it.

As the world grows more chaotic and uncertain, people need to find their own ballast, sacred contract, organizing principle, call it what you will, to lend structure and direction to their life.

If you look hard enough, your life is a lot of things: funny, dramatic, harrowing, instructive, intriguing, odd, and revealing—all qualities that should keep you fascinated with your life and compelled to write about it!

Purchase your copy of A Different Kind of Vow here.

Laurie Collister is a counselor, journalist, and debut memoirist.  After graduating from Kenyon College, as a member of one of the first coed classes in 150 years, she moved to California.  Landing in LA during the anything-goes eighties, she launched a spiritual quest in a myriad of venues – from a hilltop Hindu convent to a Hogwarts-style psychic college.  Her professional trajectory proved equally peripatetic – from litigation paralegal and market analyst to investigative journalist and counselor.

In this checkerboard of professions, she learned how to harvest the hidden – key to penning her revealing memoirs.  Mining secrets buried in 300+ diaries, she has written A Different Kind of Vow: Rewriting My Happily Ever After, as well as The Last Home on the Left, about her fourteen years as a counselor at a century-old mission on LA’s skid row.  She lives with her extended family and dog Bella on a cul de sac in Los Angeles. Find more on Laurie’s website: http://www.lauriecollister.com.

The post An Interview with Laurie Collister, Author of A Different Kind of Vow appeared first on Digital Pubbing.

Maria Abrams has always needed answers. A college professor with a gift for logic, she believes that if you dig long enough, the truth will rise to the surface. But when she turns her relentless curiosity toward her own family, she unearths more than she bargained for: a web of secrets her mother carried silently to the grave.

A precious gift from her favorite niece reveals a hidden relationship and its lasting consequences, Maria’s pursuit of clarity collides with the resistance of relatives who would rather leave the past buried. Her journey takes her from small-town New York to séances with reluctant mediums, forcing her to confront uncomfortable truths about loyalty, betrayal, and the fragile bonds that hold families together.

Taken to the Grave is a layered family mystery about identity, silence, and the cost of uncovering what was meant to remain hidden. At once intimate and suspenseful, it asks the ultimate question: when does the truth set us free, and when does it break us apart?

Read on for an interview with Robert Hoffman, author of Taken to the Grave.

S.R.: Your wife had an unexpected experience with DNA testing. How did the results of her test inspire Taken to the Grave?

R.H.: As with the story in the book, my wife took a DNA test which she assumed would simply be a confirmation of the genetic and ethnic background that she had been told she had always possessed, but it seemed as if only her mother’s DNA had been passed on. She thought it was because a father’s DNA doesn’t get passed down to the daughter and basically forgot about the whole thing. Years later, after having a discussion with one of her cousins, she did further research, and finally figured out that the story she had been told by her family was a complete lie. It was this and her subsequent journey to discover her true roots that inspired Taken to the Grave.

S.R.: What sort of research did you do for your novel?

R.H.: Some of the story telling here is based on my experiences with my wife and her family and is basically my take on these events and stories. Other information came from my wife’s deep dive into DNA testing and what the results mean. The story began though as much as a history book about the city of Jamestown, New York. I went on-line and researched the city, to learn about its history, ethnic make-up and the highs and lows it has experienced over the past 100 plus years. My wife’s family was to serve as a microcosm for the experiences of the inhabitants of that city, but the story was spinning out in too many directions, so I re-wrote it so it would really only focus on my wife’s journey. I changed the name of Jamestown to the fictional “Lindsborg,” which allowed me to take more of a dramatic license.

S.R.: Any tips for writers that have to do a lot of research for their stories?

R.H.: Well, for one, beware of AI or Chat GPT since they are often based on algorithms, and may not deliver on the information you are seeking. I would say that the internet can be a wonderful tool, but if you have a chance to go to a library in the area you are researching, it can be most beneficial. We visited the James Prendergast Library in Jamestown, New York and were able to peruse old high school yearbooks, as well as check out addresses of businesses to get a feel for the neighborhoods of the city as well as see the difference in how the Swedish-Americans were represented versus how the Italian-Americans were in the first half of the 20th century. It helped me understand better the divide in the city which also played out in my wife’s family.

S.R.: What do you hope readers take away from Taken to the Grave?

R.H.: Hopefully they will think about the idea that sometimes we never know people anywhere near as well as we think. We think we know our parents, our spouses, our children, and therefore we understand their motivations. However, we never know what somebody is going to do or how they are going to react, particularly if they are under stress. I also hope they think about what they would have done in Maria’s shoes, the protagonist in the story, or what Mark, her husband might have done, or even her twin brother Michael.

S.R.: What are you working on next?

R.H.: My next work is going to be a collection of what I think will be three short stories when I’m done. They are all going to be works of fiction and hopefully humorous. One story deals with a man who may or may not be having a nervous breakdown who sees the Greek philosopher Socrates and thinks he is real and he is slowly driven mad by his presence in his life. One deals with a man in the Soviet Union who serves as Stalin’s double and this produces an unlikely friendship, and as for the third, I have a couple of ideas that I’m considering. I’m hoping to be done with promoting Taken to the Grave by the end of April or early May, and then I can go back to writing full time.

Purchase your copy of Taken to the Grave here.

Rob Hoffman recently retired from teaching after 34 years. He was a blogger for six years for the Albany Times Union, and has blogged for numerous on-line publications such as Albany.com, Fark.com, Crooksandliars.com, and Kneesandfists.com. In 2021 he published his first novel, Blind Spot. He has also written a television pilot with his writing partner which was just named an “Official Selection” at the Las Vegas International Film and Screenwriting Festival.

The post An Interview with Robert Hoffman, Author of Taken to the Grave appeared first on Digital Pubbing.

When it comes to growing your presence online, a lot of the tips and tricks apply to all the platforms. For this post though, we’re focusing on Twitter. However, pretty much all the tips apply to any other platform.

Jon Brosio shared some tips on how to grow your followers:

• Find accounts related to your niche
• Comment on their posts, while adding value
• Turn your comments into posts
• Analyze to figure out what’s working

Writing a hook is important for any type of content. Neal O’Grady shared the top hooks of 28 creators on Twitter (notice he also is using a good tactic to get more engagement on LinkedIn)

And speaking of getting people to comment in exchange for sending them something valuable, there are tools that can automate DMs so you can easily send people content.

For Twitter/X specifically, Alex Finn, Behind the Craft, Greg Isenberg, Nikita Bier, and The Podcast Host all shared tips and insights on how to grow:

• Reply to tweets
• Create video content
• Optimize your profile for your goal (do you share entertaining content, do you teach, etc.)
• Use hooks, add value, and end with CTAs (call to actions)
• Ask questions or use polls
• Prime the algorithm
• Post insights on your subject matter

Looking for some motivation to post on social media? Try a 100 day challenge.

The post Growing Your Social Media appeared first on Digital Pubbing.

Broadway veteran Karen Mason is bringing her show “Broadway Baby,” to San Francisco’s Feinstein’s at the Nikko on Friday, April 24, and Saturday, April 25. She is also make a special guest appearance at a benefit gala for the Amateur Music Network (AMN) on April 23 in San Francisco.

“Broadway Baby” takes audiences on a musical journey through Mason’s remarkable career spanning eight Broadway shows, with her portraying some of the most iconic roles in American musical theater. The show features songs from Mamma Mia!, in which Mason originated the role of Tanya in the Broadway company; Sunset Boulevard, where she served as standby for Norma Desmond, covering Glenn Close, Betty Buckley and Elaine Paige for more than 1,000 performances; and beloved standards including “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” “A Whole New World” and a mashup of the Beatles’ “Help!” and Sondheim’s “Being Alive” — reimagined in the kind of unexpected, emotionally resonant arrangements that have become Mason’s signature.

“Broadway Baby” features songs wrapped in personal reflection, with compelling stories behind the roles, the moments that shaped a career and the mentors and collaborators who made the music possible. Mason premiered the show in Puerto Vallarta in January 2025 and has since performed it to enthusiastic audiences across the country. The show is directed by Barry Kleinbort, with musical direction by Christopher Denny, who performs alongside Mason.

Read on for an interview with Karen Mason. You can purchase your tickets here.

Q: What can audiences expect from your show at Feinstein’s?

A: This is one of my very favorite shows! You can expect great music, funny stories, and some personal stories about my Broadway journey. And because it was just my birthday (yep! 75), we are going to do some of the songs from that show at Birdland. Including some fabulous musical surprises.

Q: The show weaves together songs from your eight Broadway shows alongside personal stories. How did you decide which moments from your career to include?

A: It is never easy to choose…but I do have my favorites! Including the title song from my first Broadway show…which no one has ever heard of! You will have to come see the show to find out the title…and the title song.

Q: How has your artistry evolved over your career? What do you bring to the stage now that you couldn’t have at 35?

A: Well, I bring 40 years more experience to the storytelling. And I bring better jewelry!

Q: What do you want San Francisco audiences to take away from your shows this April?

A: Hope and love and possibility. Too much to ask?

Q: Tell us about Unfinished Business, your new theatrical work about your relationship with music director Brian Lasser. Why is his story so important to tell?

A: Brian Lasser was that person in my life that shifted the entire direction of my life. If you are lucky enough to have someone like that in your life, you need to share it. Plus, Brian was a brilliant songwriter…so I get to sing his songs and keep his music alive.

Q: What are you working on next?

A: Well, I do love San Francisco a lot. I have many wonderful friends here. AND right after here, I fly to Palm Springs to do a show there at a new space for me, PS Underground! Also, I have a newfound love of writing! So, I want to pursue more of that. And singing and telling stories and just trying to make every second count!

Karen Mason has starred on Broadway, off-Broadway, television and recordings and has been hailed by critics as one of New York’s finest musical storytellers. On Broadway, she originated the role of Tanya in ABBA’s Mamma Mia! (earning a Drama Desk Award nomination); starred as the Queen of Hearts in Wonderland; and delivered critically acclaimed performances as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard in both Los Angeles and New York. Her other Broadway credits include Hairspray, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, Torch Song Trilogy and Play Me a Country Song. Off-Broadway, she won the Outer Critics Circle Award for And the World Goes ‘Round and earned a Drama Desk nomination for Carnival. On tour, she starred as Madame Giry in the North American premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies. On television, she appeared as Mrs. Marsh in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series Halston and on Law & Order: SVU.

The recipient of the 2019 Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) Lifetime Achievement Award, Mason is a 14-time MAC Award winner including six consecutive wins for Major Female Vocalist of the Year. She holds three Bistro Awards and the 2006 Nightlife Award for Major Female Vocalist. Mason has released nine acclaimed solo albums, most recently “And All That Jazz” (2024), a celebration of the songs of Kander & Ebb with liner notes by John Kander, voted Broadway World’s Best Commercial Recording of 2024. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center and shared the stage with luminaries including Luciano Pavarotti, Liza Minnelli, Rosemary Clooney and Michael Feinstein. For more information, visit karenmason.com.

The post An Interview with Karen Mason, Broadway Star and Award-Winning Cabaret Singer appeared first on Digital Pubbing.

Cover art is very important in attracting your audience, whether it’s podcast cover art, a book cover, or something else.

Here are some tips to make your cover art stand out (especially for podcasts).

• The Podcast Host recommends focusing on the name of the show, an image of the host, and having a publisher logo.
• Podcastle suggests looking at other forms of art that inspires you, and making sure to incorporate the right colors, your podcast identity, typography, and branding elements.
• Podnews emphasizes that your cover art looks good as a thumbnail.
• Buzzsprout recommends repurposing your art for social media, business cards, and more.

Resources for Creating Cover Art

Here are some tools and information on designers who create cover art:

• “Create Stunning Podcast Cover Images With Dynamo” on Castos
• Podcast Cover Art on Instagram
• Krita: Tools for artists
• Icon buddy: For finding icons to use
• Spreadsheet of designers
• Podcast player badge set on Podpage
• Podcast badges
• Example of brand guidelines that you can use as a starting point
• Pearl Thompson
• The New York Public Library Digital Collections
• Library of Congress

Originally published December 2024

The post Tips and Tools for Creating Cover Art that Stands Out appeared first on Digital Pubbing.

Creating digital products is a great way to help people, and also earn some money.

Nicolas Cole and Matt McGarry shared some great insights, which I’ll paraphrase here (click on the links for the full details).

Nicolas shared seven lessons after their “portfolio of writing businesses recently crossed $10,000,000 in lifetime sales”. They include:

• It takes a lot of work to make a great course or product
• You have to treat each product differently (online course versus ebook versus community)
• For online courses, consider your pricing tiers (under $350 is an “impulse buy”, students want more for $350 to $1,000 , and $3,000 to $10,000 should be hands-on and tie the goal and value with skills the person will acquire that will impact their career and earning potential
• If you’re not selling, it’s probably because you don’t have a “valuable” enough outcome (how are you solving a problem?), or you’re not hard selling to your email list
• Monthly memberships are hard, and as soon as someone joins and gets instant access to all your products, the value of your products goes to $0. Also monthly memberships mean recurring work

Matt shared 6 mistakes to avoid when creating a product. Here are a few of the takeaways:

• When creating a product, keep in mind: What’s the transformation or one achievable thing someone gets out of your product?
• Give them homework to achieve it
• Start small and focus on getting results
• Offer a guarantee

And if you want more tips, here are a few additional resources:

• start with a mini course (less daunting, and good as a proof of concept)
• turn your workshop into an email course
• tell people where they can find specific lessons in the course description (timestamps where you include specific details to show the value)
• write a one page sales page (great for getting email subscribers)
• sell one signature product
• eventually build more offers to scale (build it around your signature product)
• follow guidelines for designing learning
• gamify your course to keep people engaged

As for where to host your online course (if that’s the route you want to go), ThriveCart is one of many options for setting up and selling your course. Also check out “Guest Post: 5 Growth Hacks for Digital Product Sellers Using Online Course Platforms”

Originally published January 2026

The post Tips and Tricks for Creating Digital Products People Want appeared first on Digital Pubbing.

When it comes to podcasting and creating content, you don’t have to rely on sponsorships and memberships alone. A few other sources of revenue include:

Licensing

• “How Podcasting Takes on Licensing” on License Global
• “Wondery Kids and Wow in the World Expand Consumer Products Program” on License Global

Live shows

• “We’ll Do It Live: A DIY Guide to Podcast Live Shows” on Medium

Crowdfunding

• “Raising $100k To Start A Podcast” on The Podcast Setup

Grants

• “Grant Win Stories: How Dr. Janina Jeff Won $25,000 To Produce Season 3 of In Those Genes Podcast” on Grants for Creators

Affiliate revenue

• Kickbooster: Affiliate revenue on Shopify and crowdfunding sites

And last, but not least, side hustles

• Sproutinue
• “Earn for your online content” on Brave

Originally published April 2025

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