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Hey there word nerds!

Today I\\u2019m absolutely thrilled to introduce you to Jessica Strawser, the editorial director of Writer\\u2019s Digest magazine, and author of the stunning debut novel Almost Missed You. As editor of Writer\\u2019s Digest magazine, she has interviewed luminaries like David Sedaris and Alice Walker and her debut novel\\u2014released yesterday from St. Martin\\u2019s Press\\u2014has already garnered early accolades from a humbling list of bestselling authors like, Garth Stein, Adriana Trigiani, and Jacquelyn Mitchard. Her second novel is slated for release in Spring 2018.

In this episode Jessica and I discuss:

• Strategies for setting up your first chapter. Jessica and I unpack ways to craft your first chapter for maximum effect.
• Shifting POV between multiple main characters. Picking which elements of the characters\\u2019 stories you want to show, and which you want to keep hidden.
• Tapping your personal perspective, emotions, and experiences to help illustrate character experiences in your novel.
• Balancing work, writing, and family in such a way that sets you up to be successful, and helps you channel the strongest emotions possible to your characters. Knowing and being clear about your priorities to meet your goals.

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

About the Author

Jessica Strawser is the editorial director of Writer\\u2019s Digest magazine, North America\\u2019s leading publication for aspiring and working writers since 1920, where she counts her cover interviews with such luminaries as David Sedaris and Alice Walker among her career highlights. Her debut novel, Almost Missed You, is forthcoming in March 2017 from St. Martin\\u2019s Press and has garnered early accolades from a humbling list of bestsellers, including Chris Bohjalian, Garth Stein, Adriana Trigiani, Lisa Scottoline and Jacquelyn Mitchard, and a second novel is slated for a Spring 2018 release. Her diverse career in the publishing industry spans more than 15 years and includes stints in book editing, marketing and public relations, and freelance writing and editing (with work published in The New York Times and other fine publications). She blogs at WritersDigest.com and elsewhere, tweets @jessicastrawser and enjoys connecting at Facebook.com/jessicastrawserauthor. Learn more at jessicastrawser.com.

Almost Missed You

Violet and Finn were \\u201cmeant to be,\\u201d said everyone, always. They ended up together by the hands of fate aligning things just so. Three years into their marriage, they have a wonderful little boy, and as the three of them embark on their first vacation as a family, Violet can\\u2019t help thinking that she can\\u2019t believe her luck. Life is good.

So no one is more surprised than she when Finn leaves her at the beach\\u2014just packs up the hotel room and disappears. And takes their son with him. Violet is suddenly in her own worst nightmare, and faced with the knowledge that the man she\\u2019s shared her life with, she never really knew at all.

Caitlin and Finn have been best friends since way back when, but when Finn shows up on Caitlin\\u2019s doorstep with the son he\\u2019s wanted for kidnapping, demands that she hide them from the authorities, and threatens to reveal a secret that could destroy her own family if she doesn\\u2019t, Caitlin faces an impossible choice.

Told through alternating viewpoints of Violet, Finn and Caitlin, ALMOST MISSED YOU is a powerful story of a mother\\u2019s love, a husband\\u2019s betrayal, connections that maybe should have been missed, secrets that perhaps shouldn\\u2019t have been kept, and spaces between what\\u2019s meant to be and what might have been.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/140

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