Your Best Writing Life

What did you think of this episode?
Did you know AI can help protect you from scammers trying to steal your digital identity?  Today’s guest shares how AI can be a helpful second set of eyes.
Welcome to Your Best Writing Life, an extension of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference held in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of NC. I’m your host, Linda Goldfarb. Each week, I bring tips and strategies from writing and publishing industry experts to help you excel in your craft. In this episode, you’ll learn how to stay safer online against scams. 
My industry expert is one of our favorite guests, Edie Melson. 
Edie is an author, speaker, and photographer. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands and has been on the Writer’s Digest Top 101 Sites for Writers since 2017. Her passion is to help others define their God-sized calling and follow that path. She’s the executive director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference and a board member of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. Find her at EdieMelson.com 
5 Red Flags, 5 Simple AI Prompts, Edie’s 3-Question Rule 

LINKS
Stay Safer Online Handout
Edie Melson 
The Write Conversation 
Visit Your Best Writing Life website.
Join our Facebook group, Your Best Writing Life
Your host - Linda Goldfarb
#4 Podcast 2026 "Million Podcasts Top 30 Christian Writers Podcasts"
#1 Podcast 2024 "Top 50+ Must-Have Tools and Resources for Christian Writers.
Awarded the Spark Media 2023 Fan Favorites Best Solo Podcast
Awarded the Spark Media 2022 Most Binge-Worthy Podcast

What did you think of this episode?
I think we can all agree that our societies are struggling to thrive amidst today’s relational chaos. In Make Families Great Again, Dr. Mel Tavares offers insight into getting back on track. And she has great tips for writers.
Welcome to Your Best Writing Life, an extension of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference held in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of NC. I’m your host, Linda Goldfarb. Each week, I bring tips and strategies from writing and publishing industry experts to help you excel in your craft. It’s great to have you listening in. In this episode, we explore the story behind Make Families Great Again.
Dr. Mel Tavares is an award-winning author of books, articles, devotionals, and short stories. She is the Acquisitions and Managing Editor of Arise Daily, the award-winning devotional and ministry of the Advanced Writers & Speakers Association. Mel and her husband reside in Middletown, CT, and are parents to seven adult children and eleven grandchildren ranging in age from two to twenty.
We all want to know the story behind Make Families Great Again – give us some background
Make Families Great Again is a non-fiction book and first-place winner in the parenting/relationship category at the 2026 Christian Indie Awards. Equipping parents and grandparents by helping decode what is happening in today’s youth culture.
Today’s Christian families are facing crises in their homes. Parents are taking kids to church and raising them with Biblical values, yet ‘losing’ their kids to the world. I’ve worked with families for 40 years and did my doctoral work on the topic. Because of the crisis, I felt compelled to write a resource to help families. 
Writer’s tips. 
1.     Do adequate research for your topic and cite sources. I recommend using a variety of sources to build credibility. 
2.     Use Scrivener as a platform to organize, whether writing fiction or non-fiction. This is also where you can store research material, notes, graphics, etc. 
3.     Write down all of your random ideas and observations. Not every thought or idea is appropriate for a book, but might be a great option for a shorter piece such as a devotion, article, or short story.  
What Listeners Will Gain - As writers, we are also parents, grandparents, or extended family members. We all care about what is happening in youth culture and how it affects Christian families. This book offers the understanding, action steps, and resources you need to strengthen the family unit and protect youth from the societal woes they face.
You can find out more about Dr. Mel in our show notes.
SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: https://www.drmeltavares.com/
Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/mel.j.tavares/
 
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmeltavares/
Amazon Author: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B089T8FFR1?ingress=0&visitId=ca74d834-d79c-480c-9570-98bdeb7ec229&ccs_id=a2955576-3d4d-45a7-aa62-392f042ae2f7
Visit Your Best Writing Life website.
Join our Facebook group, Your Best Writing Life
Your host - Linda Goldfarb
#4 Podcast 2026 "Million Podcasts Top 30 Christian Writers Podcasts"
#1 Podcast 2024 "Top 50+ Must-Have Tools and Resources for Christian Writers.
Awarded the Spark Media 2023 Fan Favorites Best Solo Podcast
Awarded the Spark Media 2022 Most Binge-Worthy Podcast

What did you think of this episode?
Have you discovered hidden gifts during times of grieving? Raewyn Elsegood shares her story behind the story and offers tips to help you excel as a writer. Don’t go anywhere. Your Best Writing Life begins right now.
Welcome to Your Best Writing Life, an extension of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference held in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of NC. I’m your host, Linda Goldfarb. Each week, I bring tips and strategies from writing and publishing industry experts to help you excel in your craft. It’s great to have you listening in. During this episode, we experience The Story Behind 21 Gifts: A Sacred Dance Through Grief and Healing.
Today’s guest, Raewyn Elsegood, is an Australian chaplain, speaker, and award-winning author of 21 Gifts: A Sacred Dance Through Grief and Healing. Drawing on more than 30 years in ministry and a decade of chaplaincy, she equips people to walk compassionately beside those experiencing grief, helping them discover hope, faith, and purpose even in life's deepest losses.
Raewyn, welcome to Your Best Writing Life!
We all want to know the story behind 21 Gifts – give us some background
1. God wrote a different book than I intended.
I thought I was writing and journaling about surviving my daughter's death. Instead, God revealed that He was writing a book about discovering His gifts hidden within grief. The manuscript became as much my healing journey as it did a book for others. 
2. Writing became an act of discipleship.
Every chapter required me to sit with God before I could write for anyone else. Sometimes writing wasn't about producing words—it was about letting God reshape my heart first.
3. My greatest wound became my greatest ministry.
Losing Amy changed every part of my life and transformed my chaplaincy. The book helped me realize that God was inviting me to move from telling my story to equipping others to walk compassionately alongside grieving people.
4. Publication wasn't the finish line.
Publishing 21 Gifts opened unexpected doors to media, including teaching at conferences, YouTube, radio, podcasts, speaking engagements, disaster recovery chaplaincy, and a grief support program. The book is becoming the beginning of a much larger ministry.
5. God is still rewriting the author.
One conversation with a literary agent after a writers' conference completely changed the direction of my next book. Their feedback helped me realize God wasn't simply calling me to tell my story—He was calling me to teach from my experience as a chaplain. That shift is beautifully shaping my next book project, The Chaplain's Chair.
 
Writer’s tips. 
1. Write from transformation, not simply information.
Readers remember books that changed the author before they changed the audience.
2. Let God edit you before you edit your manuscript.
The deepest writing often comes after we've wrestled honestly with God.
Deep conversation----
3. Don't chase publication—pursue faithfulness.
Success isn't measured only by book sales. It's measured by obedience to the message God has entrusted to you.

What Listeners Will Gain - 
Although 21 Gifts was written for grieving people, writers will discover something equally valuable.
They'll learn that our deepest pain doesn't disqualify us from writing—it often becomes the place where God develops our most authentic voice.
Readers will gain practical, faith-filled tools for navigating grief, while writers will be encouraged to embrace vulnerability, write with courage, trust God's timing, and recognize that every story can become someone else's hope.
Ultimately, 21 Gifts reminds us that God rarely wastes our suffering; He often transforms it into the message we're uniquely called to share.
Link to Paula Mosher Wallace - Three Stages of Writing Your Pain
You can find out more about Raewyn Elsegood below.
SOCIAL LINKS:
Website - www.raewynelsegood.com
Book
21 Gifts: A Sacred Dance Through Grief and Healing
Amazon and major online bookstores
Instagram - @raewynelsegood
YouTube - @ChaplainsGriefInsights
Email - raewyn@raewynelsegood.com
Visit Your Best Writing Life website.
Join our Facebook group, Your Best Writing Life
Your host - Linda Goldfarb
#4 Podcast 2026 "Million Podcasts Top 30 Christian Writers Podcasts"
#1 Podcast 2024 "Top 50+ Must-Have Tools and Resources for Christian Writers.
Awarded the Spark Media 2023 Fan Favorites Best Solo Podcast
Awarded the Spark Media 2022 Most Binge-Worthy Podcast

What did you think of this episode?
Curious why self-publishing has become a popular choice for many authors? Christy Bass Adams shares her story behind The Master’s Classroom and writing tips to help you in your craft. 
Welcome to Your Best Writing Life, an extension of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference held in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of NC. I’m your host, Linda Goldfarb. Each week, I bring tips and strategies from writing and publishing industry experts to help you excel in your craft. It’s great to have you listening in. During this episode, we continue a new addition to Your Best Writing Life with The Story Behind the Stories series.
Christy Bass Adams is a former elementary teacher turned college instructor, a boy mom of two, a wife of a country boy, and the author of five books. She is the Outreach and Connections Coordinator at Fellowship Baptist Church, and her family lives in the “booger woods” of North Florida.
We all want to know the story behind The Master’s Classroom 
Writer’s tips. 
Ask God what he wants you to write every time you sit down to type.
Be willing to pour your heart onto the page, even if it means only one person will ever benefit. One is enough.
Obey God’s leading and trust that there is a reason for everything he prompts you to write, even if it’s scary or deeply vulnerable.
 
What Listeners Will Gain – 
 Anyone in education, or who has ever worked in it, will be challenged to approach their classrooms in a completely different way. From how they view their students to how they plan their lessons, The Master’s Classroom will show them that Jesus can be part of every single piece. 
 
Those outside of education can be the wonderful friend who buys this book for someone in the school system. Both public and private school teachers can benefit from the deep challenges this devotional Bible study brings forth. 
 
And for writers in general, the way this book came about will inspire them to keep looking to Jesus, because we never know what assignment he has for us next.
Called to Christ Freebie 
LINKS
www.christybassadams.com 
https://www.facebook.com/christybassadams 
The Master’s Classroom on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0gEKW1iZ 
www.tiktok.com/@christybassadams 
www.instagram.com/christybassadams 
https://www.youtube.com/@christybassadams8
Visit Your Best Writing Life website.
Join our Facebook group, Your Best Writing Life
Your host - Linda Goldfarb
#4 Podcast 2026 "Million Podcasts Top 30 Christian Writers Podcasts"
#1 Podcast 2024 "Top 50+ Must-Have Tools and Resources for Christian Writers.
Awarded the Spark Media 2023 Fan Favorites Best Solo Podcast
Awarded the Spark Media 2022 Most Binge-Worthy Podcast

What did you think of this episode?
 Does your story contain elements of addiction and recovery? Heather Greer shares her story behind Hope Even After, along with writing tips to excel your growth, no matter your genre. 
Welcome to Your Best Writing Life, an extension of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference held in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of NC. I’m your host, Linda Goldfarb. Each week, I bring tips and strategies from writing and publishing industry experts to help you excel in your craft. It’s great to have you listening in. During this episode, we continue a new addition to Your Best Writing Life with The Story Behind the Stories series.
Heather Greer loves Jesus and great stories. She prays every book she writes helps readers embrace the greatest and truest story of all—the one of God’s love and desire for relationship with them. Whether lighthearted or serious, contemporary or historical, Heather’s books show people living faith, one story at a time.
We all want to know the story behind Hope Even After – romantic women’s fiction. The romantic portion is a second-chance romance. Overall, Hope Even After is the story of addiction, recovery, and faith from the perspective of both the addict and the one who loves them. 
Writer’s tips. 
Embrace the tough topics if those are the stories God is laying on your heart. BUT do your due diligence. Professional feedback from those working in your subject matter, research on the topic, and personal experience (yours and others) should all weave together to show the truth of a situation, not a stereotype of the subject.
You may write from a place of hurt at first, but make sure the final draft is written from a place of healing. 
Stick close to God throughout the process. It’s His truth and His heart that readers need to hear when they read the story.
 What Listeners Will Gain - Happily ever after doesn’t look the same for everyone, and that’s okay. But there is always hope. As writers, we sometimes need to show hope, not just happiness. 
Jesus is our salvation and our healer, but that doesn’t mean the struggles always go away when we come into relationship with Him. And it’s okay for writers to show that. 
Giveaway Download: https://www.heathergreer.com/downloads/ 
Poster
https://www.heathergreer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Psalm-121-Lighter-Version.pdf

Wallpaper
https://www.heathergreer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2.jpg
SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: https://www.heathergreer.com
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16924648.Heather_Greer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorHeatherGreer/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1heather.greer/ 
Newsletter Sign Up: https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/2026129/185007145808299122/share 
Link to purchase Hope Even After – https://scrivenings.link/hopevenafter
Visit Your Best Writing Life website.
Join our Facebook group, Your Best Writing Life
Your host - Linda Goldfarb
#4 Podcast 2026 "Million Podcasts Top 30 Christian Writers Podcasts"
#1 Podcast 2024 "Top 50+ Must-Have Tools and Resources for Christian Writers.
Awarded the Spark Media 2023 Fan Favorites Best Solo Podcast
Awarded the Spark Media 2022 Most Binge-Worthy Podcast