As Maya Angelou said, "They may forget what you said and did, but they won’t forget how you made them feel." If you can move the reader with your writing, they will remember you and become a fan. And that’s true with whatever you’re writing

In today's show, I interview CJ Lyons about tips for writing emotion.

In the intro, I talk about authors feeling overwhelmed and wanting to give up and why returning to the reason why you write is so important.

Also, I mention Steven Pressfield's book, Turning Pro, and the quote: "You are entitled to your labor, not the fruits of your labor." The writing is its own reward. It heals us and nurtures us. Don't forget that in the crazy buzz of publishing and marketing.

Plus, if you write non-fiction and want to turn your book into a course, check out the FREE online Book to Course Summit, featuring some amazing sessions all about launching your book, and turning it into a successful course.

This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors.

CJ Lyons is the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of 30 novels, which she describes as Thrillers with Heart.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher or watch the video here, read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.

On the importance of treating a writing career like a business and 'taking the power back'.

How CJ coined her tagline to explain to editors and agents where her books fit.

The impact and catharsis of emotional writing for both author and reader.

The steps CJ goes through to build a world and connect with readers' emotions, including finding a universal theme.

Exploring how to write interesting non-verbal communication between characters in books.

Avoiding cliches to hold readers' interest and reward their investment of time in your book.

Creating resonance with weather, atmosphere and environments.

How book covers tie in to the readers' emotional experience and why they matter.

How to write scenes with emotional resonance even if the particular event you're depicting hasn't happened to you.

You can find CJ at www.CJLyons.net. Her latest book is Last Light.

Transcript of Interview with CJ Lyons
Joanna: Hi everyone. I'm Joanna Penn from the creativepenn.com and today I'm back with CJ Lyons. Hi CJ.

CJ: Hey, it's good to be back!

Joanna: Yeah, I know, it's been too long. Just a little introduction before we get into the interview. CJ is the award winning and New York Times bestselling author of 30 novels which she describes as thrillers with heart.

And today we're going to talk all about emotion and bringing heart to our stories.
First of all, it's been crazy, a couple of years since you've been on the podcast CJ and so I wonder if you could, for anyone who doesn't know you, tell us a bit more about you and also what you've been up to in the last couple of years?
CJ: I started out as a pediatric emergency medicine physician, and I was a doctor for 17 years before I took a leap of faith and left to become a full time career novelist.

And since that time, which we were just talking, my 10th year anniversary of leaving my day job to write full time is May 5th. So I'm really excited. It's just around the corner, will be 10 years.

And in that time as of May 3rd, I'll have published 30 books. This is number 30. I just got the hardcover early edition, 'Last Light.' You can get it now at a special preorder price just a little plug. And those 30 books include New York Times bestselling titles, USA Today best selling, several other best selling list including The Irish Times, so I guess I'm an international bestselling author.

I've published in, oh boy, I was just counting them the other day.