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Indie Author LifeFractured Pieces and Faded Fragments: Mandi Kontos discusses her indie author life.Content disclaimer: This episode discusses topics related to mental health and serious physical illness. We understand these subjects can be sensitive and potentially triggering. Please take care of yourself and feel free to pause or skip ahead if needed.Mandi and I sat down to record our interview after a long work day doing our other non-writing jobs. Both days spent in offices wishing we could be at home working on our lists of manuscripts and ideas. Even after long days at the office, we logged into Zoom full of energy, and I was fascinated by what...2025-07-241h 14
Dear Rach & SophJuly 2025 new releasesIt’s a double episode today! That’s because we're late posting the July new releases. As it happens, Rachael recorded that one on her own, and as Sophie made the Emma Clancey episode (posted earlier) on her own, it has lined up nicely that we post both episodes today. So instead of one episode with us together, you have one from Soph and one from Rach. Lots of great new reading in this episode! Details of the books mentioned in this episode appear below.Title: What Did I Miss?Author...2025-07-2014 min
The Writing Apothecary PodcastThe Writing Process with ML JewellSend us a textWelcome back to The Writing Apothecary Podcast and another Writing Process Podcast. Today we have the lovely ML Jewell, I met Mel at Supanova in 2023 and she has become a permanent fixture in my life since. This was so insightful and exciting to interview her about her writing process and her books. Author Bio:M.L Jewell, or as most people call her, Mel, is a local Brisbane Indie Author. October 2023 marked the release of her first novel, Rise of the Witches. A dark a...2025-05-0132 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastThe Writing Process with Peta HawkerSend us a textWelcome back to The Writing Apothecary and to another return guest and my bestie Peta Hawker, she was one of the first guests on the podcast and I love any chance I get to chat to her. Her process has changed dramatically from when we first recorded this so it's fun to revist it all. Peta's Official BioMy daily grind involves content writing and knowledge management for a large organisation. When I’m not attached to my work computer, I like to squeeze our three ca...2025-04-2439 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastBrisnova Author Wrap upSend us a textCome inside the curtain of Supanova Brisbane - most lovingly knowns as Brisnova - and chat to the plethora of indie authors and a few traditonally published authors there. This was recorded in November 2024. My second supanova and honestly, probably the most chilled and exhausting event I've ever done. It spanned over three days from 10-6, which as a self proclaimed ADHD introvert that was a lot of masking and talking. But so well worth it. This year, I could have sworn that there were so many more authors than there w...2025-04-1139 min
Pages Down UnderSeason 1 - Episode 15: Mandi KontosSend us a textJoin us as we chat to indie author Mandi Kontos, all about her books, the writing process and more.You can follow Mandi on Instagram and find out what she is up to and buy her books on her websiteHave any questions for Mandi? Let us know!Support the showThank you for listening. Please like, share and comment, we would love to hear from you. You can follow us on Instagram and visit our website to learn more about the book club and...2025-03-081h 12The Writing Apothecary PodcastThe Writing Process with Sarah L RichhelmSend us a textWelcome to Writing Apothecary and the next interview as we chat about the writing process.Today's chat is with a return guest, Sarah L Richhelm, who appeared on our Plot interview. It was great to have her back and chat about her process and how she liked editing...Official Bio:Sarah is a serial cookie-in-tea dunker and Spotify playlist curator and adores writing slow-burn, high-stakes fantasy romance you can giggle kick over.She graduated from the University of Queensland with a degree in Communications...2024-12-0534 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastThe Writing Process with Monique KostalecSend us a textWelcome to Writing Apothecary and the next interview as we chat about the writing process. Today's chat is with fellow creative entrepreneur Monique Kostelec. We chat about her process and how she loves almost every part of the process. Official Bio: At 18, Monique was adamant that she would be the next Amal Clooney. As it turned out, she was more suited for the path of George. Monique is a writer, screenwriter, actress & creative entrepreneur who runs The Novel Writing Project - a writing business created to...2024-09-231h 12
Dripping CreativityInterview | Mandi Kontos | Myth & Magic in Urban Fantasy | Ep 63
In this captivating episode of Dripping Creativity, host Chris Corvan delves into the mystical and modern world of urban fantasy with special guest Mandi Kontos. Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Mandi is not only a talented writer but also a writing mindset coach and lighting designer. Her debut novel, "Fading Fragments," is the first installment of the Nexus series, blending mythological elements with contemporary realities to create a world that blurs the lines between the fantastical and the familiar.
Mandi shares her unique journey from a book-averse child to a passionate writer, inspired by the classic Australian novel "Tomorrow, When...2024-08-2638 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastMy Writing ProcessSend us a textWelcome back to The Writing Apothecary Podcast - and a side quest if you must - about Writing Process and the way that every author does it differently. I can't wait for youto dig into this. The same bite sized episodic format is back. To kick off the first episode you get to see a BTS all about my own writing process. I've broken down the questions that I ask my guests and give you an insight about how I write and how my madness leads to my novels in their v...2024-06-1327 min
Fiction and FriendsFiction and Friends with Author Mandi KontosJoin us as we chat about Faded Fragments, Review Bombing, and Creepy Crawly things....
Mandi's Socials:
Website- dreamingfullyawake.com
Insta- @mandikont
Threads- @mandikont
TikTok- @mandikont
Email- mandi@dreamingfullyawake.com
Natalie's Socials:
Instagram- @books.aremy.escape
Threads- @books.aremy.escape
Tiktok- @books.aremy.escape
X(Twitter)- @fictionnfriends
Facebook- Natalie's Book Blog ; Fiction and Friends (fb group)
Email- fictionandfriendspodcast@gmail.com2024-04-261h 11
The Writing Apothecary PodcastFight Scenes: Interview with Fantasy Author Caroline LoganSend us a textWelcome back to The Writing Apothecary and to our interview for the topic. Caroline and I dive deep into the all things fight scenes and how to better your writing of them. In today's chat here are some of the things we covered:What defines a fighting scene?The kinds of fighting scenes.The language of fighting scenes.Caroline's take on all things fighting scenes. About Caroline:Caroline Logan is a writer of Young Adult Fantasy. She is currently working on her Scottish fantasy series: The Four Tr...2024-04-0146 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastFight Scenes: The BattlefieldSend us a textWelcome back to The Writing Apothecary and our next lesson on Fight scenes. We're looking at the emotional battlefield and how it can affect your character. We're covering:Depths of Fighting ScenesWhat is needed from the scenesWhat it takes to make the battlefield work.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to knowAlso, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out i...2023-12-2019 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastFight Scenes: Emotional BattlesSend us a textWelcome back to The Writing Apothecary and our next lesson on Fight scenes. We're looking at the emotional battlefield and how it can affect your character. We're covering:Character motivesGoing back to basicsInternal ConflictExternal ConflictEmotional triggersTell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to knowAlso, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want e...2023-09-1519 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastWelcome to Fight ScenesSend us a textWelcome back to a episode and a new topic. The next two months we're exploring Fight Scenes and we have a great guest to top it all off. Fight scenes have always been a challenge for a lot of people, myself included, and we're going to explore two side of fight scenes:Emotional Fight ScenesAction Fight ScenesI'm so excited to get into the topics and explore what it looks like when we dive deeper into it. The guest we have is a new author and I can't wait f...2023-06-2414 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastCreativity and The Muse: Interview with Creativity Mentor Viv KruckowSend us a textWelcome back to The Writing Apothecary and to our interview for the topic. Viv and I dive deep into creativity with an amazing chat to get you into the mood to sit your arse down and create. In today's chat here are some of the things we covered:Creativity Human DesignSupporting yourselfMorning pagesAbout Viv:In this current season, Viv Kruckow’s soul purpose is following her joy and supporting humans to explore their creative essence and dance with their desires ~ because we all deserve ease, abundance and...2023-06-091h 00The Writing Apothecary PodcastCreativity and The Muse: CreativitySend us a textWelcome back to The Writing Apothecary and our last lesson before our amazing chat with our great guest. I’m so excited to talk about Creativity and I’m going to preface this by saying that the best information that you can find is actually a Wikipedia page on Creativity, I’ll link it in the show notes because it’s so good. And I know, I know it’s a wiki page but one of my university lecturers swore that it was and I’m taking his word on it. I’m also goin...2023-05-2524 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastCreativity and the Muse: The History of the MuseSend us a textWelcome back to The Writing Apothecary and to a new lesson. Today we're looking at the history of the muse. And it was so much fun to go through and find what information I could about them. The Muses are inspirational goddess of literature, science and art. The 9 muses are:Calliope was the Muse who represented epic poetry. Her implement was the writing tablet.Clio was the Muse who had to do with history and she was always associated with holding a scroll.Euterpe w...2023-05-1111 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastWelcome to Creativity and The MuseSend us a textWelcome to a new topic! We're going to look at Creativity and the Muse. I make some pretty big statements too, but before that let's take a peek into what will come. It's also the first episode back after the huge year that was! I cover it in the episode.We’ll be looking at the history behind the muse and just what creativity is. Creativity will not wait for you. It will dry up when you don’t use it but it will still be there when you come...2023-04-2713 min
Home FilesSave the planet & your hip pocketOn hand to help us understand more about this topic and what sustainability actually means are three industry experts. Con Galileos, Group Development Manager for Carlisle Homes who has over 25 years of industry experience in the building game, reputable landscape designer Mark Browning, and Mandi Kontos, Architectural Lighting Designer from Beacon Lighting, who you may know from The Block. In this episode, we’re discussing everything sustainability both inside and outside of the home. From building design and materials, to the plants you choose for your new garden, the technology you use to automate your home, and how...2022-11-0833 min
Building Better with CSRLighting on The Block with Beacon Lighting's Mandi KontosThis week on Building Better with CSR, host Lynne Testoni talks with architectural lighting designer Mandi Kontos of Beacon Lighting, who worked with Omar and Oz on The Block this year to help light their winning home. Mandi talks about her role on The Block, and how much The Block influences new homeowners. She shares her knowledge of lighting trends, seven-star rating and what it's like to work under pressure. This podcast was brought to you by CSR, the name behind some of the market's most trusted and recognised brand names in providing building products...2022-11-0620 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastWriter's Block: Interview with Creativity Coach Amie McneeSend us a textWelcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and to our interview with the most divine human ever. I got to interview Amie Mcnee who is the perfect most perfect guest for Writer's Block. It's been a challenge to get here! This episode is so delayed due to me getting the spicy cough and have been dealing with all of the fatigue that comes with it, but we're back and we're ready. In today's chat here are some of the topics we chat about:Writer's BlockProcrastination Amie's relationship with bothJournallingGiving ourselves pe...2022-04-1045 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastWriter's Block: Touchstones and How to Heal itSend us a textWelcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and to our last theory lesson on Writer's Block. It's a bit late as I had the spicy cough and was pretty exhausted. But we're back into it. Writer’s Block is such a personal thing and I’ve loved hearing from you guys and opening up the conversation about Writer’s block because it is so different for everyone and I think that it’s a great opportunity to talk to other writers about how it feels or what you can do to help heal it, whic...2022-03-1611 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastWriter's Block: Emotional and Environmental TriggersSend us a textWelcome back to our second lesson on writer’s block. I hope that you’ve all been productive. I know I have. Or at least I have tried to be. I’ve sent my manuscript to my editor and it’s with BETA readers. It’s making me so nervous but I’m trying to keep busy, which is good. I’m trying to get ahead with the podcast because it does take a lot of time and effort to get it done. I’m a one-woman production here. I write all the scripts, record...2022-02-2411 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastWelcome to Writer's BlockSend us a textWelcome back to a new year and a new topic. 2021 is behind us and I can’t believe that we’re in 2022! Wowiiiie. I hope everyone has had some great time off. I spent some of my time off in Adelaide with my mum and basically being a mermaid and then just getting back into my retail job. Things are gearing up and are a little mental at the moment but that will pass. I know it will.But also, welcome to one year of The Writing Apothecary Podcast! We have cover...2022-02-0611 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastRevision: Interview with Suspense Author Jess FaradaySend us a textWelcome back to The Writing Apothecary and our interview for revision. Today's guest is published author Jess Faraday and we talk about all things revision. As a traditionally published author she has a different take on revisions and an important one.In today's chat we talk about:First draftsTime between revisionsLooking as aspectsHow to flip the revisions on their headAnd some great nuggets on when to revise. I really loved this chat and it was such a fun and refreshing take on revisions. About Jess:Je...2021-12-0923 minThe Writing Apothecary PodcastRevision: The Small ThingsSend us a textWelcome back to the Writing Apothecary and the last lesson for revision. Last week was a big one and we're following it up with the smaller things. Life has been a bit hectic so this one is a little bit late, but better to be late than never!First thing is first, reading your draft out loud, does wonders. You can find the natural pace of the dialogue and all of the words you’ve missed or misspelled. Because our eyes are trained to see what is there, even if we mis...2021-12-0109 min