We’re back with another one of our segments, Write State of Mind, where we interview authors about mindset, their processes, and their journey. This week we have the author Denise N. Wheatley! In this episode we discussed:
- Denise’s background with books
- Rejections from literary agents
- Putting in the work and staying consistent
- Ghostwriting
- Self-doubt
- The value of a writing community
- Cleansing negative people to gain a healthy mindset
- Keeping yourself lit
- Criticism as leverage
- Taking care of both body and mind in order to write all the things
- The guilt that comes with being a writer
Denise N. Wheatley is a lover of happily-ever-afters and the art of storytelling. Her first novel, I Wish I Never Met You, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2004. She has since written (and ghostwritten) over twenty novels and novellas, including suspense, contemporary, paranormal, and steamy romance. Denise currently writes for Harlequin Intrigue, with her fifth book hitting shelves later this year and four more releasing in the coming months. A few of those suspense titles include Cold Case—True Crime, Bayou Christmas Disappearance, and The Heart-Shaped Murders. Her Tule Publishing novel, Christmas in Full Bloom, has been optioned for film.
Denise earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago, the city where she was born and raised. When she isn’t sitting behind her computer, you can find her in a movie theater, on a tennis court, watching true crime television, or chatting on social media.
Denise hangs out on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and her website.
Find Denise’s novels in our affiliate Bookshop or via her website.
Mentioned in this episode:
From our affiliate account with Bookshop.org:
The Writer’s Toolkit by Elizabeth Lyons (Sadly we couldn’t find a link!)
Denise’s class with WA: Writing Riveting Romantic Suspense (Recording available)
Find out more about Writer’s Atelier:
The Write Gym, our accountability and group coaching program.
Find Writer’s Atelier on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Find out more about Racquel Henry and her books: www.racquelhenry.com
Audio edited by Alli Nesbit.
Music: Wooden Smile by Ziv Moran
