Turn up the volume! – The Flashlight Reader

Guest Post by Lynette Sowell

My first job – ever – was working at a radio station, so I’ve always enjoyed the idea of radio. With advances in technology, we literally have a world of listeners. I had been invited to cohost an online radio show that broadcasts during the day, but had to leave it due to a change in my work schedule.

I’ve always heard that writers need to blog, blog, blog. To be honest, I feel like there’s a glut of blogs in our virtual world. It’s harder to stand out. Plus, I what I’ve learned from the gurus like Randy Ingermanson is that you need to have something to give to readers to make them keep coming back. Well, I honestly didn’t have the mental energy to do that, with writing fiction plus my two part-time jobs.

One of my jobs is a part-time news reporter for my city’s hometown newspaper. I get paid to show up at events and ask lots of questions. Often that helps promote local businesses. This brought me back around to online radio again.

What if I did my own show, my own time that worked for me, and started asking lots of questions to help promote authors?

That’s where The Flashlight Reader came from. It’s a late night show if you’re on the U.S. East Coast, at 11 p.m. every Monday for 30 minutes. I began rounding up guests via calls out online back in July and my first show went live in August. I’m booked through the end of the year and I’m already looking for guests for next year.

So far it’s been a lot of fun. I like hearing about authors’ new releases, plus the story behind the story, and giving authors a voice, too. There have been a few kinks, but I’m working through those. I always encourage reluctant interviewees to relax, talk slower than they think they need to, and just have fun.

One thing I’m looking ahead to is having a roundtable show where several guests call in and we discuss “hot” topics in Christian fiction – what does edgy mean, how much is “too” much in fiction, the idea of cursing, what makes a good book without being preachy – those discussions that seem to come up over and over again in reader and writer circles.

In the future, I’d love to go to a longer format and have sponsors, but at this point I realize we all start somewhere.

People can listen in via their computers at this link. They can view the future schedule, too. There is also a call-in number where they can ask a question live on the air.

Valerie here: The main reason I invited Lynette here today is to let you know that I’m going to be her guest on Monday, October 29. We’ll be talking about Rainbow’s End and the entire Romancing America blog project. Because Lynette is interested in beekeeping, the conversation might even veer over that direction. We won’t know until Monday! Join us at The Flashlight Reader at 11:00 pm Eastern (8:00 pm Pacific) and listen in!

Lynette Sowell is the award-winning author of more than a dozen titles for Barbour Publishing. When Lynette’s not writing fiction, she edits medical reports and works as a freelance news reporter for her local newspaper. Lynette was born in Massachusetts, raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, but makes her home on the doorstep of the Texas hill country with her husband and a herd of cats who have them well-trained. She loves reading, traveling, cooking, watching movies, and is always up for a Texas road trip.