Today I am so excited to have Laurie Petrou on the show!

Laurie is an author, maker, educator, tea drinker, and avid reader… so basically she’s my kind of people. She is an Associate Professor at Ryerson’s RTA School of Media, where she is also the Director of the Masters of Media Production program, and has given TEDx talks in the past.

Laurie’s first novel (second book), Sister of Mine, won the International Half the World Global Literati Award. This novel is a fascinating thriller about two sisters bound together by a series of secrets.

Listen in as Laurie and I chat about this awesome book, how to craft gripping suspense, and how to always keep yourself writing.

In this episode Laurie and I discuss:

• The unreliable narrator and how to do it right.
• Using supporting characters to throw a wrench into your protagonist’s world.
• Techniques to breathe life into your setting.
• Pacing a thriller over several decades.
• How to handle the waiting periods in between writing and publishing.

Plus, Laurie’s #1 tip for writers.

About Laurie Petrou

Laurie Petrou is an author, maker, educator, tea drinker and avid reader. She received her PhD in a joint degree from York and Ryerson Universities. She is an Associate Professor at Ryerson’s RTA School of Media, where she is also the Director of the Masters of Media Production program.

Laurie loves teaching, and has been the lucky recipient of the Dean’s Teaching Award for the Faculty of Communication and Design, and recently did the convocation address. She does TEDx talks on things like gender or rejection, and makes little digital projects.

In her writing career, Laurie is represented by Martha Magor Webb at Cooke McDermid. Her first novel (second book), Sister of Mine, won the International Half the World Global Literati Award, and is now available from HarperCollins Canada and Crooked Lane Books in the United States.

To connect with Laurie check out her website at www.lauriepetrou.com.

Sister of Mine

Penny and Hattie are sisters in a small town, bound tight to the point of knots. They share a secret they cannot escape, even while it pulls them apart. One night, a match is lit, and Penny’s terrible husband is killed—a marriage going up in flames, and offering the potential of a new life.

The sisters retreat into their family home—a house of secrets and memories—and try to live in the shadow of what they put in motion. But Penny’s husband is not the only thing they are hiding from the outside world and from each other. Under a cloud of long-held resentments, sibling rivalry, and debts unpaid, the bonds of sisterhood begin to crack. How long will Penny and Hattie demand the unthinkable of each other? How often will they say, “You owe me,” and when will it ever be enough?

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 220

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Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 220: Just Keep Writing and Other Motivational Mantras — Interview with Laurie Petrou appeared first on DIY MFA.