Ep 177: [Interview] Alison Hodgson on Boiling a Story Down to Its Essence, One-Star Reviews, and Perseverance

Back in October 2018, I interviewed three authors who served on the speaking team at Breathe Christian Writers Conference. We discussed all things writing, like their writing challenges, their writing process, and their advice for writers. All for you. I’ve mixed in with my standard short solo episodes an interview with Shawn Smucker and another with Patrice Gopo. Today, I bring you the last of the three from that conference: a conversation with Alison Hodgson, author of The Pug List. I sprang this on her at the last minute, asking if I could interview her during the last hour on the last day of the conference. We slipped into a room and discussed such topics as boiling a story down to its essence, seeing work come to fruition, managing a pug’s Instagram account, surviving one-star reviews, and much more. Enjoy getting to know Alison Hodgson. Alison Hodgson is the author of The Pug List: A Ridiculous Dog, a Family Who Lost Everything, and How They All Found Their Way Home. She is a Moth StorySLAM winner and a regular contributor to the design website Houzz.com. Her writing has been featured in Woman’s Day magazine, on Forbes.com, Christianity Today’s Her.meneutics blog, and the Religion News Service, and her essays have been published in a variety of anthologies. Alison lives in Michigan with her husband, their children, and three good dogs. alisonhodgson.com   Resources: * Website: alisonhodgson.com  * Facebook: @alisonhodgsonauthor * Instagram: @alisonhodgsonbooks/ and (more prominently) @therealpugoliver * Twitter: @HodgsonAlison * The Pug List: A Ridiculous Little Dog, a Family Who Lost Everything, and How They All Found Their Way Home (Amazon affiliate link) * A clip from Alison's MOTH story * The Barbara Pym Society, a website highlighting information related to an author Alison mentions * Shawn Smucker interview * Patrice Gopo interview * Ann's Patreon account * All podcast episodes You can subscribe to this podcast using your podcast player or find it through Apple podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify.