Curious about the life experiences that fuel a writer's imagination? In today's episode of Author Express, host Kathleen Basi chats with prolific author Cherie Dawn Haas. Cherie wrote her first book in 2016, titled Girl on Fire. It was inspired by her days as a fire eater and tribal belly dancer, and came at a time when she wanted to spend more time at home. While still a fire dancer at heart, Cherie Dawn now expresses herself through the written word. By day, she is an online editor for the art division of Streamline Publishing, and by night (and weekends) writes fiction and poetry in addition to teaching yoga.

Cherie is a member of the Women's Fiction Writers Association, and she leads the county library’s Rough Draft Collab writers group, as well as writing retreats and online coaching in writing, publishing, meditation, and yoga.

Living on a small farm helps inspire her work as well; you’ll often see this in her poetry and short stories that feature dogs, such as her Plott hound, Dangit Rusty, and her chickens. For example, Ashes for William, Cherie Dawn’s second novel, features a rooster who plays quite a role in this rural story of a tested friendship.

You can learn more on her website, CherieDawn.com, find links to her podcast and books, and click the Newsletter link to receive her monthly LifeSoup email with inspiration and motivation on how to live better with yourself and others.

A little about today's host-

Author and musical composer Kathleen Basi is mother to three boys and one chromosomally-gifted daughter. Her debut novel, A SONG FOR THE ROAD, follows a musician on an unconventional road trip. Bestselling author Kerry Anne King writes, “In a novel filled with music, heartbreak, and surprising laughter, Basi takes us on a journey that encompasses both unimaginable loss and the powerful resilience of the human heart.”

Meaty, earnest, occasionally humorous, and ultimately uplifting, Kathleen’s fiction highlights the best within ourselves and each other. She writes monthly reflections on life, writing and beauty on her newsletter. Subscribe at https://kathleenbasi.substack.com/.

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