Jill Hannah Anderson first began writing in eighth grade when a friend gave her a large notebook with Donny Osmund on the cover. She started using it as a diary, and added several more diary notebooks over the years. She also started writing notes for stories in notebooks. Cruddy, haphazard plot ideas… but the writing bug had burrowed in.Then “life” happened. Marriage, kids, owning a business, and a day job. She took a few writing classes, and in 2006, when she was at the busiest point in her life, she stumbled upon a women’s magazine that she wanted to write for. While working full-time at a Communications company, part-time bartending (to help with her eldest daughter’s upcoming wedding and three more kids in college), and training for her first half-marathon, Jill wrote the first of thirty articles/stories for the Minnesota women’s magazine. A few years later, shortly after the last of the kid’s graduated college and Jill quit bartending, her best friend was dying of cancer, and it planted a seed of a story in Jill’s head. The idea of losing your support system when you need them most transpired to become Jill’s first book, The to Hell and Back Club. Jill hit the writing ground running, wisely quitting the magazine side job after ten years and focusing on books. The following year, Crazy Little Town Called Love was released, and in 2022, A Life Unraveled was published.Closer to Home debuted in March, and by the time this podcast is live, Jill will have submitted her fifth book to her publisher. She has been a proud member of WFWA (Women's Fiction Writers Association) from its early stages before it was an association, back when it was a Yahoo email group!You can learn more about Jill on her website: www.jillhannahanderson.com and follow her on Facebook, the best social media place to get book updates from her: https://www.facebook.com/jillhannah.anderson/Get your copy of Closer to Home here: https://amzn.to/3VEqiLNorsupport your local bookstore &#38; this podcast by getting your copy of Closer to Home at https://bookshop.org/a/90599/9781958231432A little about today's host-Kristi Leonard&#160;is a writer, community builder, and former president of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Since co-hosting on the&#160;Author Express Podcast, she has started her own podcast,&#160;Pop Culture Plot Lab,&#160;where&#160;guest authors to turn viral pop culture moments into story sparks and give listeners a peek inside the creative process. Through her writing retreats and volunteer leadership, she’s dedicated to helping other writers find their voice and stay connected to the craft.A former audiobook narrator, Kristi now spends most of her creative energy on her own fiction and on shaping programs that support women’s voices in publishing. When she isn’t writing or leading, she’s likely hiking Florida trails with her writer-hiker pals or reading with her Golden Retriever, Charlie, at her side. She’s currently at work on her next novel and building the kind of author career she’s long championed for others.Link to follow me&#160;https://linktr.ee/kristileonardwrites Be sure to follow or subscribe to Author Express wherever you listen to podcasts and to follow us on Instagram<a...