In this special podcast episode recorded live at William Bernhardt's Writers Retreat in Eureka Springs, he discusses the latest news from the world of books, invites other attending writers to offer writing tips, and interviews Marcia Preston, author of The Butterfly House and winner of the Mark Higgins Clark Ward for suspense fiction.

Chapter 1: Introduction
This episode was recorded live at the annual Writers Retreat conducted by William Bernhardt at the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

Chapter 2: News
1) Major authors, the Authors Guild, Amazon Publishing, and Penguin Random House join forces to sue the online KISS Library charging that it allows users to download copyrighted books.
2) Barnes & Noble dismisses many employee/buyers, possibly as part of a change in policy emphasizing local control over the inventory.
3) Amazon forms a Counterfeit Crimes Unit to crack down on counterfeit books.
4) Sales increase for books on cooking, gardening, and financial planning.
5) Ingram increases its print-on-demand programs.
6) Consumer spending at Amazon has grown by 50% since last year.

Chapter 3: Writing Tips
Shelley Levisay, Dan Snell, and Thomas Miller offer writing tips they've gained from their time at Writers Retreat.

Chapter 4: Interview with Marcia Preston
Bernhardt interviews Marcia Preston, the award-winning author of The Butterfly House and many other books about her characters, where she finds ideas for her novels, the revision process, and her new novel, The Spiderling.

Chapter 5: Parting Words
If you'd like to take a deep dive into your work-in-progress and obtain feedback designed to make it better, consider attending Bernhardt's next Writers Retreat.
WriterCon will take place over Labor Day weekend. You can attend in person, or stream the entire three-day conference. For more information, visit: www.writercon.org.