Marissa chats with Kara McDowell about her holiday-themed YA romance - ONE WAY OR ANOTHER - as well as the challenges and potential pay-offs of ignoring outside pressures in order to write what you love; working with two opposing plotlines, and some strategies for keeping readers engaged in each one; creating love interests that complement the protagonist using a character-development method from John Truby's "The Anatomy of Story"; and how we tend to be happier writers when we focus on our own accomplishments and avoid making comparisons to others (even if that is easier said than done). Books discussed in this episode can be purchased from your local independent bookstore or buy them online from the Happy Writer bookshop.org store (that benefits indie bookstores) at https://bookshop.org/shop/marissameyerBooks discussed in this episode can be purchased from your local independent bookstore or buy them online from the Happy Writer bookshop.org store (that benefits indie bookstores) at https://bookshop.org/shop/marissameyer Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/