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Mark interviews his partner Liz Anderson about her work as a Principal within education, as the better half of a writer, and also as a fellow procrastinator and creative collaborator.
This episode is sponsored by the awesome Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast who support this podcast and receive additional audio, video, and text content.

During the interview, Mark and Liz talk about:
- The elements of procrastination that bond the two of them together
- How Liz has learned to embrace procrastination as a way to get the creativity flowing
- Liz’s long-time practice of producing videos and short movies
- The “Last Minute Productions” Liz makes, leveraging the “L” and “A” of her initials into the branding
- The “show” (Isolation Station) that Liz started for the staff at her school during the pandemic and how that evolved into “Distance Daily”
- How these virtual shows allowed the staff to connect in a way that they never had been able to do before
- Mark’s participation in Liz’s “Distance Daily” show for a while during the time when she was without a Vice Principal
- The ongoing daily “Flair Fun” video announcements segment that initiated during the pandemic but continue to this day at Liz’s school
- The value of the participation from the entire school community in these daily videos that allows for a deeper sense of connection and being seen and heard and part of something bigger
- The way Liz practices the role of being an elementary school Principal
- The important revelation during a Grade 8 graduation that was an eye-opening moment for Liz
- The difference between being an auditory learner and a visual learner
- What it’s like for Liz living with Mark the writer
- The “spies” Liz has watching for Mark to not engage in particular activities on social media
- How while Liz had long been creative and producing videos, it was a long time before she felt comfortable getting in front of a camera
- Mark and Liz’s first creative collaboration, doing the “Stuck in This House Here with You” parody of the Steelers Wheel song “Stuck in the Middle with You”

- The way that we “paint” and fill spaces with things that tell a story or prompt people to see a space differently
- The decision fatigue that can happen for a reader and how Liz appreciates being able to just keep reading the next book in a series
- Liz’s love of Joanna Penn’s J.F. Penn thrillers and Kevin J. Anderson’s “Dan Shamble” zombie P.I. novels
- Some of the creative endeavors Liz is interested in exploring this coming summer
Then Liz turns the tables on Mark and asks him some reflective questions.
Links of Interest:
- Parody Videos
- Stuck In This House Here With You (Parody Music Video with Liz)
- Kay-Tell Presents: Isolation Parody Songs (Parody Music Video with Liz)
- The 2022 Aurora Awards Opening Sequence (Hosted by Liz and Mark)
- Mark’s Tavern: Where Everybody Shares Your Name – Pilot (Cheers Parody)
- Mark’s Tavern: Dad Jokes Matter
- Mark’s Tavern: Tension
- Mark’s Tavern: Mister Bright Side
- Mark’s Tavern: Death by Coffee
- Buy Mark a Coffee
- Patreon for Stark Reflections
- Lovers Moon Podcast
- The Relaxed Author
- Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
- An Author’s Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
- Wide for the Win
- Mark’s Canadian Werewolf Books
- The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
I enjoyed the interaction between you and Liz. You should do more podcasts together.
Thanks, Stanley. I’ll try to convince Liz to come on and be a co-host every once in a while. 🙂