Queries, Qualms, & Quirks
100 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 31 ratingsQueries, Qualms, & Quirks asks published authors to share their successful query letter and discuss their journey from first spark to day of publication. Author Sarah Nicolas interviews authors of all genres about how they got started writing, their writing process, getting their book deal, and their experiences with publication.
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Episodes
Picture Book Author Jocelyn Rish and the Simon Cowell of Publishing
May 23, 2024 19:43 - 38 minutes - 35 MBPicture Book Author Jocelyn Rish joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss her journey to publication. Jocelyn Rish is a writer and filmmaker who loves researching weird and wonderful animals and sharing what she learns. Her first book was Battle of the Butts, about ten animals that do weird things with their butts. Her next book moved to the other end with Battle of the Brains, about ten animals with mind-blowing brain abilities. She lives in South Carolina with her adorable dog...
Young Adult Author Kristi McManus and Learning Patience
April 25, 2024 07:00 - 19 minutes - 18 MBYoung Adult Author Kristi McManus joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss her journey to publication. Kristi McManus is a Registered Nurse by trade, but avid reader and enthusiastic book lover all her life. Her debut novel, Our Vengeful Souls, was released Summer 2023 by CamCat Books. When she isn't writing, she enjoys photography, art, and considers napping to be a form of cardio. She lives in Toronto with her husband. Kristi: Query | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram ...
Picture Book Author Anna Lazowski and an Aggressively Vicious Business
April 11, 2024 07:00 - 24 minutes - 22.2 MBPicture Book Author Anna Lazowski joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss her journey to publication. Anna Lazowski wrote her first picture book for a class assignment in the sixth grade and has been creating stories ever since. Now an award-winning radio producer, Anna has an MA (Journalism) from the University of Western Ontario and a BFA (Hons.) from the University of Manitoba. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba with her husband, two teenagers, and two dogs. Anna: Query | Web...
YA Author Jennifer Chen and Trying to Go Too Fast
March 28, 2024 07:01 - 23 minutes - 21.4 MBYA Author Jennifer Chen joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss her journey to publication. Jennifer Chen is a freelance journalist who has written for Oprah Daily, Real Simple, and Today. Her debut YA rom-com book, Artifacts of an Ex, is out now. Jennifer: Query | Website | TikTok | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqjchen This page in...
YA Author Allison L. Bitz and the Character as Client
March 14, 2024 07:00 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBYA Author Allison L. Bitz joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss her journey to publication. Allison L. Bitz hails from Lincoln, NE, where she lives with her spouse, two kids, and various rescue pets. When she’s not writing a novel or a song, Dr. Bitz is helping clients in her private counseling practice, planning some form of political action, or trying to track down a pastry to enjoy with her coffee. If you can’t find her at a party, check the floor—she’s probably hanging wi...
Picture Book Author Janelle Harper and the Vague Abyss of Publishing
February 22, 2024 08:01 - 21 minutes - 19.5 MBPicture Book Author Janelle Harper joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss her journey to publication. Janelle Harper is a Bronx native who enjoys storytelling through dance and ballpoint pens. She finds inspiration for children’s stories in city living and the diverse experiences of the African Diaspora. Janelle is passionate about creating stories that reflect the faces she sees in her classroom and neighborhood. Janelle: Query | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Am...
Horror Author Nora Fussner and It Taking as Long as It Takes
February 09, 2024 04:24 - 17 minutes - 16.1 MBHorror Author Nora Fussner joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss her journey to publication. Nora Fussner has a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and an MFA from CUNY Brooklyn College. Her debut novel, The Invisible World, was published by Vintage in September 2023. Other work has appeared in Longleaf Review, Brooklyn Review, and Electric Literature. She lives in Pittsburgh. Nora: Query | Website | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Re...
MG Author Kate Fussner and Sculpting Poems One Page at a Time
January 27, 2024 05:39 - 44 minutes - 41.2 MBMG Author Kate Fussner joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss her journey to publication. Kate Fussner is a novelist, teacher, and accidental poet living in Massachusetts with her wife and dramatic dog. When not reading or writing, Kate can be found baking, spending time with her family, or singing her favorite musicals. Kate believes in the power of a good laugh and a good cry, and hopes her stories will provide readers with both. Her debut novel, The Song of Us, was publishe...
Fantasy Author Rose Black and Slamming Into a Brick Wall
January 11, 2024 08:21 - 16 minutes - 15.2 MBFantasy Author Rose Black joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss her journey to publication. Rose Black is a combination of anxiety and dyslexia in a hoodie, bi, a professional computer wrangler, and mother to the world’s wiggliest child. She’s lucky enough to live in the historic city of Bath and is capable of eating her weight in sushi. Rose: Query | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. ...
Season 4 is Coming Soon!
January 01, 2024 20:56 - 55 seconds - 886 KBQQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the Transcript
Magical Realist Author Angel Di Zhang and Pajamas in the Recording Studio
June 24, 2023 03:11 - 25 minutes - 23 MBMagical Realist Author Angel Di Zhang joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss recording her own audiobook, having an editor who gets your vision, Pitch Wars, writing books that you don't want, the joy in writing a perfect sentence, querying too early, the two sentence critique that led to a rewrite, and getting sidetracked by the wrong feedback. Angel Di Zhang was born in northeast China, and raised in China, England, Canada and the United States. She was educated in the joint ...
Cookbook Author Jules Sherred and A New Way to Write Recipes
June 15, 2023 07:00 - 56 minutes - 52 MBCookbook Author Jules Sherred joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss query tracker, a fortuitous agent connection, the two-year overnight project, selling out on Amazon on pub day, breaking the rules, ripping out readers' guts, getting in trouble for his writing, and the problem with a quick publication schedule. Jules Sherred works as a commercial food photographer and stylist, writer and recipe developer, journalist, and outspoken advocate for disability and trans rights. Hi...
Romance Author Romi Moondi and A Book Launch in Paris
June 08, 2023 14:09 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBRomance Author Romi Moondi joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss zigzags and backtracks, amassing over a hundred rejections, signing with the wrong agent, self-publishing, the tyranny of best of lists, feeling responsible for representing your entire community, the one soundtrack she has to listen to for every book, and the friends who’ve been with her through it all. Romi Moondi is a Canadian author whose 2022 diverse contemporary romance, 24 Hours in Paris, received a Publi...
MG Author Sarah Kapit and Following Her Editor
June 01, 2023 07:00 - 22 minutes - 20.2 MBMG Author Sarah Kapit joins Queries, Qualms, and Quirks to discuss switching agents, using networking, a slow build over time, accepting her writing process, the highs and lows of publishing, what you deserve from an agent, and the joy when kids love your book. Sarah Kapit is the author of several books for young readers. Her novel Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! earned the Schneider Family Honor and Washington State Book Award. Sarah's most recent book, Second Chance Summer, came out from Macmilla...
Kidlit and Romance Author Tanisia Moore and the One Thing You Will Have is Trouble
May 18, 2023 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.6 MBKidlit and Romance Author Tanisia Moore joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss wanting her kids to see her have a life, a two week deal, getting an R&R from a friend, dispelling the dream agent, switching agents, the danger of #writingcommunity twitter, rejection being part of the journey, celebrating all the parts, and how not selling a book doesn't mean your art is bad. Known affectionately as “your family’s favorite author,” Tanisia “Tee” Moore writes uplifting work for al...
Young Adult Author Jesmeen Kaur Deo and One Rule to Finish a Book
May 11, 2023 07:00 - 42 minutes - 38.6 MBYoung Adult Author Jesmeen Kaur Deo joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss finding community in fanfiction, inspiration from Richelle Mead, reading Query Shark in high school, having a book die on submission and then having a quick pre-empt sale, advice from Nora Roberts, and finding balance. Jesmeen Kaur Deo grew up in northern British Columbia, where she spent most of her childhood daydreaming. She loves books that can make her laugh and tug at her heartstrings in the same p...
YA & MG Author Kalyn Josephson and It's All in the Execution
May 04, 2023 07:00 - 27 minutes - 24.8 MBYA & MG Author Kalyn Josephson joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss how Lani Taylor inspired her writing, Scooby Doo fanfic, three books that should have never been queried, an offer after an R&R, how no writing is ever wasted, and the subjectiveness of the industry. Kalyn Josephson is a fantasy author living in the California Bay Area. She loves books, cats, books with cats, and making up other worlds to live in for a while. THE STORM CROW duology is out now. Kalyn: Query ...
Young Adult Author Brian D. Kennedy and the 112th Person Saying Yes
April 27, 2023 07:01 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBYoung Adult author Brian D. Kennedy joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss having three agents, the insult that led to a genre change, the Goldilocks of submission strategy, worrying you’ll never be good enough, feeling the negative ten times more, all the snacks, a ten year journey, no shortcuts, Brian D. Kennedy lives in New York City with his husband and their miniature Schnauzer. When not writing, he can be found working at an LGBTQ nonprofit and obsessing over all th...
Middle Grade Author & Illustrator Derrick Chow and A Certain Amount of Quietude
April 20, 2023 07:00 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBMiddle Grade Author & Illustrator Derrick Chow joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss how agent referrals aren't the end all, the courage it takes to show your work to another person for the first time, how an auction isn't all about the money, the joy of meeting young readers, all the distractions that come after a contract is signed, avoiding scammy publishers, and more. Derrick Chow is an author, illustrator, and comic creator. His short stories have been featured in severa...
Short Story and Literary Author Allegra Hyde and the Labor and Anxiety
April 13, 2023 07:00 - 18 minutes - 16.9 MBShort Story and Literary Author Allegra Hyde joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss submitting without an agent, having agents reach out to her, the book deal that felt like a miracle, the difference from working with a university press, letting go as an author, over-researching, over-revising, and how community is everything. Allegra Hyde's newest book, the story collection THE LAST CATASTROPHE, will be published this March by Vintage. She is also the author of the novel ELE...
Author and Poet Meg Eden Kuyatt and Eight Years to Bloom
April 06, 2023 07:01 - 21 minutes - 19.6 MBAuthor and Poet Meg Eden Kuyatt joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss getting her first agent in high school, how writing is like gardening, holding your projects loosely, writing out of order, and regretting acting on impatience. Meg Eden Kuyatt is a 2020 Pitch Wars mentee, and teaches creative writing at colleges and writing centers. She is the author of the 2021 Towson Prize for Literature winning poetry collection “Drowning in the Floating World” (Press 53, 2020) and chil...
MG Graphic Novel Author Elizabeth Agyemang and the Missing Piece
March 30, 2023 07:00 - 21 minutes - 20 MBMG Graphic Novel Author Elizabeth Agyemang joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss video game fan fiction, multiple R&Rs, querying her future agent while in high school, a lot of rewriting, and focusing on the things you can control. Elizabeth Agyemang is the author and illustrator of Fibbed, a middle grade graphic novel published by Razorbill, and Heart-Shaped Lies, a young adult novel coming from Delacorte. When she isn’t gushing over books or comics, she spends her free time...
Fantasy and Thriller Author Chelsea Mueller and The Queen of Google
March 23, 2023 07:00 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBFantasy and Thriller Author Chelsea Mueller joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss book blogging, going to editorial five times with no book deal, keeping your eyes on your own paper, different processes for different genres, and the importance of perseverance. Chelsea Mueller writes gritty, twisty fantasy and thriller novels for adults and teens. She's best known for the YALSA Reluctant Reader Pick PROM HOUSE and her gritty Soul Charmer urban fantasy series. She loves bad co...
Young Adult Author Rosiee Thor and So Many New Words
March 16, 2023 07:00 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBYoung Adult Author Rosiee Thor joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss how failure is part of the process, teenage Marie Lu, Inkpop, signing with an agent who doesn’t represent her genre, feeling a bit stagnant, refusing to give up on publishing, and finding the groups that nourish instead of drain you. Rosiee Thor began her career as a storyteller by demanding to tell her mother bedtime stories instead of the other way around. She spent her childhood reading by flashlight in t...
Middle Grade Author Sarah Allen and A Decade of Querying and Failing
March 09, 2023 08:00 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBMiddle Grade Author Sarah Allen joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss coming up in the time of author blogs, being over eager, hundreds of rejections, being scared to write the book you want, leaving an agent, learning to be bolder, and balancing the boldness with kindness. Sarah Allen is a poet and author of books for young readers. Her upcoming middle grade horror, THE NIGHTMARE HOUSE, releases in August of 2023. Her first book, WHAT STARS ARE MADE OF, was an ALA Notable Bo...
Fantasy Author R.R. Virdi and the Seven Year Grind
March 02, 2023 08:00 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBFantasy Author R.R. Virdi joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss the cover his mom designed, the difference between indie and trad, seeing the sign at Barnes and Noble, the importance of asking questions, how delays snowball, and how publishing is different for everybody. R.R. Virdi is a usa today bestseller, two time dragon award-finalist and nebula award finalist. He is the author of urban fantasy series, The Grave Report, and the new South Asian Epic Fantasy series from TOR...
Middle Grade Author Esme Symes-Smith and the Million-Revision Unicorn
February 23, 2023 08:00 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MBMiddle Grade Author Esme Symes-Smith joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss genre labels, the two-glass-of-wine query, how NaNoWriMo prepared them for publishing, inspiration from Tamora Pierce, waiting for the other shoe to drop, the fanfiction gateway, making excuses for yourself, Esme Symes-Smith grew up in the Southwest of England, got their degree in Literature and Creative Writing in Wales, and now lives in Missouri with their wife and furbabies. SIR CALLIE is their firs...
Young Adult Author Laura Taylor Namey and the MSWL Tweet That Changed Everything
February 16, 2023 08:00 - 21 minutes - 19.6 MBYoung Adult Author Laura Taylor Namey joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss learning to write a novel by writing one, the pitfall of comparison, longevity as an author, romanticizing publishing, and doing things backward. Laura Taylor Namey is the New York Times and international bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club pick A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, The Library of Lost Things, When We Were Them, and two forthcoming titles. A proud Cuban-American, she can be fo...
Middle Grade Author PJ Gardner and the Idea Machine
February 09, 2023 08:00 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBMiddle Grade Author PJ Gardner joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss coming to writing late in life, how querying is like boxing, writing as a calling, how promoting for MG is different from promoting for YA, querying with old data, taking big risks but expecting safe results, and how the success goalposts always move. PJ Gardner has never met a talking animal, but that hasn’t stopped her from writing about them. She’s the author of the middle grade Horace & Bunwinkle series ...
Young Adult Author Sarah Suk and Query Trenching
February 02, 2023 08:00 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBYoung Adult Author Sarah Suk joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss the writing group that started it all, Author Mentor Match, how being on submission was harder than querying, realizing her community is not her competition, worrying if anything's going to work out, and the importance of writer and non-writer friends. Sarah Suk lives in Vancouver, Canada, where she writes stories and admires mountains. She is the author of young adult novels Made in Korea and The Space Betwee...
Women’s Fiction Author Sierra Godfrey and Long Stretches of Silence
January 26, 2023 08:00 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBWomen’s Fiction Author Sierra Godfrey joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss how it's okay if you need longer than other writers, selling a book quickly by doing ten years pre-work, having your agent leave the business, why writers truly need agents, feelings of inadequacy, comparison being the thief of joy, and the importance of learning the market. Sierra Godfrey is the author of A Very Typical Family (Sourcebooks) and a forthcoming title in September 2023. She was born in S...
Non-fiction author Catherine Baab-Muguira and Literary Wisdom from Kevin Bacon
January 19, 2023 08:00 - 32 minutes - 29.7 MBNon-fiction author Catherine Baab-Muguira joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss 12 years of querying, the worst feedback she’s received, rewriting her book proposal top to bottom three times, how doing things wrong is the process, and the village that raised her book. Catherine Baab-Muguira is a writer and journalist who has contributed to the Wall Street Journal, Slate, CNBC and NBC News. A frequent podcast and radio guest, with appearances on NPR and Lifehacker's Upgrade, s...
Sci-Fi Author Nanci Schwartz and Why It’s Okay To Quit
January 12, 2023 08:01 - 45 minutes - 41.2 MBSci-Fi Author Nanci Schwartz joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss learning to control what you can and letting the rest go, writing while pregnant, debuting during a pandemic, how Star Wars inspired her books, and more. Nanci Schwartz is an instructional writer by day, a science fiction author by night, and a mom 24/7. In her small amounts of free time, she can be found gallivanting around Disney World, chatting about her favorite space opera franchise, or taking refuge from...
Kidlit Author Lyn Miller-Lachmann and the Five Year Drought
January 05, 2023 08:00 - 31 minutes - 28.8 MBKidlit Author Lyn Miller-Lachmann joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss losing two agents, getting close and not getting remotely close, what her MFA did for her, having a sequel come out six years later, her concerns as an Autistic writer, the importance of loving the process, and more. Lyn Miller-Lachmann is the author of the YA novels Torch, Gringolandia, and Surviving Santiago, the co-author with Zetta Elliott of the verse novel Moonwalking, and the author of a biography ...
Author and Poet Donna Gordon and the Desire to Put Words Together
August 04, 2022 07:00 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBAuthor and Poet Donna Gordon joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss switching from poetry to prose, the impact of mentors, a long interruption of her writing career, how her visual art helps her writing, needing to write, learning to put herself first, going from being a writer to an author, the stamina it takes to write and sell a book, and collaborating with people who can see things you can't see. Donna Gordon is a Cambridge, MA-based writer. She graduated from Brown, and w...
Women’s Fiction Author Roselle Lim and Using Your Petty Batteries
July 28, 2022 07:00 - 33 minutes - 30.9 MBWomen’s Fiction Author Roselle Lim joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss parting with an agent, querying a book 120 times, how debuts are like weddings, crying on release day, worrying about things you can't control, how changing for people who hate your book alienates the people who love your book, and the importance of both writing and non-writing community Roselle Lim is the critically acclaimed author of Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune, Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris T...
SFF Author Erin Fulmer and Everything Happening All at Once
July 21, 2022 07:00 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBSFF Author Erin Fulmer joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss the importance of community, realizing writing is not such a solitary pursuit, doing things out of order, marketing as a small press author, worrying about choosing the wrong path, and the pros and cons of going with a small press. Erin Fulmer is an attorney by day, author of science fiction and fantasy by night. A 2020 Pitch Wars alumna, she lives in Northern California with her husband and cats. CAMBION’S BLOOD, t...
Mystery Author Sandra Block and Losing Control
July 07, 2022 07:00 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBMystery Author Sandra Block joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss querying with stamps, taking a 15 year break, reading the book on common mistakes (see link below), multiple R&Rs to get a book deal, dealing with the lack of control over the publishing process, being kind with herself, and carving out time to write. Sandra A. Block graduated from college at Harvard, then returned to her native land of Buffalo, New York for medical training and never left. She is a practicing ...
Young Adult Author Jamie Beth Cohen and Checking Her Body for Jealousy
June 30, 2022 07:00 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MBYoung Adult Author Jamie Beth Cohen joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss the strawberry shortcake origin story, going against a mentor's advice, the ups and downs of going with a small press, having more to say than having time to write it down, and getting a lot out of Pitch Wars without having been selected. Jamie Beth Cohen is a writer, speaker, and storyteller who lives in Pennsylvania. Her words have appeared in The Washington Post, HuffPost, Salon, Teen Vogue, and seve...
Gothic Fiction Author Paulette Kennedy and Letting the Words Come Out
June 23, 2022 07:00 - 32 minutes - 30.1 MBGothic Fiction Author Paulette Kennedy joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss letting go of perfectionism to get a draft done, the impact of her first critical critique, learning about publishing on twitter, how much influence Marketing has on publishing a book, her favorite marketing activities, wanting to "get an A" on her first draft, and having a #pitmad twitter pitch go viral. Originally from the Ozarks, Paulette Kennedy now divides her time between her hometown of Spring...
Historical Fiction Author Addison Armstrong and When Your Passion Becomes Your Work
June 16, 2022 07:00 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MBHistorical Fiction Author Addison Armstrong joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss predicting her jobs in Pre-K, querying too soon due to excitement, graduating college with a literary agent, taking her book offer call with a broom in one hand, being surprised by a two-book contract, how a book contract changed her feelings towards writing, and worrying that the first book contract was a fluke. Addison Armstrong is a historical fiction author and a third-grade teacher. She gre...
Young Adult Author Crystal Maldonado and Writing for the Vibes
June 09, 2022 07:00 - 48 minutes - 44.4 MBYoung Adult Author Crystal Maldonado joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss boyband fan fiction, the one book that made her feel like there might be room for her stories, googling everything, being shy about being a writer, her actual rejections from publishers, covid interfering with her publishing schedule, her book baby taking a backseat to her human baby, being grateful for the publishing delay, wishing she had shared her writing sooner, and sending Roxane Gay a copy of her...
Book Club Fiction Jessica Strawser and Taking a Pause
June 02, 2022 07:01 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBBook Club Fiction Jessica Strawser joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss not believing in her own writing, being inspired by the authors she interviewed, realizing successful authors are regular people, the difference between knowing what a good query letter is and writing your own, the overlap in publishing schedules, worrying you've wasted so much time, advice from Debbie Macomber, and not being afraid to take a pause. Jessica Strawser is editor-at-large for Writer's Digest...
Young Adult Author Carolyn Tara O’Neil and a Passion for Settings
May 26, 2022 07:00 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBYoung Adult Author Carolyn Tara O’Neil joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss dreaming of being Carolyn Keene, spending five years drafting and revising her debut, reading the entire Query Shark blog, adding a POV to increase request rate by 600%, how much work her agent actually does, writing one day a week, worrying of never writing something worthy, not beating yourself up, and believing in your own writing. Carolyn Tara O’Neil grew up in a tiny New York City apartment fill...
Young Adult Author Margie Fuston and Proving Vampires are Real
May 19, 2022 07:00 - 32 minutes - 30 MBYoung Adult Author Margie Fuston joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss having both a great and a terrible Pitch Wars experience, ditching a PhD to write a book, selling a trunked novel after getting an agent, R&Rs, making the one change she said she'd never make, fear of social media, taking care of your mental and physical health. Margie Fuston lives in the woods of California and spends all her time wrangling a herd of cats and helping her nephews hunt ghosts, pond monsters...
Science-Fiction Author Jackson Ford and the Secret First Draft
May 12, 2022 18:30 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBScience-Fiction Author Jackson Ford joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss almost giving up, being encouraged by a friend, having his first series not meet sales expectations, transitioning from journalism to fiction, and not spending enough time with his characters. Jackson Ford is a South African author living in Vancouver. He is the author of the Frost Files series, starring the psychokinetic government agent Teagan Frost. Jackson: Query | Website | Twitter | Instagram | A...
Young Adult Author Sarah Dass and the Pressure of Representation
May 05, 2022 07:00 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBYoung Adult Author Sarah Dass joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss letting go of a book to move forward, the importance of finishing books, her debut group, a disastrous first book, amassing 100 rejections, Pitch Wars, and getting published with your third book. Sarah Dass was born in Trinidad but has lived in Tobago since she was two years old. She works as an office administrator by day and writes stories about the Caribbean by night. When she's not writing, she's reading ...
Book Club Fiction Author Lyn Liao Butler and Too Much Query Personalization
April 28, 2022 07:00 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBBook Club Fiction Author Lyn Liao Butler joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss the book that started as a blog, dissecting her favorite books to learn to write, doing an R&R, not getting into Pitch Wars (for a great reason), reviving trunked novels, post-publication uncertainty, traveling for research, the importance of community, and the benefit of an agent in your corner. Lyn Liao Butler was born in Taiwan and moved to the States when she was seven. Before becoming an autho...
Nonfiction Author Jessica P. Pryde and a Dare from Daniel José Older
April 21, 2022 07:00 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBNonfiction Author Jessica P. Pryde joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss starting in fanfic, the magic of writing dates, getting an agent without querying, learning how to write a nonfiction proposal, long waiting periods, worrying about the concept matching the reality, narrowing your audience to make your book better, and more. Jessica P. Pryde is a Contributing Editor for Book Riot and cohost of the When In Romance podcast. Her book, Black Love Matters: Real Talk on Romanc...
Young Adult Author Lauren James and the Ten-Year Gap Year
April 14, 2022 07:00 - 38 minutes - 35.4 MBYoung Adult Author Lauren James joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss having a supportive family, thinking every year this will be the year she has to get a real job, the ten year gap year, when your entire America publishing team gets fired, publishing three books during the pandemic, the one course she wish she'd taken, trusting your instincts, and the value in an editor who also teaches as you go. Lauren James is the twice Carnegie-nominated British author of many Young Ad...