Episodes
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Crystal joins Caitlin and Aliah to chat about her experience writing a main character that shares her own disability, and gives some thoughts that could help other authors attempting to do the same.
Crystal mentioned another book in the podcast that features a protagonist with Crohn's disease, though we don't mention the title, we will here: Of Wolves and Stags by Ria Parisi
Crystal Seitz is a young adult contemporary fantasy writer. A Viking at heart, Crystal battles Crohnâs disease and raids libraries for all the books on Norse mythology she can find. She works in marketing and web design, but only because she canât be a professional shield-maiden. She has a penchant for mythology, history, and all things creative. When she isnât writing, Crystal can be found doing archery, drawing, or rewatching Game of Thrones.
More about the book:
Belladonna meets Norse mythology in this gorgeous dark fantasy debut that follows a teen who accidentally awakens an imprisoned draugr and must follow him into a deadly magical forest to rescue her grandmother.Never go beyond the stave church.Within Tiveden Forest, bloodthirsty monsters known as draugr lurk behind every tree, and secrets run through the soil like twisted roots. When her grandmother vanishes into the forest, Astrid wonât let Crohnâs disease get in the way of finding her. But in searching for her lost loved one, Astrid soon uncovers an even greater mystery:A conflict thatâs haunted her village and family for generations.An ancient blood oath her ancestor made to protect them.A deadly draugr imprisoned for centuriesâŠwho Astrid accidentally awakens.Newly revived, Soren first mistakes Astrid for her ancestor, his ex-lover turned enemy. Astrid canât tell if he would rather kill her or kiss her. But Soren knows the forest better than anyone, and Astrid quickly realizes that sheâll need his help to rescue her grandmother.The deeper they venture into Tiveden, the closer Astrid gets to the cold, alluring Soren and the truth behind her grandmotherâs disappearance. To save her home, a dark ritual must be performed before Midwinterâand only Astrid can fulfill her ancestorâs blood oathâŠor break it.That is, if Sorenâor the forestâdoesnât break Astrid first.
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Caitlin and Aliah chat with Printz Honor winning author Lily Anderson about how to write hauntings and horror, tempering scary stories with humor, and her newest book Killer House Party.
Lily Anderson the author of several novels for young adults including The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You, Not Now Not Ever, and Undead Girl Gang. A former school librarian, she is deeply devoted to Shakespeare, fairy tales, and podcasts. Somewhere in Northern California, she is having strong opinions on musical theater.
More about Killer House Party:
Red Solo cups? Check. Snacks? Check. Abandoned mansion full of countless horrors that wonât let you leave? Check.The Deinhart Manor has been a looming shadow over town for as long as anyone can remember, and it's been abandoned for even longer. When the final Deinhart descendent passes, the huge gothic manor is up for sale for the first time ever. Which means Arden can steal the keys from her momâs real estate office . . . Itâs time for a graduation party that no one will ever forget.Arden and her friends each have different reasons for wanting to throw the party to end all parties. But when the manor doors bar everyone inside and the walls begin to bleed, all anyone wants to do is make it out alive.
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Episodes manquant?
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What are the building blocks of a heist? Caitlin Schneiderhan chats with Caitlin (two of us! Correct spelling and everything!) to chat about her debut book Medici Heist and how she went about planning it.
Caitlin Schneiderhan is a genre-loving writer on the hit Netflix show STRANGER THINGS. Originally hailing from Silver Spring, Maryland, Caitlin hatched from a cocoon of Terry Pratchett novels when she was 13. She spent her teenage years scribbling stories during class instead of paying attention (you canât prove she wasnât just taking notes). Eventually, she decided to chase that storytelling bug all the way out to sunny Los Angeles, where she spent a few years scribbling scripts at assistant jobs instead of paying attention (you canât prove she wasnât just taking notes). She has been named one of MovieMaker Magazineâs 25 Screenwriters to Watch, and has projects in development with multiple production companies around Hollywood.
More about Medici Heist:
A sharp-witted teenage thief leads a team of skilled misfits in a dangerous and daring heist for fortune, freedom and revenge against a corrupt Pope in Renaissance Italy in Caitlin Schneiderhan's clever YA debut, Medici Heist.Welcome to Florence, 1517, a world of intrigue and opulence, murder and betrayal. Seventeen-year-old conwoman Rosa Cellini arrives in the city the same day that the Medici Pope, Leo X, returns to take up the reins of power. This is not a coincidence. The new Pope is extorting a mountain of indulgence money from the people of Florence to bolster his power and standing, and Rosa has a plan to take it back.To pull off the Renaissanceâs greatest robbery, sheâll recruit a team of specially-chosen, highly-skilled misfits: Sarra the tinkerer, Khalid the fighter, and Giacomo, the irrepressible master of disguise. To top it all off, and to smooth their entrance into the fortress-like Palazzo Medici, Rosa even enlists the reluctant help of the famed artist Michelangelo.But as the authorities draw closer and the Mediciâs noose pulls tighter around the land, old secrets resurface and tensions in the group start to flare. What began as a robbery could be the key to saving the city itselfâif Rosa and company donât destroy each other first.
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Tricia Levenseller joins Caitlin to talk about how she plots romance, including a fun twist on Dan Wells' Seven Point Plot structure specifically for romance. (Here's Dan's original presentation, which is worth a watch and an easy-to-use template of the non-romance version)
Tricia is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of eight YA romantasies, including the Daughter of the Pirate King duology and The Shadows between Us. Her books have been translated into twenty languages and counting.
Tricia grew up in Oregon, where she spent her childhood climbing trees and playing make believe. She now lives in Utah with her bossy dog, Rosy, where she writes full time. When sheâs not writing or reading, Tricia enjoys putting together jigsaw puzzles, playing video games, and finding tasty restaurants to frequent.
The Darkness within Us is a companion novel to The Shadows between Us. It can be read without reading the first book, but you probably will enjoy it more if you read The Shadows between Us first.
Chrysantha Stathos has won.
By hiding her intelligence and ambition behind the mask of a beautiful air-headed girl, she has become a wealthy duchess. And, once her elderly husband dies, she will have all the freedom, money, and safety sheâs ever wanted.
Or so she thought.
A man claiming to be the estranged grandson of Chrysanthaâs lecherous late husband has turned up to steal her inheritance. To make matters worse, her little sister is going to be queen and is rubbing it in her face.Chrysantha decides that the only thing to do is upstage Alessandra at her own wedding. And as for this grandson, he has to go. Never mind that heâs extremely handsome and secretive with mysterious powers . . . No, Chrysantha wants Eryx Demos dead, and in the end, a Stathos girl always gets what she wants.
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Throwback to when Daniel Kraus came on our show to discuss Whalefall!
DANIEL KRAUS is a New York Times bestselling writer of novels, TV, and film. His latest novel, Whalefall, received a front-cover review in the New York Times Book Review, won the Alex Award, was an L.A. Times Book Prize Finalist, and was a Best Book of 2023 from NPR, the New York Times, Amazon, Chicago Tribune, and more.
With Guillermo del Toro, he co-authored The Shape of Water, based on the same idea the two created for the Oscar-winning film. Also with del Toro, Kraus co-authored Trollhunters, which was adapted into the Emmy-winning Netflix series. His also cowrote The Living Dead and Pay the Piper with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero. Krausâs The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch was named one of Entertainment Weeklyâs Top 10 Books of the Year. Kraus has won the Bram Stoker Award, Scribe Award, two Odyssey Awards (for both Rotters and Scowler), and has appeared multiple times as Library Guild selections, YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, and more.
Krausâs work has been translated into over 20 languages. He lives with his wife in Chicago. Visit him at danielkraus.com.
Whalefall, if you have not had a chance to read it yet, is well worth your time:
A USA TODAY BESTSELLERNamed a Best Book of 2023 by Book Riot, Shelf Awareness, and NPRThe Martian meets 127 Hours in this âastoundingly greatâ (Gillian Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author) and scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver whoâs been swallowed by an eighty-foot, sixty-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out.Jay Gardiner has given himself a foolâs errandâto find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Monastery Beach. He knows itâs a long shot, but Jay feels itâs the only way for him to lift the weight of guilt he has carried since his dadâs death by suicide the previous year.The dive begins well enough, but the sudden appearance of a giant squid puts Jay in very real jeopardy, made infinitely worse by the arrival of a sperm whale looking to feed. Suddenly, Jay is caught in the squidâs tentacles and drawn into the whaleâs mouth where he is pulled into the first of its four stomachs. He quickly realizes he has only one hour before his oxygen tanks run outâone hour to defeat his demons and escape the belly of a whale.Suspenseful and cinematic, Whalefall is an âpowerfully humaneâ (Owen King, New York Times bestselling author) thriller about a young man who has given up on lifeâŠonly to find a reason to live in the most dangerous and unlikely of places.
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Marie Lu is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Legend trilogy and The Young Elites trilogy (and lots of other fabulous books!). She graduated from the University of Southern California and jumped into the video game industry, working for Disney Interactive Studios as a Flash artist. Now a full-time writer, she spends her spare time reading, drawing, playing Assassinâs Creed, and getting stuck in traffic. She lives in Los Angeles, California (see above: traffic), with one husband, one Chihuahua mix, and two Pembroke Welsh corgis. Her newest book is Icon and Inferno.
Marie joins Caitlin to chat about how she approaches writing distinctive voices for her characters and shares some exercises that help her get comfortable with a new cast of characters.
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EVA DES LAURIERS joins the Lit Service cast to chat about how she approaches writing characters based on her background in psychology and sociology and how authors can approach writing teen characters with authenticity.
Eva is the author of YA Romance, I Wish You Would (Holt, BYR). Sheâs a diehard romantic who holds both an MSW and BA in psychology. As a clinical social worker, she had the privilege of working with the vibrant and complicated teens for whom she now writes. She co-hosts a writing and mental health podcast with fellow author Katryn Bury called Write Where It Hurts. A White-Chicana California girl with the ocean in her veins, she lives and writes in Oakland, California with her husband, who also happens to be the boy she sat next to in eleventh grade Calculus, their two children, and her collection of kissing books. Find her on Instagram @evadeslaurbooks
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Caitlin chats with Holly Black about building characters and her newest book The Prisoner's Throne.
Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels, including the Novels of Elfhame, THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN, the Spiderwick Chronicles, and her adult debut, BOOK OF NIGHT. She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award and the Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor. Her books have been translated into 32 languages worldwide and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library.
You can find the special editions set of the duology here.
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What do you do once you've finished your first draft? Immediately send it to every agent and publisher you can find contact info for? Put it in a drawer? Maybe something in between. Caitlin, Aliah, and Kristen chat about how they approach a second draft.
Don't forget to check out Caitlin's newest release, He Who Breaks the Earth
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Caitlin, Aliah, and Kristen chat about how to approach writing a satisfying and exciting ending.
Don't miss Caitlin's new release from Simon and Schuster, He Who Breaks the Earth
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Martha Wells joins to podcast to chat about how to write characters your readers will love. Martha has been an SF/F writer since her first fantasy novel was published in 1993, and her work includes The Books of the Raksura series, The Death of the Necromancer, the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy, The Murderbot Diaries series, media tie-in fiction for Star Wars, Stargate: Atlantis, and Magic: the Gathering, as well as short fiction, YA novels, and non-fiction. She has won Nebula Awards, Hugo Awards, and Locus Awards, and her work has appeared on the Philip K. Dick Award ballot, the BSFA Award ballot, the USA Today Bestseller List, and the New York Times Bestseller List. She is a member of the Texas Literary Hall of Fame, and her books have been published in twenty-five languages. Her newest book, Witch King is out now (find it here!).
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Margaret Owen joins Caitlin, Aliah, and Kristen to chat about how to help your action to rise naturally and how to raise stakes.
Margaret is the author of The Merciful Crow, The Faithless Hawk, Little Thieves, Painted Devils which releases May 16th, and A Grimoire of Grave Fates which releases in June.
The "How Dire Is It" chart Margaret mentions can be found here.
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Kristen, Caitlin, and Aliah chat about what goes into the middle of a book.
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We all hit moments where a shiny new project suddenly feels more like work. Aliah, Caitlin, and Kristen discuss strategies that allow the slog to become a little easier.
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Aliah, Caitlin, and Kristen discuss how to keep writing when the ideas aren't coming.
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Aliah, Cameron, Caitlin, and Kristen discuss what is most important at the beginning of a book and how to go about approaching it in your own stories.
Don't forget to check out our special edition books we've done for past guests!
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Caitlin, Cameron, Kristen, and Aliah chat about how to begin writing and how to overcome some of the difficulties writers struggle with when starting a project.
Don't forget to check out our special editions!
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Aliah, Kristen, Caitlin, and Cameron kick of season seven with a new series on how to write a novel from start to finish beginning with how to come up with a good idea.
For updates and information on upcoming guests, subscribe to our newsletter!
To check out our special editions, go to Caitlin's store.
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Marissa Meyer joins Caitlin and Kristen to chat about how she approaches an adaptation, how to choose what to keep, what to get rid of, and where she gets inspiration for the unique new worlds and characters that go into her new story.
Her newest book, CURSED, the second in the Gilded Duology came out on November 8th, be sure to check the series out. We did a signed hand-painted edge design here, if you like your books special :) which you can find here.
Marissa Meyer is the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles, Heartless, The Renegades Trilogy, and Instant Karma, as well as the graphic novel duology Wires and Nerve. She holds a BA in Creative Writing from Pacific Lutheran University and a MA in Publishing from Pace University. In addition to writing, Marissa hosts The Happy Writer podcast. She lives near Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and twin daughters.
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