Y'all. The 88th episode has arrived. Dun dun DUN!
Today’s milestone episode is proudly sponsored by Sun Basket and BookCon. It features eight incredible listeners from our 88 Cups of Tea community. I remember when I first launched this podcast, the 88th episode seemed so far fetched. I can’t believe the day is finally here.
Thank you all for getting us to the 88th episode, without listeners like you who tune in to kick it with us each week, we would not have made it this far. The selection process for this episode was incredibly difficult. We had a flood of listeners submitting applications that averaged 40 minutes to complete. There was a lot that I threw at you and I’m blown away by your thoughtful and lengthy responses.
All of the guests you’re going to hear from today have been long-time listeners and are a huge part of our community. They have all been so active, engaged, and vocal in our community. It was so nice to talk to each of them and getting to hear their voices for the first time!
I hope you have a fun time learning about your fellow tribe members in today’s episode! You’ll learn about how much you have in common with each other. We’re all going through similar paths where you can see it’s quite natural for us to be empathetic of each other’s struggles, and for us to celebrate each other’s accomplishments as if they’re our own, no matter how big or small.
Happy listening!
Xo
Yin
PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!
PPS. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!
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Join our loving community over in our private facebook group by clicking here!
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“Writing gave me my own identity, it gave me something outside of my family, something for me.” -Tia Bearden
“Part of our conflict drove my desire to write a very honest portrayal, I wanted a voice out there that discussed this cultural gap in a very raw way that other people could relate to.” -Gloria Chao
“You have to put in the work to get better and its something that you will constantly get better at for the rest of your life.” -Tara Creel
“It has always been my job to tell stories that are not my own and to try and do them justice and to be respectful even when there are people or perspectives that I either don’t necessarily agree with or know that I can’t fully understand.” -Amanda Connolly
“I put so much into my character’s life that’s from my own.” -Kristy Mauna
"This book is a love letter to my imagination." -Megan LaCroix
“What I really do try to do is that even if I’m not actively writing usable words down for the story that day, that I’m thinking of the story. So I’ll open up the document. If I’m not inspired to write, I’ll go and find a scene that I love and I’ll just read it.” -Kat Cho
“When I come home from work and I’m tired, I don’t feel like writing half the time and I sit down and make myself do it. It’s like going to the gym when you haven’t gone in a long time.” -Alyssa Colman
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Megan LaCroix is a reader, a writer, a lover of the outdoors, and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She loves lush books with literary slants and hooky voices, and is currently revising a young adult fantasy that was chosen to participate in Pitch Wars 2016. Megan lives in Virginia with her handsome husband and their two adventurous daughters. You can visit her website and stop by her Twitter.
Kat Cho used to hide books under the bathroom sink and then sneak in there to read after bedtime. Her parents pretended not to know. This helped when she decided to write a dinosaur time-travel novel at the tender age of nine. Sadly, that book was not published. She loves anything that encourages nerding out, including reading, blogging, K-dramas, K-pop and anime. Currently, Kat writes YA sci-fi and fantasy and is represented by Beth Phelan at the Bent Agency. You can find her here and on Twitter.
Alyssa Colman holds a double degree in English and Theatre from Wake Forest University. As a playwright, she was a winner of the 2013 ESPA new play competition at Primary Stages in New York and was a semi-finalist at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference. When she’s not writing, Alyssa loves reading every book she can get her hands on, baking bread from scratch, and hiking with her husband. You can find her on Twitter.
https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea
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I’m thrilled to share this week’s new episode featuring Victoria “V.E.” Schwab, the #1 NYT bestselling author of 12 books. Most of you know Victoria from The Shades of Magic series where an Entertainment Weekly article describes her writing as “addictive and immersive.”
Click here for Victoria's shownotes page! A quick heads up, this episode has adult language.
In Victoria’s episode proudly brought to you by BookCon, we cover a whole lot about life and non-writing related topics including sexuality, tea, the fear of speaking, serial killers, etiquette camp, and S-Town.This magnificent being is queen.
A bit more about what we cover over in the writing related avenue: We discuss why it’s crucial to create as few parameters as you can around your writing, and how working with a flexible schedule and freeing yourself from a strict writing place helps with productivity.
Victoria breaks down how she’s able to read 100 books a year and you’ll be able to apply her tips to your own habits to up your reading game. We touch on reading different genres and styles of writing and how that helps to strengthen your writing.
For my craft-focused listeners, this episode is a d-r-e-a-m. We unpack the differences in writing multiple genres, writing morally ambiguous characters, discovering the voices of your characters, and writing multiple points of views.
Say "Hi" to Victoria on Twitter by clicking here.
Happy listening!
Xo
Yin
PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!
PPS. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support. You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!
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If you like behind-the-scenes stuff, check out our Instagram stories where you can see snippets of our podcasting world.
We have Sandhya Menon with us this week! A refreshing new voice in young adult fiction, her debut, "When Dimple Met Rishi", is a charming romantic comedy that celebrates first love, and at the core, explores one’s own independence and voice in the world. Click here for Sandhya's shownotes page!
As you’ll learn in our conversation, Sandhya moved from India when she was 15 years old and she shares how she adapted to her new surroundings in America, and how she was able to draw from those experiences for her book. Sandhya shares in detail how the idea of “When Dimple Met Rishi” was originally pitched to her by her editor.
Sandhya walks us through how indie publishing brought the world of traditional publishing to her, and how her agent discovered her. You’ll also learn how Youtube and Pinterest played critical roles in Sandhya’s research for the setting of her book. We also discuss arranged marriages and what it was like for us to date when we were growing up. This is a really fun episode and I’m so excited for you to hear it.
Say "Hi" to Sandhya on Twitter by clicking here.
Happy listening!
Xo,
Yin
PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!
PPS. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!
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“OWN voice is people. We’re not a monolith. There are so many different experiences.” -Sandhya Menon (Click to Tweet)
“It was a conscious and constant dialogue that I had to have with myself and just say ‘Hey, just do your best and let it go’.” -Sandhya Menon (Click to Tweet)
“We contain multitudes just like the people who have been getting those stories. It’s okay for us to not have ‘the issue’ book.” -Sandhya Menon (Click to Tweet)
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Click here to get your limited edition 88 Cups of Tea mug!
Don't forget to join our private Facebook group :)
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https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea
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We have the legendary Jerry Spinelli of the Newbery Medal winning “Maniac Magee”, and the Newbery Honor winner “Wringer” on the show with us this week. Jerry is the New York Times bestselling author of over 30 novels including “Stargirl”, a Publishers Weekly 'Best Book of the Year'. "Stargirl" is also being adapted into a movie directed by Catherine Hardwicke from the films “Thirteen” and “Twilight”.
In describing Jerry’s writing, The New York Times says, “No writer guides his young characters, and his readers, past these pitfalls and challenges and toward their futures with more compassion.”
In Jerry’s episode proudly brought to you by Sun Basket, we jump right into his childhood stories that paved the way to his journey as an author, and we touch back on the experience that led Jerry to realizing he could make a career out of writing. We dive a little deeper to discuss how he created a writing life that involved a full-time job and raising a family.
Further into Jerry’s episode, he brings us behind the scenes in writing “Maniac Magee”. He also shares the inspiration behind his newest book, “The Warden’s Daughter” and the important differences between writing “for” the audience and writing “about” the audience.
Jerry shares his take on writing honest stories for your readers and how to craft authentic voices for your characters. He also walks us through his loose writing structure and shares tips on financially supporting yourself as a writer that works with your lifestyle. If you’ve been feeling stuck with your writing lately, look out for the part where Jerry explains what the “miserable middle” is, and his advice on coping with those moments and why it’s crucial to not give authority to writers’ block. For listeners who are about to send off query letters to literary agents, you’ll want to pay special attention to Jerry’s querying tips and why writing short query letters will help to show that you’re an effective writer.
For a list of Jerry's recommended resources, we have them listed out on his shownotes page. Just click here!
Happy listening!
Xo,
Yin
PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!
PPS. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support. You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!