Atia Abawi is an author, foreign correspondent, and award-winning journalist. Born a refugee to Afghan parents in West Germany and raised in the United States, Atia has reported on war, conflicts and international crises in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar, Egypt, Kenya and Israel. Her first book for teens, The Secret Sky, is a critically acclaimed love story set during the current war in Afghanistan and won an Amelia Bloomer Award. She was also named a Publisher’s Weekly Flying Start, honoring debut novelists whose first book shows success and promise.
In today’s episode, Atia shares the story of her parents’ terrifying journey to find refuge in Germany and why it’s crucial for her to humanize the refugee crisis we see today through her latest novel, “A Land of Permanent Goodbyes”. We discuss the pain she felt day-after-day researching this novel, and why she made the specific choice of narrating the novel through the voice of Destiny.
Further into our discussion, we also learn how Atia transitioned from a journalism background of reporting facts to writing a novel where writers normally rely on creativity and imagination.
Atia is also taking over our Instagram stories from her visit to Bangkok so be sure to follow us on Instagram by clicking here!
Say 'Hi' to Atia on Twitter and check out an exclusive excerpt from "American Panda" along with an adorable cartoon that ties in with the excerpt over at her shownotes page by clicking here! For writers, be sure to scroll down to the bottom of Katherine's shownotes page to download her writing prompt for our storytellers!
Happy Listening!
Xo,
Yin
PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!
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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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Meet fellow members in our community and check in about your work-in-progress, and join in on other bookish talks and 88 Cups of Tea related things, join our private Facebook group! You can really feel the love and support in our community. You also get the opportunity to submit your questions for upcoming guests on the show. Click here to join our private Facebook group!
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Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here!
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“I’m glad that I’m nervous when I ask because I feel like that means I still care about the people that I’m talking to.”
-Atia Abawi (Click to tweet!)
“My imagination was gone because of my journalism. What I did do was put in reality as deep and as best as I could. The sparkles on the water that shimmered like diamonds, that’s real.”
-Atia Abawi (Click to tweet!)
“It got to the point where your dreams no longer just belong to you.”
-Atia Abawi (Click to tweet!)
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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE:
https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea
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Katherine Locke is the author of the Sydney Taylor Honor Award winning debut young adult novel "The Girl with the Red Balloon."
In today’s episode, we dive into how “The Girl with the Red Balloon” was influenced by her Grandfather. She shares advice for writers new to the historical fantasy genre, how technology plays a crucial role when writing historical fiction, how to tell a story that requires emotionally heavy research and overcoming the emotional exhaustion.
Katherine walks us through incredibly helpful tips on drafting, from the first draft to the second draft, and how to work through the dreaded middle of the manuscript. You’ll learn why Katherine always tosses out the first draft and how she accepted this as part of her process. We also touch on different ways to brainstorm, how to simultaneously balance writing for different genres and age groups, and why it’s necessary to have a writing community.
For writers, to download the exclusive writing prompt she created for our community, scroll down till you see a box that says “writing prompt”. Katherine is also taking over our Instagram account and will be showing us behind-the-scenes glimpses of her writing life, from her local coffee shop where she gets her writing done and how she gets through writer’s block, to special footage from her research trip in Budapest, and so much more. We’re also hosting an exciting giveaway of Katherine’s book so be sure to follow us on Instagram by clicking here!
Say 'Hi' to Katherine on Twitter and check out an exclusive excerpt from "American Panda" along with an adorable cartoon that ties in with the excerpt over at her shownotes page by clicking here! For writers, be sure to scroll down to the bottom of Katherine's shownotes page to download her writing prompt for our storytellers!
Happy Listening!
Xo,
Yin
PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!
---
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!
---
Meet fellow members in our community and check in about your work-in-progress, and join in on other bookish talks and 88 Cups of Tea related things, join our private Facebook group! You can really feel the love and support in our community. You also get the opportunity to submit your questions for upcoming guests on the show. Click here to join our private Facebook group!
---
Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here!
---
“It’s very important to have a writing community that cheerleads and then also challenges you.”
-Katherine Locke (Click to tweet!)
“It took me 3 years of writing it to realize it was ok to not find answers in my own book, its ok to come up with more questions. A tough emotional place to be but a really important personal place to be.”
-Katherine Locke (Click to tweet!)
“I have always considered myself a YA writer, I really do think that’s part of my identity as a writer. I just happen to also write books for adults.”
-Katherine Locke (Click to tweet!)
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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE:
Advice on drafting, from the first draft to the second draft
How to work through the dreaded middle of your manuscript
How to tell a story that requires emotionally heavy research and overcome the emotional drainage
Detailed advice for writers new to the historical fantasy genre
How to simultaneously balance writing for different genres and age groups
Learn why Katherine always tosses out the first draft and how she accepted this as part of her process to help move her forward
Why it’s crucial to have a writing community and support
Different ways to brainstorm and utilizing how your brain works
The importance of writing consistently
How Katherine’s story for The Girl with the Red Balloon was influenced by her Grandfather
How technology plays a crucial role when writing historical fiction
https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea
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We have co-authors Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner on our show today!
Meagan is the author of "Hunted" and the "Skylark" trilogy, and Amie is the co-author of "The Illuminae Files". Amie and Meagan are longtime friends and they’ve traveled quite a lot together and have even lived with each other. They’re the epitome of friendship goals.
In today’s episode, we discuss how traveling has directly impacted their writings both individually and together as they co-authored their newest book "Unearthed". In our conversation, we dive into all the details of “Unearthed”, how the idea came to fruition from their travels, and what it was like writing the book together. “Unearthed” is the first in a duology and the film rights have been optioned by the production company “Cross Creek Pictures”, the same company that produced “Black Swan”, and has Doug Liman from “The Bourne Identity” attached to direct.
For our listeners who are especially interested in co-authoring, you’ll want to pay special attention to Meagan and Amie when they walk us through why mutual respect is the key foundation to their successful and healthy partnership as co-authors, how they stay aligned with their book’s main goal by assigning primary responsibilities, and how to productively and efficiently work through disagreements as co-authors. They also share really helpful advice on finding writing partners for yourself and what to look out for.
We also talk about how Meagan landed a literary agent and how Amie became represented by the same literary agency. We deep dive into some real talk about finding your fit when it comes to literary representation, and what to be aware of when you’re figuring out which literary agent to work with.
In case you missed our announcement last week, we added Instagram story takeovers for many of our upcoming episodes! Be sure to follow us on Instagram to catch Amie and Meagan’s story takeover where you’ll get a fun behind-the-scenes glimpse at their writing life.
Say 'Hi' to Amie on Twitter and Meagan on Twitter! Click here to check out their shownotes page.
Happy listening!
Xo,
Yin
PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!
---
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!
---
Meet fellow members in our community and check in about your work-in-progress, and join in on other bookish talks and 88 Cups of Tea related things, join our private Facebook group! You can really feel the love and support in our community. You also get the opportunity to submit your questions for upcoming guests on the show. Click here to join our private Facebook group!
---
Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here!
---
“You want to make sure that you have somebody with you who’s there for the whole journey, who wants to see you succeed, rather than just sell one book.”
-Meagan Spooner (Click to tweet!)
“You have to be prepared to stand by your work the whole way through.”
-Amie Kaufman (Click to tweet!)
“Traveling, for me, is the one surefire way to get over writer’s block.”
-Meagan Spooner (Click to tweet!)
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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE:
In today’s episode, we discuss the traditional roles of women and the family values ingrained in the Taiwanese culture. Gloria walks us through the details of her revision process and the most important thing she learned about revisions. We also talk about crafting the main character’s voice, the most exciting thing that’s happened during her debut year, and the difficulties she faced trying to market a YA book set in college. We touch on the inspiration for American Panda’s cover design, how much input Gloria had with the design process, and how one of the details inspired Gloria to tweak a part of her story.
We’ve got some exciting things for you below, like an exclusive excerpt from "American Panda" just for our 88 Cups of Tea community and an adorable cartoon to go along with the excerpt. For our writers, look out for Gloria’s writing prompt at the bottom of this page– Also exclusive for our listeners! If you’re particularly stuck with writer’s block, you’ll want to grab your copy of the prompt.
Gloria is also launching our very first Instagram story takeover today, on February 1st. You’ll get a sneak peek of her life as a writer and one lucky winner will receive a signed copy of “American Panda”. To enter for a chance to win, be sure to look out for Gloria’s announcement of her giveaway on her Instagram story takeover and reply to that story by tapping the heart button. You have exactly 24 hours to enter from the time that story is first posted so you’ll want to act fast.
Say 'Hi' to Gloria on Twitter and check out an exclusive excerpt from "American Panda" along with an adorable cartoon that ties in with the excerpt over at her shownotes page by clicking here! For writers, be sure to scroll down to the bottom of Gloria's shownotes page to download her writing prompt for our storytellers!
I couldn’t be more ecstatic to kick off 2018 with Gloria’s episode, happy listening!
Xo,
Yin
PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!
---
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!
---
Meet fellow members in our community and check in about your work-in-progress, and join in on other bookish talks and 88 Cups of Tea related things, join our private Facebook group! You can really feel the love and support in our community. You also get the opportunity to submit your questions for upcoming guests on the show. Click here to join our private Facebook group!
---
Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here!
---
“I knew that this would take a lot longer to get an agent and a book deal if it ever did and I was still ok with going for it because I felt it was important enough to the story to give it a shot.”
-Gloria Chao (Click to tweet!)
“With plotting and drafting, every book is different. You have to re-learn how the process is going to work for that specific book.”
-Gloria Chao (Click to tweet!)
“A lot of revision went into making sure that it [American Panda] was readable for everyone but at the same time it was very honest and it portrayed everything accurately.”
-Gloria Chao (Click to tweet!)
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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE: