Rachel Caine is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of more than fifty novels in a diverse range of genres and categories. She has been honored with multiple awards from RT Booklovers Association and the Texas Library Association, and was honored with two spots on the 2012 “Most Favorite Books of UK Schoolchildren” list. More recently in 2017, she began writing thrillers with the huge bestsellers "Stillhouse Lake" and "Killman Creek". In early July of this year, she’ll also be releasing “Smoke and Iron”, her 4th book in the Great Library Series where she continues the adventures of her unforgettable characters from "Ink and Bone", "Paper and Fire", and "Ash and Quill".
In Rachel’s episode, we discuss how she first fell into storytelling, how her musical background taught her to be in the moment with her writing, and how she met her first editor and then sold her first book. Be sure to pay special attention to the helpful advice on carving out time for your writing around a full-time job from the time management queen herself. We also dive into the details about the inspiration behind her stories that helped establish the urban fantasy genre, how she proactively gets the word out about her novels, advice on navigating the world of conventions, conferences, and school visits to promote your work, and how Rachel and her team packages her different genres to make her series distinct from one another.
Further into our conversation, we discuss how to go about the writing business by taking control of your expectations, the different ways to overcome writing difficult scenes in your story, crafting a plot that interacts naturally with your characters, and advice on how to decide which point of view works best for your story. We also discuss why it’s important to keep the passion with your story alive throughout the entire process.
Say 'Hi' to Rachel on Twitter! Head over to her shownotes page for a list of resources mentioned in the episode 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!
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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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“Writing is unique business in that there is so much of it that you can’t control. You can only control what you do and nothing else.”
-Rachel Caine (Click to tweet!)
“You have to figure out what your expectations are and how you can best apply yourself to the process.”
-Rachel Caine (Click to tweet!)
"You have to learn to balance just like you balance your work and your family life and all that. You’ve got to learn how to balance writing and everything else. If it’s a matter of your health, then I think you have to choose your health.”
-Rachel Caine (Click to tweet!)
“As far as points of view, you pick the person to whom the story matters the most. That’s my general rule.”
-Rachel Caine (Click to tweet!)
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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE:
Emily X.R. Pan is the New York Times bestselling author of her debut novel “The Astonishing Color of After”. She is the founding editor-in-chief of Bodega Magazine, and a 2017 Artist-in-Residence at Djerassi, and she received her MFA in fiction from the NYU Creative Writing Program where she was a Goldwater Fellow.
“The Astonishing Color of After” received five starred reviews and is a Wall Street Journal’s top 12 picks of the season. Entertainment Weekly described her first novel as “accessible and compelling.” and was also recommended by other popular media outlets like Buzzfeed, Book Riot, PopSugar and more.
In today’s episode, we get deep into discussion about Emily’s career paths and why and how she made the shift from business to writing. We dive into the details about “The Astonishing Color of After”, from the family story that inspired her to write the novel, to discovering the voice in her story, and to her editing process. Emily also shares what it was like to re-discover Taiwan as an adult for the research phase of her book.
Further into our conversation, we talk about the importance of trusting your instincts when sharing your work with your peers, the role that negative space serves in crafting short stories, and tips on organically marketing your novel.
Say 'Hi' to Emily on Twitter! Head over to her shownotes page for a list of resources mentioned in the episode 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!
---
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 want to have that community. I want to be immersed and surrounded by people who are reading novels and who are talking creatively and talking about the things that they’re creating and the characters they’re making and the stories they’re trying to tell.”
-Emily X.R. Pan (Click to tweet!)
“It’s really crucial to be able to take away and let the negative space speak for itself.”
-Emily X.R. Pan (Click to tweet!)
"I kind of just wanted to create in this cave with just myself which at times is very lonely but I also feel like I sort of needed it for this book. I needed to develop the confidence to trust in my own words and in my own voice again.”
-Emily X.R. Pan (Click to tweet!)
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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE:
Rhoda Belleza is a children’s editor at a publishing house and is the author of “Empress of a Thousand Skies” and “Blood of a Thousand Stars”. The New York Times Book Review wrote, “Intergalactic political intrigue, family betrayal and coveted thrones feature in this space opera story…real-world analogues and social commentary make Empress of a Thousand Skies an important and relevant novel.”
In Rhoda’s episode, we chat all about her love for action movies and how that led her to novel writing. We dive into her experiences as an editor at a publishing house and how that helped her explore the other sides of the publishing world, and how being an editor helped to improve Rhoda’s own writing. We dive into the details about her novels “Empress of a Thousand Skies” and “Blood of a Thousand Stars”, from the inspiration behind the characters, to the world building, and to closing out your characters and ending your story.
Further into our conversation, we break down how joining a writing community you trust can help you receive constructive feedback on your writing, why it’s important to separate yourself and your self-worth from the revision process of a first draft, and why we should seek professional opinions during our research process. We chat realistic word counts per week, why we should be writing consistently throughout the week and how that helps us stay intimate with our characters and strengthens our character building. We also cover why it’s crucial to put aside an editing day each week to prevent yourself from editing along the way.
Say 'Hi' to Rhoda on Twitter! She will be taking over our Instagram stories for the release of her episode, be sure to catch her takeover by clicking here.
Head over to her shownotes page for a list of resources mentioned in the episode 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!
---
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’re not on anyone else’s schedule but your own.”
-Rhoda Belleza (Click to tweet!)
“There’s nothing to revise unless you write that first bad draft.”
-Rhoda Belleza (Click to tweet!)
“At the end of the journey...you want it to be crystallized and engaging. There’s all these ambitions you have for the draft, but right now it’s just a draft and it needs to get better. The only way that it will get better is for you to be vulnerable.”
-Rhoda Belleza (Click to tweet!)
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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE:
Kelly Loy Gilbert is the author of "Conviction", a William C. Morris Award finalist, and her newest novel, “Picture Us in the Light”.
In today’s episode, Kelly brings us behind-the-scenes of “Picture Us in the Light” from discussing the inspiration and catalyst for her new novel to a detailed look at Kelly’s hands-on research process for the story. She walks us through the importance of strong character building when crafting conflict scenes, how to craft authentic characters whose experiences are different from our own, and how to weave empathy into the story by reflecting on personal experiences.
Further into our conversation, Kelly shares advice on coping with and overcoming writer’s block to move forward with your work, how you can work with your support network to strengthen your story’s plotlines, and she also shares why it’s crucial to give yourself permission to step away from your story.
Say 'Hi' to Kelly on Twitter! She will also be taking over our Instagram stories for the release of her episode, be sure to catch her takeover on Instagram by clicking here. We're also teaming up with Kelly and her team to giveaway a copy of "Picture Us in the Light" to TWO lucky winners, so look out for the directions in our Instagram stories.
For our writers, Kelly created a very helpful writing prompt exclusive for our community, head over to her shownotes page by clicking here to download your copy.
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 think I always tend to forget how much you just have to end up deleting and how much you have to write and write and write to sort of get to the heart of the story and figure out the characters.”
-Kelly Loy Gilbert (Click to tweet!)
“If you feel like you’re in this rut, nothing is happening, I promise when you step back you will start missing it and I think that is always a good place to be in.”
-Kelly Loy Gilbert (Click to tweet!)
“Thinking about how everything is interconnected and how every action leads to a reaction has been, I think, really useful for me.”
-Kelly Loy Gilbert (Click to tweet!)
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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE: