If you’d love to keep 88 Cups of Tea going strong, please consider supporting us through our Patreon membership. We added EARLY ACCESS TO INTERVIEWS for our Super Storyteller patrons in the $8.88 tier. Your kind support at any of our tiers is so helpful. A heartfelt thank you in advance.

https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea

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Are you curious about what a literary agent does behind the scenes to sell a book? Or how to write a query letter that will grab a literary agent's attention? We dive into this and so much more in Suzie Townsend's episode!

Suzie is a literary agent over at New Leaf Literary and Media who represents all brands of children's and adult fiction. She loves women’s fiction and all subgenres of romance, fantasy, and crime fiction. She also represents children’s fiction and particularly loves YA and Middle-Grade novels. Some of Suzie’s best- known projects include #1 NYT Bestseller "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard (a previous guest on 88 Cups of Tea), and many more. 

In our conversation, Suzie takes us on a journey of how her love for storytelling and fantasy books lead her to the path of a literary agent. We get into the nail-biting story of when she sold her first manuscript, how she pitches books to editors, and how to form a great agent to author relationship. She also shares eye-opening query letter tips that will help you catch the attention of literary agents.

Say 'Hi' to Suzie on Twitter @SZTOWNSEND81!

Say 'Hi' to your fellow Storyteller, Katlyn Duncan, on Twitter @KATLYN_DUNCAN!

To access Suzie's shownotes page, the time stamps of highlights throughout the episode, and the bonus downloadable query letter guide, head over to: 88CUPSOFTEA.COM/PODCAST/SUZIE-TOWNSEND

If you’d love to keep 88 Cups of Tea going strong, please consider supporting us through our Patreon membership. We added EARLY ACCESS TO INTERVIEWS for our Super Storyteller patrons in the $8.88 tier. Your kind support at any of our tiers is so helpful. A heartfelt thank you in advance.

https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea

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How can we find inspiration for our stories in our own emotional journeys? What does it mean to balance your emotions when writing difficult scenes so you aren't emotionally drained? Do you find it challenging to make time for your writing while raising a newborn? We dive into that and so much more with today's guest Livia Blackburne.

Livia is a New York Times best-selling, young adult and fantasy author. Her works include "Midnight Thief", "Daughter of Dusk", and "Rosemarked" which was an Amazon best book of the month and a YALSA Teens Top Ten Nominee. Her newly released book, "Umbertouched", is the second book in her "Rosemarked" series and takes readers on an epic fantasy adventure with complex ethical dilemmas and romance thrills. 

In our conversation, Livia tells the story of how she first fell in love with writing and her journey to becoming a full-time writer after getting her PhD in cognitive neuroscience. She gives a snapshot of what readers will discover in her new novel "Umbertouched". Further into the conversation she shares her editorial process and the importance of beta readers, critique partners, and sensitivity readers. We talk about the exciting and difficult moments in her life she pulls inspiration from to build her fantasy worlds and strong characters, why it’s crucial to keep strong social ties to your community, and how she balances life with a two-year-old and her career.

Say 'Hi' to Livia on Twitter @LKBLACKBURNE!

To access Livia's writing prompt and shownotes page, head over to: 88CUPSOFTEA.COM/PODCAST/LIVIA-BLACKBURNE

If you’d love to keep 88 Cups of Tea going strong, please consider supporting us through our Patreon membership. We added EARLY ACCESS TO INTERVIEWS for our Super Storyteller patrons in the $8.88 tier. Your kind support at any of our tiers is so helpful. A heartfelt thank you in advance.

https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea

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Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a literary translator? Or what it takes to translate a text while maintaining the original's true meaning? We unpack that and so much more with today's guest Jay Rubin.

Jay is a Japanese-English translator and novelist. Some of his most well-known translations are of the works of famous Japanese novelist, Haruki Murakami. These translations of Haruki's works include 1Q84, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, and Absolutely on Music. He wrote his own novel titled Making Sense of Japanese back in 2013 that reflects on the complexity of the Japanese language. Recently, Jay curated and published an anthology of famous Japanese short stories titled, The Penguin Book Of Japanese Short Stories.

In our conversation, Jay takes us on a journey of how he discovered his love for the Japanese language and literature which led him to his passion of translating those works for others to enjoy. Further into the conversation, we talk about his process and how he overcomes the difficulty of translating two languages that are almost impossible to translate literally. We also go into detail about his new anthology of Japanese short stories, The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories, and discuss the format of the book and how he chose the incredible stories to include.

To access Jay's shownotes page, head over to: 88CUPSOFTEA.COM/PODCAST/JAY-RUBIN