Lit Service (Caitlin Sangster, Kristen Evans, Cameron Harris, Aliah Eberting)

Erin A. Craig joins the podcasters to chat about horror as a genre and how she approaches writing it. Erin is the New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows and Small Favors which will be out July 27th.

For more about Erin and her books, visit her website.

The chapter we critiqued with all our notes can be found here.

To learn more about how to support the podcast (or participate in a writing group with some of the podcasters!) check out our Patreon.

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.

Ayana Gray joins the Lit Service Crew to chat about the nuts and bolts of building a scene, ways to ground your reader, how to balance different types of interaction on the page and how to know if your scene is interesting.

Ayana is the author of (highly anticipated!) YA fantasy Beasts of Prey, and is a lover of all things monsters, mythos, and #MelaninMagic. To learn more about her and her book, check out her website.

To learn how to support Lit Service (and get early access to episodes and some bonus content), check out our Patreon.

Caitlin live reads and critiques a submitted chapter, digging into why it isn't quite working (though the concept is pretty fun! A little embarrassed romance goes a long way!). Some episodes Caitlin recommends to think about the questions she brings up: 4:19 with Aminah Mae Safi and 4.11 with DongWon Song

If you want to hear more Hot Seat Critiques (and support the podcast!!) check out our Patreon.

Caitlin, Cameron, Aliah, and Kristen chat with Bridget Howard about building a social media platform.

Bridget owns the bookstagram account @darkfaerietales_ which has over 116,000 followers. She is also part owner of Storygram Tours, a Bookstagram Tour company that has run over a thousand successful instagram tours. She works closely with publishers like Harper, Little Brown, Disney, Macmillan, Scholastic, Random House, and many more on a weekly basis. Storygram has also run tours for many authors such as Kendare Blake, Kerri Maniscalco, Tricia Levenseller, Adrienne Young and others. 

Caitlin and Cameron talk tropes with Emily R. King, author of THE HUNDREDTH QUEEN and Karen M. McManus, author of ONE OF US IS LYING.

This is our first submission which has officially SURVIVED THE QUERY PROCESS. If you'd like to follow the author's journey now that she's agented, you can follow her on Twitter here: @CassaCassaCassa or check out her website: https://ginger-and-sage.org/

If you'd like to submit your first chapter for some advice on how to attract agent attention, you can check out our submission guidelines here: literarywip.wixsite.com/podcast

With special guest Mckelle George, the Literary WIP team talks about how to make a story move forward by establishing stakes and motivation.

We had some technical difficulties on the recording for this week...so, sorry in advance.

You can check out this week's submission or submit your own work to be critiqued on our website: literarywip.wixsite.com/podcast

Want to know where your book fits on a bookshelf? We do too, and so do the agents and editors reviewing your query letters. With guest Kate Watson, we chat about why it's important to know where you fit into your genre and how it can help your writing.

You can find out more about Kate Watson and her books here: http://www.katewatsonbooks.com/

If you're interested in Blake Snyder's Save the Cat beat sheets, you can find them here: http://www.savethecat.com/beat-sheets-alpha

If you'd like to see Jami Gold's beat sheets adapted for different genres, they're here: https://jamigold.com/for-writers/worksheets-for-writers/

Want to see today's submission? It's on our website: https://literarywip.wixsite.com/podcast

If you'd like us to review your first chapter, check out our submission guidlines on the website.

Enjoy today's episode? Leave us a rating in comment in iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks!

Romantic Subplots! The best AND the worst! How do you keep your romantic subplot from feeling like...a plot point? We talk about building relationships in books and how to help your characters come together instead of shoving them together.

We talk exhaustively about the relationships in Maggie Steifvater's THE RAVEN BOYS, Leigh Bardugo's THE SIX OF CROWS, THE WINNER'S CRIME, by Marie Rutkoski, Stranger Things, Firefly and lots of other awesome books and TV shows.

For this week's submission or to submit your own work to be critiqued, check out our website: literarywip.wixsite.com/podcast

To learn more about our guest, visit her website: http://www.erinbeaty.com/

Inciting incidents: what they are and how to effectively choose one. Kristen, Cameron, and Caitlin discuss their own writerly inciting incidents (how they started writing) and then talk about they ways inciting incidents affect the rest of the story, specifically using examples from RED RISING by Pierce Brown, THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas, ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr, ILLUMINAE by Amie Kaufman and Jay Krisoff, LAST STAR BURNING by Caitlin Sangster, and JURASSIC PARK the old and fabulous movie that Cameron has been fixated on for a few episodes now :)

If you'd like to submit your work to be critiqued by the Literary WIP team . . . hold your horses. This is the last episode of the season, and we're going to be changing some things next year. Please stay tuned for announcments about how and when to submit. We're really excited about next season and can't wait to share!

The submission featured in today's podcast (as well as tons of other writing tips and writing advice to help polish your first chapter so it's beautiful and sparkly enough to catch agent attention) can be found on our website: literarywip.wixsite.com/podcast

Peace out, happy holidays, and good luck in the trenches!

Caitlin, Kristen, Cameron, Dan and guest author Aprilynne Pike talk about the do's and don'ts of pacing. They then critique a submission about a girl who has a perfect life, but something terrible is about to happen to her.

The Lit Service crew chats with Misa Sugiura about creating flawed characters, why we like flawed characters, and how flaws can drive a story.

Misa Sugiura is the author of the award-winning It's Not Like It's A Secret (2017) and This Time Will Be Different (2019)

Our next two guests will be Kiersten White and Marie Rutkoski. If you'd like a first chapter critique from the either of these NYT bestelling authors, check out our submission guidelines here. 

Caitlin, Kristen, Cameron, Dan and special guest author Emily R. King chat about how to show instead of tell. They then critique a submission in which a young lady stows away on a train only to find out it's a circus train, and the circus knife-thrower needs a new assistant.

Caitlin, Kristen, Cameron, and Dan discuss why writing groups are so helpful, and ways you can avoid having a toxic experience. They then critique a submission about a young man who runs away from home to develop his illegal Lakewalking talent.

You can find today's submission or find out how to submit your own work to be critiqued by the Literary Work In Progress Team on our website: https://literarywip.wixsite.com/podcast

Caitlin, Kristen, Cameron, Dan, and Tricia discuss how to make characters sympathetic (and why that's a thing you want to have happen), then critique a submission about a girl who isn't too fussed about super villians destroying her city.

Find out much more about Cameron Harris than he wants you to know! Caitlin, Kristen, Dan, and Cameron chat about what concrete details are and why they're important. We then critique a submission about a boy who has a little trouble with hallucinations.

If you'd like to submit your work for a critique, check out our website: literarywip.wixsite.com/podcast

Caitlin is up to no good, Cameron works too hard, Kristen makes a mean sweet potato fry and Tracey will not fold laundry for a kingdom. Tracey Neithercott joins the Literary WIP team to discuss what it means to make promises in your first chapters and how to make sure you're making the right ones.

If you want to look at the submission from today, you can find it here: https://literarywip.wixsite.com/podcast/episode-8

If you'd like to submit your work, you'll find guidlines on the Literary WIP website: literarywip.wixsite.com/podcast

The Lit Service Crew chats about how to foreshadow plot twists and what sorts of things to avoid.

If you want a first chapter critique from Lit Service, check out our submission guidelines.

This podcast only happens with help from people like you! To see how you can keep Lit Service Episodes coming (and get some extra content and help with your writing too!) visit our Patreon.

Katherine Cowley joins the Lit Service Crew to chat about why adaptations, both of fairy tales and other stories people love, are so common, and how to approach writing one so it becomes your own story. 

To learn more about Katherine and her new book The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet, check out her website.

The first chapter we critique with all our notes is here.

To learn how to support the podcast, you can visit our Patreon page. Or, to find out how to submit your chapter for us to critique and upcoming guests, you can visit our website.

The Literary WIP crew discusses our own approaches to world building during the planning process as well as thoughts on how to keep things consistent and thought out if you are a discovery writer.

You can see the submission featured in this podcast or submit your own work to be critiqued here: literarywip.wixsite.com/podcast

Rebecca Ross joins the Lit Service crew to chat about layering characters (like onions! Imagine the Scottish accent) and how that relates to plot.

Rebecca is the author of The Queen's Rising, The Queen's Resistance, and the forthcoming Sisters of Sword and Song.

Lori M. Lee joins us to chat about what it's like to work with a smaller publisher (compared with some of her other publishing experiences). What kind of publisher are you interested in working with?

Lori is the author of The Gates of Thread and Stone series (Skyscape/Amazon), Forest of Souls and it's sequel Broken Web (Page Street), and Pahua and the Soul Stealer (Sept, Rick Riordan Presents/Disney Hyperion). To find out more about Lori and her book, check out her website!

You can find the chapter we critiqued with all our notes here.

If you'd like to find out how to support this podcast, check out our Patreon.

For more about upcoming guests, first chapter submission guidelines, and the podcast, visit our website.

Online pitching and mentorship contests can be kind of confusing. Sarah Nicolas breaks down Pitch Wars for us.

Sarah Nicolas is a recovering mechanical engineer, library event planner, and author who lives in Orlando with a 60-lb mutt who thinks he’s a chihuahua. Sarah writes YA novels as Sarah Nicolas and romance under the name Aria Kane. Sarah has published both traditionally and independently, and has also worked in the publishing industry as an editorial intern, editorial assistant, publicist, publicity director, cover artist, and art director. Sarah is the current Managing Director for Pitch Wars.

Lisa Maxwell joins the Lit Service cast to talk about injecting your setting with that special something that makes it interactive and immersive, almost like an additional character in the story.

Lisa is the NYT bestselling author of The Last Magician, The Devil’s Thief, The Serpent's Curse, and Unhooked. She grew up in Akron, Ohio, and has a PhD in English. She’s worked as a teacher, scholar, bookseller, editor, and writer. When she’s not writing books, she’s a professor at a local college. She lives in Virginia with her husband and two sons. Check out Lisa's books here or follow her Instagram.

To see the chapter we critiqued with our notes, go here.

To find out how to help support this podcast, visit our Patreon.

We'd love to see your first chapter! To see who will be coming on the show next and how to submit your work, visit our website.

In this episode we talk about some changes to the podcast. We have a new website: litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation where you can find our shiny new forum, a place you can chat about your own work and find craft-savvy querying authors like yourself with whom to form writing groups.

We also announce that in two weeks we'll have special guest Sarah McCabe, an editor at Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse. If you'd like a chance to have her give your first chapter a gander, check out the submission guidlines on our website!

Please follow us @litnation on Twitter, and @litnationpodcast on Instagram and facebook to see more from us and join the new community forming around the Lit Service podcast.

This week we talk about Young Adult and Middle Grade and how they differ.

Caitlin chats with Charlie Holmberg (who is published through Amazon's traditional publishing arm, 47 North as well as indie published), Jolene Perry (who has worked with Simon Pulse, Albert Whitman Teen, Entangled, Cedar Fort, as well as indie publishing), and Abel Keogh (Cedar Fort and indie published) about the differences between working with a big publisher, small publisher, and doing it yourself.

Charlie's book that we keep mentioning that just came out is called Veins of Gold, and if you would like to see the beautiful cover, please refer to the video feed on YouTube :)

If you want to know more about Charlie, Jolene, and Abel, you can find out more here: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation/2-11

The submission we discuss is also available at the above website if you'd like to see the text.

If you'd like a first chapter critique, check out our submission guidelines here: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation/submissions

Ben Grange and the Lit Service Crew chat about what it means to "hang lanterns" in your writing, and how to go about doing it.

Some books we mention: The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater

The Office (the TV show)

Avatar: The Last Airbender

The Belles by Dhionelle Clayton

Moby Dick by Herman Mellville

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

Our first chapter critique is about a boy named Cole who is a guardian angel. The text for this submission (including in-line notes by Caitlin and Ben, as well as general notes at the end) can be found here: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation/2-12

If you would like a first chapter critique, please refer to our submission guidelines.

Please remember to like, subscribe, comment, and share the podcast so others can find the show!

This week we chat with Rosalyn Eves about rhetorical devices and how to go about learning and using them (and maybe when not to use them). Some of the things we mention in the podcast worth checking out:

Soundbite from Ira Glass on "The Gap" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbC4gqZGPSY&ab_channel=Getoutthebox1

Slyva Rhetoricae: The Forest of Rhetoric, provided by Dr. Gideon Burton. A list of rhetorical devices with examples: http://rhetoric.byu.edu/

We also mentioned Austenland by Shannon Hale

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Thank You For Arguing by Jay Heinrichs

If you'd like a first chapter critique from the crew, you can find submission guidelines on our website: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation

You can find the text of the first chapter we critique during the episode here: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation/2-13

Please remember to give us ratings and reviews! It helps others to find the show. Thanks for listening!!

The Lit Service crew chats about subplots, what they are, how to use them, and when you don't need them. Some of the books and movies we talk about are:

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

Jurassic Park, the movie based on the book by Michael Crighton

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Solo the movie

Infinity War movie

Chuck the TV series

The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

If you'd like to see the first chapter we critique with our notes, you can find it here: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation

Want a first chapter from the podcasters and our guests? You can find submission guidelines on our website. Soon we'll have a schedule up for the Fall so you'll know who is coming on when.

Thanks for listening, please don't forget to comment, like, subscribe, and write reviews!

This week the Lit Service crew chats with literary agent Ben Grange about brainstorming techniques.

Some things we mention:

Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

Struck By Lightning https://beta.prx.org/stories/176346-struck-by-lightning

Cameron's writing deadline game https://4thewords.com/

Fear and Writing, with Emma Newman from the Writing Excuses Podcast https://writingexcuses.com/2018/05/20/13-20-fear-and-writing-with-emma-newman/

If you'd like to see the text of the first chapter we critique, you can find it on our website: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation

Submission guidelines can also be found there, as well as a place to find other authors in search of a writing group :)

Thanks for listening!

V.E. Schwab joins the podcasters to chat about how to build a character who is instantly sympathetic and fits into your story. 

A big welcome to Victoria “V.E.” Schwab. Schwab is the #1 NYT, USA, and Indie bestselling author of more than twenty books, including the acclaimed Shades of Magic series, the Villains series, the Cassidy Blake series and the international bestseller The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Their work has received critical acclaim, been translated into over two dozen languages, and been optioned for television and film. First Kill – a YA vampire series based on Schwab’s short story of the same name – is currently in the works at Netflix with Emma Roberts’ Belletrist Productions producing. Schwab’s most recent book, YA fantasy Gallant, just came out at the beginning of March. To learn more about it (or Victoria!) check out her website.

The special edition of Gallant Lit Service put together with stenciled edges and a signed bookplate can be found here (be sure to check it out!).

The Lit Service Crew chats with Karen M. McManus, author of NYT Bestselling One of Us is Lying, about the rise of the YA thriller and the elements that go into writing a good thriller (and thriller elements that you can apply to any other genre you write.)

Some of the books and other media we mention: 

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Sadie by Courtney Summers

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

Little Monsters by Kara Thomas

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I mentioned Serial the podcast (which, if you haven't listened to, go do it!) It's YA true crime, if that's a thing.

If you want to look at the submission we critique along with our notes, you can check it out on our website: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation

If you'd like to submit a first chapter for critique, you can find submission guidelines on the same website.

Thanks for listening, please don't forget to like, subscribe, leave comments and reviews!

The Lit Service Crew chats with Literary Agent Ben Grange about what goes into a fabulous first chapter and how to approach getting yours into that fabulous category, red flags and things that make Ben pass over people in his query slushpile, and some of our own favorite first chapters.

Some of the things we mention in this episode:

5 Writing Tips: Barbara Kingsolver 

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/78305-5-writing-tips-barbara-kingsolver.html

Author Mentor Match http://authormentormatch.com/

Holes by Louis Sachar

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

If you'd like to see the submission we critique in this episode along with all of our notes, you can find it here: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation

Please subscribe so you can automatically get dodgy writing advice every two weeks and keep up on who our guests will be so you can submit your work! We love comments and reviews, they help others find the show! Thanks for listening!

Literary agent Ben Grange joins the Lit Service crew to chat about how to approach writing original characters.

Some things we mention:

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Avatar: The Last Airbender

The Scarlet Pimpernell by Baroness Orczy

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway

If you'd like to see the text of the submission we critique, you can find it on our website: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation

If you'd like a first chapter critique, check out our submission guidelines!

Thanks for listening!

Ben mentioned during the podcast that this is one of the most important topics for newer writers to learn about. #1 NYT bestseller Kathryn Purdie joins Ben, Caitlin Sangster, Aliah Eberting, Kristen Evans, and Cameron Harris to talk about what it means to put your characters in a crucible in order to increase tension in a story and how to go about doing it.

Some books and movies we mention:

The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

The Office (TV series)

Star Wars

Dr. Who season 4 episode 10 "Midnight"

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Avatar: the Last Airbender

Thanks for listening, and please remember that if you'd like to read the submission (along with our notes) we critiqued in this episode, you can find it on our website: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation/2-19

If you'd like a first chapter critique, you can find the guidelines here: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation/submissions

Remember to follow us on social media and to leave us ratings, likes, and comments because it helps others to find the show. And makes us love you more :)

Sara B. Larson joins the Lit Service Crew to chat about romantic arcs in YA, why they're so prevalent, and how to balance them against your plot in your own work.

Sara is the author of the Defy Series, the Dark Breaks the Dawn Duology, and the Sisters of Shadow and Light duology (the newest one just hit shelves!!) To learn more check out her website.

If you'd like signed copies of her books, you can get them here (be sure to put in the special instructions that you'd like it signed and to whom).

You can find the chapter we critiqued with all our notes here.

If you'd like a first chapter critique from the podcast or an upcoming guest, check out our submission guidelines.

Please consider supporting us on Patreon! We're going through some growing pains right now, and need some extra help around here (and want to pay that extra help!). We really appreciate your help and that you listen to our dodgy writing advice!!

For our final episode of the season we chat with Dan Wells about how to incorporate horror elements into our work. Because Dan is really smart, we let this one go a little long.

Some of the things we mention:

Zero G by Dan Wells (available for free on audible for the month of December!! https://www.audible.com/pd/Zero-G-Audiobook/B07K4VYQ5X)

Holly Black's collective work

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

Sand Kings by George RR Martin

Steven Spielberg's Jaws

If you'd like to look at the chapter critiqued during this episode, the text with our notes is available on our website: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation

If you'd like a first chapter critique, our submissions will open again in January! Keep an eye out for guest announcements!

Erin, Caitlin, Cameron, and Kristen chat about how character and plot fit together, and how, as you are engineering your character, to choose flaws and strengths that suit the sort of plot you want to write. Erin talks about the emotional core of a book and how oftentimes conflict is internal rather than external.

Please check out the submission we critque here: litservice.wixsite.com/podcast

If you want to submit your first chapter for us to critique, check out the submission guidelines on our website!

Remember to listen in two weeks to find out who we are having as a guest for the month of April!

This week Kristen, Caitlin, and Cameron talk about rising tension and how to use it in your writing and announce our special publishing industry professional guest for April. Some books we mention: 

Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World by Joan Druett

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

American Panda by Gloria Chao

Out of the Dust by Karen Hess

Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

Also, we talk about the movie While You Were Sleeping

Check out our youtube channel if you want to watch this episode (or...the first half of it, anyway, we're still new to youtube): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOAwCuuXgxfAfIlSFCSNyOA?view_as=subscriber?&ab_channel=LitService

Also, if you are interested in submitting your work for us to critique, come check out our submission guidelines here: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation

Literary Agent Ben Grange joins the podcast to tell us why plot twists will make or break your book...but not for every genre. We discuss how to go about setting up plot twists and some ideas as to why the do or don't work for readers.

In this episode we discuss

10 Cloverfield Lane (AGAIN. Anyone see number three?)

The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling

The Chaos Walking Series by Patrick Ness

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Traitor's Kiss by Erin Beaty

ALL THE M. NIGHT SHAMALAN

And briefly mention A Quiet Place and Arrival.

If you want to submit your first chapter for a critique, come check out our website: litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation

If you'd like to see the video feed from this episode, you can find it here:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOAwCuuXgxfAfIlSFCSNyOA?view_as=subscriber?&ab_channel=LitService

Literary agent DongWon Song joins the Lit Service crew to chat about what authors can do to get an agent's attention and why some stories work and some don't.

DongWon Song is an agent at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency representing science fiction and fantasy for adults, young adult, and middle grade readers as well as select non-fiction. He was formerly an editor at Orbit and a product manager for the ebook startup, Zola Books and has taught as an adjunct instructor in the publishing program at Portland State University. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

The Lit Service crew chats with Emily Suvada about science, technology, engineering, and math, it's importance in literature and how to write it through research, creating believable characters and craft.

Be sure to check out the submission on our website: litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation

That's also where you can find info on how to get a first chapter critique from us.

Some of the books we highlight in this episode:

Jurrasic Park by Michael Crichton

This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada

Cinder by Marrisa Meyer

The Martian by Andy Weir

Back to the Future (which is not a book, but is a good example of using fake science in a good way)

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

Star Wars, as usual.

Caitlin, Aliah, and Kristen chat with Emily X.R. Pan about magic in contemporary books and suspension of disbelief (as well as throwing down a gauntlet in the never-ending prologue debate!). To find the signed and stenciled edge edition the podcast put together for her new book An Arrow to the Moon, visit our shop.

Emily X.R. Pan is the New York Times bestselling author of THE ASTONISHING COLOR OF AFTER, which won the APALA Honor Award and the Walter Honor Award. It was also a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize, longlisted for the Carnegie Medal, and named by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 Best YA Books of All Time. Emily co-created the FORESHADOW anthology, teaches creative writing, and lives on Lenape land (in Brooklyn, New York). Her sophomore novel, AN ARROW TO THE MOON, launched April 12, 2022 (Check it out here!!). Find her on Twitter and Instagram: @exrpan.

You can find the chapter we critique here.

The Lit Service crew chats with Katherine Arden (NYT Bestselling author of The Winternight Trilogy: The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower, and The Winter of the Witch as well as the two middle grade horror books Small Spaces and Dead Voices) about how to create layers of tension in your story in order to keep it from feeling flat.

Sorry about the beeps. We were recording in a new space and . . . well, that's what happens sometimes.

If you'd like a first chapter critique (and to see who we have coming up on our guest list!) go to our website www.litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation for mor information.

Samantha Hastings joins the Lit Service Crew to talk about how to approach writing a historical romance. Samantha is the author of The Last Word, The Invention of Sophie Carter (which is available for pre-order now! It will be available July 14) which is a Jr. Library Guild Selection. Her next book A Royal Christmas Quandary will arrive October 6, 2020.

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 can’t prove she wasn’t 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 can’t prove she wasn’t just taking notes). She has been named one of MovieMaker Magazine’s 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 Renaissance’s greatest robbery, she’ll 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 Medici’s 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 itself—if Rosa and company don’t destroy each other first.

We're back with an all new season of Lit Service!

Announcement!! We are going to be doing live shows at the Life the Universe and Everything Symposium in Provo, Utah, Saturday February 16th. If you haven't been to a writing conference yet (and you really should go...) this is a relatively inexpensive one, espeically if you are a student. We'd love to meet up and see you at our show!

The last time we tried to talk about writing a good villain on the podcast, we got distracted and talked about the difference between antagonists and villians instead. This time, we really get into what makes villains interesting, how to incorporate those things into your work, and whether or not we need our villains to be interesting at all.

Some things we mention: 

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Kim Possible

If you'd like a first chapter critique from the podcasters, check our submission guidelines here: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation/submissions

You can find out more about the podcaster, see the submissions we critique with all our notes, and listen or watch the video feed of the podcast on the same site.

Thanks for listening!

Caitlin, Cameron, and Kristen discuss the Horcrux Principle (closely related to the objective correlative) with Lisa Mangum. Enjoy fun jokes, references, and a little Regency romance!

As it turns out, writing contemporary novels requires just as much worldbuilding as writing fantasy! Kate Watson and the Lit Service crew discuss the process of researching the real world for your writing.

Livia Blackburne joins the Lit Service crew to discuss beta readers, who you should ask, and, most importantly, how to politely follow up with them. They also critique a bit of fantasy involving elven warriors, magic, and myths. 

This is our fiftieth episode!!! The Lit Service crew discusses when to go "into the weeds" with your writing and when to stay out and summarize

The Lit Service crew recorded live at FanX Salt Lake City ComiCon with Sara B. Larson and Kathryn Purdie.

Sara B. Larson is the author of the acclaimed YA fantasy DEFY trilogy (DEFY, IGNITE, and ENDURE) and the DARK BREAKS THE DAWN duology (DARK BREAKS THE DAWN and BRIGHT BURNS THE NIGHT). She can’t remember a time when she didn’t write books—although she now uses a computer instead of a Little Mermaid notebook.

Kathryn Purdie is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Burning Glass series and the forthcoming Bone Crier’s Moon duology.

If you'd like a first chapter critique from the Lit Service Crew, check out our submission guidelines here: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation/submissions

Check our website to read the full text of the chapter we read along with all our notes and notes on the different books we mention througout the podcast.

Caitlin, Cameron, and Aliah discuss with Jodi Meadows why books need themes, where themes come from, and how to make the ones that creep up on you seem intentional.

Jodi Meadows wants to be a ferret when she grows up and she has no self-control when it comes to yarn, ink, or outer space. Still, she manages to write books. She is the author of the INCARNATE Trilogy, the ORPHAN QUEEN Duology, and the FALLEN ISLES Trilogy (HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen), and a coauthor of the New York Times bestsellers MY LADY JANE and MY PLAIN JANE (HarperTeen).

If you'd like to see the text of the submission we critique, you can find it on our website: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation

If you are in need of a first chapter critique yourself, check our website to see who our upcoming guests are, check our submission guidelines, and send us your work!

Ben Grange, agent at the L. Perkins agency, joins the Lit Service crew to talk about what "high concept" means, why everyone talks about high concept books, and why it's important to be able to put together a high concept-ish pitch for your book even if it isn't a high concept story.

Kelly Barnhill received the Newbery Medal in 2017, won the World Fantasy Award, the Parents Choice Gold Award as well as many other honors. She is a New York Times bestseller, and the author of THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON, THE WITCHES BOY, IRON HEARTED VIOLET, and THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF JACK as well as the novella, “The Unlicensed Magician”.

In this episode, we chat about using misunderstandings between characters as a plot point that rings true rather than frustrating readers.

Check out the text of the submission we critique on our website: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation 

The Lit Service Crew chats with Tony Daniel about how to approach building a character and how that interacts with setting.

Tony Daniel is a senior editor at Baen Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. He is also an award-winning author (a few of his titles: Guardian of Night, Metaplanetary, Superluminal, Earthling, Warpath, and the two Star Trek Original Series novels, Devil’s Bargain and Savage Trade), a co-writer of screenplays for monster movies that appear on the SyFy and Chiller Channels, and the founder, writer, and director of theatrical and audio drama group Automatic Vaudeville, with many appearances on WBAI radio in New York City.

Caitlin, Cameron, and Kristen talk in depth about how inciting incidents relate to character and how people accidentally mess them up.

Jesse Q. Sutanto joins the crew to chat about writing authentic voices for different age groups.

Jesse is the author of Dial A for Aunties, The Obsession, and Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit. She has a master’s degree in creative writing from Oxford University, though she hasn't found a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious. The film rights to her women’s fiction, Dial A for Aunties, was bought by Netflix in a competitive bidding war. The novel will be out in April 2021. Jesse lives in Indonesia with her husband, her two daughters, and her ridiculously large extended family, many of whom live just down the road. For more about her and her books, be sure to visit her website.

Tricia Levenseller is the author of the Daughter of the Pirate King duology and standalone Warrior of the Wild. She likes to describe her books as young adult alternate–world historical fantasies with heavy romantic subplots.

Some things we mention on the podcast:

Star Wars (movie series)

The Winner's Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Zombies Run (Mobile App)

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

The Swan Princess (Movie)

The Harry Potter Series

If you want to read the text of this week's submission, check out our website at https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation/ 

Powerful themes and well-explored issues often make the difference between a good story and a great one. However, many writers struggle to find the balance between exploring issues and sounding "preachy". In this episode, Emily R. King talks with us about how to help our writing have a heart.

Emily R. King is a reader of everything and a writer of fantasy. Born in Canada and raised in the USA, she has perfected the use of “eh” and “y’all” and uses both interchangeably. Shark advocate, consumer of gummy bears, and islander at heart, Emily’s greatest interests are her four children. She’s a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and an active participant in her local writers’ community. She lives in Northern Utah with her family and their cantankerous cat.

Books and media we talk about:

The Hundredth Queen by Emily R. King

Before the Broken Star by Emily R. King

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Debut author Amparo Ortiz joins the Lit Service Crew to talk about why sports in fantasy and how to do it well (even if you don't like sports yourself!). 

Amparo Ortiz was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and currently lives on the island’s northeastern coast. Her short story comic, “What Remains in The Dark,” appears in the Eisner Award-winning anthology PUERTO RICO STRONG (Lion Forge, 2018), and SAVING CHUPIE, her middle grade graphic novel, comes out with HarperCollins in Winter 2022. She holds an M.A. in English and a B.A. in Psychology from the UPR’s Río Piedras campus. When she’s not teaching ESL to her college students, she’s teaching herself Korean, devouring as much young adult fiction as she can, and writing about Latinx characters in worlds both contemporary and fantastical. Her debut novel, BLAZEWRATH GAMES, hits shelves on October 6, 2020 from Page Street Kids.

To view the first chapter we critiqued with all our notes, go here.

For more about Amparo and her books, you can check out her website.

If you'd like a first chapter critique from us, check our submission guidelines here.

The Lit Service Crew chats with Emily Duncan about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and the Mandalorian. Spoilers abound (though not so much on the Mandalorian front!) so be forewarned.

Eric Smith joins the Lit Service crew to talk about what it is (and what authors can do!) that makes relationships arcs in stories satisfying.

Eric Smith is a literary agent and author living in Philadelphia. An agent with P.S. Literary, he's worked on New York Times bestselling and award-winning books. As an author, his books include Don't Read the Comments (Inkyard Press) and the forthcoming You Can Go Your Own Way (Inkyard Press) and the co-edited anthology Battle of the Bands (Candlewick) with Lauren Gibaldi. Find out out more about him and his books here.

The chapter we critique with all our notes is here.

If you'd like to find out more about how to support this podcast (we'd really appreciate it!), you can visit our Patreon.

For more about the podcast, how you can submit your work for a critique, and an upcoming guest list, visit our website.

You have your fabulous main character, their deliciously dark past, their wealth of relationships, habits, memories, and everything else that makes them who they are-- and then you have to write the first chapter. What can you put in, what should you leave out, and how do you make it interesting? Listen in as we discuss how to best drop your back story in a way that is natural and interesting.

Some books and media we talk about:

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

The Last Jedi (movie)

Animorphs (series) by H. A. Applegate

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Isabel: Taking Wing by Annie Dalton

Have you started a novel you've never finished? Wanted to write a novel and never started? Award winning authors Charlie Holmberg and Brian Lee Durfee join us to talk about their first novels and share tips and strategies for actually finishing. 

Charlie N. Holmberg is a Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestselling author, whose debut series, The Paper Magician, has been optioned by the Walt Disney Company. Her stand-alone novel, Followed by Frost, was nominated for a 2016 RITA Award for Best Young Adult Romance, and her novel The Fifth Doll won the 2018 Whitney award for Speculative Fiction. She is a board member for Deep Magic Ezine. Visit her at www.charlienholmberg.com.

Brian Lee Durfee is an artist and writer raised in Fairbanks Alaska and Monroe Utah. He has done illustrations for Wizards of the Coast, Tolkien Enterprises, Dungeons & Dragons, Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust (Denali National Park) and many more. His art has been featured in SPECTRUM: Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art #3 and Writers of the Future Vol 9. He won the Arts for the Parks Grand Canyon Award and has a painting in the permanent collection of the Grand Canyon Visitors Center-Kolb Gallery. Brian is the author of the fantasy series Five Warrior Angels. He lives in Salt Lake City. 

Books and media we talk about:

The Paper Magician by Charlie Holmberg

The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee

A Night of Blacker Darkness by Dan Wells

How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card

Save the Cat by Blake Snyder

Safehold by David Weber

Bonus episode! Listen to our our fabulous guests at FanX (Charlie Holmberg and Brian Lee Durfee) answer questions from the audience.

Charlie N. Holmberg is a Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestselling author, whose debut series, The Paper Magician, has been optioned by the Walt Disney Company. Her stand-alone novel, Followed by Frost, was nominated for a 2016 RITA Award for Best Young Adult Romance, and her novel The Fifth Doll won the 2018 Whitney award for Speculative Fiction. She is a board member for Deep Magic Ezine. Visit her at www.charlienholmberg.com.

Brian Lee Durfee is an artist and writer raised in Fairbanks Alaska and Monroe Utah. He has done illustrations for Wizards of the Coast, Tolkien Enterprises, Dungeons & Dragons, Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust (Denali National Park) and many more. His art has been featured in SPECTRUM: Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art #3 and Writers of the Future Vol 9. He won the Arts for the Parks Grand Canyon Award and has a painting in the permanent collection of the Grand Canyon Visitors Center-Kolb Gallery. Brian is the author of the fantasy series Five Warrior Angels. He lives in Salt Lake City. 

Caitlin and Cameron chat with Ben Grange from the L. Perkins agency and Amy Jameson from A+B Works about how to craft the perfect query.

 This week we talk to Nicki Pau Preto about how she approaches world building and how to keep yourself from feeling overwhelmed and also how to create a lush secondary world.

Nicki Pau Preto is the author of Crown of Feathers. She lives just outside Toronto, Canada. After getting a degree in visual arts, a masters in art history, and a diploma in graphic design, Nicki discovered two things: she loves to escape the real world, and she isn’t interested in a regular 9-5 life. Luckily, her chosen career covers both.

Some books and media we talk about in this episode:

If you'd like a first chapter critique from the team, follow our social media or check our website to see who will be coming on the show to critique with us and when we're open for submissions.

People like characters who move, who make decisions, who want things. Caitlin, Cameron, and Kristen discuss how to make this happen on the page.

Books and media we talk about:

Harry Potter

The Hunger Games​

Avatar: The Last Airbender

The Great Gatsby

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

If you'd like a first chapter critique from the podcast, please check out our submission guidelines here: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation/submissions

​

​

​

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!

Stephanie Garber joins Caitlin and Aliah to chat about "romantasy" and how to make it (or a developing romance in the book you are writing!) really sing. A resource Stephanie mentions, Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes, can be found here.

Stephanie is the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Once Upon a Broken Heart, The Ballad of Never After, and the Caraval trilogy. Her books have been translated into thirty languages. To find out more, you can follow her on social media.

To check out our signed, hand-painted editions of Once Upon a Broken Heart and The Ballad of Never After, check out Caitlin's store.

Britney Lewis joins the cast to chat about adding surreal elements to our stories in order to better articulate things that words can't quite describe.

Britney is the author of The Undead Truth of Us (which just came out!! Get it here!). She has a B.A. in corporate communications with an emphasis in business and art. She strongly supports We Need Diverse Books, and she’s an avid follower of #DVpit and #BVM. 

When Britney isn’t daydreaming about new stories, she can be found binge-watching TV shows with her husband and her pup or practicing West Coast Swing. She lives in Kansas City. You can follow Britney on her Twitter, or her Instagram. 

Take a look at the first chapter we critique here.

If you want us to critique your work, review our submission guidelines here.

To check out the special editions we are doing for Stephanie Garber's Once Upon a Broken Heart series and Marissa Meyer's Gilded duology, visit Caitlin's website.

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 Assassin’s 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.

Join Caitlin, Kristen, and Aliah as they discuss some of the cool storytelling elements used in Netflix's new series, Arcane.

If you want to read twelve pages of Caitlin and Kristen lauding/arguing/not understanding/beings stupid about some of the things the writers, animators, and others involved did, you're welcome to it: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQrrDsc9pBwvPFDv_flGj7nELO1UZ9XcQpqtzmrEjjw/edit?usp=sharing

Liselle Sambury joins the Lit Service crew to chat about how to use subplots to flesh out our stories (and where to find them!).

Liselle is a Toronto-based Trinidadian Canadian author. Her brand of writing can be described as “messy Black girls in fantasy situations.” She works in social media and spends her free time embroiled in reality tv because when you write messy characters you tend to enjoy that sort of drama. She also shares helpful tips for upcoming writers and details of her publishing journey through a YouTube channel dedicated to helping demystify the sometimes complicated business of being an author.

Check out her website and her book (out the 15th!)!

If you'd like to see the chapter we critiqued with all our notes, there are two version: one with swearing and one without.

To find out more about how to support the podcast, please visit our Patreon.

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!).

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 

You can find the chapter we critique here

Isaac Stewart joins the Lit Service crew to talk about picture books and illustration and how to get a whole story out of so few words (and how illustrations have to pull their own weight!). We also chat about maps and collaboration between authors and artists.

During the course of his life, Isaac Stewart has had more dreams than there are freckles on his back. When he was eight, he wanted to invent faster-than-light travel. At eleven, he dreamed of being the first person on Mars. At thirteen, he thought there could be nothing better than owning a sled-dog team and winning the Iditarod. Despite these passing obsessions, one dream never left him: He wanted to write and illustrate books. Since then, Isaac has lived in the Philippines as a missionary, graduated with a BFA from BYU, and has worked for two decades in entertainment, video games, and publishing. Though he hasn't yet made it to Mars, he loves to travel and has lived in Germany twice. He currently works for Dragonsteel Entertainment as Brandon Sanderson's art director, and has created many of the maps and symbols related to Brandon's works. Recently Isaac ran a successful Kickstarter for his first children's book, Monsters Don't Wear Underpants. Isaac hasn't yet found the sled dog team of his dreams (he's discovered he prefers warm climates to cold), but he did marry the woman of his dreams. They live in Utah with their four children and two weird cats.

Check out his book here 

Find out more about Isaac on his website here

and Isaac's instagram (which is a delight to follow!) 

For more about how to submit your work for a critique, you can visit our website.

To support the podcast, please check out our Patreon.

Jeff Zentner joins the Lit Service cast to chat about poetry, how it can be used in a novel, and how authors who are interested in learning to write poetry (or more poetic prose!) can get started.

Jeff Zentner is the author of New York Times Notable Book The Serpent King, Goodbye Days, Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee, and In the Wild Light which released on August 10th (with four starred reviews!). For more about Jeff and his books, visit his website.

If you'd like to read the chapter we critique and read our written notes, it can be found here.

Please consider supporting this podcast! You can find out how (along with the benefits to supporting us, like early access to episodes, video versions of the podcast, extra episodes, and a chance to get critiques from cast members) by visiting our Patreon.

Bethany C. Morrow and CB Lee join the cast to talk about how to approach writing historical fiction, problems that crop up when writers don't do proper research for the time period and society they are trying to represent and the peoples and cultures that are often left out of the narrative.

Bethany C. Morrow is  an Indie Bestselling author who writes for adult and young adult audiences, in genres ranging from speculative literary to contemporary fantasy to historical. She is author of the novels MEM and A SONG BELOW WATER, which is an Audie, Ignyte and Locus finalist. She is editor/contributor to the young adult anthology TAKE THE MIC, the 2020 ILA Social Justice in Literature award winner. Her work has been chosen as Indies Introduce and Indie Next picks, and featured in The LA Times, Forbes, Bustle, Buzzfeed, and more. She is included on USA TODAY's list of 100 Black novelists and fiction writers you should read. You can find more about her and buy her books here.

CB Lee is a Lambda Literary Award nominated writer of young adult and middle grade fiction. Her works include the Juinor Library Guild selected A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix (Feiwel and Friends), the Sidekick Squad series (Duet Books), Ben 10 graphic novels (Boom! Studios), Out Now: Queer We Go Again (HarperTeen), Minecraft: The Shipwreck (Del Rey Books), From A Certain Point Of View: The Empire Strikes Back (Del Rey Books). Lee’s work has been featured in Teen Vogue, Wired Magazine, Hypable, Tor’s Best of Fantasy and Sci Fi and the American Library Association’s Rainbow List. For more about her and to buy her books, visit her website.

If you'd like to read the chapter we critiqued with our notes, you can find it here.

To find out how to support Lit Service, get extra content (like the video versions of these episodes, bonus hot seat critiques and occasional other bonus material, as well as opportunities to get critiques from the cast) visit our Patreon!

Namina Forna is a young adult novelist based in Los Angeles, and the author of the upcoming epic fantasy YA novel The Gilded Ones. Originally from Sierra Leone, West Africa, she moved to the US when she was nine and has been traveling back and forth ever since. Namina loves telling stories with fierce female leads and works as a screenwriter in LA.

The chapter we critique can be found here.

Patreon (if you like our show and want us to keep going, please consider becoming a patron!)

Future guests/submission guidelines if you'd like a critique from us are here.

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 Crohn’s 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 can’t be a professional shield-maiden. She has a penchant for mythology, history, and all things creative. When she isn’t 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 won’t let Crohn’s 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 that’s haunted her village and family for generations. An ancient blood oath her ancestor made to protect them. A deadly draugr imprisoned for centuries…who Astrid accidentally awakens. Newly revived, Soren first mistakes Astrid for her ancestor, his ex-lover turned enemy. Astrid can’t tell if he would rather kill her or kiss her. But Soren knows the forest better than anyone, and Astrid quickly realizes that she’ll 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 grandmother’s disappearance. To save her home, a dark ritual must be performed before Midwinter—and only Astrid can fulfill her ancestor’s blood oath…or break it. That is, if Soren—or the forest—doesn’t break Astrid first.

Holly Root, the founder of Root Literary and agent to many a New York Time Bestseller, joins the Lit Service crew to chat about what author-agent relationships look like.

The Lit Service crew does a full cast reading of a chapter from Caitlin's upcoming book, SHE WHO RIDES THE STORM, out September 21, 2021.

If you'd like to get a copy of the book, please consider supporting your local independent bookstores!

For a signed copy, you can pre-order from The King's English (before September 19th)

Or from Anderson's Bookshop (whenever!) Both bookstores can ship to you wherever you are and each signed copy will come with a special bookmark. For either bookstore, be sure to put in the comments that you want it signed an personalized.

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.

Aliah, Caitlin, Cameron and Kristen talk about constructing fake political intrigue in stories and how to make it interesting and peak amounts of "intrigue-y". 

The chapter we critique is here.

Find out how to support Lit Service on our Patreon.

Hello out there to all you lovely podcast listeners!

Thank you so much for your support and for listening during this exciting year! Hope you have lovely holidays and we'll be back in 2022!

John Blackham joins Caitlin in talking about constructed languages authors create for their sci-fi and fantasy worlds.

Resources and other tidbits John mentions:

Caillou clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiSLxeszVCo&ab_channel=tovaeditshttps://www.cnn.com/2021/07/17/health/sunscreen-recall-cancer-wellness/index.html

Instant conlang generator: https://gwistix.github.io/ling/conlanger

Mark Rosenfelder’s Language Construction Kit: https://www.zompist.com/kit.html

For fun, some of John’s conlang, The Lord’s Prayer in Hellish-Latin creole:

Bader noṣerum, qui eḷwet in ǧevu Saṇificátus nomeus tuí foṣet. Venítus foṣet regḷeṛu tuí. Beṇorwium tuí facétus foṣet in teṛa et quoque in ǧevu. Panum nóbís dá xadix lebiére pro ǧuic dié Et iteredá nóbís debití noṣerum et iteredámus iḷós que debitátí nóbís sunet. Et non lemá nós in deṇaší, autem liberá nós ex malí.

Audio link, if you’d like to hear it spoken.

Axie Oh joins the podcast to talk about how to create a shiny (or not so shiny!) near future world. Axie is the author of Rebel Seoul, Rogue Heart, XOXO (releasing July 13th), and The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea (Releasing February 2022). Find out more about Axie and her books here.

To read the chapter we critiqued with all our notes, go here.

If you'd like to learn how to support the podcast, check out our Patreon (we'd really appreciate it!)

Please remember to like, subscribe, comment, and tell your friends! All those things (maybe the last one most of all...) helps others to find the show.

Tricia Levenseller joins Caitlin Sangster and Kristen Evans to live critique a few queries.

Tricia Levenseller is the author of the Daughter of the Pirate King duology, Warrior of the Wild, The Shadows Between Us, and forthcoming Blade of Secrets. She writes young adult high fantasies with heavy romantic subplots. You can find more about Tricia and her books here, or preorder her new book (do it!) here.

If you'd like us to do more episodes like this or have suggestions about what would help you the most, let us know! You can email us at litservicepodcast@gmail.com or can talk to us on facebook, instagram, or twitter.

If you'd like to know more about how to support our podcast, you can find out more here.

To find out who will be coming on the show to critique first chapters next, check out our website.

Caitlin, Cameron, and Kristen chat about what tone is and how to utilize it to tell your story to a specific audience or to elicit a specific response in a reader.

Margaret Owen joins the Lit Service Crew to chat about character stakes, both personal and existential, and how to build them up so your readers minds explode (but not because there are thousands of planet-killing weapons waiting to declare war.) 

Margaret is the author The Merciful Crow, The Faithless Hawk, and Little Thieves which just barely came out this week as of this podcast publishing. It is a fabulous twist on Grimm's The Goose Girl with lots of scamming, teasing, and a girl cursed to turn into jewels if she cannot give back the things she's stolen and you should check it out.

If you would like to see the chapter we critiqued with all our notes, go here.

To learn more about Margaret, buy a copy of the book, and see the fun character art and comics she's illustrated herself to go with Little Thieves, visit her website. 

We mentioned in the show that we're looking for a sound designer, if you are interested in working with us, please e-mail us at litservicepodcast@gmail.com.

To learn how to support he podcast, visit our Patreon, where you can get early access to the show, sometimes video versions of our recordings, as well as occasional bonus content.

If you'd like to submit your work for us to critique, check out our submission guidelines and see who we have coming on next on our website.

Due to a recording snafu, we are posting a bonus episode early! Tony Daniel, who is a senior editor at Baen publishing, chatted with the podcasters about some things that go on behind the scenes when it comes to books being acquired and published.

The chapter we critiqued with Rebecca Ross is available on our website with all our notes.

Chloe Gong joins Aliah and Caitlin to discuss the anatomy of a spinoff, how to approach writing an extension of your own world and stories that still feels familiar while also being new.

Chloe is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights, its sequel Our Violent Ends, and the first in a new duology set in the same world, Foul Lady Fortune. She is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she double-majored in English and International Relations. Born in Shanghai and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, Chloe is now located in New York pretending to be a real adult.

Works we mention in this episode: Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse and Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.

Don't forget to check out the sweet signed special editions we're doing for Marissa Meyer's Gilded duology in our shop!

Tamsyn Muir joins Kristen and Caitlin to chat about alternative POV choices, non-consecutive timelines, meme culture, Women Who Suck, and all the other fun things that went into the Locked Tomb series.

TAMSYN MUIR is the bestselling author of the Locked Tomb Series. Her fiction has won the Locus and Crawford awards, and been nominated for the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Dragon Award, and the Eugie Foster Memorial Award. A Kiwi, she has spent most of her life in Howick, New Zealand, with time living in Waiuku and central Wellington. She currently lives and works in Oxford, in the United Kingdom.

Be sure to check out Nona the Ninth (out now!) as well as the special editions STET books is doing in conjunction with our next guest, Marissa Meyer.

Kristen Ciccarelli joins Caitlin, Kristen, and Aliah to talk about how publishing journeys look from the inside and how to manage the rough moments and celebrate the good.

Kristen was born and raised on her grandfather’s grape farm. She spent her childhood running amok through his vineyards and adventuring in the deep, dark woods behind his house. Before writing books full-time, Kristen was an artisanal bread baker, an indie bookseller, and a ceramic artist. Her first novel, The Last Namsara, was an international bestseller and has been translated into 12 languages. Her new contemporary fantasy, Edgewood, released on March 1st (and you can find out more about her and it here!)

To read the first chapter we critique and look through our notes, go here.

You can always follow us on Instagram (which is mostly where we are!!), and if you haven't checked out the special edition we're doing for our new Lit Service Book of the month (stenciled edges!!! They're so pretty!) you should probably go check out our shop now!!

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). She’s 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