Write Or Die Podcast

On this week’s episode Claribel and Kat talk about having hobbies outside of publishing, the author as a brand and an interview with Katy Rose Pool author of THERE WILL COME A DARKNESS where she talks about her long revision process, becoming friends with Kat and her obsession with Animorphs! About Katy: Katy Rose Pool is a writer living in Berkeley, California. She grew up in Los Angeles, where her screenwriter father taught her about three act structure, characterization, and inciting incidents all before she could tie her shoes. Katy studied history and English at UC Berkeley. She enjoys breakfast sandwiches, fancy cocktails, rooting for the Golden State Warriors, and books that set her on fire. Katy is represented by Alexandra Machinist and Hillary Jacobson at ICM Partners. Her debut novel There Will Come a Darkness is out now from Holt Books for Young Readers/Macmillan. Buy THERE WILL COME A DARKNESS! Follow Katy online: Twitter | Instagram Podcast mentions: Adam Silvera Follow Claribel Ortega online: Tw

In this week’s episode Kat & Claribel talk all about author burn out, taking breaks and what projects they’re currently working on plus an interview with NYT Bestselling author of the Witchlands series, Susan Dennard! Susan Dennard has come a long way from small-town Georgia. Working in marine biology, she got to travel the world—six out of seven continents, to be exact (she’ll get to you yet, Asia!)—before she settled down as a full-time novelist and writing instructor. She is the author of the Something Strange and Deadly series, as well as the New York Times bestselling Witchlands series, and she also hosts the popular newsletter for writers, the Misfits & Daydreamers. When not writing, she is slaying darkspawn (on her PS4) or earning bruises at the dojo. She lives in the Midwestern US with her French husband, two spoiled dogs, and two grouchy cats. Learn more about her on her twitter, instagram, or newsletter. Podcast mentions: Tasha Suri EMPIRE OF SAND (2018), Upcoming: REALM OF ASH (Nov. 2019 Ge

Tiffany D. Jackson is the critically acclaimed author of YA novels including the NAACP Image Award-nominated ALLEGEDLY and MONDAY’S NOT COMING, a Walter Dean Myers Honored Book and Coretta Scott King New Talent Award winner.She received her bachelor of arts in film from Howard University, her master of arts in media studies from the New School, and has over a decade in TV/Film experience. The Brooklyn native is a lover of naps, cookie dough, and beaches, currently residing in the borough she loves, most likely multitasking. Her forthcoming novel, LET ME HEAR A RHYME (HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books) releases May 21st, 2019. Order LET ME HEAR A RHYME Follow Tiffany online! Facebook| Twitter | Instagram Follow Claribel Ortega online: Twitter | Instagram | Youtube Order GHOST SQUAD Add FRIZZY on Goodreads www.claribelortega.com Follow Kat Cho online: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok Order WICKED FOX! Order VICIOUS SPIRITS (sequel to WICKED FOX) Add ONCE UPON A K-PROM on Go

Tara Sim is the author of SCAVENGE THE STARS (Disney-Hyperion) and the TIMEKEEPER trilogy (Sky Pony Press) and writer of all things magic. She can often be found in the wilds of the Bay Area, California. When she’s not writing about mischievous boys in clock towers, Tara spends her time drinking tea, wrangling cats, and occasionally singing opera. Despite her bio-luminescent skin, she is half-Indian and eats way too many samosas. Tara is represented by Victoria Marini at Irene Goodman Literary Agency. Name pronunciation: “tar-ah” (not “terr-ah”). Pre-Order SCAVENGE THE STARS Follow Tara online: Twitter | Instagram |Goodreads Follow Claribel Ortega online: Twitter | Instagram | Youtube Order GHOST SQUAD Add FRIZZY on Goodreads www.claribelortega.com Follow Kat Cho online: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok Order WICKED FOX! Order VICIOUS SPIRITS (sequel to WICKED FOX) Add ONCE UPON A K-PROM on Goodreads www.katchowrites.com Follow Write or Die online: Twitter | Instagram  Write or

I’m horrible at bios so let’s do a fact list instead: As a second-generation Chinese American, I was raised on a diet of Chinese cartoons and dramas. Journey to the West was basically my Sponge Bob. I’m a recent grad of the University of Pennsylvania, where I majored in Psychology and minored in East Asian Language and Cultures. Cats and wombats for life. The weirder the story, the better. I should really be sponsored by Starbucks. I am represented by John Cusick of Folio Lit. Follow Joan online: Twitter @joanhewrites | Instagram Buy Joan's Books!  When your book gets called out for being problematic, Part I When your book gets called out for being problematic, Part II Book Friends Forever Podcast

Elizabeth Lim grew up on a hearty staple of fairy tales, myths, and songs. Her passion for storytelling began around age 10, when she started writing fanfics for Sailor Moon, Sweet Valley, and Star Wars, and posted them online to discover, “Wow, people actually read my stuff. And that’s kinda cool!” But after one of her teachers told her she had “too much voice” in her essays, Elizabeth took a break from creative writing to focus on not flunking English. Over the years, Elizabeth became a film and video game composer, and even went so far as to get a doctorate in music composition. But she always missed writing, and she turned to penning stories when she needed a breather from grad school. One day, she decided to write and finish a novel — for kicks, at first, then things became serious — and she hasn’t looked back since. Elizabeth loves classic film scores, books with a good romance, food (she currently has a soft spot for arepas and Ethiopian food), the color turquoise, overcast skies, English muffins, cycl

Amy Rose Capetta [she/her] is an author of YA fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery. Her first novel, Entangled, was a BEA Buzz Book and along with a sequel, Unmade, comprises a space duet. Echo After Echo,a queer love story wrapped in a murder mystery and set on Broadway, earned two starred reviews and was a Junior Library Guild Selection. The Brilliant Death, an Italian-inspired fantasy novel, also received two stars and was a chosen as a JLG selection and a Kirkus Best YA Book of the Year. Upcoming titles: Once & Future (co-written with Cori McCarthy, March 2019), The Lost Coast (May 2019) and The Storm of Life (sequel to The Brilliant Death, Fall 2019). She lives in Vermont with her partner and their young son. Cori McCarthy is the acclaimed author of four young adult novels, as well as a forthcoming coauthored space fantasy duology, a futuristic middle grade series, and a nonfiction picture book about Arab American poet Kahli

Tehlor Kay Mejia is an author and Oregon native in love with the alpine meadows and evergreen forests of her home state, where she lives with her daughter. When she’s not writing, you can find her plucking at her guitar, stealing rosemary sprigs from overgrown gardens, or trying to make the perfect vegan tamale. She is active in the Latinx lit community, and passionate about representation for marginalized teens in media. Her short fiction appears in the All Out and Toil & Trouble anthologies from Inkyard Press, and her debut YA fantasy novel, We Set the Dark on Fire, is out February 26, 2019 from Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins with a sequel to follow in 2020. Her middle grade fantasy debut, Paola Santiago and the Drowned Palace, is forthcoming from Rick Riordan Presents/Disney Hyperion. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @tehlorkay. Buy Tehlor’s books! Follow Claribel Ortega online: Twitter | Instagram | Youtube Order GHOST SQUAD Add FRIZZY on Goodreads www.claribelortega.com

Helen Hoang is that shy person who never talks. Until she does. And the worst things fly out of her mouth. She read her first romance novel in eighth grade and has been addicted ever since. In 2016, she was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in line with what was previously known as Asperger’s Syndrome. Her journey inspired THE KISS QUOTIENT. She currently lives in San Diego, California with her husband, two kids, and pet fish. Helen is represented by Kim Lionetti of BookEnds Literary Agency. Follow Helen online: Twitter | Instagram | Website Follow Claribel Ortega online: Twitter | Instagram | Youtube Order GHOST SQUAD Add FRIZZY on Goodreads www.claribelortega.com Follow Kat Cho online: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok Order WICKED FOX! Order VICIOUS SPIRITS (sequel to WICKED FOX) Add ONCE UPON A K-PROM on Goodreads www.katchowrites.com Follow Write or Die online: Twitter | Instagram  Write or Die Podcast Website Join our WorDie community! 

Zoey Castile was born in Ecuador and raised in Queens, New York. She started writing in her teens and pursued that love in her studies at Hunter College and the University of Montana. For nearly a decade, she worked as a bartender, hostess, and manager in New York City’s nightlife. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @ZoeyCastile. You can also email her at ZoeyCastile@gmail.com. Buy HIRED here! Follow Claribel Ortega online: Twitter | Instagram | Youtube Order GHOST SQUAD Add FRIZZY on Goodreads www.claribelortega.com Follow Kat Cho online: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok Order WICKED FOX! Order VICIOUS SPIRITS (sequel to WICKED FOX) Add ONCE UPON A K-PROM on Goodreads www.katchowrites.com Follow Write or Die online: Twitter | Instagram  Write or Die Podcast Website Join our WorDie community! 

Southern bruja and sleepy gemini, Nina Moreno was born and raised in Miami until a hurricane sent her family toward the pines of Georgia where she picked up an accent. She’s a proud University of Florida Gator who once had her dream job of shelving books at the library. Inspired by the folklore and stories passed down to her from her Cuban and Colombian family, she now writes about Latinas chasing their dreams, falling in love, and navigating life in the hyphen. She lives by a swamp outside of Orlando where she enjoys listening to carefully curated playlists, hunting through thrift stores, drinking too much Cuban coffee, and walking into the sea every chance she gets. DON’T DATE ROSA SANTOS is her first novel. She is represented by Laura Crockett of TriadaUs. Follow Nina online! • Twitter • Goodreads • Facebook • Las Musas PRE-ORDER DON’T DATE ROSA SANTOS Follow Claribel Ortega online: Twitter | Instagram | Youtube Order GHOST SQUAD Add FRIZZY on Goodreads www.claribelortega.com Follow Kat

Alyssa Cole is an award-winning author of historical, contemporary, and SFF romance. Her Civil War-set espionage romance AN EXTRAORDINARY UNION was chosen as the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award’s Best Book of 2017 and the American Library Association’s RUSA Best Romance for 2018. She’s contributed to publications including Bustle, Shondaland, The Toast, Vulture, RT Book Reviews, and Heroes and Heartbreakers, and her books have received critical acclaim from The New York Times, Library Journal, BuzzFeed, Kirkus, Booklist, Jezebel, Vulture, Book Riot, Entertainment Weekly, and various other outlets. When she’s not working, she can usually be found watching anime with her husband or wrangling their menagerie of animals. She is represnted by Lucienne Diver at The Knight Agency. Connect with Alyssa online at  https://alyssacole.com/  Follow Claribel Ortega online: Twitter | Instagram | Youtube Order GHOST SQUAD Add FRIZZY on Goodreads www.claribelortega.com Follow Kat Cho online: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Lamar Giles is a well published author and a founding member of We Need Diverse Books. Lamar has two novels forthcoming in 2019: his debut middle grade fantasy THE LAST LAST-DAY-OF-SUMMER (Versify / HMH) and his fourth YA thriller SPIN (Scholastic). Lamar Giles is a two-time Edgar Award finalist in the YA category, for his debut YA thriller FAKE ID (HarperCollins, 2014), and his second YA thriller, ENDANGERED (HarperCollins, 2015). His third YA thriller, OVERTURNED (Scholastic, 2017) received this glowing New York Times review, and was named a Kirkus Best Book of 2017. You can see the book trailer for OVERTURNED here. FAKE ID has been optioned by Sony Pictures (not yet announced). Follow Claribel Ortega online: Twitter | Instagram | Youtube Order GHOST SQUAD Add FRIZZY on Goodreads www.claribelortega.com Follow Kat Cho online: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok Order WICKED FOX! Order VICIOUS SPIRITS (sequel to WICKED FOX) Add ONCE UPON A K-PROM on Go

Karen M. McManus is the author of the young adult thriller One of Us Is Lying, which spent more than a year on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into 38 languages worldwide. Her second book, Two Can Keep a Secret, will be released in January 2019.

Karen lives in Massachusetts with her son. She holds a master’s degree in Journalism from Northeastern University, which she uses to draft fake news stories for her novels. You can find Karen at @writerkmc on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Claribel Ortega online: Twitter | Instagram | Youtube Order GHOST SQUAD Add FRIZZY on Goodreads www.claribelortega.com Follow Kat Cho online: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok Order WICKED FOX! Order VICIOUS SPIRITS (sequel to WICKED FOX) Add ONCE UPON A K-PROM on Goodreads www.katchowrites.com Follow Write or Die online: Twitter | Instagram  Write or Die Podcast Website Join our WorDie community! 

Join us for the last Write or Die episode of 2018 where we read your letters about the podcast, talk about imposter syndrome, hyping your friends, unhealthy comparisons, murder and what’s up next for 2019! Thanks for all your support this year!! Follow Claribel Ortega online: Twitter | Instagram | Youtube Order GHOST SQUAD Add FRIZZY on Goodreads www.claribelortega.com Follow Kat Cho online: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok Order WICKED FOX! Order VICIOUS SPIRITS (sequel to WICKED FOX) Add ONCE UPON A K-PROM on Goodreads www.katchowrites.com Follow Write or Die online: Twitter | Instagram  Write or Die Podcast Website Join our WorDie community! 

Mason Deaver is a non-binary author who lives in Charlotte, NC, where the word ‘y’all’ is used in abundance. Typically, they’re writing incredibly queer stories, but when they decide to take a break, they love gardening and baking. ‘I Wish You All the Best’ is their debut novel. Follow Mason online! Instagram: @mason_ deaver | Twitter: @masondeaver Pre-Order I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST Follow Claribel Ortega online: Twitter | Instagram | Youtube Order GHOST SQUAD Add FRIZZY on Goodreads www.claribelortega.com Follow Kat Cho online: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok Order WICKED FOX! Order VICIOUS SPIRITS (sequel to WICKED FOX) Add ONCE UPON A K-PROM on Goodreads www.katchowrites.com Follow Write or Die online: Twitter | Instagram  Write or Die Podcast Website Join our WorDie community! 

Kat joins Claribel to co-host the podcast for the first time and we interview author Laura Sebastian!  Laura Sebastian was born and raised in South Florida (the Redlands and Key Largo) and has always loved telling stories–many apologies to her little brother who often got in trouble because of them. No copies of her first book, a Cinderella retelling about angels circa 2nd grade, remain. Thankfully. After getting her BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design, she moved to New York City thinking that she would stay for a couple of years before going somewhere better suited for a small-town, sun-loving girl. Five years later, she’s still here and madly in love with it. When Laura isn’t writing, she’s probably reading, baking cookies or cupcakes, buying more clothes than her overstuffed closet can fit, or forcing her lazy dog Neville to take a walk. Her debut ASH PRINCESS, the start of a YA fantasy trilogy, released April  24th, 2018 from Delacorte (Random House) and debuted on the NYT Bestselle

Natasha Ngan is a writer and yoga teacher. She grew up between Malaysia, where the Chinese side of her family is from, and the UK. This multicultural upbringing continues to influence her writing, and she is passionate about bringing diverse stories to teens. Natasha studied Geography at the University of Cambridge before working as a social media consultant and fashion blogger. She recently moved to Paris, where she likes to imagine she drifts stylishly from brasserie to brasserie, notepad in one hand, wineglass in the other. In reality, she spends most of her time getting lost on the metro and confusing locals with her French. She is represented by Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary. Her YA novels THE ELITES and THE MEMORY KEEPERS are out now from Hot Key Books, and GIRLS OF PAPER AND FIRE will be published in October 2018 by Jimmy Patterson/Little Brown (US) and Hodder & Stoughton (UK). Head on over to the Books page for more info! Natasha is also co-owner of fashion, travel and lifestyle blog Girl

Born in Bombay India and raised outside of Chicago, Illinois, Samira spent countless hours at the library in her small hometown nestled in an oversized armchair next to an old Victorian fireplace with her nose in an Agatha Christie novel or re-reading Little Women, hoping that Jo would somehow end up with Laurie this time. Samira always loved to write—especially poetry–but never actually dreamed of becoming a writer until she was an adult and an idea for a story captured her imagination and wouldn’t let go. Samira is the New York Times bestselling author of Love, Hate, & Other Filters and the forthcoming, Internment(March 2019) and Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know (January 2020). These days, Samira lives in Chicago, Illinois. When she’s not writing or reading, she can be found on her lifelong quest for the perfect pastry. Follow Samira online Twitter @sam_aye_ahm Instagram @sam_aye_ahm Follow Claribel Ortega online: Twitter | Instagram | Youtube Order GHOST SQUAD A

Holly Black is the author of bestselling contemporary fantasy books for kids and teens. Some of her titles include The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), The Modern Faerie Tale series, the Curse Workers series, Doll Bones, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, the Magisterium series (with Cassandra Clare) and The Darkest Part of the Forest. She has been a a finalist for an Eisner Award, and the recipient of the Andre Norton Award, the Mythopoeic Award and a Newbery Honor. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret door. Follow Holly Online! Twitter Facebook Tumblr Buy her books! THEY’RE FANTASTIC!  Craft book mentioned in this episode 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love Writing the Breakout Novel: Insider Advice for Taking Your Fiction to the Next Level Follow Claribel Ortega online: Twitter | Instagram | Youtube Order GHOST SQUAD Add FRIZZY on Goodreads www.claribelortega.com Follow Kat Cho online: Twitter |