#AmWriting

One of the writing skills I am asked about the most is, “How do I get emotion on the page?” People ask this no matter what genre they are writing, because no one wants to produce a manuscript that is flat and unengaging. Emotion is the key, but figuring out how to inspire your reader to feel something is a tricky thing to learn and an even trickier thing to master.

In her debut novel, Slanting Towards the Sea (Simon & Schuster, July 2025), Lidija Hilje has mastered it. The story feels so raw and so real—and English is not even Lidija’s first language! It’s a remarkable achievement. 

I’m excited to speak with Lidija about her path to publication and how she figured out how to get the emotion of her characters onto the page.

Links from the Pod:

Article from Jane Friedman

Guide on Literary Fiction from Lidija

Lidija’s website: www.lidijahilje.com

Author Accelerator book coaches Barbara Boyd and Nita Collins


Hey everyone, it's Jenny Nash. This episode happens to feature an Author Accelerator book coach. Author Accelerator is the company I founded more than 10 years ago to lead the emerging book coaching industry. If you've been curious about what it takes to become a successful book coach, which is to say, someone who makes money, meaning, and joy out of serving writers, I've just created a bunch of great content to help you learn more. You can access it all by going to bookcoaches.com/waitlist. We'll be enrolling a new cohort of students in our certification program in October, so now's a perfect time to learn more and start making plans for a whole new career.

I’m a big fan of Nathalia (Nat) Holt’s books, and am so excited to have the opportunity to talk to her about her new book, The Beast in the Clouds: The Roosevelt Brothers' Deadly Quest to Find the Mythical Giant Panda. 

I first met Nat when her book Cured: The People Who Defeated HIV came out and I attended a book event at Dartmouth Medical Center. She is so smart and curious and in this episode we will be talking about the process of researching elusive history, where her ideas come from, and who gets to tell what stories. 

Nathalia Holt’s website

Our goal words, as a reminder
Sarina: presence
Jess: growth
Jennie: Teflon™
KJ: inner compass

#AmReading
Jess: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
KJ: The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen
Jennie: Shakespeare: The Man Who Plays the Rent by Judi Dench
Sarina: Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

This is the how-to book you need right now, the one with “am I ready to query” and “what does my platform need to look like” and “what if no one buys my book” and “what happens if someone buys my book”. We have a great episode, talking about creating this book, writing this book and living this book—because Kate McKean is not only a very experienced agent, she has also lived the answer to all those questions and that’s part of what makes it special. 

Follow:  Kate McKean Agents and Books

Also find her at agentsandbooks.com 

And buy this book! Write Through It: An Insider’s Guide to Publishing and the Creative Life

#AmReading

Kate: Madeleine Roux, A Girl Walks into the Forest (Dark, feminist and rage-y)

KJ: Francesca Segal, Welcome to Glorious Tuga (not any of those above things) 

Alison Espach, Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance (somewhere in between)

Writers and readers! KJ, here. If you love #AmWriting—and I know you do—and especially if you love the regular segment at the end of most episodes where we talk about what we've been reading, you will also love my weekly #AmReading— find it at kjdellantonia.com or kjda.substack.com or by clicking on my name on Substack, if you do that kind of thing. Your #tbr won’t be sorry

Karen Dukess’s first book, The Last Book Party, was wildly successful by any measure—sold at auction, Indie Next pick, Discover New Writers pick… you probably read it. The second…

Didn’t sell. Not as in, not very many people bought it but as in, no publisher published it. She spent the requisite couple years or so, her agent signed on but… no takers. She felt like she was the only person in the whole entire world that that happened to… until she started asking around. Turns out, you know how people say writing books is hard? And publishing is tough? They’re right!

Never fear, Karen lived to tell the tail. Her next novel (do we call it second or third?), Welcome to Murder Week, is wonderful and available in a bookstore near you (and as you’ll hear, I loved it and it’s the perfect page-turner but not-anxiety-producing read for a swimming pool, beach, airplane ride or couch). But the real joy is that Karen is willing to dish. You’ll hear:

What happens when you want to be a bullet journal sticker getting writer with your butt in the chair but you’re just … not.

How to have fun writing a book that maybe no one will want (and why you’d better).

How Karen found the right mindset to keep going.

Karen’s one rule as a beginning writer who couldn’t quite get the hang of 1000 words a day.

Links from the Pod:
LauraPalooza

Karen Dukess, The Last Book Party

Zibby Events

The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray

#AmReading

Karen: The Original, Nell Stevens 

KJ: Welcome to Murder Week

Karen’s Substack 

Keep Calm and Carry On, a Substack from Karen Dukess or find her on Instagram 
@karendukess, or her website www.karendukess.com
Did you know Sarina’s latest thriller is out NOW? 



Rowan Gallagher is a devoted single mother and a talented architect with a high-profile commission restoring an historic mansion for the most powerful family in Maine. But inside, she’s a mess. She knows that stalking her ex’s avatar all over Portland on her phone isn’t the healthiest way to heal from their breakup. But she’s out of ice cream and she’s sick of romcoms. 

Watching his every move is both fascinating and infuriating. He’s dining out while she’s wallowing on the couch. The last straw comes when he parks in their favorite spot on the waterfront. In a weak moment, she leashes the dog and sets off to see who else is in his car. 

Instead of catching her ex in a kiss, Rowan becomes the first witness to his murder—and the primary suspect.

Digital books at: Amazon | Nook | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Audible
Physical books at: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indigo | More paperback links here!

Hi! Jess here. As an author and host of this podcast, I hear “I have a great idea for a book!” a lot, and while I believe everyone has a story to tell, I’ve only been knocked over by these book pitches twice. The first was the idea for the book Raising Empowered Athletes: A Youth Sports Parenting Guide for Raising Happy, Brave, and Resilient Kids by Kirsten Jones (pitched to me at speaking event in 2015, published in 2023) and the second was last week, in a conversation with this week’s guest, Dr. Megan.

I’m SO excited to introduce you to our new series, “From Soup to Nuts,” and its subject, Dr. Megan. She’s a therapist, speaker, and hopeful author who presented me with that aforementioned great idea for a book and a hook for a speaking career. She’s the right person to write this book, there’s a hole in the market for it, and it’s timely.

So….now what?

Over the next weeks and months, I will be mentoring Dr. Megan through her proposal, querying an agent, and planning ahead for a potential speaking career whether or not she sells the book. 

This week, we talk through the preliminary process of getting to a book’s why and wherefores while crafting the introductory section of the book proposal (see resources below) and researching potential agents. 

This first episode is for all subscribers, but the rest of this series will be available to supporters only. Please consider supporting the podcast so you can follow along (and learn from) Dr. Megan’s planning and writing process. 

Subscribe now

Resources we mention:

While I am not an Author Accelerator book coach, I do find Jennie Nash’s book, Blueprint for a Nonfiction Book incredibly useful and asked Dr. Megan to read it. We will be referring to it from time to time throughout this series. 

Introductory section of a book proposal. Since we will be referring to the proposal for The Addiction Inoculation as a reference, I thought it would be helpful to make that available to #AmWriting Podcast listeners. Click through to Jess’ website to download.

Jess’s episode: What is a “Comp”?

Dr. Megan’s assignment: write the introductory section of her book proposal, identify and research potential agents, and compile a list of agents she would like to query.

Geeky footnote: “From soup to nuts” means “from beginning to end” and refers back to the practice of serving soup at the very beginning of a formal Western meal and nuts at the end. As a former Latin teacher, I prefer the saying “ab uvo usque ad mala” or “from the egg to the apples” in the tradition of Roman meals, but regardless, this series will cover everything from the beginning to the end of Dr. Megan’s book process.

Additional links from the Pod:

Jean Hanff Korelitz, The Plot & The Sequel

Vicki Hoefle, Duct Tape Parenting

Op Ed Project

Nadine Burke Harris, The Deepest Well

Ned Johnson, The Self-Driven Child

Daniel J. Siegel, Brainstorm

Anna Lembke, Dopamine Nation

ICYMI: Sarina’s latest thriller is out in the world!



Rowan Gallagher is a devoted single mother and a talented architect with a high-profile commission restoring an historic mansion for the most powerful family in Maine. But inside, she’s a mess. She knows that stalking her ex’s avatar all over Portland on her phone isn’t the healthiest way to heal from their breakup. But she’s out of ice cream and she’s sick of romcoms.

Watching his every move is both fascinating and infuriating. He’s dining out while she’s wallowing on the couch. The last straw comes when he parks in their favorite spot on the waterfront. In a weak moment, she leashes the dog and sets off to see who else is in his car.

Instead of catching her ex in a kiss, Rowan becomes the first witness to his murder—and the primary suspect.

Digital books at: Amazon | Nook | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Audible
Physical books at: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indigo | More paperback links here!

Meg Mitchell Moore is the author of Mansion Beach, a page-turner-y multi POV summer saga with everything you could ask for: a beach, a body, rich people behaving badly but also sometimes not behaving badly, parties, drama and just enough gender-swapped Gatsby to think hard about the meaning of the American Dream. I loved it (KJ here) and I also loved this conversation with Meg, who apparently thinks in multiple POVS and is always just as impatient as I am to feel like the book is done and wonderful when sadly it is… not. 

#AmReading

Meg: Audio: Great Big Beautiful Life, Emily Henry—Julia Whelan

Also mentioned: Julia Whelan’s Thank You for Listening

Print: The Road to Dalton, Shannon Bowring

from The Book Shop of Beverly Farms

KJ: Mansion Beach

Welcome to Glorious Tuga, Francesca Segal

Find Meg at @megmitchellmoore on IG, or visit her website at www.megmitchellmoore.com

HEY. Did you know Sarina’s latest thriller is out NOW? 



Rowan Gallagher is a devoted single mother and a talented architect with a high-profile commission restoring an historic mansion for the most powerful family in Maine. But inside, she’s a mess. She knows that stalking her ex’s avatar all over Portland on her phone isn’t the healthiest way to heal from their breakup. But she’s out of ice cream and she’s sick of romcoms. 

Watching his every move is both fascinating and infuriating. He’s dining out while she’s wallowing on the couch. The last straw comes when he parks in their favorite spot on the waterfront. In a weak moment, she leashes the dog and sets off to see who else is in his car. 

Instead of catching her ex in a kiss, Rowan becomes the first witness to his murder—and the primary suspect.

Digital books at: Amazon | Nook | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Audible
Physical books at: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indigo | More paperback links here!

Greetings writers! Sarina here. 

Earlier in May I was surfing social media, as one does, when I came across a story about children’s author Erica Perl and an ill-fated school visit. Her scheduled visit to a school was abruptly canceled. After asking a few questions, it was determined that a single parent had objected to… 

Well, it’s hard to say. We’ll let Erica tell her story. But you should know that Ms. Perl’s twenty years of book publishing have included such salacious titles as When Cookie Met Carrot and A Whale of a Tea Party. (🔥!) 

When Erica’s visit was canceled, at first she had a lot of conflicting emotions. We’ll dig in to the vulnerability hangover that comes with writing as a career. But then she pulled herself together and fought back. 

In the fight, she had a few advantages on her side: 1. She is a lawyer, which didn’t hurt. 2. She had a contract! That’s the most important takeaway here, and 3. She had some help from writers organizations. 

It’s a great listen. 🎧

Links from today’s episode:

School Library Journal article about Erica’s experience

Pen America

Authors Against Book Bans

The Authors Guild

The American Library Association

Pride and Less Prejudice

Where to find Erica: 

Have Erica come to your school! Everything you need to know HERE.

Erica’s latest: Whale and the Birthday Rocks

Erica Perl on Threads

Hi all, Jess here. This episode was Sarina’s idea, and when you listen you will understand why. It can be hard to focus on the work, whether it’s editing, world building, conjuring meet cutes, or translating research-based hope for the next generation. That said, it’s important that we keep creating and putting our words out into the world. We hope you are able to keep working while navigating the a balance between consuming, processing, and reacting to the news cycle and shutting the world out in self preservation. 

Stuff we talked about

Write Through It: An Insider’s Guide to Writing and the Creative Life by Kate McKean

Kate Mckean’s website

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter (release date August 12, 2025)

The OpEd Project

Authors Against Book Bans

Possession by A.S. Byatt and the film I adore based on the book

A Complete Unknown film

Hamilton, Non-Stop (“why does he write like he’s running out of time?”)

On Writing by Stephen King

All In by Billie Jean King

Permission by Elissa Altman

Meditation for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman


HEY. Did you know Sarina’s latest thriller is out NOW? 

Rowan Gallagher is a devoted single mother and a talented architect with a high-profile commission restoring an historic mansion for the most powerful family in Maine. But inside, she’s a mess. She knows that stalking her ex’s avatar all over Portland on her phone isn’t the healthiest way to heal from their breakup. But she’s out of ice cream and she’s sick of romcoms. 

Watching his every move is both fascinating and infuriating. He’s dining out while she’s wallowing on the couch. The last straw comes when he parks in their favorite spot on the waterfront. In a weak moment, she leashes the dog and sets off to see who else is in his car. 

Instead of catching her ex in a kiss, Rowan becomes the first witness to his murder—and the primary suspect.

Digital books at: Amazon | Nook | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Audible
Physical books at: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indigo | More paperback links here!

Joan Fernandez is a former senior marketing executive and general partner of the financial powerhouse Edward Jones. In 2018, she retired from a 30+ year career to be a full-time writer. Since leaving the corporate world, she’s become a member of the Historical Novel Society, the Author’s Guild, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA). In April 2020, she founded a Historical Fiction affinity group within WFWA that grew from a handful of people to nearly two hundred authors. Her debut novel, Saving Vincent: A Novel of Jo van Gogh, has just come out — and I had the great privilege of coaching Joan at two points in her long process of writing this book so I had a front row seat to the deep work she did to bring this story to life. 

Writing about a real person has some particular challenges, and we get into that here.

I’m so excited to share our conversation today.

Links from the Pod:

Historical Novel Society

the Authors Guild

Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA)

Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Bronnie Ware

Find Joan at www.joanfernandezauthor.com, or on IG at @joanfernandezauthor

Writers and readers! KJ, here. If you love #AmWriting—and I know you do—and especially if you love the regular segment at the end of most episodes where we talk about what we've been reading, you will also love my weekly #AmReading— find it at kjdellantonia.com or kjda.substack.com or by clicking on my name on Substack, if you do that kind of thing. Your #tbr won’t be sorry but also: 

DID YOU KNOW SARINA BOWEN’s LATEST BOOK IS OUT NEXT WEEK? That means if you preorder NOW—next week you gets to do a happy dance! 



Rowan Gallagher is a devoted single mother and a talented architect with a high-profile commission restoring an historic mansion for the most powerful family in Maine. But inside, she’s a mess. She knows that stalking her ex’s avatar all over Portland on her phone isn’t the healthiest way to heal from their breakup. But she’s out of ice cream and she’s sick of romcoms. 

Watching his every move is both fascinating and infuriating. He’s dining out while she’s wallowing on the couch. The last straw comes when he parks in their favorite spot on the waterfront. In a weak moment, she leashes the dog and sets off to see who else is in his car. 

Instead of catching her ex in a kiss, Rowan becomes the first witness to his murder—and the primary suspect.

Digital books at: Amazon | Nook | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Audible
Physical books at: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indigo | More paperback links here!