Books 'n' Shit

And just like that...a year of Books 'n' Shit has come to an end.

In the final episode of the season, I talk about all the wonderful things that have happened to me this year during my writer journey as well as what is coming up for me in the New Year.

Whether it's my reading goals, writing intent, meeting up with friends or oh yeah, having a new human to look after; 2022 is going to be an interesting year.

Let me know what you'd like to hear more of in the new year on the podcast and whether or not you'd like to feature on some of our more scheduled feature episodes.

Thank you all so much for the love you've shown BNS over the past year and i look forward to sharing more bookish fun with you soon!

You asked and I listened!

Here we have what my mother thought of one of the most popular series' on bookstagram: A Court of Thorns and Roses aka ACOTAR!

Most of you wanted to know what she felt about Tamlin but she also talks about the infamous Bat Boys, Lucien and how much she doesn't like Feyre lol. She isn't particularly fond of Sarah's descriptive style throughout and thinks that a lot more of the cast should have died to make more of an impact. 

Of course, we touch on the infamous Chapter 55 as well as the smut throughout the novel!

*SPOILER WARNING: If you haven't read ACOTAR then be warned! Also some curse words throughout*

This week's episode is probably one of the most enjoyable to date, as it features my amazing boyfriend, Zeus aka @mrstarzup Zeus and I discuss what its like for him living with and loving a reader when he has absolutely no interest in reading himself 😅 He gives some much needed advice to others living with a chronic reader and how they can live in such a challenging world 🤣 He lets me know his favourite book(s), how he reads and why its not as much a big part of his life as it is for a lot of us. Find out what he thinks about the Fae who I am constantly talking about and how he knows when i've read a particularly smutty book... 👀🍆 If you enjoyed, make sure to like, share, review where possible and let others know about #BooksNShit 📚💩🤣 

What is Beta Reading? For some writers, it's a truly terrifying time when asking unassuming friends and sometimes strangers to read your work and give you feedback on all your hard work.

While Beta Reading is an amazing tool for writers to get real feedback on their work, it can be plagued with criticisms that if handled incorrectly, can make someone feel terrible about their work. So, how do we handle the negative part of feedback with consideration.

A quickie episode discussing my own beta reading struggles with work I have read as well as people reading my own work and leaving less than favourable reviews.

Check it out to see if there are any points you find useful, either as a writer or possible beta reader for someone else.

In case, you didn't know; I offer a Beta & Sensitivity Reading gig on Fiverr. If you are ever in need of the service, please do check it out!

We back at it again with another episode and this time we're talking SEQUELS!!

I start off the ep going back to the mantra of the year (00:20) before going into my reading update so far (00:54). A cheeky writing update about my new wip School of Sons (04:33) and the trials I'm having writing my own sequel, Wolves of Honour (07:50).

After that nice little connect, I get into the responses that you all sent me about what makes a good or bad sequel (15:51) and some of your favourites (30:04)!

Make sure to rate and review Books 'n' Shit on Apple Podcasts and share to your socials so others can join in the fun!

Another indie author interview featuring the wonderful Amanda Ross all the way from California!

Amanda is the author of the intense To Astera, With Love; a Paranormal Political Fantasy Dystopian Drama that deals with rising tensions between Vampires and Witches. I immediately touch on my first impressions of Aster (00:55) and ask Amanda about her inspiration behind its story (01:35). We explore the difference in a UK/Us response to the triggering content in the novel and how she found her main character's voice (05:51) within their complex magical world and system (08:35).

We discuss the great use of social media in the novel (16:20), the introduction of Blood Bars (21:45) and the realism that lives in her work (24:55). We spend some time discussing the amazing cast of characters (26:45) alongside the implications of bi-racial and black/brown characters and content within a tense environment and about Amanda's cultural and sexual identity (35:40).

Lastly, we go over her next steps for the series and its sequel, To Ilaris, In Desperation which is out September 30th!

Make sure to follow Amanda on Instagram @amandatheeauthor

This episode I focus on the positive influx of Black Fiction as well as some of the things about black content in general that I have issues with.

After a brief catch up (00:15) I delve into the current state of Black Fiction (06:10) and how at times I have had to defend my Blackness to commenters and people in my DMs. I touch on the idea of struggle narrative still be apparent in black fiction (09:45) as well as being a little jaded on themes focused solely around African cultures (12:20).

I mention not feeling pressured to love and promote everything and anything black (16:45) and how damaging doing so could be for the black writing community (19:05). I go on to discuss unconscious book bias (19:52) as well as i what i coin as 'pseudo black books (23:45) that are effectively made digestible by mainstream publishers. I briefly mention my own struggles with this while writing my trilogy (26:15) The Antonides Legacy as well as the changes I wish to make while writing Wolves of Duty (28:15).

To wrap up I run through the amazing black fiction recommendations you gave me via instagram and a lovely quote that i think sums up my thoughts on the whole episode.

If you would like to discuss anything i've said in the episode or anything has triggered/offended, please do let me know in the comments and/or DMs as I am always up for discussions and views on topics!

Remember to Like, Share, Rate, Review etc where possible and include the #BooksNShit hashtag where you can!

Welcome one and all to another episode of the infamous #BooksNShit!

This episode is a bit of a humble brag as for the life of me I couldn't work out what to record for this week and ran out of time! So, after a wonderful day of Charli updates, I thought i'd share these with you. I start of with a little announcement (01:00), then go into the fun of a Jay Kristoff inspired read-a-long i'm a part of (02:05). I update you on the first of two awesome things that happened in my book world (02:45) and update you about my querying process so far!. I say a little thank you to all of you for your continued support (08:50) and as a little gift (?), I read the opening chapters of Wolves of Duty (11:45).

While we all love reading, sometimes the books we read aren't that great and some that are terrible! On this episode I discuss some of the books i've hated with my bookstagram friend, Kate aka @flyawayfantasy! (01:35)

I start off talking about Daughters of Nri (02:15) and then we discuss what it is about stories that need to hit for us to like them (03:40). Kate lets us know her most hated book (04:42) and of course, i have to let her know about Caraval haha (06:13). We talk about how a lot of terrible books have a 'fall in love with your abuser' type vibe going on (11:31) before finally getting to two of the worst books we've read recently: A Touch of Darkness (15:56) and Gild (25:50) which we consider to be one of the worst books to have come out recently!