Books 'n' Shit

Listen to my host dreams come true as I have an amazing chat with New York Times Best Selling author Jay Kristoff!!

The incredible author of the Nevernight chronicles, the Aurora Rising series and upcoming Empire of the Vampire among other series, talks about all things writing, reading and the fun stuff in between.

We discuss the smut in his work (22:28) and how hot fellow author Pierce Brown is (23:35). We touch on his unorthodox writing styles (43:30), those infamous footnotes (44:08) and his advice for trying new ideas of your own (45:48). Jay explains more about his extensive world building (48:45) and the intricacies of his new main character, Gabriel (36:02) and the questions of faith and religion that appear in the book (39:54).

Whatever time you listen to the ep, grab a cup of something and sit back for just over an hour of fun and laughter with some gems thrown in for my indie authors who may be in need of some writerly advice (53:08).

Make sure to like, share, comment, rate on all podcast platforms and make sure to follow me on @charliauthor on all social platforms!

Why do we like retellings? (00:40) What about the reshaping of fairytales and classic stories resonates so much with us. I go over some retelling examples (01:50) including some retellings that came as movies (06:18). I question why we like to compare our stories to older classics or promote our work as retellings (08:23). I also play Devil's Advocate and question whether retellings are a 'cop out' and/or 'lazy writing'? Lastly, a quick catch up about my reading and the exciting things I have in store for future episodes!

Remember to like, share, review and share on your socials!

The second Books 'n' Shit author interview is with the wonderful Esme Carmichael; author of the Connections series, the first of which is The End of Everything.

The four part series has two books and a novella currently in circulation so check out the interview to listen to Esme's writer journey. After an introduction (00:50) to Esme and the books themselves, we discuss the dystopian them of the novel (02:40) as well as the epic descriptions (05:33) throughout the novel. We talk about her incredible villain Mason (08:35) and how she felt about writing him and dystopia in general, considering its popularity in YA (16:10).

We close up with Esme's next steps and how you can stay in touch with her (23:35).

Check out Esme's instagram @esmecarmichael_author and also myself @charliauthor on all platforms.

The second Books 'n' Shit author interview is with the wonderful Esme Carmichael; author of the Connections series, the first of which is The End of Everything.

The four part series has two books and a novella currently in circulation so check out the interview to listen to Esme's writer journey. After an introduction (00:50) to Esme and the books themselves, we discuss the dystopian them of the novel (02:40) as well as the epic descriptions (05:33) throughout the novel. We talk about her incredible villain Mason (08:35) and how she felt about writing him and dystopia in general, considering its popularity in YA (16:10).

We close up with Esme's next steps and how you can stay in touch with her (23:35).

Check out Esme's instagram @esmecarmichael_author and also myself @charliauthor on all platforms.

I'm joined by Bavan aka @realbnkumar on Instagram to talk about authorpreneurship; the art of turning ones writing into a business and/or a brand. The idea of being an authorpreneur isn't an entirely new concept but whether you're doing it consciously, or not; there is an art to being able to market yourself and your work in order to reap connections, followers and of course sales.

(01:25) we meet Bavan and talk about his writer tool named REVISION TRACKER (02:18) that is available on his website www.realbnkumar.com. Bavan talks about writing about brown characters in his upcoming anthology (12:30) as well as the writing sessions that he hosts with writers from all around the world!

Let me know what you thought of the episode and remember to like, share etc. with all your writer friends!

A quick episode today friends, focused on checking in with everyone about how i'm getting on and an opportunity to let me know what's going on with you as well!

This episode, I go into my first #PitMad experience (01:07) and touch on the issues that prompted a recent picture posted on Instagram (05:05). I update you with my current reading goals and the slump i'm trying to get out of (09:50) as well as what additional writing and editing i've been getting up to while i get ready to really start querying (14:05). Lastly, I touch on my appreciation and thanks for all of you in the writing community who have been so key to my recent happiness (14:55).

Make sure to check in with me after the episode and let me know whats been going on with you!

Like, share, review, subscribe and all that good stuff!

#BooksNShit is back with another episode and this time I'm talking with the amazing editor, Annelie Widholm!

Have a talk with us about all those editing woes that may be troubling you including how to self edit, what the different types of edits are and whether you're paying too much or too little for it.

As ever, have fun with me and my bookish friends as we try and navigate the world of self publishing! Hopefully you get some gems from this episode so your own journey is a little less daunting!

Follow myself and Annelie in Instagram for more updates and helpful tips about editing and drafting in general.

Today we talk about tropes!

Those pesky little things that people either seem to love or hate but seem to have such a heavy hold on the stories we love and hate. In this episode, I give the definition of Literary Tropes as opposed to the character/plot led ones that we usually consider (02:05). I touch on the 7 Basic Plots or Archetypes that make up stories and which most tropes originate (08:10). I reveal your most hated (21:50) and loved (25:30) tropes and some of the characters that display them.

Lastly, I update you once more with the #BooksNShit mantra and my current reading state (33:10) alongside my plans for my current WIP Wolves of Duty (35:08)

For those of us feeling a little down about life or writing or anything else going on, make sure to take in a little quote at the end of the episode. I hope it will make you feel better about what's to come, even when the nights seem the darkest...

A bit of a techy episode this week as I chop it up about Points of View. Whether you choose First or Third Person narratives, it will make a huge impact on your writing projects.

Start off clarifying what POVs there are (01:14) before I let you know the feedback i got from listeners about the POVs they prefer to read in (08:30) and then the POVs they prefer to write in (12:13). I touch a little on what EXPOSITION is (12:44) and then the Pros and Cons of both options (19:20).

I discuss my personal issues with deciding to write Wolves of Duty in First Person, rather than my usual Third Person (17:25) and why I chose to do so. As ever, I update you all on my writing and reading goals (30:15) as I am participating in #CampNaNoWriMo

Thank you to all who contributed to this episode along with some names I mention in the episode: @meganbethdavies @katrinawrites_ @katherine_d_graham