Fable & The Verbivore

Notes:

Kate is an author of dark fantasy romance and contemporary fantasy stories. Her short story ‘Daughter of Darkness & Son of the Sun’ was published last year in the Worldsmyth’s Darkness & Moonlight anthology and her short story Deconstructed won first place in Tribus Polaris’s 2020 flash fiction contest. Kate is currently working on revisions for her debut novel The Guardian (Book 1 of The Terramica War planned trilogy).

Kate’s website is KieranLamoureux.com and her Instagram account is @kjlamoureux.writes. We’d highly recommend checking out her bibliophile posts, atmospheric pictures, teasers of her current work, and the flash fiction pieces located in her Instagram stories. We also love her open and candid posts about her personal life and creating as a neurodiverse writer. Her website also lists the micro editing with heart services that she provides - line editing, copy editing, proofreading, and pitches, blurbs, and synopses – as well as her current rates.

Cami is the author and self-publisher under her Mixed Plate Press inprint of eight contemporary YA novels under the name C. L. Walters and two adult romantic fantasy novels under the name Maci Aurora. Her YA novels include The Letters She Left Behind, the Cantos Chronicles (Swimming Sideway, The Ugly Truth, The Bones of Who We Are), The Stories Stars Tell, In the Echo of this Ghost Town, When the Echo Answers, and The Messy Truth About Love . Her adult romantic fantasy Fareview Fairytales series includes In the Shadow of a Wish (Book 1) and the newly released sequel In the Shadow of a Hoax. She also has written a step-by-step self-publishing guideThe Indie Author, Book Publishing Planner: Navigating Indie Publishing to Establish Your Brand as an Authorpreneur. Cami is currently working on book 3 of the Fareview Fairytales series.

Cami’s websites are www.clwalters.net and maciaurora.com, her Instagram accounts are @cl.walters and @maciaurora, and her TikTok account is @clwaltersofficial. We’d highly recommend checking out Cami’s funny, thoughtful, and bookish TikToks, reels, and posts as well as her beautiful pictures of her home state of Hawaii and glimpses into her personal and writing life. We also love the way she posts about her upcoming releases and how they do such a masterful job of capturing the aethetics and flavor of her work. Her Mixed Plate Press website also lists the macro editing and teaching services that she provides - one-on-one writing consultations, creation of custom writing curriculum, developmental edits, and line editing services - as well as her current rates.

Kate references a series that we did on Fable and the Verbivore about writing Physical Intimacy taken from a behavioral psychology perspective. Here are those two episodes:

- Episode 71: Let's talk about writing physical intimacy

- Episode 72: Let's talk about writing physical intimacy (part 2)

Both Cami and Kate give their take on the term Sex Positive. Here’s a definition from PsychCentral:

- “My personal working definition of ‘sex positivity’ is operating around the topics of human sexuality, health, and pleasure with respect and without shame or stigma. This includes gender identity, orientation, sex education, nudity, relationship styles, body positivity, safer sex, reproductive equity, and much more.” - Goody Howard

Books Mentioned:

- Cause Celeb by Helen Fielding

- Swimming Sideways by C. L. Walters

- In the Shadow of a Wish: Fareview Fairy Tale, Book 1 by Maci Aurora

- In the Echo of this Ghost Town by C. L. Walters

- Two Wrongs Make a Right (The Wilmot Sisters Series) by Chloe Liese

- Bergman Brothers (6 book series) by Chloe Liese

- The Plated Prisoner Series (5 book series) by Raven Kennedy

- Horde Kings of Dakkar (6 book series) by Zoey Draven

- The Deal by Elle Kennedy

- The Four Horsemen (4 book series) by Laura Thalassa

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes:

Towards the beginning of the conversation, the Verbivore mentions that the Romance genre is wide and growing, with characters that are starting to more accurately represent the world around us - but there is still a long way to go. We strongly believe representation matters and that we each should be able to see ourselves reflected in stories with happy endings. If you’re curious to learn more about where the industry is at, here are a few articles on this topic:

- NY Times Article “The Changing Face of Romance Novels”

- The Ripped Boddice “The State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing Report”

- Writers Republic Article “Diversity in the Romance Novel Industry: Has there been any progress?”

Fable and the Verbivore both talk about gaining vocabulary to more clearly identify or categorize the steam or spice level of a romance story so that we can better understand what to expect from a given book. Here are links to a couple steam/spice scales that we found online:

- DelShereeGladden.com Article “What exactly does “steamy” mean when it comes to romance?”

- RomanticFantasyShelf.com Article “Romantic Fantasy Heat Levels (Revised!)”

The Verbivore references a very funny Instagram post from author Ali Hazelwood talking about Christina Lauren’s upcoming book “The True Love Experiment.” That post can be viewed here.

Here are a few articles we referenced for this conversation:

- MasterClass Article “Writing 101: What Is a Romance Novel? Learn About the History and Characteristics of Romance Novels”

- Publishing Research Quarterly “The Romance Publishing Industry and Its Reputation” by Lauren Cameron

- Book Riot Article “How are Romance Novel Covers Made?” by Sarah Nicolas

- Book Riot Article “As Illustrated Covers Trend in Romance, What is Being Said About Women’s Interests” by Kelly Jensen

Books and Films Mentioned:

- The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

- The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn

- Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon

- Uprooted: A Novel by Naomi Novik

- The Lost City – Directed by Aaron Nee and Adam Nee

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes:

Here are a few articles we referenced for this conversation:

- MasterClas Article “Writing 101: What Is a Romance Novel? Learn About the History and Characteristics of Romance Novels”

- Vulture Article “Why You Should Be Reading Romance Novels By Jaime Green”

- Book Riot Article “10 REASONS WHY WOMEN READ ROMANCE NOVELS by JESSICA AVERY”

- Mru’s Books and Reviews Article “15 reasons why you should read love stories.”

Books and Films Mentioned:

- The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

- Undercover Bromance (Bromance Book Club) by Lyssa Kay Adams

- Crazy Stupid Bromance (Bromance Book Club) by Lyssa Kay Adams

- Isn't It Bromantic? (Bromance Book Club) by Lyssa Kay Adams

- A Very Merry Bromance (Bromance Book Club) by Lyssa Kay Adams

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes:

The Verbivore mistakenly called Ted Chiang’s short story “The Story of Us”. It’s actually titled “Story of Your Life” and served as inspiration for the film “Arrival”.

Here are a few articles and videos we referenced for this conversation:

- MasterClass Article “Non-Linear Storytelling: Non-Linear Writing Tips and Examples”

- YouTube Video “Lessons from the Screenplay - Arrival — Examining an Adaptation”

- YouTube Video “Lessons from the Screenplay - Memento — Telling a Story In Reverse”

- YouTube Video “Like Stories of Old - Transcending Time | Interstellar's Hidden Meaning Behind Love and Time”

Books and Films Mentioned:

- Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood

- Below Zero by Ali Hazelwood

- Stuck with You by Ali Hazelwood

- Loathe to Love You by Ali Hazelwood (Collection of 3 Novellas)

- People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

- Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor

- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

- Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

- Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

- Arrival - Directed by Denis Villeneuve

- Memento - Directed by Christopher Nolan

- Tenet - Directed by Christopher Nolan

- Interstellar - Directed by Christopher Nolan

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes (books and resources mentioned in the episode):

LeVar Burton’s MasterClass

Amy Tan’s MasterClass

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast’s interview with Jeffrey Archer

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
’Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes: 

We touch on several of our previous podcast episodes. They are as follows:

- Episode 121: Our 2022 intentions

- Episode 120: A look back on 2021

- Episode 146: Marvel Character Dynamics with MJ McGriff

- Episode 147: Marvel's WandaVision with K.T. Anglehart

- Episode 159: Interview with Jenn Hanson-dePaula

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
’Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes:

The Verbivore mistakenly calls John Koenig’s book The Encyclopedia of Infinite Sorrows. That title is actually The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.

MasterClass Episodes Mentioned:

- The Importance of Oral Storytelling – LeVar Burton

Here are a few articles and videos we referenced for this conversation:

- National Geographic Article “Storytelling and Cultural Traditions”

- St. Cloud State University Article “St. Cloud State professors to speak at TEDxStCloud 2022”

- Rose and Rex Article “Tell Me A Story: The Importance of Oral Storytelling” by Rebecca Smallberg

Previous Fable and the Verbivore Episodes Referenced:

- Episode 156: Flash Fiction Magic Contest Winners

Books and Films Mentioned:

- Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier (Audiobook), Narrated by Anna Massey

- Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Audiobook), Narrated by Wil Wheaton

- Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley

- Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Cron

- Elements of Fiction Writing: Conflict and Suspense by James Scott Bell

- The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes:

Mae is an author, speaker, and Healing Coach/Mentor, specializing in trauma and grief navigation by partnering alongside women as they process hard things. She hosts the The Rainy Day Collective Podcast which is available to listen at many places including Spotify , Apple , and Google Podcast . She is also the facilitator of the Carpe Diem Writers Group.

Her personal memoir titled Girls, Assassins & Other Bad Ideas was published on July 29th of this year and is available everywhere books are sold.

Mae’s personal website is https://rainydayinmay.com/ . We’d also highly recommend checking out her Instagram @rainydayinmay.

Books and Movies Mentioned:

- Girls, Assassins & Other Bad Ideas by Mae Wagner

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes:

The Verbivore read a famous quote at the beginning of the episode that’s attributed to Joseph Campbell. Here are those words:

- The cave you fear to enter hold the treasure you seek.

We also mention a connected quote from Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead. That quote is:

- As you think about your own path to daring leadership, remember Joseph Campbell's wisdom: "The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek." Own the fear, find the cave, and write a new ending for yourself, for the people you're meant to serve and support, and for your culture. Choose courage over comfort. Choose whole hearts over armor. And choose the great adventure of being brave and afraid - at the same time.

We also share a quote from Shonda Rhime’s book Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person. Those words are as follows:

- Every “yes” changes something in me. Every “yes” is a bit more transformative. Every “yes” sparks some new phase of revolution.

The Verbivore talks a little about fear and excitement feeling similar, and re-framing fear as excitement. This is known in the scientific community as anxiety reappraisal, and studies have supported that individual performance in a task improves when we tell ourselves “I am excited” rather than “I am affraid”. The Ted Talk “You Are Contagious” by Vanessa Van Edwards discusses this study starting at timestamp 16:32.

Here are a few articles and videos we referenced for this conversation:

- Wanderlust Article “Why You Should Try New Things” by Maggie Peikon

- LifeHack.org Article “14 Reasons To Always Try New Things in Life” by Jacqueline T. Hill

- Betterup Article “5 ways to cultivate a beginner’s mind (and stay open to the possibility)” by Maggie Wooll

- YouTube Video “My year of saying yes to everything | Shonda Rhimes | TEDTalk”

- YouTube Video “How Saying Yes Can Change Your Life: Mark Zmarzly at TEDxLincoln”

- YouTube Video “The Power of Yes | Kwame Alexander | TEDxHerndon”

Books and Films Mentioned:

- Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts by Brené Brown

- Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes:

The Verbivore read a quote at the beginning of the episode. Those words are from a co-founder of positive psychologist and the “Father of flow” Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi. Here are those words:

- Flow is being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. - Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi

The Verbivore references a post that Fable had on her Insta. That post is available here and features the quote:

- DON’T BORE THE READER… Remember, you can bore readers in a lot of different ways. It doesn’t necessarily take a dearth of action; too much action can get you the same result. Everything in writing, as in life, requires balance… A good rule of thumb is this one: If you bore yourself with your writing, you will probably bore your readers, as well. When you feel boredom start to set in, step back and reconsider what you are doing. - Terry Brooks Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life

We mention that we feel that this episode is a strangely appropriate one to share during NaNoWriMo as it could help with a Post Mortem review of what worked and what didn’t. If you’re unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo, here is some information: https://nanowrimo.org/about-nano#nanowrimo

Here are some questions we talked about for a Post Mortem review of an experience:

- What happened? / What worked? / What didn’t? / What depleted me? / What had a significant cost? / What filled or nourished me? / How can I bring more of that in? / How can I reduce the things that depleted me?

The Verbivore mentions re-framing fear as excitement. This is known in the scientific community as anxiety reappraisal, and studies have supported that individual performance in a task improves when we tell ourselves “I am excited” rather than “I am affraid”. The Ted Talk “You Are Contagious” by Vanessa Van Edwards discusses this study starting at timestamp 16:32.

Here are a few articles and videos we referenced for this conversation:

- Positive Psychology Article “8 Traits of Flow According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi”

- Zapier Article “Finding Flow: 5 Steps to Get in the Zone and Be More Productive”

- Raiza Sali Article “22 Flow Triggers: The Ultimate Peak Performance Toolkit For Hacking Flow”

- YouTube Video “Losing yourself in flow state | Diane Allen | TEDxNaperville”

- YouTube Video “How to open up the next level of human performance | Steven Kotler | TEDxABQ”

- YouTube Video “Fear or Flow: how to create an optimal experience | Cameron Norsworthy | TEDxUWA”

- YouTube Video “Beat anxiety with the most addictive experience on Earth | Steven Kotler | Big Think”

- YouTube Video “How to enter ‘flow state’ on command | Steven Kotler for Big Think”

- YouTube Video “How to use ‘flow state’ to do the impossible | Steven Kotler for Big Think”

- YouTube Video “Lessons from the Screenplay - The Soul of Good Character Design”

Books and Films Mentioned:

- Uprooted by Naomi Novik

- Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match: A Novel by Sally Thorne

- Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)