On this week's First Five Chapters, Luke Kerr is joined by best selling author Bianca Marais to discuss her new book The Witches of Moonshyne Manor.

She is the co-host of the writing craft podcast The Shit No One Tells You About Writing, teaches creative writing and has authored Hum If You Don't Know the Words and If You Want to Make God Laugh as well as the Audible Original The Prynne Viper.

With what can be described as a magical dash of Golden Girls, a twist of Steel Magnolias and a sprinkle of Sex Outside the City, The Witches of Moonshyne Manor follows a sisterhood of older witches whose manor and distillery are threatened by townsmen. What will happen when their long-absent coven member, Ruby, returns? Can a feisty TikToker, Persephone, help them save their home?

On writing craft,

Bianca shares what she believes to be the most important element to hooking readers and the importance of "curiosity seeds."

As a long-time listener of The Shit No One Tells You About Writing, Luke was curious to see whether Bianca included a prologue in The Witches of Moonshyne Manor. She doesn't, but she figured out a clever way to introduce readers to her characters before Chapter 1.

Why did Bianca choose to use a tarot deck to give readers additional details about each witch in Chapter 1 before focusing individually on each witch in the following chapters?

How did Bianca ensure that each member of the sisterhood had equal stakes?

She shares the most important character element for writers to include to ensure readers connect with their characters.

On empowering future authors,

Bianca shares how her passion for helping writers led to The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast. Family and friends are supposed to say nice things about a writers work, but sometimes an author needs to clear-eyed feedback to help them identify areas for opportunity to grow as a writer. That is what she and co-hosts CeCe Lyra and Carly Watters provide through their kind, but honest feedback on submitted queries.

Find out how a personal connection led to her running the Eunice Ngogodo Own Voices Initiative. The organization empowers Black women in Africa to write their own stories while fundraising to help aid grandmothers in Soweto with caring for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

You can find out more about Bianca Marais at BiancaMarais.com. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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On this week's First Five Chapters, Luke Kerr is joined by author Frederick Smith to chat about his latest novel, co-authored with Chaz Lamar Cruz, Busy Ain't the Half of It.

The two talk about the differences between writing with a co-author vs penning a solo novel. How do the writing styles differ and how do Frederick and Chaz's writing styles complement each other? 

Luke feels he can grow as a writer in crafting his villains' motivation, but what does Frederick feel is his greatest strength and opportunity for growth?  

The two then dive into the first five chapters of Busy Ain't the Half of It, which follows the lives of Justin Monroe and his nephew Elijah Golden, both of whom are gay.  

The lives of men in the gay community can be complicated by past encounters with other men. Frederick talked about he and Chaz were able to use that dynamic to create the foundation for their juicy story. 

Will Justin end up with his long-time friend Trevor or the headmaster at his children's school, Jabari? 

How will Elijah's boyfriend Zaire react when he finds out Elijah spent a night with Zaire's ex, Jordan. 

What will happen when everyone ends up on a vacation trip to Miami? What kind of drama will go down?

Did the original first chapter end up in their manuscript end up as the first chapter in the printed book?

Smith has written or co-written five novels centering on the lives of Black and Latinx queer characters. Check out more details on In Case You Forgot, Play It Forward, Right Side of the Wrong Bed and Down for Whatever at FrederickLSmith.com. Check him out on Twitter and Instagram at @FSmith827.

Only you can decide whether to read beyond the First Five Chapters!

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On episode nine of First Five Chapters, Luke Kerr is joined by Casie Eckholm to wrap up the summer with a book review of My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey. 

Is it a romance novel? Is it a murder mystery? We're not sure, but it's definitely a summer read for at the beach, the airport or on a lazy afternoon. 

When Taylor discovers the dead body of her coastal rental house, she goes full-on "Jessica Fletcher" trying to discover the killer, much to the chagrin of the bounty hunter, Myles. He was hired the victim's sister to find the killer and doesn't need her distracting him.

Only you can decide whether to read beyond the First Five Chapters!

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On this week's First Five Chapters, Luke Kerr is joined by award winning author Jennifer Brody.

The two dive into her latest projects Once Upon a Scream for the Disney Chills series and writing Star Wars' most iconic villain for Darth Vader in Blood Moon: Uprising - Stories of Jedi and Sith.

Brody shares how, as Vera Strange, she never writes down to her Disney Chills readers. She teases that a seventh Disney Chills book is on the way and that its villain is not one she thought she'd be writing for.  She reveals how the Disney Chills series allows her to go much darker with Disney villains than she can for Star Wars allows Darth Vader. She feels that Vader is a very self-sufficient villain and Luke wonders if it's his Big Darth Energy.

On writing craft,

Luke reveals that creating villain motivation is one of the areas in writing he struggles with. Jennifer believes stories are only as strong as its villain and shares her advice for crafting villain motivation.

The two also delve into the "plotting" vs. "pantsing" writer debate. Is "pantsing" disastrous for nearly every writer and does it trip up even publishing's most famous "pantser," Stephen King?

How do new authors hook agents, publishers and eventually readers in their first pages? Jennifer says it comes down to getting strong voice on the page.

She also shares what writers should be reading if they want to create great characters.

Luke asks Jennifer to reflect on her querying journey when she was a new author and they discuss some of the obstacles to traditional publication.

You can find out more about Jennifer Brody / Versa Strange at JenniferBrody.com. Follow her on Twitter,  Facebook and Instagram.

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On this week's First Five Chapters, Luke Kerr is joined by Bookstacked and Bookmarked podcast founder Saul Marquez to dive into A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin. 

Volume 1 in The Book of Tea duology, A Magic Steeped in Poison entices readers with its rich imagery. Ning's motivation to save her sister is clear. Lin is a master of dropping breadcrumbs and beautifully succinct sentences , which keeps readers turning pages.

If A Magic Steeped in Poison has one "fault," it is that its first five chapters seem too short and readers could have been given a deeper understanding into Ning's relationship with her father.

The Book of Tea Volume 2, A Venom Dark and Sweet hits bookstores on August 23, 2022.

Only you can decide whether to read beyond the First Five Chapters!

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On this week's episode of First Five Chapters, Luke Kerr is joined by his writing partner and long-time friend Craig Peters, to dive into the world of Siri Pettersen's Odin's Child.

The fates of an outsider, the ultimate insider and a tyrant are inextricably linked as every day brings them that much closer to the Rite-and perhaps the end of Ym itself. Will Hirka discover who she really is? Will Rime follow his destiny to rule? What will the cost be of Urd's pact with the devil? 

These are the questions explored in this Odin's Child book review.

Only you can decide whether to read beyond the First Five Chapters!

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On episode 5 of First Five Chapters, Luke Kerr is joined by Brandon Redding to review Right Where I Left You by Julian Winters. 

Sometimes the fantasy of romance makes you overlook the real love that is right next to you. Right Where I Left You is the story of three teens-turning men- the summer between high school and college. Isaac wants love, and to score tickets to Legends Con for him and his best friend Diego. However, when Isaac is distracted by an encounter with his high school crush Davi, he misses out on the tickets and the friends' big summer plan goes sideways.

Will Isaac's fantasy crush for Davi blossom into something more? How will Diego react to the truth about why they didn't get tickets. And will Isaac discover that when it comes to love, sometimes the reality turns out better than the fairy tale?

Only you can decide whether to read beyond the First Five Chapters!

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On this week's First Five Chapters, Luke Kerr is joined by his longtime friend and former Daytime Confidential co-host Regan Cellura to dive into Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho.

Elena Soo isn't looking forward to prom. It's a financial waste and she'd rather focus on saving the community center she loves. That is, until her childhood friend-turned K-pop star–Robbie Choi shows up at her front door to keep his promise to take her to prom. Now she must deal with the changes in him, her feelings and the avalanche of press and fans that comes with him.

Only you can decide whether to read beyond the First Five Chapters!

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On this week's podcast, Luke Kerr is joined by Bryan Smith to delve into the First Five Chapters of Gallant by V.E. Schwab.

Ghouls and ghosts haunt Olivia, but it is the words of her mother's diary, which she's memorized, that are her obsession.  Amidst lurking shadows and ominous foreshadowing, readers are given glimpses of hope to keep them turning the next page.

Bryan co-hosts the new Big Brother podcast Big Brother, Little Sister. Be sure to check it out!

Only you can decide whether to read beyond the First Five Chapters!

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On this week’s episode of the First Five Chapters, Luke Kerr is joined by Casie Eckholm to dive into Lore by Alexandra Bracken.

From the first page, Lore is a fast-paced race for survival, while also a story about loss, love and friendship. Luke and Casie delve into how Bracken keeps readers turning pages with unexpected twists and surprises.

Then they reveal whether they’d read beyond the First Five Chapters.

Only you can decide whether to read beyond the First Five Chapters!

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