Ink and Magic

We sit down with Sacha Black, author of 13 Steps to Evil and explore the art of crafting multifaceted villains and the process of transforming them into heroes. Sacha shares her expert tips and strategies to create the perfect foil to your protagonist, as well as the choices necessary to turn a villain into a hero. 

Join us as we uncover the secrets to bringing your literary adversaries to life in a way that captivates and resonates with readers.

MENTIONED:

13 Steps to Evil by Sacha Black: https://amzn.to/49tqKjS

Sacha is loving Anna Huang’s Twisted Love: https://amzn.to/3IebNXe

Leslye’s reading Kelly Armstrong’s A Rip Through Time: https://amzn.to/49qFWhX 

Ines is watching Wild Card on the CW.

Grab your copy of Kiss of Snow here: https://amzn.to/47w2tbe 

Sign up for author Nalini Singh’s newsletter to receive fan service here: https://nalinisingh.com/

Want the official Psy-Changeling Reading Order? Click here: https://nalinisingh.com/books/psychangeling-series/

Want to learn worldbuilding from Leslye? Sign up here: https://learn.myimaginaryfriends.net/

Want to learn story structure from Ines? Sign up here: https://ineswrites.com/PTP

Find the hosts online at:

L. Penelope: https://lpenelope.com/ 

Ines Johnson: https://ineswrites.com/ 

Ready to play? We’re back in the SnowDancer wolf pack with Play of Passion. The dominance challenge is on when the budding romance between Indigo Riviere, a high-ranking and fiercely independent wolf lieutenant, and Andrew Kincaid, a charismatic and playful tracker, challenges pack dynamics and their own deeply ingrained beliefs about hierarchy and strength. 

Grab your copy of Play of Passion here: https://amzn.to/3Hrh113 

Sign up for author Nalini Singh’s newsletter to receive fan service here: https://nalinisingh.com/

Want the official Psy-Changeling Reading Order? Click here: https://nalinisingh.com/books/psychangeling-series/

BOOKS MENTIONED

Wrong by Jana Aston: https://amzn.to/49I9Xt8 

White Out by Adrianna Anders: https://amzn.to/49MzYYp 

Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison: https://amzn.to/49tw2vP

Leslye is currently watching Peaky Blinders which is currently streaming on Netflix.

Leslye also watched The Other Zoe which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Ines watched Leap Year which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Want to learn worldbuilding from Leslye? Sign up here: https://learn.myimaginaryfriends.net/

Want to learn story structure from Ines? Sign up here: https://ineswrites.com/PTP

Find the hosts online at:

L. Penelope: https://lpenelope.com/ 

Ines Johnson: https://ineswrites.com/ 

Leslye and Ines talk about unconventional plotting, 150 word blurbs, and television versus novel structure across all genres with the Fairy Plot Mother. In this magical conversation, you’ll see how Becca Mysoor earned her storytelling wand by helping to craft some of today’s best selling stories!

Need some Plot Fairy dust sprinkled on your manuscript or want to go on a writing retreat with Becca? Check out her offerings here: https://www.fairyplotmother.me/services 

Theodora Taylor’s Universal Fantasy: https://amzn.to/3Ht9L4U 

Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ talk on the Id List can be found on the RWA website: https://www.rwa.org/ItemDetail?iProductCode=AUDIO18WTYI&Category=RECORDINGS&WebsiteKey=c531524b-2ea0-41e7-a099-7e5a27062137 

Big Bad Boss by Lee Savino and Renee Rose is the book Becca blurbed: https://amzn.to/3OC1kZ7 

Becca’s reading Caressed by Ice by Nalni Singh: https://amzn.to/3UB6qZj, Wreck My Plans by Jillian Meadows: https://amzn.to/3OG5xuW and The Favor by Suzanne Wright: https://amzn.to/3SxMljV 

Ines is reading Noelle Adams’ Trophy Wife Series: https://amzn.to/4bxd5cX 

Leslye is reading Kelley Armstrong’s A Rip Through Time: https://amzn.to/3HW61JE 

Sign up for author Nalini Singh’s newsletter to receive fan service here: https://nalinisingh.com/

Want the official Psy-Changeling Reading Order? Click here: https://nalinisingh.com/books/psychangeling-series/

Want to learn worldbuilding from Leslye? Sign up here: https://learn.myimaginaryfriends.net/

Want to learn story structure from Ines? Sign up here: https://ineswrites.com/PTP

Find the hosts online at:

L. Penelope: https://lpenelope.com/ 

Ines Johnson: https://ineswrites.com/ 

Bonds of Justice, book 8 in Psy-Changeling, introduces us to a dedicated New York police detective with a natural shield against psychic powers and a Justice-Psy with the rare ability to retrieve memories.

Singh skillfully weaves a narrative that is as much about solving a crime as it is about exploring the depths of human emotion and connection.

Join us as we unpack the layers of this multifaceted story, examining how love and duty intersect in a world where justice and passion form an unbreakable bond.

Grab your copy of Bonds of Justice here: https://amzn.to/3SfEJDP 

Sign up for author Nalini Singh’s newsletter to receive fan service here: https://nalinisingh.com/

Want the official Psy-Changeling Reading Order? Click here: https://nalinisingh.com/books/psychangeling-series/

Want to learn worldbuilding from Leslye? Sign up here: https://learn.myimaginaryfriends.net/

Want to learn story structure from Ines? Sign up here: https://ineswrites.com/PTP

Find the hosts online at:

L. Penelope: https://lpenelope.com/ 

Ines Johnson: https://ineswrites.com/ 

In this week’s episode, Leslye and Ines have a chat with bestselling author Sarra Cannon, who is famous for her twists and turns between chapters and at the ends of her paranormal books. Explore the craft of endings through music composition, TV breaks, and cliffhangers.

Wanna experience Sarra’s world for yourself? Try out her Shadow Demons Saga: https://amzn.to/49oChkN 

Need help organizing your life? Check out Sarra’s ninety day planning method in the HB90 Course: http://lpen.co/hb90

Check out serialized stories on REAM: https://reamstories.com/ 

Sign up for author Nalini Singh’s newsletter to receive fan service here: https://nalinisingh.com/

Want the official Psy-Changeling Reading Order? Click here: https://nalinisingh.com/books/psychangeling-series/

Want to learn worldbuilding from Leslye? Sign up here: https://learn.myimaginaryfriends.net/

Want to learn story structure from Ines? Sign up here: https://ineswrites.com/PTP

Find the hosts online at:

L. Penelope: https://lpenelope.com/ 

Ines Johnson: https://ineswrites.com/

In Blaze of Memory, we leave the Changeling world for the cities of the humans where a Psy has been dumped on the Shine Foundation's doorstep. Dev Santos has to uncover who Katya is but with her memory loss she might not only be a danger to herself, she might be a danger to everything he’s built... including his heart.

Grab your copy of Blaze of Memory here: https://amzn.to/3RwMynb

Sign up for author Nalini Singh’s newsletter to receive fan service here: https://nalinisingh.com/

Want the official Psy-Changeling Reading Order? Click here: https://nalinisingh.com/books/psychangeling-series/

BOOKS MENTIONED

The Human Animal featuring the Twelve Stages of Intimacy by Desmond Morris: https://amzn.to/3udhLE2 

Want to learn worldbuilding from Leslye? Sign up here: https://learn.myimaginaryfriends.net/

Want to learn story structure from Ines? Sign up here: https://ineswrites.com/PTP

Find the hosts online at:

L. Penelope: https://lpenelope.com/ 

Ines Johnson: https://ineswrites.com/ 

In this week’s episode we talk with fellow craft enthusiast and master story baker Theodora Taylor. Her book 7 FIGURE FICTION: How to Use Universal Fantasy to SELL Your Books to ANYONE took the author world by fire as she taught us all how to baste our stories in butter to make them universally fantastic. 

Theodora discusses how to steep your stories in Universal Fantasies TM which keep readers hungry for more, as well as how to effectively use a Big Misunderstanding in your romance for maximum comprehension!

Grab 7 Figure Fiction by T Taylor: https://amzn.to/3Ht9L4U 

The Universal Fantasy List: Romance by T Taylor: https://amzn.to/48WIXGB 

Take the Universal Fantasy’s course: https://universalfantasycourse.thinkific.com/?ref=c3a4b3 

Want to learn worldbuilding from Leslye? Sign up here: https://learn.myimaginaryfriends.net/

Want to learn story structure from Ines? Sign up here: https://ineswrites.com/PTP

Find the hosts online at:

L. Penelope: https://lpenelope.com/ 

Ines Johnson: https://ineswrites.com/ 

Credits: "Moonlight Hall" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.

This week it’s dominant versus dominant as we delve into the intense relationship between Mercy, a high-ranking leopard changeling, and Riley, a wolf changeling with an equally strong personality. Their romance is marked by a fierce, passionate dynamic that challenges both characters' deeply held beliefs and pack loyalties.

Grab your copy of Branded by Fire here: https://amzn.to/3RwMynb 

Sign up for author Nalini Singh’s newsletter to receive fan service here: https://nalinisingh.com/

Want the official Psy-Changeling Reading Order? Click here: https://nalinisingh.com/books/psychangeling-series/

BOOKS MENTIONED:

Leslye is reading a Big D of a book called Passion by Lisa Valdez: https://amzn.to/42alZc4 

Ines was finally in the mood to love The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne: https://amzn.to/3u0LEaG 

A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J Maas has divided Ines and Leslye: https://amzn.to/3u0LEaG 

Want to learn worldbuilding from Leslye? Sign up here: https://learn.myimaginaryfriends.net/

Want to learn story structure from Ines? Sign up here: https://ineswrites.com/PTP

Find the hosts online at:

L. Penelope: https://lpenelope.com/ 

Ines Johnson: https://ineswrites.com/ 

Credits: "Moonlight Hall" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.

This week, we breakdown Ines’s favorite trope to write: the Marriage of Convenience story (MoC), where characters marry for reasons other than love, such as financial gain or social necessity. 

Forget something borrowed or blue, Ines presents her Seven Must-haves to Successfully Pull Off a MoC as she and Leslye explore this compelling romantic trope, its enduring appeal, and its reflection of changing societal views on relationships.

More info on The Twelve Stages of Intimacy- https://www.noblechoices.org/12-stages-of-intimacy/

BOOKS MENTIONED:

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me https://amzn.to/3vCmXlz 

Noelle Adam’s MoC series:

• Convenient Marriages https://amzn.to/3O49IjN 

The Interstellar Brides series by Grace Goodwin https://amzn.to/4b1gPDB 

Heroes of Chance Creek series by Cora Seton https://amzn.to/4b1gPDB 

Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas (Derek Craven’s book) https://amzn.to/4b1gPDB 

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas (Lord St. Vincent’s book) https://amzn.to/48VYJRm 

Marrying Winterbourne by Lisa Kleypas (Rhys Winterbourne’s book) https://amzn.to/3HgLgIh 

The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan https://amzn.to/3vCuWPs 

A Kiss for Midwinter by Courtney Milan https://amzn.to/421GWpM 

Radiance by Grace Draven https://amzn.to/3HmudEK 

The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare https://amzn.to/4aVjIFP 

Liars Like Us by JT Geissinger https://amzn.to/41Yde54 

The Mountain Man’s Mail Order Brides series by Frankie Love https://amzn.to/3Hm0Nqk 

FILMS MENTIONED

The Magic of Ordinary Days https://amzn.to/3RXKJ2F 

Green Card https://amzn.to/3HinWtJ 

The Proposal https://amzn.to/48VV9qm 

Purple Hearts on Netflix

Want to learn worldbuilding from Leslye? Sign up here: https://learn.myimaginaryfriends.net/

Want to learn story structure from Ines? Sign up here: https://ineswrites.com/PTP

Find the hosts online at:

L. Penelope: https://lpenelope.com/ 

Ines Johnson: https://ineswrites.com/ 

Though the cover to Hostage to Pleasure will mislead you about M-Psy Ashaya Aleine, leopard changeling Dorian Christensen is ready to set her straight. Their paths intertwine in a story of forbidden attraction and political intrigue against the backdrop of a society where emotions are suppressed, and shifting abilities are latent.

Ready to get lost in this gripping tale of love, rebellion, and the transformative power of emotional vulnerability?

Grab your copy of Hostage to Pleasure here: https://amzn.to/47M2BUy 

Sign up for author Nalini Singh’s newsletter to receive fan service here: https://nalinisingh.com/

Want the official Psy-Changeling Reading Order? Click here: https://nalinisingh.com/books/psychangeling-series/

Want to learn worldbuilding from Leslye? Sign up here: https://learn.myimaginaryfriends.net/

Want to learn story structure from Ines? Sign up here: https://ineswrites.com/PTP

Find the hosts online at:

Leslye Penelope: https://lpenelope.com/ 

Ines Johnson: https://ineswrites.com/