Welcome to this special, one-off episode of Lesbians Who Write.

Clare & TB come together  to talk about how the rest of their year has gone, giving updates on books they published, I Heart SapphFic, and how 2024 panned out overall.

But as usual, the real gold is in the other conversations: US-UK language differences (and specifically slang words for farting); Clare & TB’s laundry issues and heating downers; their favourite Christmas movies and festive songs; and how bad Spurs are, as well as how weird the world is right now.

Especially how weird TB’s world is at the moment. She couldn’t stop from saying the word weird.

Listen in to find out TB & Clare’s predictions for 2025, plus a whole lot more!

Happy holidays!

Clare & TB

After a decade in publishing and five years of podcasting, TB’s still baffled by how draining books launches can be. She and Miranda are pumping out words in their enemies-to-lovers, fake relationship summer book. TB wishes she could whip up snappy comebacks on the spot instead of three days later. Story of her life, it seems.

In Clare’s universe, Just Kiss Her is with the ARC team—her first standalone launch in a year! And brace yourself: her latest audiobook sailed through without a single correction. Talk about a shocker! Meanwhile, her Christmas novel’s chugging along, set to land on the editor’s desk by July.

For the last episode, they discuss their final thoughts about the podcast. Find out what the podcast has meant to them, how they’ll fill their time now, and what the future holds.

Thank you for all the love and support for 200 episodes!

Happy listening!

Clare & TB

Link:

TB’s German Goodies Patreon Post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/one-of-many-why-103421962

Are Your Nipples Centered? (Take Two)

The penultimate episode sees our hosts telling tales of their lives. For TB, she spilled the tea (literally), she got spooky, and she’s loving getting snarky in her upcoming novel.

For Clare, she’s readying her upcoming romance, Just Kiss Her, for her ARC team, and the audiobook of London Ever After is so close, she can taste it. Plus, Spurs are on their way to Wembley!

This week, the pair answer your questions, including: three things they’ve learned doing the podcast; their favorite moment of the past five years (it includes nipples); their writing joys; what their writing superpower would be; and what they’re going to miss the most.

See you next time for the final episode of Lesbians Who Write!

Links: 

The Sapphic Quill Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesapphicquill

The Sapphic Quill: https://thesapphicquill.com/

Inspiration Episode: https://lesbianswhowrite.com/lww-167-what-was-the-inspiration-for-your-last-3-books/

Another Inspiration Episode: https://lesbianswhowrite.com/lww-3-who-or-what-inspires-you-to-write/

Programming note: TB and Clare make a major LWW announcement right before getting to the episode’s topic.

In fantastic news, TB and Miranda’s latest book is with the editor. What a relief! They’re already plotting the next story and TB loves the shiny and new stage before getting words on the page. In surprising news, TB’s in a fantastic mood, despite being exhausted, but for an exciting reason.

Big announcement, folks! Clare’s upcoming book is titled Just Kiss Her. On the flip side, Clare’s experience with setting up her Shopify store has been anything but smooth sailing. It seems she’s been encountering quite a few frustrations, possibly leading to some colorful language.

Before getting to the topic, they rank their top 5 books in their series (Lizzie for TB and London for Clare).

They crash on to the topic: how to write the perfect book. Have they kept a secret magic formula hidden throughout five years of this podcast? Regrettably not. However, they do offer valuable advice on crafting the best book possible. Tune in for some golden insights you won’t want to overlook.

Please send in your comments and questions for the duo to discuss on the next episode. Head over to www.lesbianswhowrite.com and leave us a comment.

Happy listening!

Clare & TB

TB and Miranda are chugging away on their book and they’re getting close to the end. TB’s remembering how hard it is to end a story. Also, TB has frustrating Amazon news and a wonderful tax announcement, which is a weird and rare thing to say. Lastly, TB is so over winter, and she just wants to be warm.

Clare’s newest book is with the editor. Toot toot! She’s been keeping busy with admin tasks, the unsexy but vital aspects about being an indie author. Sadly, she’s also had to deal with the translation pirates. Clare’s going to be on a panel at the Self Publishing Show in London this June. So exciting!

They crash on to the topic: future publishing predictions. While the duo doesn’t have a crystal ball, they’ve been in the business long enough to see some trends. Have a listen to hear their predictions and not surprisingly, TB brings the dark while Clare supplies rays of sunshine.

What predictions do you have? Head over to www.lesbianswhowrite.com and leave us a comment.

Happy listening!

Clare & TB

Links:

Around the World in 80 Days Mini Reading Challenge: https://iheartsapphfic.com/2024/03/20/announcing-the-around-the-world-in-80-days-mini-reading-challenge/

IHS April Sale Submission Form: https://bit.ly/3THNRAC

IHS Patreon Author of the Week: https://www.patreon.com/posts/3-truths-lie-by-101364151

Alliance of Independent Authors: https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/

TB has translation news. Devil’s Advocate is now available in French. Oooh la la! TB and Miranda are writing again now that Miranda is on the road to recovery. It’s nice to get words on the page again. TB finds herself in another confrontation with Amazon as it appears increasingly challenging to perform basic tasks on KDP.

Clare spent the week at London Book Fair and was on a panel. She’s hit the big time! Even better, she’s met some new sapphic fiction authors and caught up with old friends. Clare’s next book is not far from going to the editor. How exciting! More importantly, Spurs women beat Man City! Clare is so happy.

They crash on to the topic: when they’ve broken rules or rebelled conventional wisdom. Both of them aren’t inherently inclined to break rules, yet there have been occasions in both their professional and personal lives where they’ve done so. Listen to the episode to find out when they have gone against the grain and how it worked out.

Tell us when you’ve broken a rule and what happened when you did. Head over to www.lesbianswhowrite.com and leave us a comment.

Happy listening!

Clare & TB

Link:

French version of Devil’s Advocate: https://www.reinesdecoeur.com/les-livres-lesbiens/l-avocate-du-diable-tb-markinson-miranda-macleod/

Anniversary alert. Our first episode went live five years ago on March 2, 2019. Toot toot!

TB is busy per usual, but there’s an added complication right now. Miranda recently had surgery and TB’s been helping take care of her. In publishing news, Amazon and ACX seem determined to put books into the wrong categories. Keep on eye on your book categories, peeps. In fantastic news, the I Heart Sapphic BookFinder has more than 6,000 books in the database. Amazing!

London Ever After is out! Toot toot! Also, the London rebrand has been finalized. Even better, Clare’s next book is already under way. She’s smashing it this year. To honor her 10-year anniversary, Clare will be celebrating for a year. Keep an eye out for sales, giveaways, and more. She also spent 5 days in Spain and enjoyed some marvellous cheesecake.

They crash on to the topic: what they believe has been the biggest change in publishing since the start of this podcast. Join us as we unravel the biggest shifts since 2019. Trends may ebb and flow, but some truths endure. Tune in to explore the evolution of the exciting world of indie publishing.

Tell us what you think has been the biggest change in publishing. Head over to www.lesbianswhowrite.com and leave us a comment.

Happy listening!

Clare & TB

Links:

A Song in Her Heart: https://mybook.to/SongAudioTBM1

TB’s first audiobook of 2024 is out in the world and TB was amazed when ACX only took 4 days to get it on Audible. Also, she’s loving writing the monthly Lizzie instalments for Patreon peeps. In translation news, the French version of Devil’s Advocate will be out soon, and the German one won’t be too far behind.

Clare is frazzled because London Ever After is launching at the end of February, which coincides with Clare’s ten-year anniversary of when she published her first book. Toot toot! She’s been busy recovering and redoing all the blurbs for all the London books to prepare for the release of London 9.

They crash on to the topic: newsletters. Many authors claim newsletters are vital, but are they that important for your writing career? Clare and TB dig into this topic giving their honest assessment. Have a listen to find what they think about newsletters.

Tell us what you think about newsletters. Head over to www.lesbianswhowrite.com and leave us a comment.

Happy listening!

Clare & TB

Links: 

A Song in Her Heart: https://mybook.to/SongAudioTBM1

Marketing with Sam: https://www.patreon.com/posts/sunday-marketing-98288298

Lizzie Patreon Installments: https://www.patreon.com/posts/latest-lizzie-is-98477616

London Ever After: https://www.clarelydon.co.uk/2024/02/london-ever-after-first-chapter-preview/

Clare’s Interview: https://www.mylondon.news/news/real-life/i-laughed-raised-lack-female-28544226

TB is so over 2024. She’s had nothing but battles this year including ones with Amazon, websites, and a cold. The good news, Say Cheese is out in the world! Also, I Heart SapphFic had its best month ever. Only if TB could get over her wretched cold, she might not hate 2024 so much.

London Ever After is back from the editor and Clare’s sending it to her first readers. Toot toot. Now she needs to set a launch date. In more London romance news, she’s in the process of recovering all the books. Exciting! In fun Clare news, she’s been going to a lot of football matches.

They crash on to the topic: go your own way. In the writing business, there’s plenty of advice, tips, and suggestions people tell writers to follow. But should you? Clare recently had a clang of reality that got her thinking about advice. Have a listen to learn how they decide to ignore/implement/tailor advice and tips to suit them.

Tell us what you think. Head over to www.lesbianswhowrite.com and leave us a comment.

Happy listening!

Clare & TB

Links:

Say Cheese: https://mybook.to/CheeseLWW

Welcome to the first episode of 2024!

TB has had a rough start to the year. An illness over the holidays derailed TB’s grand plans of getting ahead. Now she feels like she’s a year behind! In good news, Say Cheese, her cowrite with Miranda MacLeod, will be published soon! The I Heart SapphFic 2024 Reading Challenge has begun. Huzzah!

Breaking news: London 9 is with the editor. TOOT TOOT! Like TB, Clare got pretty sick over the holidays. Sicker than she’s ever been. But she still got London 9 done! She also has a new Italian translation coming out soon. In fantastic news, she’s heading to Whitstable for her annual January writing trip. In surprising news, Clare declared war on the sapphic fiction community…

They crash on to the topic: 2024 Goals. The duo outlines what they hope to get accomplished this year. While chatting they get distracted by darts, pub meetups, and ice queens. All worthy distractions!

Tell us about your 2024 goals. Head over to www.lesbianswhowrite.com and leave us a comment.

Happy listening!

Clare & TB

Links:

I Heart SapphFic Reading Challenge: https://iheartsapphfic.com/2024/01/01/announcing-the-2024-reading-challenge/