Lit Service

Actress extraordinaire Liana Tan joins Caitlin for a special reading Caitlin's middle grade fantasy debut,  A Baker's Guide to Robber Pie, which is out now!

Liana has been involved in all sorts of fun acting projects and is a radio personality in Idaho. You can find her on instagram and follow her cool lifestyle show here.

If you want to see the episode Caitlin did (about writer's block!) it's here.

Tara Goedjen joins the podcast to chat about the do's and don'ts of mixing genres. She's the author of The Breathless and No Beauties or Monsters which is a mystery/paranormal mash up that will make you not want to stop reading. You can find out more about Tara and her books here.

To read the chapter we critiqued with all our notes, go here.

Join Caitlin, Kristen, and Aliah as they discuss some of the cool storytelling elements used in Netflix's new series, Arcane.

If you want to read twelve pages of Caitlin and Kristen lauding/arguing/not understanding/beings stupid about some of the things the writers, animators, and others involved did, you're welcome to it: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQrrDsc9pBwvPFDv_flGj7nELO1UZ9XcQpqtzmrEjjw/edit?usp=sharing

Hello out there to all you lovely podcast listeners!

Thank you so much for your support and for listening during this exciting year! Hope you have lovely holidays and we'll be back in 2022!

Adrienne Tooley joins the Lit Service cast to chat about why magic makes such a great tool for allegory in stories, especially when it comes to mental health.

Adrienne Tooley grew up in Southern California, majored in musical theater in Pittsburgh, and now lives in Brooklyn with her wife, six guitars, and a banjo. In addition to writing novels, she is a singer/songwriter who has currently released three indie-folk EPs. You can check out her debut novel, SWEET & BITTER MAGIC (as well as more about Adrienne!) here. Her second novel, SOFI AND THE BONE SONG, will release April 19, 2022 and you should definitely preorder it here.

If you'd like to read the chapter we critique with all our notes, you can find it here.

Morgan Rath, senior publicist at Macmillan Children's publishing, joins Caitlin this week to talk about what a publicist actually does, what authors can expect while working with one, and things authors can do on their own or to help a publicist get the word out about your book.

No first chapter critique this week! Let us know on social media or e-mail to let us know why you listen to the show--do you like the critiques? Do you prefer the behind the scenes in publishing episodes or the craft discussions? Who would you like to hear from on the show?

Aliah, Caitlin, Cameron and Kristen talk about constructing fake political intrigue in stories and how to make it interesting and peak amounts of "intrigue-y". 

The chapter we critique is here.

Find out how to support Lit Service on our Patreon.

Lyndall Clipstone joins the podcast to chat about what gothic romance is and how to write it. Lyndall writes YA Gothic romance about monsters and the girls who like to kiss them. A former youth librarian, she has a Bachelors in Creative Writing and a Graduate Diploma in Library and Information Management and is the author of Lakesedge. Find out more about Lyndall on her website, or you can order her book here.

To check out the submission we critique go here.

To find out how to support the podcast, visit us on Patreon.

Margaret Owen joins the Lit Service Crew to chat about character stakes, both personal and existential, and how to build them up so your readers minds explode (but not because there are thousands of planet-killing weapons waiting to declare war.) 

Margaret is the author The Merciful Crow, The Faithless Hawk, and Little Thieves which just barely came out this week as of this podcast publishing. It is a fabulous twist on Grimm's The Goose Girl with lots of scamming, teasing, and a girl cursed to turn into jewels if she cannot give back the things she's stolen and you should check it out.

If you would like to see the chapter we critiqued with all our notes, go here.

To learn more about Margaret, buy a copy of the book, and see the fun character art and comics she's illustrated herself to go with Little Thieves, visit her website. 

We mentioned in the show that we're looking for a sound designer, if you are interested in working with us, please e-mail us at [email protected].

To learn how to support he podcast, visit our Patreon, where you can get early access to the show, sometimes video versions of our recordings, as well as occasional bonus content.

If you'd like to submit your work for us to critique, check out our submission guidelines and see who we have coming on next on our website.

Ayana Gray joins the Lit Service Crew to chat about the nuts and bolts of building a scene, ways to ground your reader, how to balance different types of interaction on the page and how to know if your scene is interesting.

Ayana is the author of (highly anticipated!) YA fantasy Beasts of Prey, and is a lover of all things monsters, mythos, and #MelaninMagic. To learn more about her and her book, check out her website.

To learn how to support Lit Service (and get early access to episodes and some bonus content), check out our Patreon.