Endless waiting, silences and just the general feeling of banging your head against the brick wall. Sound familiar? You're not alone. A career in publishing is tough. So how do you stick the course? How do you keep going in the face of long silences and periods of constant rejection? We are so lucky to talk to the shining star that is Ines Ayala @byinesayala. One of our oldest and dearest cheerleaders for Of the Publishing Persuasion.

Come join us as we get deep and talk all things writing journey and how to stay present and positive in the unpredictable publishing wilds.

We can't wait for you to tune in, but first, here's more about Ines:

Ines Ayala is a children’s book writer who crafts voicy and immerseive teen novels and heartwarming picture books. A lifelong storyteller (and self-proclaimed comma abuser), she was longlisted for the 2020 Voyage YA Literary Magazine short story contest for young adult contemporary fiction. Passionate about diverse representation in children’s literature, she balances her writing with roles as a Regional Marketing Manager for a K–12 curriculum publisher and Communications Manager for the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival.

Her love for words led her to a marketing degree in 2019, but stories have always been her true calling. You can also find her work in Parents Magazine, where she turns moments of personal growth into (hopefully) helpful anecdotes for parents.

Born and raised on Long Island, she lives there with her daughter and their dog, Rocky—affectionately nicknamed Pollo for his irrational fears (including his own shadow) and his undying love for anything chicken-related.

Follow her on Instagram and Bluesky @byinesayala or subscribe to her Substack for inspiration for your own writing journey!

https://www.inesayala.com/

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Our guest today is rising star and bestselling new author of IMMORTAL CONSEQUENCES, the I.V. Marie @ivmariebooks !

I.V. Marie is the instant New York Times, USA Today and Indie Bestselling author of Immortal Consequences. She was born to a Peruvian mother and Chilean father in Miami, where she acquired a penchant for afternoon cafecitos and developed an all-consuming obsession with books. Her writing ambitions began behind her grandparent’s computer, where she spent her childhood crafting spooky and fantastical short stories. When she is not writing, you can find her rock climbing or watching atmospheric YouTube videos with her dog, Mr. Darcy. 

Immortal Consequences is her first novel.

About the book:

SIX RIVALS. ONE VICTOR. ETERNITY IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.

Six students compete to change their fate at a darkly enchanted boarding school in purgatory where graduation is the only escape—and love can cross the boundaries between life and death.

Welcome to Blackwood Academy: the legendary school located on the fringes of the afterlife. Once a pupil enters the academy’s arched gates, there is no way out…except the Decennial, a cut-throat magical competition with only one victor.

This year, six of the Academy’s top students have been chosen to face the Decennial’s tests. Two academic archrivals, whose strange connection blurs the lines between obsession and hate. One girl driven solely by ambition, and another plagued by memories of the love she lost. And a charming playboy who never cared for anyone—until he met the academy’s newest student. But what none of them know? They aren’t the only ones playing Blackwood’s game.

Who will win, and who will fall? Only one thing is for certain: in this game, some fates are worse than death.

https://ivmarie.com/about

#bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #booklover #writing #writingcommunity #reader #writinglife #darkacademiabooks #yafantasywriter #yafantasy #yafantasybooks #foundfamily #authorsofinstagram #authorlife #authorcommunity #writerlife #immortalconsequences #booksofinstagram #bookclub #bookrecs #toberead #bookrecommendations #bookcommunity #booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #yabooks #immortalconsequences #rivalstolovers #bookrecommendations #bookrecs #slowburnromance #enemiestolovers #authorsofinstagram #authorssupportingauthors

We feel braver and a little bit wiser after our glorious chat with the absolute king that is Brad Riew. We're so grateful Brad made the time to chat with us this week even though he wasn't feeling the best and know his heartfelt words will touch many. We can't wait for you all to tune in, but first, more about Brad:

Brad Riew is an MFA candidate in Fiction at New York University's creative writing program. He graduated from Harvard College in 2018 with a degree in Psychology, where he won the Ecker Short Story Prize. The Last Tiger, co-written with his younger sister Julia Riew, is his first novel. Brad lives in Brooklyn, New York.

About THE LAST TIGER:

Inspired by true stories from the authors’ grandparents’ lives during one of the darkest periods in Korean history,The Last Tiger is a debut young adult fantasy novel about the power of love to give voice to a silenced people.
In a colonized land where tigers are being hunted to extinction and ancient magic stirs, two star-crossed teens from opposite worlds—Lee Seung, a servant yearning for freedom, and Choi Eunji, a noble girl defying tradition—join forces to try and reshape their respective fates.
But their relationship evolves from begrudging accomplices to bitter adversaries as they soon find themselves on opposite sides of a battle over the last tiger, a symbol of their people’s lost freedom and key to the liberation of their country. As the ties between Seung and Eunji are complicated by their conflicting loyalties, tensions rise—especially when a charming princeling of the empire begins to rival for Eunji's affection.
In this friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story of forbidden romance, antagonists turned allies, oppression and liberation, neither Seung nor Eunji can abandon their mission—or each other. And as they embark on separate quests to find the elusive creature, each must also find the power within themselves to make their own destiny.

Join us in wishing a very happy Debut day to our guest this week, SOULMATCH Author Rebecca Danzenbaker @rebeccadanzenbaker ! We loved getting to chat and celebrate with you this week.

Rebecca Danzenbaker believes in trusting your gut and chasing your dreams. That probably explains her massive career jumps – from teaching elementary school music, to managing a team of 25 at Congressional Quarterly, to running an award-winning photography business, to writing young adult novels. When she’s not editing words or photos, she’s either reading, hiking, sending memes to friends, volunteering, planning incredibly detailed travel itineraries, being a goofball on social media, or cheering on her husband and two children as they chase their own dreams. Soulmatch is her debut novel, the culmination of five years of blood, sweat, and tears. She did it!

About Rebecca's debut, Soulmatch:

Two-hundred years after World War III, the world is at peace, all thanks to the soul-identification system. Every 18-year-old must report to the government to learn about their past lives, a terrifying process known as kirling. Good souls leave the institute with their inheritance, a career path, and if they’re lucky, a soulmate. Bad souls leave in handcuffs.
It's a nerve-wracking ordeal for Sivon, who, given her uncanny ability to win every chess match, already suspects her soul isn’t normal. Turns out, she was right to worry. Sivon’s results stun not only her, but the entire world, making her the object of public scrutiny and anonymous threats.
Saddled with an infuriating and off-limits bodyguard, Sivon is thrust into a high-stakes game where souls are pawns and rules don’t exist. As deaths mount, Sivon must decipher friend from foe while protecting her heart against impossible odds. One wrong move could destroy the future lives of everyone Sivon loves, and she can’t let that happen, even if they’ll never love her back.

#dystopianromance #YAbooks #rebeccadanzenbaker #soulmates #booktok #authorinterview

Turns out being an Author is not just about the writing. We chat with Vanessa Montalban about her journey working through being an introvert in a job that asks you to stand out from the crowd and all things bookish.

About Vanessa:

Fueled by the magic of espresso, Miami-born Vanessa Montalban channels her wanderlust for far-off worlds into writing young adult fiction. She’s a first-generation graduate from the University of Central Florida and is hard at work creating a collection of stories. She is represented by Danielle Burby of Mad Woman Literary and her work has appeared in Diabolical Plots and Entropy Magazine.

About the Vanessa's latest book These Vengeful Wishes:

A teen girl moves to a small town and discovers a mysterious wishing well possessed by La Cegua, a vengeful female spirit with the face of a horse skull, in Vanessa Montalban’s new YA fantasy standalone.
When her stepfather is arrested, aspiring artist Ceci moves back to her mother’s hometown of Santa Aguas, an eccentric small town steeped in the legend of La Cegua, the specter of a wronged witch who appears on lonely roads at night, luring untrustworthy men to their deaths.
Ceci and her mother take up residence in the abandoned manor of the Sevilla family, rumored to have been cursed by La Cegua, where she begins to uncover a past that seems to be connected to her mother. The more she learns of the Sevillas, the more Ceci finds herself forming a strange affinity with the feared Cegua, who she suspects is the one inspiring her paintings of a mysterious door in the forest.
When the very door Ceci has been painting appears in the woods, she decides to venture through it with her new friend, Jamie. Together, they discover a well, guarded by the statue of a veiled woman. A well for granting wishes. The well of La Cegua.
What starts off as harmless fun quickly escalates into something sinister when Ceci realizes that the wishes are putting the people she loves in danger and testing her own penchant for vengeance. After learning others are also searching for the well, Ceci must confront the truth of her mother’s past and prevent La Cegua’s wishes from being used for the wrong reasons. Ceci knows too well how much people will sacrifice for power. Every wish has its price, and La Cegua never forgets the ones who have wronged her.

M.M. Olivas is an alumna of the 2022 Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop and the 2023 Under the Volcano Writers Residency. Her short fiction has appeared in several publications, including Uncanny Magazine, Weird Horror Magazine, Apex, and Bourbon Penn. As a trans, first-generation Chicana, she explores the intersection of queer and diasporic experiences in her fiction. She currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, earning her MFA in Creative Writing at San Jose State University and collecting transforming robots. More information about Olivas and her fiction can be found at olivasthewriter.wtf

Sundown in San Ojuela is out now!

About the book:

When the death of her aunt brings Liz Remolina back to San Ojuela, the prospect fills her with dread. The isolated desert town was the site of a harrowing childhood accident that left her clairvoyant, the companion of wraiths and ghosts. Yet it may also hold the secret to making peace with a dark family history and a complicated personal and cultural identity.
Setting out on the train with her younger sister Mary in tow, she soon finds herself hemmed in by a desolate landscape where monsters and ancient gods stalk the night. She’s relieved at first to find that her childhood best friend Julian still lives in San Ojuela, but soon realizes that he too is changed. Haunted.
Yet she’ll have no other choice than to seek out his help as the darkness closes in.

#horror #horrorauthor #gothic #authorsofinstagram #horrorbooks #writerlife #SundownInSanOjuela #MMOlivas #gothichorror #southwestgothic #horror #horrornovel #horrornovels #horrorbooks  #LFPBooks #queerbooks #transauthor #2024debut #2024debuts #latinehorror

What is the strangest thing you own? We cackled at the answer of today's guest who is none other than Aussie darling, Mikayla Bridge @mikayla_bridge

Mikayla Bridge is a fantasy author living in Melbourne, Australia. She completed an honours degree in Political Science and International Relations, and she loves writing books that feel like a triple espresso: high-energy, heart-racing, and might ruin your sleep schedule. Of Flame and Fury is her debut novel.

#OfthePublishingPersuasion #podcast #writingcommunity #aussieauthor #LoveOzYA #authorscommunity#writingpodcast #authortube #authorsofinstagram #authorssupportingauthors #authorsofig #authorscommunity #writersofinstagram #writerspodcast #writeradvice #podcasting #podcasts #podcastersofinstagram #podcastlife #bookstagram #bookish

Join us for a gloriously chaotic episode where we check in on our anthology journey and give you a sneak peek of some of the pieces we've been editing lately!
Of the Publishing Persuasion is a podcast for writers at all stages, shedding light on the journey to publication and beyond. The ups, the downs and everything in between.
HOSTED BY: Angela Montoya: @angelamontoya_author & Melanie Schubert: @melanie_schubert_writer

Find us on Instagram: ⁠@pubpersuasion
#OfthePublishingPersuasion #JingletheseBells #spicychristmasbooks #SpicyAnthology #anthology ⁠⁠#bookstagram⁠⁠ ⁠⁠#Publishing
#booktok  #christmasromance #holidayromance #spicybooks #spicybookstagram #Christmasbooks #holidaybooks

Writing journey, Interview with the Vampire, we discuss it all on our brand new episode of the podcast with the absolute star that is THE Julie Soto @juliesotowrites

We can't wait for you all to tune in! But first, here's more about Julie:

Author, Playwright, Actress

Originally from Sacramento, Julie spent many years bouncing between New York and California before eventually settling in coastal Fort Bragg, CA. A theatre and fandom nerd, Julie can tell you the name of any Buffy episode if you pick a number 1-7, and another 1-22.

With her Bichon-Poodle brother, Charlie, she spends her days writing Rom-Coms, Adult Fantasies, and YA Thrillers, and at night, she falls asleep to Pride and Prejudice 2005 in the background.

As a playwright, Julie's musical Generation Me won the 2017 New York Musical Festival's Best Musical award, as well as Best Book for Julie's work on the script.

Julie is the bestselling author of:

👻 THE THRASHERS - out now!
🎻 NOT ANOTHER LOVE SONG
💐 FORGET ME NOT

and 🥀ROSE IN CHAINS (coming july’25)

Find her here: https://www.juliesotowrites.com/

#roseinchains #evermoretrilogy #tovenhearst #brionyrosewood #juliesoto #romantasy #juliesoto #thethrashers #yathriller #yabooks
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We are thrilled to have the Author + Agent powerhouse that is THE Sandra Proudman on the show today!

Not only is Sandra Melanie's amazing, glorious agent, she is the newly debuted author of Salvación, a YA reverse gender Zorro retelling, out now!

We can't wait for you all to tune in! But first, here's more about Sandra!

Sandra Proudman (she/her/ella) is the editor of the YA Latinx SFF anthology, Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories and a contributor to the YA horror anthology, The House Where Death Lives, both out now. Salvación is her first full-length novel. She is also a literary agent, passionate about bringing underrepresented voices to the forefront. When not busily immersed in all things publishing, you can find her spending time with her amazing husband and adorable toddler gathering rollie pollies and going on adventures, catching up on all her shows, or trying to get the perfect tortilla puff.

Find Sandra here:

Her website: https://writesandrawrite.com/

Agency website: https://www.galltzacker.com/gzla-team.html

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandraproudman/

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