Queries, Qualms, & Quirks

Magical Realist Author Angel Di Zhang joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss recording her own audiobook, having an editor who gets your vision, Pitch Wars, writing books that you don't want, the joy in writing a perfect sentence, querying too early, the two sentence critique that led to a rewrite, and getting sidetracked by the wrong feedback.

Angel Di Zhang was born in northeast China, and raised in China, England, Canada and the United States. She was educated in the joint BA-MIA program at Columbia University, and is a painter and an internationally exhibited fine art photographer.

Angel lives in a secret garden near Toronto.

Angel: Query | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Indigo | US Purchase

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Cookbook Author Jules Sherred joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss query tracker, a fortuitous agent connection, the two-year overnight project, selling out on Amazon on pub day, breaking the rules, ripping out readers' guts, getting in trouble for his writing, and the problem with a quick publication schedule.

Jules Sherred works as a commercial food photographer and stylist, writer and recipe developer, journalist, and outspoken advocate for disability and trans rights. His website Disabled Kitchen and Garden and his cookbook CRIP UP THE KITCHEN were born out of the need to include disabled people in the conversation around food.

Jules: Query | Website | Mastodon | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop | Libro FM

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Romance Author Romi Moondi joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss zigzags and backtracks, amassing over a hundred rejections, signing with the wrong agent, self-publishing, the tyranny of best of lists, feeling responsible for representing your entire community, the one soundtrack she has to listen to for every book, and the friends who’ve been with her through it all.

Romi Moondi is a Canadian author whose 2022 diverse contemporary romance, 24 Hours in Paris, received a Publishers Weekly starred review and was the Publishers Weekly 2022 #1 Summer Romance Read. 24 Hours in Italy, the follow up to 24 Hours in Paris, also received a Publishers Weekly starred review and will be released on July 18th, 2023.

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MG Author Sarah Kapit joins Queries, Qualms, and Quirks to discuss switching agents, using networking, a slow build over time, accepting her writing process, the highs and lows of publishing, what you deserve from an agent, and the joy when kids love your book.

Sarah Kapit is the author of several books for young readers. Her novel Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! earned the Schneider Family Honor and Washington State Book Award. Sarah's most recent book, Second Chance Summer, came out from Macmillan on May 23, 2023.

Sarah: Query | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop | Libro FM

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Kidlit and Romance Author Tanisia Moore joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss wanting her kids to see her have a life,  a two week deal, getting an R&R from a friend, dispelling the dream agent, switching agents, the danger of #writingcommunity twitter, rejection being part of the journey, celebrating all the parts, and how not selling a book doesn't mean your art is bad.

Known affectionately as “your family’s favorite author,” Tanisia “Tee” Moore writes uplifting work for all ages. For young adult readers, her debut book with co-author Lyn Miller-Lachmann in the Women of Power series profiling women filmmakers was announced in November 2020. For adults, she is the author of After the Storm, an inspiring contemporary romance novel of redemption and restoration. Tee has been published in the Alabama News, Medium, and Readers Digest, as well as a TEDx talk on motherhood and entrepreneurship.

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Young Adult Author Jesmeen Kaur Deo joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss finding community in fanfiction, inspiration from Richelle Mead, reading Query Shark in high school, having a book die on submission and then having a quick pre-empt sale, advice from Nora Roberts, and finding balance.

Jesmeen Kaur Deo grew up in northern British Columbia, where she spent most of her childhood daydreaming. She loves books that can make her laugh and tug at her heartstrings in the same paragraph. When not wrapped up in stories, she can be found biking, playing the harmonium, or struggling to open jars. TJ Powar Has Something to Prove is her debut novel.

Jesmeen: Query | Website | Twitter | Tumblr | Amazon | Bookshop | Libro FM

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YA & MG Author Kalyn Josephson joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss how Lani Taylor inspired her writing, Scooby Doo fanfic, three books that should have never been queried, an offer after an R&R, how no writing is ever wasted, and the subjectiveness of the industry.

Kalyn Josephson is a fantasy author living in the California Bay Area. She loves books, cats, books with cats, and making up other worlds to live in for a while. THE STORM CROW duology is out now.

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Young Adult author Brian D. Kennedy joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss having three agents, the insult that led to a genre change, the Goldilocks of submission strategy, worrying you’ll never be good enough, feeling the negative ten times more, all the snacks, a ten year journey, no shortcuts,     

Brian D. Kennedy lives in New York City with his husband and their miniature Schnauzer. When not writing, he can be found working at an LGBTQ nonprofit and obsessing over all things Dolly Parton. A Little Bit Country is his debut novel.

Brian: Query | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop | Libro FM

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Middle Grade Author & Illustrator Derrick Chow joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss how agent referrals aren't the end all, the courage it takes to show your work to another person for the first time, how an auction isn't all about the money, the joy of meeting young readers, all the distractions that come after a contract is signed, avoiding scammy publishers, and more.

Derrick Chow is an author, illustrator, and comic creator. His short stories have been featured in several comic anthologies; and his illustrations appear in newspapers, magazines, and books across North America. His debut middle-grade horror novel, RAVENOUS THINGS, from Disney-Hyperion is out now.

Derrick: Query | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop | Libro FM

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Short Story and Literary Author Allegra Hyde joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss submitting without an agent, having agents reach out to her, the book deal that felt like a miracle, the difference from working with a university press, letting go as an author, over-researching, over-revising, and how community is everything. 

Allegra Hyde's newest book, the story collection THE LAST CATASTROPHE, will be published this March by Vintage. She is also the author of the novel ELEUTHERIA, which was named a "Best Book of 2022" by The New Yorker, and the story collection OF THIS NEW WORLD, which won the John Simmons Short Fiction Award. She currently teaches at Oberlin College.

Allegra: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop | Libro FM

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