In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Kate Alice Marshall about her latest YA horror, THE NARROW. Also discussed: how you can reinvent yourself as a writer, the appeal of scary stories and writing them even if you’re a scaredy cat, the process of writing tension, mystery, and red herrings, coordinating the writing, editing, and promoting of several book projects in multiple genres, and so much more!

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Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with S. Jae-Jones about THE GUARDIANS OF DAWN: ZHARA, her latest young adult fantasy, the first in a new series, pitched as Sailor Moon meets The Lunar Chronicles (!). Also discussed: how marketing can have a huge influence on a book’s genre and placement, reminding yourself of why you decided to seek out publication in the first place when publishing gets frustrating, the joy in sharing stories and connecting with readers, writing fairytale retellings within a context of a larger, overarching series, determining magic systems, inserting Easter eggs for fans, and so much more!

The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
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Order The Happy Writer: Get More Ideas, Write More Words, and Find More Joy from First Draft to Publication and Beyond https://bookshop.org/a/11756/9781250362377

Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

 In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Jessica Brody, author of over twenty novels, along with her bestselling SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A NOVEL, and the new SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL. Discussed in this episode: revisiting favorite writing resources, what makes this new version of SAVE THE CAT! unique and perfect for YA authors, how most (but not all!) stories follow the Save the Cat method, how a big part of writing a novel is trusting the process and carrying on, how to use the Save the Cat method, even if you’re not an outliner, and so much more. 

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Order The Happy Writer: Get More Ideas, Write More Words, and Find More Joy from First Draft to Publication and Beyond https://bookshop.org/a/11756/9781250362377

Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with wife/husband writing team, Katelyn Detweiler and Danny Tamberelli about their co-written rom-com, THE FIRST DATE PROPHESY, inspired by their own relationship’s origins. Also discussed: how your work/media background influences your writing process, how to know how much to include in a story inspired by true events, co-writing while parenting and finding the time to write (hint: naptime!), the joy of sharing a-ha moments with your co-writer, and so much more!

The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
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Order The Happy Writer: Get More Ideas, Write More Words, and Find More Joy from First Draft to Publication and Beyond https://bookshop.org/a/11756/9781250362377

Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Ananya Devarajan about her debut YA romance, KISMAT CONNECTION. Also discussed: using platforms like Wattpad to practice writing, writing as a coping mechanism, balancing the demands of college and being a new author, using neuroscience to help draw realistic characters, recognizing parts of ourselves in our characters, and so much more!

New Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/happywriterstore
TLC movie news: https://deadline.com/2023/06/warner-bros-animation-locksmith-bad-fairies-lunar-chronicles-1235413420/

The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
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Order The Happy Writer: Get More Ideas, Write More Words, and Find More Joy from First Draft to Publication and Beyond https://bookshop.org/a/11756/9781250362377

Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Terri Libenson, author of the New York Times bestselling Emmie & Friends series, about her latest, SURPRISINGLY SARAH. Also discussed: starting out in cartooning and moving into writing illustrated/graphic novels, outlining a Sliding Doors-type concept, the wonderful, yet rare times when books seem to write themselves, rotating characters through a series, the joy of surprising yourself as a writer and so much more.

The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Order The Happy Writer: Get More Ideas, Write More Words, and Find More Joy from First Draft to Publication and Beyond https://bookshop.org/a/11756/9781250362377

Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Hanna Alkaf and Margaret Owen about their YA murder mystery anthology, THE GRIMOIRE OF GRAVE FATES. Topics covered in this super-fun episode include: how the project came out of a tweet, the challenges and joys of writing an anthology with so many authors, the politics of choosing contributors, using Google docs, forms, and spreadsheets to stay organized with multiple stories and so many details, the unexpected administrative work of doing a multi-author anthology, and so much more.

Trekking the World game: https://www.underdoggames.com/products/trekking-the-world 

The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Order The Happy Writer: Get More Ideas, Write More Words, and Find More Joy from First Draft to Publication and Beyond https://bookshop.org/a/11756/9781250362377

Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Alex Crespo about his debut, SAINT JUNIPER’S FOLLY, a queer YA haunted house mystery. Also discussed: using familiar settings to create fictional ones, using online resources like Pinterest and Zillow to do research on homes, doing deep dives to ensure details—even tiny ones—are accurate, what it means to be an aggressive plotter, using astrology archetypes to help create characters, writing chunks of chapters by character and then having to cobble them together, and so much more!

The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Order The Happy Writer: Get More Ideas, Write More Words, and Find More Joy from First Draft to Publication and Beyond https://bookshop.org/a/11756/9781250362377

Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Melissa Blair about her second book in the Halfling Saga, A SHADOW CROWN, as well as transitioning to being a full-time writer, the editorial process and chasing perfection, difficult second acts, writing expansive timelines and using devices to show the passage of time, writing villains, and so much more!

The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Order The Happy Writer: Get More Ideas, Write More Words, and Find More Joy from First Draft to Publication and Beyond https://bookshop.org/a/11756/9781250362377

Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with E.K. Johnston about her latest book, the prequel to Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – THE DRUID’S CALL. Also discussed: how archaeology and writing can be related, writing IP (intellectual property) projects, the pros and cons of them, and how writing fanfiction can prepare you for the job, the fun and complications of inserting Easter eggs into books, and so much more.

Dragon Age (Game): https://www.ea.com/games/dragon-age
What is dressage: https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/features/what-is-dressage-olympics-747995  

The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Order The Happy Writer: Get More Ideas, Write More Words, and Find More Joy from First Draft to Publication and Beyond https://bookshop.org/a/11756/9781250362377

Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/