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In today’s episode, Alex sits down with husband-wife powerhouse Dalton and Emily Bequette. With a meet-cute as beta readers, it is no wonder they went on to take their love beyond the page with their upcoming YA fantasy novel (out July 29th), FLAMEHEART. Emily is a high school English teacher, where she works to instill an appreciation for reading and writing in her students. A blue-collar man, Dalton works in heavy machinery, which allows him to brainstorm plot points and get his audiobooks in. 

Listen as they discuss their meet-cute, how they manage to sound like the same person via their writing when not switching POVs, FLAMEHEART’s origin story, and what their characters have taught them about themselves that they didn’t know before the writing of this book. 

Due to character limitations, please find a full version of the show notes with applicable content warnings and links on our website at: https://www.tarakross.com/podcast-1

→  Connect with Emily and Dalton on their Instagram or visit their website 

→ Pre-order Flameheart HERE

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In today’s episode, Alex and Tara have a thought-provoking and wisdom-filled discussion with John Kenney, author of three novels and four books of poetry, including LOVE POEMS FOR MARRIED PEOPLE. His first novel, TRUTH IN ADVERTISING, won the Thurber Prize for American humor. He is a long-time contributor to The New Yorker magazine’s Shouts & Murmurs column and currently lives in Larchmont, NY. 

Listen as they discuss what it’s like writing a darkly humorous book about death, the beauty and healing in confronting grief, the importance of writing realistic characters and stories, why he wanted to write fiction after being in advertising for years, who inspired the characters of I SEE YOU’VE CALLED IN DEAD, and how short fiction can help our long-form stories. 

 Due to character limitations, please find a full version of the show notes with applicable content warnings and links on our website at: https://www.tarakross.com/podcast-1

→  Connect with John on his Instagram or visit his column on The New Yorker's website 

→ Buy I SEE YOU’VE CALLED IN DEAD HERE

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In today’s episode, Alex talks with Ai Jiang, the author of multiple award-winning short fiction and the highly anticipated A PALACE NEAR THE WIND (releasing April 15th). Ai is a Chinese-Canadian writer, Ignyte, Bram Stoker, and Nebula Award winner, and Hugo, Astounding, Locus, Aurora, and BFSA Award finalist from Changle, Fujian, currently residing in Toronto, Ontario. She is the recipient of Odyssey Workshop's 2022 Fresh Voices Scholarship and the author of A Palace Near the Wind, Linghun, and I AM AI.

Listen as they discuss who Ai’s literary heroes are, her experimental storytelling inspiration and why A PALACE NEAR THE WIND utilizes a more traditional story structure, how she challenges herself as a writer to avoid getting stuck in old habits, and how to stay true to art in a literary landscape that is favoring the use of AI and fast-fashion esque publishing models. 

Due to character limitations, please find a full version of the show notes with applicable content warnings and links on our website at: https://www.tarakross.com/podcast-1

→  Connect with Ai on her Instagram or visit her website 

→ Pre-order or Buy A PALACE NEAR THE WIND  HERE

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In today’s episode, Tara and Alex chat with Megan Tady, author of award-winning SUPER BLOOM, published May 2023 via Zibby Books, and her most recent, BLUEBIRD DAY. She runs the freelance writing and editing company Word-Lift. Her writing has appeared in Woman's Day, Reader's Digest, The Huffington Post, and Ms. Magazine, among others. 

Listen as they discuss where the idea for Bluebird Day came from, how she achieves the precarious balance between humor and heart, the effect of competitive sports on kids, and how being an editor has both helped and hindered her writing.

 Due to character limitations, please find a full version of the show notes with applicable content warnings and links on our website at: https://www.tarakross.com/podcast-1

→  Connect with Megan on her Instagram or visit her website 

→ Buy BLUEBIRD DAY HERE

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In today’s episode, Tara chats with author David A. Robertson, a two-time Governor General’s Literary Award winner, the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award recipient, and received the Writer’s Union of Canada Freedom to Read award. He is a podcaster, public speaker, and social advocate alongside many other accolades. He was honored with a Doctor of Letters by the University of Manitoba in 2023 for outstanding contributions to the arts and distinguished achievement and is a proud member of Norway House Cree Nation.

Listen as they discuss his best-selling Misewa series, when he realized he wanted to be an author, his podcast Kiwew, what it’s like writing so closely about family and weaving his familial history into his work, his newest memoir, All the Little Monsters: How I Learned to Live with Anxiety, and what’s next for him!

Due to character limitations, please find a full version of the show notes with applicable content warnings and links on our website at: https://www.tarakross.com/podcast-1

→  Connect with David on his Instagram or visit his website
→ Buy All the Little Monsters: How I Learned to Live with Anxiety HERE

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In today’s episode, Alex and Tara chat with prolific writer, Kasie West, author of YA books such as The Fill-In Boyfriend, P.S. I Like You, Listen to Your Heart, and her newest: Better Than Revenge. Her books have been named ALA-YALSA Quick Picks, Junior Library Guild selections, and ALA-YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults books. When not writing, Kasie loves binge-watching television shows, reading, and traveling. 

Listen as they discuss everything about her new book, Better Than Revenge, how her teens help her write for teens, how she can craft such unique and interesting subplots, her biggest goals for the future, and her advice for aspiring writers.

 Due to character limitations, please find a full version of the show notes with applicable content warnings and links on our website at: https://www.tarakross.com/podcast-1

→  Connect with Kasie on her Instagram or visit her website 

→ Buy Better Than Revenge HERE

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In today’s episode, Alex sits down with Jennifer De Leon, award-winning author of the YA novels Borderless, featured on the TODAY show, and Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From. She is also the author of White Space: Essays on Culture, Race, & Writing. She is an active speaker, presenter, and educator who loves to connect with readers of all ages. Jenn lives outside the Boston area with her husband and two sons.

Listen as they discuss everything from the white spaces BIPOC authors find in the writing industry, what her time in Guatamala taught her, who Maya, her protag in Borderless, is based on, how teaching writing at a University has helped her writing, and her initiative The Story Bridge Project. 

Due to character limitations, please find a full version of the show notes with applicable content warnings and links on our website at: https://www.tarakross.com/podcast-1

→  Connect with Jennifer on her Instagram or visit her website 

→ Buy Borderless HERE

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In today’s episode, Alex and Tara sit down with Sarina Louise, an up-and-coming author from The Author Conservatory Program. As a teen, Sarina was diagnosed with Chronic Lyme Disease, an illness that made her give up on her dream of being an author. Now, after walking a miraculous healing journey, she writes young adult stories that don’t shy away from brokenness, but always promise that healing is coming. 

Listen as they discuss the launch of her first Anthology publication with the Conservatory, Voices of the Future: Stories of Adventure and Imagination, the challenges of writing historical fiction, how her writing program has helped her grow as a writer, how C.S. Lewis inspired the poem in her story within the anthology, and the ins-and-outs of writing books about brokenness but never without hope.

Due to character limitations, please find a full version of the show notes with applicable content warnings and links on our website at: https://www.tarakross.com/podcast-1

→  Connect with Sarina on her Instagram or visit her website 

→ Buy the Anthology Voices of the Future: Stories of Adventure & Imagination HERE

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In today’s episode, Alex and Tara sit down with the wisdom-filled talent Gayle Forman. 

An award-winning author and journalist, Gayle has written several bestselling novels, including those in the Just One Day series, Where She Went, and the #1 New York Times bestseller If I Stay, which has been translated into more than forty languages and was adapted into a major motion picture. Her first middle-grade novel, Frankie & Bug, was a New York Times best children’s book of the year. Her second middle-grade novel Not Nothing has been hailed as a “masterpiece” and the “book we all need at the time we all need it.”

Listen as they discuss her most recent Middle-Grade novel, NOT NOTHING, the importance of empathy in fiction, respect across generations, how she wrote a book for young readers from the POV of a 107-year-old Holocaust survivor, Jewish heritage, the real-life figures who inspired Josey and Olka’s story, and social media and her relationship with it.

Due to character limitations, please find a full version of the show notes with content warnings and links on our website at: https://www.tarakross.com/podcast-1

→  Connect with Gayle on her Instagram or visit her website 

→ Buy Not Nothing HERE

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In today’s episode, Tara talks with Mansi Shah about her novel A GOOD INDIAN GIRL. Born in Toronto to Indian immigrants, Mansi is also the author of The Direction of The Wind and The Taste of Ginger. Now based in Los Angeles, Mansi left her long-time career as an entertainment attorney in Hollywood to travel the world and write full-time. She loves to cook, and food often plays a prominent role in her books.

Listen as they discuss why Mansi decided to move from law to fiction writing, how being a lawyer ignited her passion for highlighting certain themes within her work, the importance of food within culture and fiction, how to use the recipes on her website, and what’s next for her!

Due to character limitations, please find a full version of the show notes with content warnings and links on our website at: https://www.tarakross.com/podcast-1

→  Connect with Mansi on her Instagram, TikTok, or visit her website 

→ Buy A Good Indian Girl HERE

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