Queries, Qualms, & Quirks show

Queries, Qualms, & Quirks

Summary: Queries, Qualms, & Quirks asks published authors to share their successful query letter and discuss their journey from first spark to day of publication. Author Sarah Nicolas interviews authors of all genres about how they got started writing, their writing process, getting their book deal, and their experiences with publication.

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Podcasts:

 Short Story and Literary Author Allegra Hyde and the Labor and Anxiety | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:18:23

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 QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqhyde  This page includes affiliate links. Please use them if you’d like to support the show.

 Author and Poet Meg Eden Kuyatt and Eight Years to Bloom | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:21:23

Author and Poet Meg Eden Kuyatt joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss getting her first agent in high school, how writing is like gardening, holding your projects loosely, writing out of order, and regretting acting on impatience. Meg Eden Kuyatt is a 2020 Pitch Wars mentee, and teaches creative writing at colleges and writing centers. She is the author of the 2021 Towson Prize for Literature winning poetry collection “Drowning in the Floating World” (Press 53, 2020) and children’s novels, most recently “Good Different,” a JLG Gold Standard selection (Scholastic, 2023).  Meg: Query | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqmegeden  This page includes affiliate links. Please use them if you’d like to support the show.

 MG Graphic Novel Author Elizabeth Agyemang and the Missing Piece | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:21:51

MG Graphic Novel Author Elizabeth Agyemang joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss video game fan fiction, multiple R&Rs, querying her future agent while in high school, a lot of rewriting, and focusing on the things you can control. Elizabeth Agyemang is the author and illustrator of Fibbed, a middle grade graphic novel published by Razorbill, and Heart-Shaped Lies, a young adult novel coming from Delacorte. When she isn’t gushing over books or comics, she spends her free time dissecting classic movies and playing Final Fantasy. Elizabeth: Query | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop  QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqagyemang  This page includes affiliate links. Please use them if you’d like to support the show.

 Fantasy and Thriller Author Chelsea Mueller and The Queen of Google | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:29:49

Fantasy and Thriller Author Chelsea Mueller joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss book blogging, going to editorial five times with no book deal, keeping your eyes on your own paper, different processes for different genres, and the importance of perseverance.  Chelsea Mueller writes gritty, twisty fantasy and thriller novels for adults and teens. She's best known for the YALSA Reluctant Reader Pick PROM HOUSE and her gritty Soul Charmer urban fantasy series. She loves bad cover songs, good fight scenes, and every soapy YA drama Netflix can put in her queue. Chelsea lives in Texas and has been known to say y’all. Chelsea: Query | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqmueller  This page includes affiliate links. Please use them if you’d like to support the show.

 Young Adult Author Rosiee Thor and So Many New Words | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:46:28

Young Adult Author Rosiee Thor joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss how failure is part of the process, teenage Marie Lu, Inkpop, signing with an agent who doesn’t represent her genre, feeling a bit stagnant, refusing to give up on publishing, and finding the groups that nourish instead of drain you. Rosiee Thor began her career as a storyteller by demanding to tell her mother bedtime stories instead of the other way around. She spent her childhood reading by flashlight in the closet until she came out as queer. She lives in Oregon with a dog, two cats, and an abundance of plants. She is the author of Tarnished Are The Stars, Fire Becomes Her, The Meaning of Pride, and Life is Strange: Steph’s Story. Rosiee: Query | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqrosiee This page includes affiliate links. Please use them if you’d like to support the show.

 Middle Grade Author Sarah Allen and A Decade of Querying and Failing | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:29:43

Middle Grade Author Sarah Allen joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss coming up in the time of author blogs, being over eager, hundreds of rejections, being scared to write the book you want, leaving an agent, learning to be bolder, and balancing the boldness with kindness. Sarah Allen is a poet and author of books for young readers. Her upcoming middle grade horror, THE NIGHTMARE HOUSE, releases in August of 2023. Her first book, WHAT STARS ARE MADE OF, was an ALA Notable Book of 2020 and Whitney Award Winner, and her second, BREATHING UNDERWATER, was a Jr. Library Guild Selection for 2021. Born and raised in Utah, she received an MFA in creative writing from Brigham Young University, and now lives in the midwest. She spends her non-writing time watching David Attenborough documentaries and singing show-tunes too loudly, and she’s a lover of leather jackets, grizzly bears, and Colin Firth. Sarah: Query | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqsarahallen This page includes affiliate links. Please use them if you’d like to support the show.

 Fantasy Author R.R. Virdi and the Seven Year Grind | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:24:28

Fantasy Author R.R. Virdi joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss the cover his mom designed, the difference between indie and trad, seeing the sign at Barnes and Noble, the importance of asking questions, how delays snowball, and how publishing is different for everybody. R.R. Virdi is a usa today bestseller, two time dragon award-finalist and nebula award finalist. He is the author of urban fantasy series, The Grave Report, and the new South Asian Epic Fantasy series from TOR books, Tales of Tremaine RR: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqvirdi This page includes affiliate links. Please use them if you’d like to support the show.

 Middle Grade Author Esme Symes-Smith and the Million-Revision Unicorn | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:38:04

Middle Grade Author Esme Symes-Smith joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss genre labels, the two-glass-of-wine query, how NaNoWriMo prepared them for publishing, inspiration from Tamora Pierce, waiting for the other shoe to drop, the fanfiction gateway, making excuses for yourself, Esme Symes-Smith grew up in the Southwest of England, got their degree in Literature and Creative Writing in Wales, and now lives in Missouri with their wife and furbabies. SIR CALLIE is their first novel. Esme: Query | Website | Twitter | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqesme This page includes affiliate links. Please use them if you’d like to support the show.

 Young Adult Author Laura Taylor Namey and the MSWL Tweet That Changed Everything | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:21:27

Young Adult Author Laura Taylor Namey joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss learning to write a novel by writing one, the pitfall of comparison, longevity as an author, romanticizing publishing, and doing things backward. Laura Taylor Namey is the New York Times and international bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club pick A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, The Library of Lost Things, When We Were Them, and two forthcoming titles. A proud Cuban-American, she can be found hunting for vintage treasures and wishing she was in London or Paris. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two children. Laura: Query | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Tiktok | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqnamey This page includes affiliate links. Please use them if you’d like to support the show.

 Middle Grade Author PJ Gardner and the Idea Machine | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:31:12

Middle Grade Author PJ Gardner joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss coming to writing late in life, how querying is like boxing, writing as a calling, how promoting for MG is different from promoting for YA, querying with old data, taking big risks but expecting safe results, and how the success goalposts always move. PJ Gardner has never met a talking animal, but that hasn’t stopped her from writing about them. She’s the author of the middle grade Horace & Bunwinkle series and her next book, The Great Zoodini comes out in early 2024. She lives in Southern California with her husband and sons, and their Boston Terriers, Rosie and Rocky. She also writes under the name PJ Switzer. PJ: Query | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqpjgardner This page includes affiliate links. Please use them if you’d like to support the show.

 Young Adult Author Sarah Suk and Query Trenching | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:38:45

Young Adult Author Sarah Suk joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss the writing group that started it all, Author Mentor Match, how being on submission was harder than querying, realizing her community is not her competition, worrying if anything's going to work out, and the importance of writer and non-writer friends. Sarah Suk lives in Vancouver, Canada, where she writes stories and admires mountains. She is the author of young adult novels Made in Korea and The Space Between Here and Now, as well as the co-writer of John Cho’s middle grade novel Troublemaker. When she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the water, taking film photos, or eating a bowl of bingsu. Sarah: Query | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqsarahsuk This page includes affiliate links. Please use them if you’d like to support the show.

 Women’s Fiction Author Sierra Godfrey and Long Stretches of Silence | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:19:58

Women’s Fiction Author Sierra Godfrey joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss how it's okay if you need longer than other writers, selling a book quickly by doing ten years pre-work, having your agent leave the business, why writers truly need agents, feelings of inadequacy, comparison being the thief of joy, and the importance of learning the market. Sierra Godfrey is the author of A Very Typical Family (Sourcebooks) and a forthcoming title in September 2023. She was born in Santa Cruz, California and has lived many places, including Santorini, Greece. She loves hiking, watching soothing British farmland shows, and thinking of stories about messy families. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family, which includes a dog, two cats, and a turtle, all of which seemed like a good idea at the time. Sierra: Query | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqgodfrey This page includes affiliate links. Please use them if you’d like to support the show.

 Non-fiction author Catherine Baab-Muguira and Literary Wisdom from Kevin Bacon | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:32:26

Non-fiction author Catherine Baab-Muguira joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss 12 years of querying, the worst feedback she’s received, rewriting her book proposal top to bottom three times, how doing things wrong is the process, and the village that raised her book. Catherine Baab-Muguira is a writer and journalist who has contributed to the Wall Street Journal, Slate, CNBC and NBC News. A frequent podcast and radio guest, with appearances on NPR and Lifehacker's Upgrade, she lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and toddler. Her first book, Poe for Your Problems: Uncommon Advice from History's Least Likely Self-Help Guru, was released by Hachette in 2021 and won the International Poe Festival's Saturday "Visiter" Award in 2022. Catherine: Query | Website | Substack | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqcatherinebm This page includes affiliate links. Please use them if you’d like to support the show.

 Sci-Fi Author Nanci Schwartz and Why It’s Okay To Quit | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:45:02

Sci-Fi Author Nanci Schwartz joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss learning to control what you can and letting the rest go, writing while pregnant, debuting during a pandemic, how Star Wars inspired her books, and more. Nanci Schwartz is an instructional writer by day, a science fiction author by night, and a mom 24/7. In her small amounts of free time, she can be found gallivanting around Disney World, chatting about her favorite space opera franchise, or taking refuge from the heat in her pool. She lives in Florida with her husband, son, dog, and cat. Nanci: Query | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | IndieBound | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqnanci This page includes affiliate links. Please use them if you’d like to support the show.

 Kidlit Author Lyn Miller-Lachmann and the Five Year Drought | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:31:30

Kidlit Author Lyn Miller-Lachmann joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss losing two agents, getting close and not getting remotely close, what her MFA did for her, having a sequel come out six years later, her concerns as an Autistic writer, the importance of loving the process, and more. Lyn Miller-Lachmann is the author of the YA novels Torch, Gringolandia, and Surviving Santiago, the co-author with Zetta Elliott of the verse novel Moonwalking, and the author of a biography of animal scientist and autism advocate Temple Grandin. She also translates kids' books from Portuguese to English. Lyn: Query | Website | Twitter | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound | Libro FM QQQ Home Base | Support on Patreon Read the full transcript. If links aren't clickable, find them here: https://bit.ly/qqqlynml This page includes affiliate links. Please use them if you’d like to support the show.

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