Behind the Books

We promise, we're still a writing podcast. Anyway, this week we have a little life chat and therapy session while we talk about the realities of life and where we are at the moment. It's a bit of a trip and one hell of ride, but we're stuck on this rollercoaster so might as well make the most of it. There's the anniversary of LJ's second book, but we have more important things on our mind! Like th...

This week, Larissa and LJ tacking writing mediums! No, there are no ghosts, only different ways writing can be presented, or perceived to the audience (ok so kinda like ghosts). But we talk about creative mediums we've tried, we've seen, ways that modern media can be translated, and just talk about our favorite tv shows for a bit. It's summer now, so it's hot! Make sure to cool down inside with th...

Larissa and LJ welcome our first guest of season 2, and week we talk with the incredible Susan L. Markloff! Eight (!) timed published author with more to come, Susan gives us her infinite knowledge on the world of marketing, promotions, and most importantly, how not to lose your mind while doing so. And we got to hear all about Susan's upcoming release, The Human-Born Era, so go check her out! Fol...

In the very essence of what we're doing, this week we're talking about taking a break from writing! Where we are both absolutely overloaded with pretty much everything life is throwing at us, Larissa and LJ go over the importance of taking a break from writing, avoiding burnout, and some of our other hobbies. You mean we have a life outside of writing? Who woulda thought. Follow us on Instagram @l...

Larissa turned 20, so now we have her birthday bash! Keeping up with this exciting sorta-gameshow format we've been enjoying, today we are answering the questions that YOU asked us! We had a lot of really great questions and had lots of fun answering them, and even got a little deeper than we expected too. But that's ok, because a lot of this is reflection on where we've come from and where we are...

Welcome to the next and best game show, the Behind the Books episode where Larissa and LJ play kiss, marry, kill, with everyone's (but mostly ours) favorite trios! We take characters from books, tv, movies, and even our own wips, and delve into some serious (and probably unpopular) discussion on how we could pick -- if we even can. Play along at home, and let us know if you agree, because this was...

APRIL FOOLS! Or is it? We're just kidding, we don't know what day it is. We give our opinions on the enemies-to-lovers trope and other tropes associated with it (rivals-to-lovers supremacy!) in this Writergram Politics episode. LJ doesn't understand the academic rivals trope, and Larissa talks about her favorite good enemies-to-lovers, and somehow we commit the gravest miscommunication by mixing u...

In our chillest episode to date - Larissa and LJ talk about poetry, our processes of writing and titling poetry, and of course, get a little off topic. We always manage to bring it back, and even talk about some of our future poetry projects for a little extra sneak peek. Listen to us in real time figure out that this episode drops exactly a year from when we met in person for the first time - and...

Welome back to part two of our genre episode, where we wrap up talking about all the fictional genres we possibly can! Of course, we get a little off track when LJ talks about some fun sports and both get sidetracked on true crime. We even tiptoe into some nonfiction genres and our favorite of all, poetry! But really, this episode we really just talk about women. Follow us on Instagram @larissagau...

In another accidental two-part episode, today Larissa and LJ talk about genres! We give some broad definitions and list them out, while also sharing some of our own unofficial rules when it come to naming a genre. We talk in length about fantasy and how representation and diversity have progressed in modern times, while of course also making fun of the British (because we're American - it's our du...

Welcome back for the start of season 2! We start off nice and easy talking about our top tens - more specifically, books! Of course, we have to sprinkle in the little bit of the latest Swift + Kelce drama for Larissa, and LJ dives into her love for mysteries, and we both obsess over the masterpieces that is the Grishaverse. We're back on our regular bullshit, so mark your calendars for our biweekl...

Wrapping up 2023 (in 2024), we celebrate the end of our first season and our first year by sharing some of our favorite moments from episodes, bloopers, and bits that didn't make the cut! Get a little peek into the behind the scenes as we thank all of you for sticking around. Stay tuned! Season 2 is coming soon and we're so excited for what is has in store! Follow us on Instagram @larissagault.aut...

Welcome to the Jonesville Annual Christmas Public Transportation Bus Decorating & Lighting Holiday Event! In the last episode for season 1, we mess around and DIY our own Hallmark movie! With no preparation and everything you hear being come up with on the spot, we work through the setting, characters, and plot of a very cringe-worthy Hallmark Christmas movie. At the end, we give a little snea...

This week we talk about every writers dream (or nightmare) fanfiction! After discussing it many times throughout this whole season, we finally dedicated an entire unprepared, unhinged, episode for it! We are an educational podcast after all, so we give a little background into fanfiction sites and terminology, but also end up with an episode that's not the *most* family friendly we've ever had, bu...

This week, Larissa and LJ finally talk about adaptations. We've all watched a book be turned into a terrible movie, cringing as our favorite story is ruined. So what matters when a story shifts mediums? Keeping every character and their role intact, or shifting the pacing and timing of events? With a story as old as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an Arthurian tale about honesty and bravery, maki...

Well, we wouldn't be much of a podcast " for writers by writers " if we didn't talk about writing, and college of course! With our own round of opinions and advice on how to manage priorities, fit writing into busy schedules, and a healthy dose of touching grass, it always boils down to do what works best for you. Oh, Larissa also fights for her life from two bugs. We said we were chaotic, right?...

With the beginning of November approaching, NaNoWriMo is slowly closing in! This week we talk all about the month-long writing challenge, the fun parts and the challenging parts. We give some tips and ideas, also talk about our own experiences with NaNo so of course that means we get to talk about our own wips! LJ talks about The B&E and Larissa talks about Breaking Free, The Way He Broke Me,...

LJ hasn't written a full draft since 2021 -- so of course we're going to talk about it! This episode, we go over the evolution of LJ's old superhero wip, "Crossfire", and all of the dramatic (and silly) changes it went through over the years. Larissa geeks out over her favorite villain and learns some new things about the wip, we both talk about the benefits of writing in today's time, and general...

Welcome back to our Writergram Politics series, this week talking about the difference between first and third person. With more a of a chill and short episode today, we still spend an equal amount of time talking off topic about the pronounciation of "omniscient", our own wips, and shouting out some amazing people who've helped us out with the podcast (Hi Susan!) Follow us on Instagram @larissaga...

Barbenheimer, Frozen, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, oh my! This week LJ talks more than she ever has in her entire life, so naturally it's about spreadsheets. Welcome to a barely-writing-related episode where we talk all about movies and other cinematic inspirations. With Larissa earnestly defending Frozen, and both of us realizing our writing careers would have be nothing without Marvel, we manage to men...

Did you know Shakespeare wrote his works in the 1600's? Now you do! This week, Larissa and LJ dive into the world of research and rabbit holes--all the tips, tricks, ideas and methods about what and how to research for fiction. With Larissa giving an astounding history lesson in a historically inaccurate accent and new editing style from LJ, this episode is a long one. We also go through some of t...

This week Larissa and LJ talk all about standalones and series! Including Larissa's plans for her massive Ivankov series and a deep dive into some of LJ's old plot ideas, we talk about our own preferences for standalones or series. Of course we have to mention some fanfiction in there as well, all while airing our grievances about TV show relationships, and surprisingly, the weather? Buckle up for...

Calling all poets, poetry lovers, and people who claim to not like poetry (but still write it anyway) -- tune in to hear about LJ's newest poetry collection, The Deck I've Been Handed . In this episode, Larissa and LJ talk all about TDIBH, from LJ's creation of it by standing in a kitchen with a mug of chicken soup, to both the hosts unable to pick one single favorite poem, and Larissa accurately...

In the second part of our tropes episode (and our longest episode yet) we dive in a tackle even more tropes, books and even movies! LJ dives into a shockingly accurate impression of every holiday Hallmark movie ever, Larissa discusses in brief her very strong feelings towards enemies to lovers and workplace romances, and we even cover the topic of the pregnancy trope! Asking for book recs with alm...

In our first (and accidental) of a two part episode, Larissa and LJ tackle a massive list of tropes--and that's just brushing the surface. Having our first nsfw moment unintentionally within the first five minutes, we also compare nearly every trope to a Grishaverse ship, debate on whether the main character in a sport romance novel should know about sports or not, and generally just scream about...