Queries, Qualms, & Quirks

Middle Grade Author Payal Doshi joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss writing Captain Planet fanfic at eight years old, putting revisions on hold to have a baby, removing an entire POV, wanting to tell a story different from the dominant narrative, paying attention to the market, having to do your own marketing, the benefits and challenges of working with a small press, knowing...

Middle Grade Author Meera Trehan joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss setting a contract with yourself for writing time, the ups and downs of writing conferences, finding friends through writing contests, harsh query rejections, leaving an agent, struggling with titles, how her greatest fear was her greatest strength, and using the waiting time to work on your craft. Meera Treh...

Horror Author Cynthia Pelayo joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss breaking stereotypes, having an MFA but not knowing how to query, separating your person from your online persona, getting rejected by every major publisher, listening to your gut on edits, taking 4 years off writing, focusing on the writing instead of the drama, and avoiding the comparison game. Cynthia Pelayo i...

Fantasy Author David R. Slayton joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss leaving your first agent, canceling a book contract, R&R scars, writing in many genres, learning as you write the first couple of books, getting up at 5am to write, the expectation of marginalized authors to perform their trauma, the ritual of writing, and his advice for writers just starting out. David R....

Middle Grade Author Shakirah Bourne joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss the benefit of saying yes to everything, getting distracted from pursuing publication, being 100% confident in a project that doesn't go anywhere, querying without knowing your genre, googling everything, publishing from outside the US, the unfairness of the publishing process, and how you will always have...

Middle Grade Author Maria Frazer joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss Google and Twitter University, #dvpit, figuring out her category, meeting friends through pitch contests, the importance of calling yourself a writer, the purpose of language, working with an editor who rejected the book, waiting for a book deal to get announced, being rejected by your peers, writing on your...

Young Adult Author Derek Milman joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss going from acting to writing, how his brother's bachelor party launched his writing career, meeting agents for coffee, two atypical experiences at opposite ends of the spectrum, the last book tour before the pandemic, media mail, focusing on the work in the middle of the business, and being careful about choos...

Sci-Fi Thriller Author Rob Hart joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss realizing what books could do, the protection the writing community can provide, having your book deal canceled, the benefit of a wide range of publishing experiences, Chuck Palahniuk, the domino effect of bad sales history, and we went on a tangent about writers getting paid for their time. Rob Hart is the au...

Young Adult Author Heidi Heilig joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss throwing away 600+ pages, getting an offer while on bedrest, making your main character more active, the magic in rewrites, transitioning to writing solo after having a writing partner, how being a receptionist helps her writing, and writing depression accurately but keeping it active. Heidi Heilig is the auth...

Disney Author Mari Mancusi joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss writing romance without yet understanding what it was, how she came to write Frozen books, not being afraid of the word no, the importance of reversion clauses, and the challenge with writing so many genres. Mari Mancusi is an Emmy award winning former TV news producer who has written over 30 novels to kids, teens...

Literary Fiction Author Kirthana Ramisetti joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss how she accidentally got a songwriter credit, an overnight success 20 years in the making, bucking trends, finding the social media that works for you, how quarantine changed her writing process, and what TV show inspired a character's name. Kirthana Ramisetti is the author of Dava Shastri's Last Da...

Mystery Author Kathleen Marple Kalb joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss querying in high school, getting rejections while sitting in a hospital waiting room, debuting in a pandemic, how Law & Order helps our writing, how working in news rooms has influenced her writing, writing headlines, and the importance of knowing your genre. Kathleen Marple Kalb describes herself as a...

Thriller Author Ashley Winstead joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss dreams deferred, not getting into an MFA, feeling like a Pitch Wars Showcase failure, how much easier writing the second book was, the importance of writing friends, making up new things to worry about, and having the courage to be the writer you want to be. Ashley Winstead is the author of In My Dreams I Hold...

Romance Author Ruby Barrett joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss having your best friend as your first reader, Pitch Wars, learning about story structure, the importance of feedback, being inspired by a tweet, jealousy vs envy, the benefit of your friends getting published before you, how unemployment lead to her new career, how music inspires her writing. Ruby Barrett (she/her...

Romance Author Charish Reid joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss writing with ADHD, getting an agent and publication offer at the same time, reading reviews, putting things in perspective, the benefit of series in romance, preparing for the next book contract, writing bad poetry, and the need for external validation. ✦  Charish Reid is the author of three contemporary roma...

Young Adult Author Kyrie McCauley joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss finding a supportive community early on, sobbing at her first edit letter, writing about tough topics, writing at the zoo, Pitch Wars, the mountains and valleys of publishing, and what she misses about querying. ✦  Kyrie McCauley is the author of If These Wings Could Fly and We Can Be Heroes . She lives...

Mystery Author Leslie Budewitz joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss the lawyer to writer pipeline, Sisters in Crime, when the struggle was finding publishing information instead of curating it, the pre-internet writing community, writing fiction feeling too daunting at first, publishing as a business, and not having a linear path. ✦  Leslie Budewitz is a three-time Agatha...

Young Adult Author Dante Medema joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss having a massive earthquake the day your book goes to auction, being overwhelmed by writers conferences, knowing when a book is the one, the non-glamorous life of an author, ten years to overnight success, debuting during a pandemic, and separating the business from your ego. ✦  Dante Medema is the author...

Romance Author Farah Heron joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss the benefits of being a joiner, the problem with being Canadian, DVPit, finding your genre, the important of publicists, deciding if writing is worth the stress, the danger of self-rejection, being a chapter President during the RWA implosion, and nothing being more important than the writing. ✦  Farah Heron i...

Horror Author Jessica Lewis joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss going from self-insert fanfiction to original fiction, the support of NaNoWriMo buddies, entering all the publishing contests, Pitch Wars, the pressure of writing for money, mental health, and trouble coming up with titles. ✦  Jessica Lewis is a Black author and receptionist. She lives with her way-funnier-th...

Young Adult Author Annie Sullivan joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss getting two requests out of a hundred queries, why “write something new” and “don’t give up on a book you love” are not contradictory, learning about publishing rights and contracts, the migration of goalposts, leaving Easter Eggs for her readers, and not putting time limits on your self. ✦  Annie Sulli...

Middle Grade Author Sarah McGuire joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss shelving a book after six years, being orphaned by your publisher, the revelation courtesy of her opera-singer sister, creating Egmont’s Last List, learning who to take which critiques from, and imposter syndrome. ✦  Sarah McGuire is math teacher who sailed around the world aboard a floating college cam...

Historical Crime Author John Copenhaver joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss getting an MFA, querying via snail mail, changes in the mystery genre landscape, what happens if you never get published, and the importance of forming relationships in the industry. ✦  John Copenhaver’s historical crime novel, Dodging and Burning , won the 2019 Macavity Award for Best First Myste...

Science Fiction author AJ Super joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss not getting into Pitch Wars, how far kindness can take you, a successful query letter that is not perfect, how long it takes to put out a good book, mental health challenges, and taking measured risks. ✦  Angela/AJ Super is a 2021 debut author. Her space opera, Erebus Dawning and its sequel, A Star Reborn...

Picture Book Author Kira Bigwood joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss querying for eight years, how many picture books you should have ready before submitting, the process of writing a picture book without an illustrator, querying too soon, the importance of making connections, and how making a picture book is truly a team effort. ✦  Kira Bigwood is an advertising copywrit...