Shelved Books Podcast

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode, we are joined by Sierra Godfrey, author of women’s fiction such as A Very Typical Family and The Second Chance Hotel. As a technical writer by day, Sierra knows how to make complicated subjects more easily understood. But when it came to plotting her first novel, she hit a stumbling block. After first trying to rewrite it to fix the issues, she realized she ne...

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode, we welcome Andrew “A.J.” Sass, acclaimed author of MG books like Ana on the Edge, Ellen Outside the Lines, and Camp QUILTBAG. Andrew started his writing career fresh out of law school after realizing that instead of being a lawyer he would prefer to become an author. His first few stories were YA books that he couldn’t finish because of plotting issues. But af...

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode, we are joined by Samantha Downing, internationally bestselling author of suspense and thriller novels such as “My Lovely Wife”. Samantha recounts how she was an avid reader from her early childhood and taught herself to write, going through multiple genres before choosing thrillers. As a true pantser, with no use for outlines, post-its, or spreadsheets, she us...

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode, we meet contemporary and dark romance author Lyra Parish, aka Courtney Young, and half of the Kennedy Fox writing duo. Unlike other episodes, Lyra’s shelved book story consists of an entire series which she recently retired from her self-published collection. We discuss the reasons why she removed it, along with how she works with collaborators, and the import...

Hey, Shelvies! On this week’s episode, we welcome award-winning author of spooky middle-grade novels, Lindsay Currie. Her shelved book story begins when she walked by a little boutique hotel in her neighborhood one day. Instead of simply passing by, she decided to go in to explore and feed her curiosity. As she looked around, her creative side took over and an idea for a book came to life. But the...

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode, we meet Mike Chen, acclaimed science fiction author of “Here And Now And Then” and “Vampire Weekend.” Although Mike has a degree in aerospace engineering, we soon discover that writing has always held a special place in his heart. We discuss his two shelved books, set aside mostly because of plotting issues, and the importance of great critique partners, with...

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode, we are joined by Steve Carman, author of MG sport fiction, including Southpaw Sully. Steve began writing his shelved book on the hour-long train ride to and from work. After querying his manuscript and getting rejections, Steve decided to reach for his true passion: sports. As a reluctant reader himself, Steve knew that a story like baseball star Jim Abbott’s...

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode, we welcome Filipino debut author of All The Right Notes, Dominic Lim. Dominic’s road to writing began with a few detours. Early on, he moved to NYC where he worked at a law firm in between acting and singing roles. A few years later, back on the West Coast, he pursued a graduate degree in Early Music. Only then did Dominic begin to write, incorporating his lov...

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode, author and originator of the term Rom-Cozy, Misty Simon (aka Gabby Allan), joins us with the hilarious stories of her shelved books, and so many more tales about her life. We discuss how her first submission to Harlequin led to her being told to take a writing class; how she discovered the “rules” of cozy mysteries and then decided to break them a little; how...

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode, we welcome Wendy Heard, author of thrillers like Hunting Annabelle, We’ll Never Tell, and You Can Trust Me. Wendy wrote her first completed book at the tender age of nineteen with a “very deep” literary novel. After a round of brutal rejections, she stopped writing for ten years, only picking up her author’s pen again with a story that nagged at her, the book...

Hey Shelvies! On this week’s episode, we are joined by NYT bestselling author of fairytale retellings, including the Lunar Chronicles Series, Marissa Meyer. The first time Marissa attempted a fairytale retelling, she chose the Norwegian story “East of the Sun, West of the Moon,” a story which she loved. From the encouraging comments of fellow writers and her college professor, Marissa thought this...

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode, we are joined by Olivia Blacke, author of the quirky, unconventional cozy mystery series Record Shop Mysteries and Brooklyn Murder Mysteries. Although Olivia started out writing fantasy novels, she wrote her first cozy mystery after attending a wedding and imagining a bridezilla bride being murdered at her own wedding. Although the book landed her a dream agen...

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode, we meet Jean Oram, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Hockey Sweethearts romance series. Jean grew up in a small town in Canada, living in an old schoolhouse with beekeeper parents. She obviously soaked up all the romance vibes from that sentimental setting and eventually ditched her sociology degree to pen her first romance. Although t...

Hey Shelvies! Ready for Part 2 of Justin Peniston’s interview? On this week’s episode, Justin shares that he is presently working on so many projects, Kate, Angie, and Christie had a simultaneous heart attack. Justin, however, is used to this, and has created a whole spreadsheet system to keep track of them—it’s color coded! And he then challenged each of us to start a new writing project; one wit...

Hey Shelvies! On this week’s episode, we are joined by Justin Peniston, a writer for Sonic Prime (2022), Avengers Assemble (2012), and Gormiti (2013). In part 1 of his interview, we learn that Justin discovered his true calling in college: writing comics. After a collaboration with a good friend and artist to create a modern-day dragon comic didn’t get any publishing bites, Justin persevered. His...

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode, we are joined by the author of romantic suspense, April Hunt, who also writes supernatural romance under the pen name, April Asher. April’s writing life started with a friend inspiring her to write her first romance. Two years later, that same friend would also be the one to tell April to shelve the book and start something new. Thanks to the great advice, tha...

Hey Shelvies! On this week’s episode, we welcome author/illustrator and debut author of Jack The Library Cat, Marietta Apollonio. Her shelved book story begins with a piece of her artwork that she loves, that she goes back to often, but that hasn’t prompted the written words yet. And it’s all about a dragon! Marietta also discusses the process of getting a portfolio ready and the rationale for usi...

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode, we meet Cliff Lewis, a debut author whose climate-themed MG book brings time travel and science together. Ever since a young Cliff Lewis played Power Rangers in the playground with his friends, he’s had a love for story. He’s also had a love for weird things, which he defines as “quirky, in a Kate Bush sort of way.” When he started writing, he knew he wanted t...

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode we are joined by Annette Christie, author of the romantic novels “The Rehearsals” and “For Twice In My Life.” Throughout this lively interview, we learn that Annette is an author full of definitions. For example, she is a plotter (an outliner) who writes high-concept (stories with easily understandable, catchy ideas) women’s fiction (women-centered stories) wit...

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode, we meet Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, Rebecca Yarros. In recounting her shelved book story, Rebecca explains that she has always been a huge fan of scifi and fantasy stories. In fact, the first serious book she wrote, the novel of her heart, and the one that got her an agent, was a fantasy novel. But for many reasons, publishers didn’t...

[Christie's Paragraph] Podcast Links Twitter: @shelvedbookspod Instagram: @shelvedbookspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shelvedbookspod TikTok: @shelvedbookspod Podcast Email: shelvedbookspodcast@gmail.com Angie's Links Twitter: https://twitter.com/AngieSandro FB Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Angie-Sandro/253044268078356 Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Angie-Sandro/e/B00HUXNWHI/ YT: http...

Hey Shelvies! On this week’s episode, we are joined by NYT bestselling author of science fiction, fantasy, and Star Wars universe novels, Beth Revis. As a college student with a nominal entertainment budget, Beth explains that writing became her chosen recreation. Her creativity did so well that she ended up writing and querying five completed books. In the years after graduating, and while becomi...

[Christie's Paragraph] Podcast Links Twitter: @shelvedbookspod Instagram: @shelvedbookspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shelvedbookspod TikTok: @shelvedbookspod Podcast Email: shelvedbookspodcast@gmail.com Angie's Links Twitter: https://twitter.com/AngieSandro FB Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Angie-Sandro/253044268078356 Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Angie-Sandro/e/B00HUXNWHI/ YT: http...

[Christie's Paragraph] Podcast Links Twitter: @shelvedbookspod Instagram: @shelvedbookspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shelvedbookspod TikTok: @shelvedbookspod Podcast Email: shelvedbookspodcast@gmail.com Angie's Links Twitter: https://twitter.com/AngieSandro FB Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Angie-Sandro/253044268078356 Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Angie-Sandro/e/B00HUXNWHI/ YT: http...

Hey Shelvies! In this week’s episode, we are joined by New York Times bestselling author of science fiction and fantasy novels, Maria V. Snyder. In speaking to Maria, it becomes evident that her science background comes through not only in her stories, but also in the way she writes them. When drafting her books, Maria uses her life experience, be it childhood or adult memories, to make her charac...