Queries, Qualms, & Quirks

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...

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 is a three-time Bram Stoker Award nominated author and poet...

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 another dream project...

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 phone to trick your brain, and learning about taxes...

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 choosing a publisher...

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...

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...

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 and adults...

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 Day, a Good Morning America Book Club pick...