Queries, Qualms, & Quirks

Literary Fiction Author Catherine Adel West  joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss the dangers of pitching your book before it’s complete, the advantages of virtual book tours, the need for publishing to reflect the world around it, advocating for yourself, and letting go of bitterness. ✦  

Catherine Adel West was born and raised in Chicago, IL where she currently resides. Her debut Saving Ruby King was published in 2020...

Young Adult Author Angeline Boulley joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss waiting 28 years to write the book, the most illuminating question to ask offering agents, prioritizing Native talent when negotiating her film rights, ensuring her craft was worthy of the story she wanted to tell, and the single most helpful thing she did for her writing...

Middle Grade author Laura Segal Stegman joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss dozens of revisions over 28 years, the importance of writing community, deciding to sign with a small press, querying too early, and both the benefit and distraction of Twitter.

L.A.-based arts publicist and author Laura Segal Stegman’s middle grade debut, Summer of L.U.C.K., was released in September 2020 by INtense Publications and will be followed by a sequel in 2021...

Mystery Author Susan Elia MacNeal joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss almost giving up, how being a writer is like being a boxer, writing a cocktail book while pregnant, and publishing a book with a slow start but a long tail. ✦

Susan Elia MacNeal is the author of The New York Times, Washington Post, Publishers Weekly and USA Today-bestselling Maggie Hope mystery series, starting with the Edgar Award-nominated and Barry Award-winning MR...

Romance novelist Kait Ballenger joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss not meeting publisher's sales expectations,  writing on the tail end of a trend, getting a starred review without knowing what it means, only writing what you love, and getting an agent after a literal elevator pitch...

Contemporary Fiction Author Suzanne Park joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss going to acquisitions (multiple times) without getting a book deal, repurposing life stories for fiction, the impact writing for standup has on her novels, the lack of a linear path after Pitch Wars, and amassing a thousand rejections.  ✦ 

Suzanne Park is a Korean-American author who was born and raised in Tennessee...

Picture Book Author Tara Lazar joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss how to do picture book market research, writing in between wiping baby butts, publishing surprises, coming up with book titles before anything else, figuring out what works for you, and not having a writing schedule. ✦ 

Street magic performer. Award-winning ice sculptor. Hog-calling champion. These are all things Tara Lazar has never been...

Historical romance author Royaline Sing and her literary agent Sara Megibow join Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss querying an agent with a publication offer in-hand, Sara’s normal submission-reading process, finding the time to write, breaking the rules, trusting your partners, and surprises being the norm in the publishing industry...

Middle Grade author Adrianna Cuevas joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss writing for a specific audience, the kindness of other writers, making massive revisions, writing with the television on, and fear of not being good enough.  ✦ 

Adrianna Cuevas is the author of the Pura Belpre honor book The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez and the upcoming Cuba in My Pocket. She is a first-generation Cuban-American originally from Miami, Florida...

Thriller Author Tammy Euliano joins Queries, Qualms, & Quirks this week to discuss putting yourself out there, getting killer author blurbs, the way writing is harder than being a doctor, the exercise that gets her unstuck, and the importance of writing community. ✦ 

Tammy’s writing is inspired by her day job as a physician, researcher and educator at the University of Florida...