Lit Service

Martha Wells joins to podcast to chat about how to write characters your readers will love. Martha has been an SF/F writer since her first fantasy novel was published in 1993, and her work includes The Books of the Raksura series, The Death of the Necromancer, the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy, The Murderbot Diaries series, media tie-in fiction for Star Wars, Stargate: Atlantis, and Magic: the Gathering, as well as short fiction, YA nov...

Marissa Meyer joins Caitlin and Kristen to chat about how she approaches an adaptation, how to choose what to keep, what to get rid of, and where she gets inspiration for the unique new worlds and characters that go into her new story.

Her newest book, CURSED, the second in the Gilded Duology came out on November 8th, be sure to check the series out. We did a signed hand-painted edge design here, if you like your books special :) w...

Tamsyn Muir joins Kristen and Caitlin to chat about alternative POV choices, non-consecutive timelines, meme culture, Women Who Suck, and all the other fun things that went into the Locked Tomb series.

TAMSYN MUIR is the bestselling author of the Locked Tomb Series. Her fiction has won the Locus and Crawford awards, and been nominated for the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Drag...

Chloe Gong joins Aliah and Caitlin to discuss the anatomy of a spinoff, how to approach writing an extension of your own world and stories that still feels familiar while also being new.

Chloe is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights, its sequel Our Violent Ends, and the first in a new duology set in the same world, Foul Lady Fortune. She is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she...

Stephanie Garber joins Caitlin and Aliah to chat about "romantasy" and how to make it (or a developing romance in the book you are writing!) really sing. A resource Stephanie mentions, Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes, can be found here.

Stephanie is the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Once Upon a Broken Heart, The Ballad of Never After, and the Caraval trilogy. Her books have been translated into thirty...

Britney Lewis joins the cast to chat about adding surreal elements to our stories in order to better articulate things that words can't quite describe.

Britney is the author of The Undead Truth of Us (which just came out!! Get it here!). She has a B.A. in corporate communications with an emphasis in business and art. She strongly supports We Need Diverse Books, and she’s an avid follower of #DVpit and #BVM. 

Erin Beaty joins Caitlin, Kristen, and Aliah to talk about how to write stories and characters that are smarter than we are.

Erin was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, which means she can't drive a tractor but won't eat veggies that come from a can. She graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2000 with a BS in Aerospace Engineering (Astronautics) and German, then served in the fleet as a weapons office...

Jesse Q. Sutanto joins the crew to chat about writing authentic voices for different age groups.

Jesse is the author of Dial A for Aunties, The Obsession, and Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit. She has a master’s degree in creative writing from Oxford University, though she hasn't found a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious. The film rights to her women’s fiction, Dial A for Aunties, was bought by Netflix in a competitive biddi...

Lit Service was thrilled to chat with Holly Black about how to build a world, characters, and story in a more concise way. We have signed special editions of her adult debut Book of Night in our store.

Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over thirty fantasy novels for kids and teens. She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award and the Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a ...