Episode 3! I talk with the stupendous I.W. Gregorio, author of NONE OF THE ABOVE, about:
*the origin of Ilene’s pen name (0:52)
*a day in the life of a surgeon/YA author (1:50)
*what kept her motivated while writing None of the Above (2:50)
*thoughts on her next project (3:57)
*the importance for Ilene of having a day job (4:30)
*the tradition of physician/writers: (5:51)
*her decision to go into medicine (6:24)
*the inspiration for None of the Above (7:59)
*whether or not the patient who inspired None of the Above has read it (11:27)
*the response of the intersex community (11:57)
*Ilene’s involvement with We Need Diverse Books (12:54)
*thoughts on Asian-American representation in books (13:22)
*why the protagonist of None of the Above is white (16:14)
*a fun fact about Ilene (17:26)
*some YA book recommendations (18:08)
*I rant briefly about the doling out of stars (19:36)
I love this interview.
My brother Dustin started a great new podcast called EVERYONE BUT ME, exploring that 21st-century sensation of being on social media and feeling like everyone’s got it figured out but you.
I was honored to be his first guest, speaking openly about my creative journey and struggles. And squirrel penis. Checkitout!
RDCWYAA Ep 2: Becky Albertalli
Episode 2 of Really Deep Conversations with YA Authors, in which I interview the delightful Becky Albertalli, author of SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA.
Things we discuss include the following (FYI on YouTube, these appear in the description and you can click on them to go to the topic of your choice):
*what Becky was like as a teenager (1:14)
*Becky’s journey from being a clinical psychologist to being a novelist (4:24)
*second book struggles (Becky’s currently on the 7th draft of hers) (8:19)
*the fear that your publishing contract is going to be canceled (10:35)
*the voices in your head while you write (11:47)
*the negative comment Becky hears most about her book (12:37)
*thoughts on being a straight woman writing a book about a gay male teen (17:08)
*the origin story of the Shoreo (18:56)
RDCWYAA Ep 2 Trailer
Here’s a trailer for Episode 2 of REALLY DEEP CONVERSATIONS WITH YA AUTHORS, which features the awesome Becky Albertalli and will drop this Thursday.
RDCWYAA Ep 1: Isabel Quintero
Very excited to present this first episode of my new webseries, Really Deep Conversations With YA Authors. My hope is for this series to capture the fun of being at an authors’ panel, but even more intimate and more casual. (And you don’t have to leave your house!)
I had a great time talking with the fantastic Isabel Quintero, author of Gabi, A Girl in Pieces. Topics discussed include:
*book festivals (:49)
*writing process (2:27)
*the creative evolution of Gabi, A Girl in Pieces (4:54)
*Isabel’s next potential YA project (9:53)
*where in the design of Gabi you can find Isabel’s ACTUAL handwriting (11:10)
*the need for diversity in children’s literature (11:55)
[NOTE: In this conversation, we speak about diversity in terms of people of color, but of course this conversation applies to all minorities, including but not limited to LGBT and people with disabilities.]
*Isabel’s secret life dream (21:02)
Enjoy! And please, if you have any thoughts, criticisms, or questions, let me know! I’m still figuring this whole show out and am very open to input.
thoughts on novel-writing and the emotional breakdown i had last week
I did a fun interview with the terrific Kurt Dinan, where we talked about–among other things–three novel-writing lessons I’ve learned and the emotional breakdown I had last week.
A must-listen Denton interview.
I’ve been making a podcast with best buddy Ray Muñoz for a couple of years now, and here’s OUR 50TH EPISODE. We ditch our usual format in favor of 18 minutes of Ray asking me hard-hitting questions about my book. You will learn lots of fun things if you listen to this.
