STORYBEAST: Recent Episodes
STORYBEAST
A podcast for story lovers, Storybeast explores how we weave tales and why we love them. Co-hosts Ghabiba Weston and C. Shack chat with each other and legendary guests about different elements of various books, tv shows, plays, and other modalities to explore this fundamental aspect of humanity. Come for the story, stay for the snacks.
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Sarah A. Parker.
Sarah is an international bestselling author who grew up on a farm in New Zealand, where she spent her days getting lost amongst the rolling pasture, building forts in the hedge, climbing trees, and exploring the forest pathways—making up elaborate stories that never lost their grip on her.
She now lives in Australia with her husband, dog, three children, and countless plants, and spends her days pouring her stories onto paper rather than throwing them to the wind.
Her genre of choice is epic fantasy romance, and she thrives off dreaming up real, complex characters and immersive worlds to get lost amongst.
In this episode, you'll:
- find out what to expect from book 2 of the MOONFALL series
- hear about graveyard sentences, a.k.a Sarah's story tomb
- find out how far into MOONFALL's book 2 you're going to cry
- hear some of Sarah's song inspirations for WTMH
- find out when to expect TO BLEED A CRYSTAL BLOOM 4
- hear Sarah talking about how she holds more than one story
- hear how Sarah bunkers down to draft
- hear more about Sarah's writing process
- discover Sarah's advice for recapturing the excitement in the editing phase
- hear about the ways in which Sarah has taught herself to be brave
- hear how Sarah balances the indie-trad roads
- have insight into Sarah's perspective on honoring the story
- hear Sarah's advice on finding beta readers
- find out Sarah's favourite thing to write
- discover how excellent of a Keeper of Secrets Sarah truly is
- discover Sarah's story/scene unlocking tools
- be delighted when you listen to the end to discover the greatest thing Sarah has created
A special note and a gift for our listeners:
Join us for Romantasy Summit this December and discover our amazing, online conference for writers creating in the fantasy and romance genres. Take a look at our welcome page or jump straight into the course offerings to see what our incredible faculty are teaching.
For $30 off your purchase, use our code BEBRAVE30 at checkout. This code is valid through October 13th. Don't wait, save your seat today.
For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story.In this episode, you'll hear about:
- The first look at what the Big Secret is that we've been keeping
- Special code STAYBEASTLY50 for $50 off at registration
- Themes for this season
- Strategies for dreaming BIG and keeping that power
- Who to look for when it comes to protecting your energy
- What to do when you're still looking for a person to be your "hope holder"
- Snacks (including a quick recipe for Courtney's easy cheese dip)
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast. Be brave, stay beastly!
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear about:
- the entire SNACKDOWN SMACKDOWN menu, including genre sips, "there's only one" amuse bouches, fanfiction ships as appetizers, our favorite found family group as the main meal, and which of our delicious Bridgerton couples became our dessert
- the distinct parallels between snacks and story
- what to expect for our next season
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Page Powars.
Page Powars is the author of The Borrow a Boyfriend Club and the forthcoming And They Were Roommates. Outside of writing, he helps with music soundtracks and unfortunately plays Genshin Impact. He lives in the New York City area.
In this episode:
- Join the debate on whether John Green is real
- Prepare to become addicted to Genshin impact
- Hear Page's wild story process that made other author's gasp
- Hear about your new favourite character BLAZE ALPHA DESTROYER (he's coming soon and will steal your whole heart)
- Hear about the The Borrow a Boyfriend Club characters as cupcakes
- Will Asher be getting therapy at the beach? Find out here.
- Hear more about And They Were Roommates
- Courtney puts on her hype queen crown to sway Page into writing a romantasy
- You get a tiny Zuko cameo
For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear about:
- Summer England's podcast
- how to nest metaphors
- the use of microcosm in story
- what to feed evil people
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Sarah MacLean.
New York Times, Washington Post & USA Today bestseller Sarah MacLean is the author of historical romance novels. Translated into more than twenty-five languages, the books that make up “The MacLeaniverse” are beloved by readers worldwide. In addition to her novels, Sarah is a leading advocate for the romance genre, speaking widely on its place as a feminist text and a cultural bellwether. A columnist for the New York Times, the Washington Post and Bustle, she is the co-host of the weekly romance podcast, Fated Mates. Her work in support of romance and those who read it earned her a place on Jezebel.com's Sheroes list and led Entertainment Weekly to call her "the elegantly fuming, utterly intoxicating queen of historical romance." Sarah is a graduate of Smith College & Harvard University. She lives in New York.
In this episode, you'll hear about:
- what's going on Sarah's tombstone
- writing character motivation in romance
- the third act break-up as a beacon of hope
- unlikeable heroines
- the cultural work of genre fiction
- Sarah's advice for reading as a writer
- buttons (and wires) of emotion for readers and writers
- "taking the finger" and why AI will never take over romance novels
For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear about:
- what working "smart, not hard" means to us
- perfectionism
- tips for battling bad self-talk
- and a smart way to make your soup for long writing days
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Angela Montoya.Angela Montoya lives in Northern California with her family. When she isn’t with her partner, two children, goats, chickens, and dogs, you can find Angela co-hosting the podcast, Of the Publishing Persuasion. Her debut novel, SINNER’S ISLE, has received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly and trade reviews from Booklist and The Bulletin.
In this episode, you'll hear about:
- creepy parrots
- the debut experience
- Angela's publishing journey
- the therapy of writing a book
- visual inspiration as a basis for worldbuilding
- Ghabiba's method for finding the name of the unknown (or as Courtney likes to call it, "the thingy")
- the power of idea collaboration in the birth stages of a story
- cup filling with podcasting
- keeping sight of why we write, words of wisdom from Angela's dad
- the cat that stole Angela's heart
- the place to go for cave cheese
For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear about:
- what dungarees are
- being savvy with potential scams
- collaboration
- resources, like Writer Beware
- and a new goodbye
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Ghabiba Weston and Nadine Flint have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Nadia Saward.
Nadia Saward is a Commissioning Editor at Orbit Books and a writer of Fantasy Romance. She has an MA in Creative Writing and lives in London with her husband and perfectly round cat.
Their debut novel BEST HEX EVER is slated for release in October 2024.
In this episode, you'll hear about:
- tea, snacks, and smut
- what makes a good horror
- the role of streaming services in making horror feel more accessible
- marketing from an editor perspective
- unveiling the submission process
- tips for agents when corresponding with editors
- pitching considerations and story angles
- the ins and outs of auctions and pre-empts
- how to access sales data for comps
- the value in tropes and content warnings
- Nadia's advice on pitching with tropes
For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to @deore.music for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear about:
- Sarah A. Parker's trad debut, When the Moon Hatched, and it's release date of next week.
- Personal explorations on finding time to write
- Expectations vs. reality
- Courtney mentions this episode of Becca Syme's Quitcast podcast
- Snacks (duh)
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston have the pleasure of interviewing Emily Rath.
Emily Rathis an internationally bestselling author whose chart-topping, sex-positive, queer-inclusive fantasy and romance novels include the Second Sons Regency romances, the Tuonella Duet fantasy novels, and the why choose tiktok sensation, the Jacksonville Rays Hockey Romances. A former university professor, she holds PhDs in Political Science and Peace Studies. Emily was born in Florida, raised in Kentucky, and now lives with her husband, son, and cat in Jacksonville, Florida.
In this episode, you'll hear about:
- good change and how that can also be traumatic
- the grief of letting go
- the fears and pressure of meeting reader expectations
- transitions
- learning to thank yourself
- weaving in moments of gratitude
- lessons in branding and context on social media
- when your work finds itself in unexpected spheres
- Emily's new fantasy
- learning as you go
- Emily's changed storybeast (and a made-up "fact" about basilisks)
- authenticity, empathy, kindness
- going rogue
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear about:
- Courtney and Ghabiba's long discussion on the ravens at the tower of London, their special biscuits, and research still to be done
- Ghabiba's analogy of story as a machine
- Essential questions Ghabiba asks herself in a draft
- Courtney's seasons
- Ghabiba's top tip for writing-related injuries
- A long chat about delicious scones and a wonderful full circle moment
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston have the pleasure of interviewing Leigh Bardugo.
Leigh Bardugo is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix original series) which spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, the King of Scars duology—and much more. Her short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives in Los Angeles and is an associate fellow of Pauli Murray College at Yale University.In this episode, you'll hear about:
- managing success and creativity with gratitude and heartdisaster origami
- Leigh's advice for dealing with anxiety as a creative
- putting perfectionism aside when drafting/exploring a new story
- Leigh's take on social media
- what the greatest control you have over your career is
- the importance of dog content
- podcasts that inspire Leigh...think foodseeking story research that brings you joy
- more on Leigh's bajillion books deal
- youths and ghosts
- guarding yourself against seeking validation
- protecting your creative energy
- Leigh's rec for a great show for writers
- short stories as a tool for developing your craft
- SIX OF CROWS (obviously)
- how Leigh writes heists
- our "Kaz Brekker would never" game and the birth of The Brekkery
- the dangers of raw broccoliFind us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast. Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear about:
- bringing story to life in your head by being magical and mystical
- Courtney's request for Super Stabby Resources
- the murder library and modernising evil
- hooking a reader and keeping them engaged
- the story opening as a dating metaphor
- emotional napkins: gaining a reader's trust as a craft device
- an underused tool for gaining reader investment
- the boundaries of vulnerability
- self trust as a writer
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston have the pleasure of interviewing Julie Phillips, author of THE BABY ON THE FIRE ESCAPE; JAMES TIPTREE JR, THE DOUBLE LIFE OF ALICE B SHELDON; and the to-be-titled biography of Ursula le Guin.
In this episode, you'll hear:
- About Julie's thoughts on writing while mothering
- What a dramatic line is in biography
- Ghabiba, Courtney, and Julie compare fiction to writing biography
- About fairytales that feature mothers
- Julie's process for writing Ursula le Guin's biography
- Ursula le Guin's REAL writing advice and if her writing routine on the internet was something she actually did
Find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story.In this episode, you'll hear about:
- Types of conflict you can use to amp up the tension in your story.
- Examples of how to pair internal conflict with external conflict
- Our favorite craft books for creation conflict and character
- We say a version of "juice" at least five times
- We talk about using processes of self-introspection when it comes to "judgment" to inform not only our character's transformational journey, but also our own.
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast. Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Episode #58: On mythology, writing with vulnerability, and moving targets of success, with Legendary, Genevieve Gornichec.
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Courtney Shack, Ghabiba Weston, and Nadine Flint have the pleasure of interviewing Genevieve Gornichec, author of THE WITCH'S HEART and THE WEAVER AND THE WITCH QUEEN.
Genevieve Gornichec earned her degree in history from The Ohio State University, but she got as close to majoring in Vikings as she possibly could, and her study of the Norse myths and Icelandic sagas became her writing inspiration. Her debut novel, The Witch’s Heart, was released in 2021 and has been translated into a dozen languages. Her sophomore novel, The Weaver and the Witch Queen, released on July 25th, 2023. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
In this episode, you'll hear:
- how the original, unpublished ending of the witches heart was even more heartbreaking
- a heartfelt discussion about breaking out of the wheelhouse
- about facing book 2 expectations as a writer
- Genevieve's take on writing outside of lived experience
- thoughts on writing with vulnerability and coming to terms with sharing it with strangers
- Genevieve waiting for you to publish your Norse mythology!
- insight onto Genevieve's writing and research processes
- about the folk culture of memes
- about cutting words as an overwriter
- a raw discussion about burnout, and how to move through it
- about protecting your mental health and creativity as a creative
- about moving targets of success and rest as an act of resistance
Be sure to listen to the end for how potatoes make or break time travel.
Check out this link to Genevieve's further reading resources for the THE WEAVER AND THE WITCH QUEEN.
Find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story.In this episode, you'll hear about:
- Courtney's emotional landscape of publishing a book
- Practical and heart-centered self publishing tips
- Applications Courtney has used to publish LADY OF ROSES AND RUIN
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast. Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Storybeast! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston have the pleasure of interviewing Kristin Dwyer, author of SOME MISTAKES WERE MADE and THE ATLAS OF US.
Kristin Dwyer grew up under the California sun and still prays every day for a cloudy sky. When she’s not writing books about people kissing, she and her spouse can be found encouraging their four overly opinionated misfits to get into trouble. Kristin is a part-time hair model and wants you to know she is full-time TSA PRECHECK, and one time a credible news outlet asked for her opinion on K-pop (it was the best day of her life). Please do not talk to her about your fandom, she will try to join.In this episode, you'll hear:
- Courtney's tips for working on your inner snake
- Courtney giving Kristin oil pastel homework
- about the pressures of love and hate on our stories
- the Beasts and Kristin questioning the premise of work-life balance
- about Kristin's passion for mid-points and her brilliant take on how to make sure yours is doing its job
- the takedown of the 3 act structure lie (yeah, we said it)
- Kristin's advice on writing emotion-forward stories
- Kristin's top tip for keeping readers hooked
- about the Cat Door Dilemma
- how Ghabiba "broke Kristin's brain" with a new take on finding the door into a story
- about the lessons we can learn from fan fiction
- Kristin's advice on writing fearlessly
- how Ghabiba and Kristin rope Courtney into the BTS fandom. Who do you think Courtney's bias is?
- Kristin's top TV show recs
You can find Kristin's latest release, THE ATLAS OF US, out now
Find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story.In this episode, you'll hear about: How Courtney's debut, LADY OF ROSES AND RUIN, got pirated Find Jessica Taylor's blog post on piracy here How Courtney looked into muso and pirate.io to assist with taking down the pirated material Gabi's plan to take the pirates to task A Call To Action: Cursing the Pirates (DM us, we want to see your curses)Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast. Be brave, stay beastly!--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode of Season 3! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston have the pleasure of interviewing Nisha J. Tuli, author of TRIAL OF THE SUN QUEEN and HEART OF NIGHT AND FIRE.
Nisha J. Tuli is a Canadian author whose books feature kick ass heroines, swoony love interests, and slow burns with plenty of heat. She is the author of the Artefacts of Ouranos series, as well as an e-book/POD fantasy series forthcoming from Bookouture in 2024 and a contemporary romance series being published by Hachette starting in 2025. Find out more at https://nishajtuli.com/
In this episode, you'll hear:
- about Nisha's perspective of marketing
- Nisha's hybrid author career and how TRIAL OF THE SUN QUEEN took BookTok by storm
- Nisha's inspiration for her books and writing to market
- Nisha's epic answer to the storybeast question
You can find Nisha's latest release, DANCE OF STARS AND ASHES, out now
Find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story.
In this episode, you'll hear about:
- Courtney's current read, YOU'RE A BADASS by Jen Sincero
- embracing distraction in a useful way
- trying on vibes
- giving into the wild joy of creating
- when it's okay to take your time
- pegging ideas
- Ghabiba's method for deciding which research makes it to the draft
- balancing story nuggets
- letting yourself play everyday
- Notion
- Notion pie
- Season 3 getting its first buffalo dip feature
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast. Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another LEGENDARY Storybeast episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston have the pleasure of interviewing Aurora Ascher.
Paranormal & fantasy romance author Aurora Ascher loves misunderstood monsters, lovable anti-heroes, and epic happily-ever-afters. A woman of many creative pursuits, Aurora is also a musician and visual artist. She currently resides in Montreal with her trusty espresso machine and her endlessly patient husband, whom she sometimes doesn’t see for hours until she emerges from her writing cave like a bear in springtime.SANCTUARY OF THE SHADOW is now available wherever books are sold
In this episode, you'll hear:
- about pretty books and publishing with Red Tower
- about facing the blank page
- Aurora telling us about the delicious tropes and morally grey characters in SANCTUARY OF THE SHADOW
- how other creative pursuits influence Aurora's storytelling
- about the circus inspo behind SANCTUARY OF THE SHADOW
- Aurora's recs for long series where the villain gets a turn to shine
- about alien-themed reading in a cave
- Courtney recs the anime : The Devil is a Part-Timer
- about cultivating safe spaces for yourself as a writer
- Aurora's wisdom on leaving what doesn't serve you
Find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story.In this episode, you'll hear about:
- Gabi's definition of "snack characters"
- A brief-ish digression into venus fly traps--flowers or just fiends?
- Gabi calls Courtney a snack
- Gabi talks about how first lines can be used to introduced character and mentions Six of Crows...again.
- Reader magnets--what they are, how to distribute them, and ideas for your newsletter
- Our favorite side/snack characters and why we like them
- Of course, snacks that include pumpkin cookies and a warm brussel sprout salad.
- Courtney learns something new about Gabi that she should have already known.
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast. Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to our first LEGENDARY episode of Season 3! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston have the pleasure of interviewing TWO legendaries: Kamilah Cole and Emily Forney.
Kamilah Cole is a Jamaican-born, American-raised author. By day she works in publishing and by night she frantically types words she hopes to see in a book on shelves one day. In the past, she’s also worked as a journalist and at a hotel, two jobs that give you amazing stories to tell at parties. You know, if she went to parties. A graduate of New York University, Kamilah is currently based in the Tri-State Area, where she’s usually playing Kingdom Hearts for the hundredth time, quoting early Spongebob Squarepants episodes, or crying her way through Zuko’s redemption arc in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Emily Forney is a literary agent for BookEnds Literary, a digital media and rhetoric teacher, cultural critic, and a writer for what feels like an eternity. After earning her MFA in Creative Writing from Northern Arizona University, Emily worked in editorial roles for literary magazines, journals, and digital prints before finding her home at BookEnds. She was named a 2022 Publisher's Weekly Star Watch honoree and was previously a Publishing Fellow with the LA Review of Books. She currently directs the BookEnds Publishing Fellowship, which mentors aspiring publishing professionals from marginalized communities and provides them with hands on education, resources, and workshops for roles throughout the industry. As a writer and former editor, she actively writes about identity, Blackness, and pop culture. When she isn't reading submissions, working with her authors, or procrastinating her own writing, she's usually binge watching an unhealthy amount of television and stress baking when deadlines are near.
Warning: this episode contains a lot of banter. Do not consume hot beverages while listening.
In this episode, you'll hear:
- about Emily Forney, international woman of mystery
- how Emily grosses Kamilah out by going on public record with her affection
- the story of Courtney's meet cute with Emily and Kamilah
- how Emily and Kamilah saved the day but didn't look for cars when crossing the street on their hero mission
- Kamilah talking Avatar the Last Airbender, and being more of a corruption arc than a redemption arc kinda girl
- what Kamilah's Roman Empire is
- how Emily fought for Kamilah and snagged her at the very last minute
- Gabi forgetting where she met Courtney and getting into trouble
- about author book amnesia
- Emily's take on story play patterns making a comeback
- how Kamilah almost gets Emily to walk into the center of the ocean
- about what Emily is looking for next on her agent list
- Kamilah giving us a subconscious stroke of brilliance via a full circle moment drawing parallels to Zuko's redemption arc (hint: think mermaids)
- which one of us has a stomach of steel
Find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story.In this episode, you'll hear: Beastly updates An overview of Season 3 legendaries Gabi bringing back the spicy hope about Courtney's agent and her book release "Getting writing time back" The beginnings of an endless conversation on "butter" from Seven Figure Fiction Courtney's chili recipe from her wedding About friendship (obviously)Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast. Be brave, stay beastly!--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to the final Season 2 episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story with Summer beast, Nadine Flint.
WARNING: This episode contains a lot of food talk!
In this season finale, you'll hear about:
- writing fear
- separating your fear from your characters' fear(s)
- working through and alongside fear
- support systems and their value when telling stories that hit deep
- the beauty on the other side of fear
- fear as a sign of your path
- getting out of your own way
- scary podcast recs for inspiration
- a show that terrified Courtney (approach with caution)
- emotional goo
- Gabi gets made fun of for not knowing a common American snack
- a biscuit tangent
- a couple of Season 3 secrets being revealed
- the Beasts' snackdown menus
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Kelly Andrew.
Kelly Andrew is an author, wife, mother, and dog-mom from New England. When not busy writing she can be found parsing through flea markets or hand-feeding her crows.
Kelly is the author of THE WHISPERING DARK and the forthcoming YOUR BLOOD, MY BONES, releasing 2 April 2024. You can also find her work in IN THESE HALLOWED HALLS: A DARK ACADEMIA ANTHOLOGY which is out now.
In this episode:
- We begin with a fun digression about Kelly's pet murder chickens
- Kelly talks about her inspiration behind THE WHISPERING DARK
- Kelly discusses her process for reverse engineering her story and her characters
- We delve into a spirited discussion on Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Kelly tells us how her beautiful prose is partly inspired by "saying it with less"
- Kelly reveals that she is perfect for Storybeast with a list of snacks
Find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story with Summer beast, Nadine Flint.
In this episode, you'll hear:
- about story flavour bombs
- the Beasts share what you can learn from cooking shows as a writer: microtension! scene hops! pacing! looking at villainy from a different perspective! relationship building! trust!
- the Beasts discuss tools for character building, including flaws. Shout out to the Negative Trait Thesaurus
- ways to seek out your inspiration
- about finding the unusual in the ordinary
- how to practice writing with less pressure
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Stacey McEwan.
Stacey is a fantasy author and school teacher, living on the Gold Coast in Australia with her husband and two kids. She is known on social media for relentlessly bothering her husband with ridiculous antics, as well as skits entitled “Me vs. Brain”. Stacey released the first book in her Glacian Trilogy - LEDGE, in September of 2022.CHASM, the second book in THE GLACIAN TRILOGY is now available wherever books are sold. In this episode:
- We discuss the ins and outs of Audiobooks, from choosing a narrator to what it's like hearing your words read by someone else
- Stacey offers Gabi a job (JK)
- We agree on hurting readers feelings (and our own)
- Stacey shares her insight on balancing writing, social media, and life
- We discuss reframing social media as a stepping stone
- We hear about Stacey's writing journey and Michael being the brains of the family
- Stacey's story beast inspires us for Halloween
- Courtney reveals how many daggers she has
- Courtney fails Gabi and Stacey, but makes up for it by committing family wall space to pictures of them, and training story beast mascot, Sweet P, to recognize Stacey's voice
- We share the foolproof method of identifying The Chosen One
Find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast! This week, Gabi and Nadine fly solo in their chat about the transformative power of story. In this episode, you'll hear about:
- interpreting excerpts by emotion
- using sentence cadence and rhythm to evoke emotion
- how reading as a writer might take different forms for you
- reading while drafting vs reading while revising
- playing with structure: timelines, white space, physical placement and formation of words on a page, borrowing craft inspiration from non-novel based forms
- how clever use of humor and device can provide scaffolding for setting up reader expectations and work to introduce subtle foreshadowing
- striking the balance of giving readers enough to be present while trusting them to fill in the blanks
- plenty of examples where we analyze lines and paragraphs of excellent books
- which one of us won't run to catch the bus
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Rachel Gillig.
Rachel Gillig was born and raised on the California coast. She is an author, with a B.A. in literary theory and criticism from UC Davis. If she is not ensconced in blankets dreaming up her next novel, Rachel is in her garden or walking with her husband, son, and their poodle, Wally. She is the author of One Dark Window and forthcoming Two Twisted Crowns.
In this episode:
- Rachel talks about her publishing journey for ONE DARK WINDOW and TWO TWISTED CROWNS
- She discusses her story process and a talks about using art to be in her story in a different way
- Rachel discusses the price of story magic--and why she does it
- Gabi, Courtney, and Rachel all agree romance is great
- Rachel admits to not being a snacker, but Courtney lets her know she still likes her book.
ONE DARK WINDOW is now available. TWO TWISTED CROWNS publishes October 17th, 2023 wherever books are sold. Order it today.
Find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story with Summer beast, Nadine Flint.
In this episode, you'll hear:
- about the dynamics of creative spaces: growing into your creative space, and creative spaces that grow with you
- one of us confessing to being a trash raccoon (can you guess who?) and one being a total Sheldon
- about the values and trials of using music, vision boards, and timers in your creative space
- about pacing and finding rhythm with music
- our favourite atmospheric instrumental recommendations
- the failed spicy hope recipe
- we feature two thesauruses that sum us up perfectly: The Emotion Thesaurus and The Flavour Thesaurus
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Rachel Jenkins.
Rachel loves stories in all forms. An educator at heart, she has taught literature and communications at the high school level and coordinated learning assistance programming at the college level. She helped develop the Public Speaking Center at UT Austin and continues to coach today. Currently, she is a feature writer for Southern Arkansas University. When she's not writing fantasies, you can find her re-watching her favorite mockumentaries, settling in for long game nights with friends and family, or drinking boxed wine by a fire.
Rachel lives in Arkansas with her web developer partner Joshua, their two children, and a very rude cat.
In this episode:
- The importance of sincerity when pitching
- The balance of what matters and making money
- Rachel’s infamous document for pitching
- Courtney distills herself down to three words in an exercise you can do too
- We reference our episode with Laura Thomas and the idea of having a framework for how one sees the world
- Gabi discusses using flash fiction as an exercise to pitch your story
- Courtney describes Gabi as someone with “final boss energy”
- Pitching on the page versus in person (with tips)
- Stage fright and anxiety, with some practical strategies that may help
- Neuroscientist Gabi enters the chat about the stress-effect of public speaking
- Amy Cuddy’s “Fake it til you make it” TED talk on lowering your stress hormones and using confidence poses
- Special mention of the Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle and the science of 20 second hugs to reduce stress
- Rachel gives a mile-long snack list
Find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story with Summer beast, Nadine Flint. In this episode:
Courtney makes a public apology to one of our Beasties about a Very Serious Snack Oversight Courtney picks a fight with Gabi and gets one with Nadine instead Girl dinners get mixed reviews from Gabi The Beasts discuss publishing: knowing a lot and knowing when you don't know enough You'll hear about getting out of your own way and being smart-stubborn Courtney frames the idea of personal seasons for social media and creativity Spicy hope is born Susan Dennard's magical cookies get a special mention
The Beasts share a fun overview of what's to come in Season 2's SNACKDOWN SMACKDOWN
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast. Be brave, stay beastly!
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston have the pleasure of interviewing legendary Rachel Griffin.
Rachel Griffin is the New York Times bestselling author of THE NATURE OF WITCHES, WILD IS THE WITCH and her latest BRING ME YOUR MIDNIGHT, releasing summer of 2023 with Sourcebooks Fire. When she isn’t writing, you can find her wandering the Pacific Northwest, reading by the fire, or drinking copious amounts of coffee and tea. She lives in the Seattle area with her husband, dog, and growing collection of houseplants. Visit her online at rachelgriffinbooks.com or say hi on Instagram @TimesNewRachel.
In this episode:
- Rachel talks about her publishing journey and the differences between writing THE NATURE OF WITCHES, BRING ME YOUR MIDNIGHT, and WILD IS THE WITCH
- Rachel discusses meaningful marketing for her books
- Gabi will not let anyone pick out her tea (except maybe Rachel)
- Rachel almost gave us a heart attack with her answer to the snack question
- Courtney talks about buffalo cauliflower dip (again)
- Everyone agrees the enemies to lovers, arranged marriage combination is fantastic.
Bring Me Your Midnight is now available anywhere books are sold.
Find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story with Summer beast, Nadine Flint. In this episode:
Nadine exorcises the ghost in the machine the Beasts dive into Romantasy, including the associate importance of beats and genre expectations Courtney references some doorstopper standalones and companion novels she loves the Beasts discuss the change in the publishing landscape and considerations for writers querying a potential series We spend a minute appreciating Courtney's upcoming Romantasy, LADY OF ROSES AND RUIN Courtney shares some tempeh reuben joy
You can pre-order your copy of LADY OF ROSES AND RUIN here. Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast. Be brave, stay beastly!
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Courtney Shack, Ghabiba Weston, and Nadine Flint have the pleasure of interviewing Marina Green.
Marina Green was lucky enough to grow up in a house filled with books. It is no wonder that, even before she learned how to read, she used to make up her own stories that she would recite to her parents every night before bed. Her love and eclectic taste for story has stuck with her all her life. Marina began her publishing career as a part of the editorial team at AOS Publishing while simultaneously building her own freelance editing business. She also spent half a decade working on the other side of the industry as a bookseller and social media manager at Indigo. Currently, Marina works as an editorial assistant at Graydon House, Canary Street Press, and Silhouette at Harlequin. When Marina isn’t editing, you can find her curled up with a good book and her dog Bailey or writing some of her own stories.
In this episode:
- We hear about the many layers to Marina's journey that feed into her story treasure chest
- Marina shares her insight into how to know when you should look for an editor, for both indie and trad authors
- We get a behind the scenes peek at the ins and outs of the submission process in traditional publishing
- Marina explains what a pre-empt is in traditional publishing
- we discuss the rise in indie authors being picked up by trad houses
- we talk about the writer's grief journey as readers
- Marina shares her advice on how to find joy in reading when your editing voice is being loud
- we get the details on what Marina looks for as an editor when deciding which stories might be a good fit
-
we talk popcorn and pie charts
-
we chat through some of Marina's editorial services.
- we spread some love for Rachel Greenlaw and her debut, ONCE CHRISTMAS MORNING which comes out October 12th 2023. You can pre-order it here.
Find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story with Summer beast, Nadine Flint. In this episode:
you'll hear about routines and how they're not only for kids. the Beasts discuss where they've been finding inspiration lately. the Beasts dissect beliefs around first lines. Ghabiba cannot understand Time. Courtney's beautiful book cover gets some much deserved love. Nadine shares a South African snack Ghabiba has never heard of (the horror!)
You can pre-order your copy of LADY OF ROSES AND RUIN here.
Find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast. Be brave, stay beastly!
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. In this episode, Courtney Shack, Ghabiba Weston, and Nadine Flint have the pleasure of interviewing H.M. Long.
H. M. Long is a Canadian fantasy writer, author of the HALL OF SMOKE series and THE WINTER SEA series who loves history, hiking, and exploring the world. She lives in Ontario, but can often be spotted snooping about European museums or wandering the Alps.
In this episode you'll hear about:
- The evolution of Hannah's writing career.
- A loose definition of flintlock fantasy and how Hannah's new book, DARK WATER DAUGHTER, fits into that category.
- Hannah's discovery writing process, as well as her discovery worldbuilding process.
- Which of Hannah's characters she would let petsit her beloved dog, Wolfgang.
DARK WATER DAUGHTER debuts July 11th, 2023. If you love flintlock fantasy, weather witches, and Pirates of the Caribbean, this is for you!
You can find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast. Be brave, stay beastly!
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story with Summer beast, Nadine Flint.
In this episode:
- you'll hear about buttons for installing taste
- the Beasts discuss dark hair, sharp jawlines, and essential elements for a good book partner
- Courtney brings a surprise show-and-tell piece
- the Beasts touch on pacing as a device for making a love interest compelling
- Ghabiba shares (but only a little)
- Courtney is a self-proclaimed Cartoon Lady TM
- Courtney calls for a Sailor Moon rewatch (ahem, Tuxedo Mask)
- Nadine tells you to read Madeline Miller's THE SONG OF ACHILLES
- Ghabiba is full of unpopular opinions
Please note there are minor spoilers for Leigh Bardugo's SIX OF CROWS, Tahereh Mafi's SHATTER ME, and Sabaa Tahir's AN EMBER IN THE ASHES.
You can find us on our website and on Instagram (@storybeastpodcast). For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties! Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast. Be brave, stay beastly!
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. Bianca Marais is the author of three novels, the latest being the bestselling THE WITCHES OF MOONSHYNE MANOR. She's a cohost on the popular podcast, The Shit No One Tells You About Writing, and has won an Excellence in Teaching Award for teaching creative writing through U of T's SCS.
In this episode you'll hear about:
- Bianca's perspective on writing with rage in the face of injustice
- The concept of "windows and mirrors" when it comes to representation
- How Bianca has seen herself change over time
- Bianca's writing process with her agent, Cece Lyra
- Bianca's take on the writer's arc
- How "biltong" is not a "bull's tongue."
You can find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties!
Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story with Summer Beast, Nadine Flint.
In this episode:
- the Beasts talk manuscript wish lists and what's on thiers
- the Beasts wingwomen each other in the true spirit of friendship
- Courtney turns Midnight Chanter with "we like it, we love it, we want some more of it".
- there may or may not be mentions of dragons and cough dark haired MMC's
- someone is called "incomparable" and if you've watched Queen Charlotte, you can likely guess how this unfolds #iykyk
- Gabi somehow decides to write the next Golden Girls, but make it Pirates. Badass old-lady pirates. She's coming for you.
- Nadine pretends she wasn't aware of snack-off expectations. Don't let her bow out, Beasties. The snack-off is real, and it's bloody.
- The usual high level of banter ensues in which the trio just love the hell out of each other and story.
You can find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties!
Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. GennaRose Nethercott is a writer and folklorist. Her first book, THE LUMBERJACK'S DOVE, was selected by Louise Glück as a winner of the National Poetry Series, and whether authoring novels, poems, ballads, or even fold-up paper cootie catchers, her projects are all rooted in myth—and what our stories reveal about who we are. She tours nationally and internationally performing strange tales (sometimes with puppets in tow) and conducts research for the podcast Lore. She lives in the woodlands of Vermont, beside an old cemetery. THISTLEFOOT is her debut novel.
In this episode you'll hear about:
- GennaRose's puppets
- What makes a monster
- Cursed facts, including vampires
- GennaRose's research process for writing stories based in history, as influenced by her researcher job at Lore Podcast
- Tips for researching historical details
- The making of THISTLEFOOT, her debut novel
- Baba Yaga and the ingredient that makes for a good retelling
- Irresistible, rakish, train-hopping boys
You can find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties!
Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story with Summer Beast, Nadine Flint.In this episode:
- none of us know what Victoria Day is
- the plural of synopsis comes into question
- we tackle multiple timeline, dual POV synopses
- we discuss how to reframe your stories to hook an agent
- we highlight overlapping tools for both query letters and synopses
- Courtney encourages leaning into feelings and stakes when building tension
- we look at the power of the jacket copy for focusing on big story elements
- in comes the sharpie fear
- teacher Nadine gives out gold stars
You can find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties!
Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. Lauren Blackwood is a Jamaican American living in Virginia who writes Romance-heavy Fantasy for most ages. When not writing, she's a musician and a tiramisu connoisseur. She's the New York Times bestselling author of WITHIN THESE WICKED WALLS and WILDBLOOD.
Keep an eye out for THE DANGEROUS ONES, publication planned for summer 2024.
In this episode you'll hear about:
- dramatic simping
- vampires (and a first hint into Lauren's upcoming book THE DANGEROUS ONES)
- writing romance tropes
- gothic vibes, beautiful covers, Lauren's brand: blood, kissing, and monsters
- fixer-upper villains
- We fangirl over Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson, and Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
- Lauren joins the folded chip club
You can find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties!
Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story with Summer Beast, Nadine Flint.
In this episode, you'll hear:
- Courtney's burrito life outfit
- Therapist Courtney shares tips and tricks to address you mental health as a writer and a human
- We be real
- Writing with anxiety
- Overcoming brain resistance
- We mention The Magic of Wellbeing by Legendary, Laura Thomas; and Never Say You Can't Survive by Charlie Jane Anders. (Read the essay series here).
- If you want to eat some of Courtney's snacks mentioned, find the sandwich recipe here, or eat the vodka pasta here. For the pasta, if non-dairy, substitute your cheese of choice (Courtney uses Follow Your Heart Parmesan) and a can of coconut milk instead of cream.
Content warnings for this episode include anxiety, miscarriage, the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you for listening, Beasties!
Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. Today, we are joined by literary agent Suzie Townsend. Prior to joining New Leaf, Suzie graduated film school, earned her Masters of Education, taught high school English, and coached a swim team. In her spare time, she read everything she could, which prompted her move to publishing. She got her start as an intern at FinePrint Literary Management where she was hired as an assistant before making the move to literary agent. She’s been part of the team at New Leaf Literary & Media since its inception in 2012.
Suzie represents all brands of children’s and adult fiction. She loves women’s fiction, narrative non-fiction, memoir, and debut fiction. On the children’s side, she is interested in select YA and MG. Suzie loves strong characters and voice-driven stories that break out of the typical tropes of their genres, and she’s always looking for unique new voices in stories.
In this episode, you'll hear:
- about the books that led Suzie to fantasy, including Tolkien and Game of Thrones
- We learn about Suzie's love of animals and her pets
- Elements of story that are compelling to Suzie, including her favorite tropes
- The romantasy wave
- Sharon Shinn (WARNING: MAJOR FANGIRLING)
- The #1 thing on Suzie's agent list for anyone querying
- Compliments to all of Suzie's authors, including Zoraida Cordova and Rebecca Ross
- The STORYBEAST question for our listeners to think of for themselves (and Suzie's lovely answer to it)
You can find us on our website and Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram @deore.music, or more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story with Summer Beast, Nadine Flint. This episode is all about character POV's and narrative voice. In this episode: Courtney brings a dagger There may or may not be a discussion about alpha monkeys We dive into the factors that influence character POV choice and the value of voice We discuss story mediums, publishing categories, and the wisdom of children Nadine gives a teacher's insight into the merits of listening to audio books We discuss micro tension, pacing, and surprise as demonstrated in the TV-show Beef. Ghabiba talks accents, pronunciation, and inclusivity Inedible burritos are given some loveYou can find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks! A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find her more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you, dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast. Be brave, stay beastly!--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. Rebecca Ross writes fantasy novels for teens and adults. She lives in the Appalachian foothills of Northeast Georgia with her husband, their lively Australian Shepherd, and an endless pile of books. THE QUEEN'S RISING duology, SISTERS OF SWORD & SONG, DREAMS LIE BENEATH, and DIVINE RIVALS are her titles for young adult readers. THE ELEMENTS OF CADENCE is her adult fantasy debut series. When not writing, she can be found reading or in her garden, where she grows wildflowers and story ideas.DIVINE RIVALS is now available wherever books are sold.
In this episode, you'll hear:
- Rebecca's take on what makes a hero hot
- more about where Rebecca finds inspiration
- how Rebecca gives her characters depth
- garden planning (and story metaphors)
- rec's for books with letters and swoony romance for our romantasy readers
- advice for querying authors
- Rebecca's favourite tropes
- Courtney's definition of cold storage and groveling
You can find us on our website and Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram @deore.music, or more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
The Beasts are BACK. Welcome to season 2 of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. For the next several months, the co-hosts will be joined by the incredible Nadine Flint as the trio dives into the magic of narrative.
You'll hear about:
- Who Nadine Flint is
- The meet-cute for the three friends
- Scientist Gabi makes it all make sense
- What it means to "vote for yourself"
- And some hints about what is to come this season.
You can find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast.
For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find her more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you, dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to the final episode of Storybeast's season 1, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. This episode is all about recent writing victories and this past season. WARNING: episode contains A LOT OF SNACKS.
You'll hear about:
- Courtney's announcement of her book. Sign up here for an ARC this summer. This is perfect for romantasy readers that love magic, Beauty and the Beast vibes, spice, enemies-to-lovers, and arranged marriages.
- Fast Drafting processes and tips.
- Defining success for ourselves.
- Manifestation and mindset.
- So. Many. Feelings.
- Courtney makes a beautiful story-to-life analogy, and Gabi just makes a story-to-food analogy.
- The real secret sauce ingredient.
- Newsletter exclusives.
- A secret for season two.
- The ultimate snackdown, in which the duo talks about food for fifteen minutes and then everything turns into gratitude.
You can find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast.
For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find her more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly, see you next season!
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests who are an expert within their area of storytelling. Amanda Linsmeier has been a book nerd as long as she can remember, and it was that great love of reading—especially R.L. Stine books and fairytales—that eventually brought her to writing her own things. A self-proclaimed wimp, she finds courage in making up stories that scare her a little, and she hopes to scare you a little bit, too. She lives in a small house surrounded by trees and cornfields, with a man who smells like maple syrup and woodsmoke. Together they have three wonderfully wild children, and, somehow, five pets. Amanda is the author of STARLINGS (June 2023).
STARLINGS will be available on 27 June 2023, and is now up for pre-order.
Are you ready to cry? In this episode you'll hear about:
- writing horror
- the individuality of the publishing journey
- the journey perspective, getting back to the page, and putting your heart into it
- aphantasia--tapping into the senses when you can't visualise a scene
- Amanda's take on storytelling as an honour and a gift
- Amanda rises to the occasion and, in true Storybeast fashion, makes the perfect snack analogies
- giving yourself permission to fail
- Amanda shares some intriguing elements in her upcoming debut, STARLINGS
- Courtney gets us invited to a party
You can find us on our website and Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram or more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly.
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. This episode is all about uplifting each other when we need the boost and personal tools to keep going. WARNING: episode contains HIGH BANTER.
You'll hear about:
- Types of list-making as a means to keep going when in the face of doubt
- Empathy and why it matters in story and in life
- Abbie Emmons' outlining method and conversation around beacons,
- Save the Cat, and strategies for Act 2
- Complaints about being a mere mortal
- Hints about Season 2
- A snack-off that spins into a discussion about what bravery actually means
You can find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast.
For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find her more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly.
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests that are an expert within their area of storytelling. Hannah Whitten has been writing to amuse herself since she could hold a pen, and sometime in high school, figured out that what amused her might also amuse others. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, making music, or attempting to bake. She lives in an old farmhouse in Tennessee with her husband, children, two cats, a dog, and probably some ghosts.
*THE FOXGLOVE KING, the first book in Hannah's THE NIGHTSHADE CROWN series, will be available on 7 March 2023, and is now up for pre-order.*
In this episode you'll hear about:
- dark politics
- ghosts vs. goats
- gaming your brain: naps as part of the story process
- "when the jerk in your brain is asleep but the jerk in your heart is awake"
- how different books can demand different approaches from you
- surprise - you need plot!
- mention of Hustle and Float
- Hannah's partner cameos with a Christmas cookie surprise
- Hannah's suggestions for perspective
- Politics: power and humiliation
- moving through multiple dark nights of the soul
- following joy rather than market trends
- writing the books you want to read
- tropes and longing glances
- what on earth we're to do with the funkopops
You can find us on our website and Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram or more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly.
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. This episode is all about politics, romance, and the human condition.
You'll hear about:
- Politics of every sort--family, the world, romantic and platonic pairings, and internal politics of the self
- The intersection of romance and politics and how power can shape or influence relationships
- Special mentions of books featuring concepts of power and/or romance: Radiance, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, A River Enchanted, Daughter of the Forest, From Blood and Ash, The Red Queen
- Next week's episode with Hannah Whitten on dark politics. The Foxglove King is one of Courtney's most anticipated reads.
- A plea for more books featuring deep friendship
- A reference to our conversation with Ken Liu on national narratives and a society's agreed upon story
- How to make Ghabiba cry, in which she discusses emotional wounds and Kaz. (She will not apologize for mentioning him again and will die on this hill).
- Snacks (obviously). Courtney wins the snack battle yet again. Ghabiba is banished to her chocolate corner.
You can find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find her more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly.
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests that are an expert within their area of storytelling.
David J. Peterson is an author and language creator. He's created languages for many television shows and films, such as HBO's GAME OF THRONES, the CW's THE 100, Netflix's THE WITCHER, and Marvel's DOCTOR STRANGE. Lately he has been doing all his work with his amazing conlang partner, Jessie Sams, including projects like Freeform's MOTHERLAND: FORT SALEM, Amazon's PAPER GIRLS, Peacock's VAMPIRE ACADEMY, and Legendary Entertainment’s DUNE. They both work together on the weekly YouTube series LangTime Studio.
Jessie Sams has a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Colorado at Boulder and was a professor of linguistics at Stephen F. Austin State University for 13 years, where she created a conlanging course and taught students how to construct a language from the ground up. She is now a full-time professional conlanger and works with her partner, David Peterson. Their languages appear in TV shows and films, including Freeform's MOTHERLAND: FORT SALEM and the Peacock's VAMPIRE ACADEMY, and they host the weekly livestream LangTime Studio on YouTube, where they create new languages from scratch and share the process.
In this episode you'll hear:
- Jessie and David's approach to creating languages
- David's take on how language creation differs for film/TV and written fiction
- Language as a cultural practice and not a biological trait
- Creating curse words
- The language creation society's job board (for anyone looking to employ a conlanger's help for their language creation!)
- A reference to Jeffrey Henning's essay, "The Naming Language" -- perfect for storytellers who need language creation primarily for naming rather than full dialogue
- about David's superpower (that we all wish we had)
- Inspiration for language easter eggs
- The dilemma of monkeys, robots, and roombas
- Phantasmia hype
- The bowl science behind chocolate chips in popcorn
- Jessie's cheddar and caramel popcorn combos -- who votes for and against (and its potential value in saving you from monkeys)
- our Legendaries enter into a storybeast battle in a perfect example of premise, promise, tension, and reward!
You can find us on our website and Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram or more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly.
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. This episode is all about what makes a "satisfying ending" and what we really mean by that.
You'll hear about:
- An honest discussion between the duo about the difficulties of balancing their lives, storytelling, and friendship with such a time difference.
- John Truby's the Anatomy of Genres
- A discussion on the art of the plot twist
- Creating excruciating tension by writing your character into a corner and Neil Gaiman's Masterclass on how to write them (and yourself) back out
- The win-loss balance for your character (and your readers); also, here the roads meet--the intersection of internal character arc and plot
- How Ghabiba still has feelings about the Vegetarian
- A hint about a season 2 Legendary (if you listen, it is the person that speaks about writing with rage)
- Expectations for when this season will end and when the next will begin. The pair also discuss their newsletter goodies--including giveaways, special snacks, and other opportunities for subscribers. Get it here. The winner from the first chapter feedback giveaway will be announced in March.
You can find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find her more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly.
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests that are an expert within their area of storytelling. Ken Liu is an American author of speculative fiction. A winner of the NEBULA, HUGO, and WORLD FANTASY awards, he wrote the DANDELION DYNASTY, a silkpunk epic fantasy series (starting with The GRACE OF KINGS), as well as short story collections THE PAPER MENAGERIE AND OTHER STORIES and THE HIDDEN GIRL AND OTHER STORIES. He also penned the STAR WARS novel, THE LEGENDS OF LUKE SKYWALKER. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Liu worked as a software engineer, corporate lawyer, and litigation consultant. Liu frequently speaks at conferences and universities on a variety of topics, including futurism, cryptocurrency, history of technology, bookmaking, narrative futures, and the mathematics of origami.
SPEAKING BONES, the final book in Ken's DANDELION DYNASTY series, is now available in paperback wherever books are sold.
In this episode you'll hear:
- Ken discuss his worldbuilding process, including pseudo-essays to self, personal wikis, and layering post-drafting
- His theory on science fiction and fantasy
- Storytelling as a form of technology
- A comparison of AI to wizardry, with the caveat that all things should be ethical
- The joy of possibility and Courtney's acknowledgement of the fear of the unknown
- Ghabiba's staid advice: curiosity over fear
- Our understanding of reality through story
- "Good stories are more important than good institutions"
- The Book of Witches
- The promised pistachio coffee cake recipe
You can find us on our website and Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram or more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly.
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. This episode is all about powering through Act 2!
You'll hear about:
- Ghabiba's "mirror moment" alliteration appreciation.
- Leigh Bardugo's wisdom on the relationship you have with your story.
- The allure of shiny story trinkets.
- Courtney's garlic stew metaphor.
- A reference to Brandon Sanderson's 3 P's: Promise, Progress, and Payoff.
- What it means to move story forward and tools that will help you on your way.
- Story layering to show progress and character arcs.
- Slappy endings.
- The new term Courtney will be adding to her mantra book.
- Ghabiba's dark salad.
You can find us on our website and on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find her more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly.
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests that are an expert within their area of storytelling. Jacquetta Nammar Feldman is a children’s author and lives in Austin, Texas. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin, and she’s currently a candidate for a Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Wishing Upon the Same Stars, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, is her debut novel.
Jacquetta's new MG novel, THE PUTTERMANS ARE IN THE HOUSE, is now available wherever books are sold.
In this episode you'll hear about:
- Listening to your inner muse and following the story it wants to tell.
- The magic of how food brings us together and opens our minds and hearts for connection with others.
- Jacquetta's tips for writers who are starting out in kidlit, including mentions of SCBWI and The Writing Barn.
- Drawing inspiration from what you know.
- We fangirl over Ursula K. Le Guin and her wisdom on "words gathering weight".
- Jacquetta's latest MG rec, When Zachary Beaver Came To Town by Kimberly Willis Holt.
- Gabi making poor puns.
- How our characters always have a little of us in them.
- Courtney's gnocchi soup she had at Thanksgiving.
Be sure to listen to the end where Jacquetta was kind enough to share her answers to listener questions sent in after the recording.
You can find us on our website and Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram or more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly.
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. This episode is all about feedback! If you've written your draft and are nervous or excited for the next step, or if you're wondering about how to give feedback to be helpful -- this is for you.
In this episode, you'll hear:
- about goals, no goals, and aspirational words for 2023. Special mentions of Atomic Habits, Four Thousand Weeks, and Hustle and Float for a mixture of getting things done and being a human.
- The ins and outs of feedback -- how to: ask for what you need, give feedback, receive feedback
- Mention of a post on show vs. tell from Susan Dennard's substack.
- the 1% progression method for goals
- Special snack mentions of a beet root latte and South African malva pudding
- About winning our feedback by sharing our latest post on Instagram and signing up for our newsletter for the announcement of the winner
- Storybeast craft worksheets coming your way
Our beast bite for the month is about beginning as you mean to go on (BAYMTO). Find the article here.
You can find us on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram or more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly.
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests that are an expert within their area of storytelling. Samantha M. Bailey is the USA TODAY and #1 nationally bestselling author of WOMAN ON THE EDGE, which has sold in eleven countries to date, and the instant #1 national bestseller, WATCH OUT FOR HER. She is also a journalist and freelance editor; her work has appeared in NOW Magazine, The Village Post, The Thrill Begins, and The Crime Hub, among other publications. Samantha lives in Toronto, where she can usually be found tapping away at her computer or curled up on her couch with a book.
In this episode you'll hear about:
- Axes and why you should throw them.
- How your writing community can be your family (minus the drama).
- Gabi and Sam get real about their heights and own who they are.
- Sam inspires us with her never-give-up-on-your-dreams magic spark.
- Sam's approach of following your gut and having hope without expectations.
- Writing dark stories.
- The importance of leaving your mind and entering the real world sometimes (even when you don't want to).
- Death by thriller versus death by fantasy (and whether you should send your enemies to Sam's books or Courtney's).
- We discover Courtney's talent for creating taglines on the fly.
- Sam's existential crisis with chiropractors.
- Special mentions include Jennie Shaw; Jami Lynn Hendricks; The White Lotus; Novelist as a Vocation (Murakami); Sam and Gabi fan-girling over the wisdom of Sheena Kamal.
- CW: Brief mention of miscarriage.
You can find us on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram or more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly.
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Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story.
In this episode, you'll hear:
- the co-hosts navigate their long distance relationship, in which Ghabiba is now in Africa and Courtney chugs caffeine at 5 A.M.
- Courtney and Ghabiba listen to Deore's song, Soul Tie, and talk about gathering sparks of creativity from a variety of media, such as music and visual art. Watch the music video here.
- A chat about how Ghabiba picks her mugs with her feelings and how Courtney additionally considers the amount of coffee she can put into hers
- Ghabiba's proposal for the grocery list game
- an appreciation for character complexities in Olivie Blake's Alone with You in the Ether and the Atlas Six
- Ghabiba talk about her concept of internal seasons
- Personal strategies for jotting down inspiration and getting your butt into the chair because "someone is waiting"
- Ghabiba, as usual, getting excited about brains (#sorrynotsorry)
- Thoughts about how people can inspire us, but also real fear talk of not being a "success story" in this moment and "inspiration noise"
- Ghabiba mention a TED Talk by Lynne Franklin, "Reading minds through body language" and discusses it in the context of knowing your own tendencies and connecting with people.
You can find us on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram or more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly.
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Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests that are an expert within their area of storytelling. Lourdes Montes was born in San Luis Potosí, Mexico and currently resides in Charleston, SC. When she’s not being a cool YA librarian, she’s reading, doing homework for her MLIS, eating snacks, trying to talk someone into reading Gideon the Ninth or attempting to write scary stories.
In this episode you'll hear about:
- How to support your favourite authors through your local library.
- How Indie authors can access library resources for better circulation of their stories.
- How Lou got in trouble for reading Twilight in class (and how it prompted the rise of a Superhero Librarian).
- Gideon the Ninth, and Ghabiba's shame for not having read the series yet.
- Non-fiction book recommendations for interesting story research: Monsters. An Investigative Guide to Magical Beings, The Secret Lives of Colour, The Secret Life of Fungi, Crystal Lore, Legends & Myths, and All the Living and the Dead.
- How a great librarian can help foster the love of story in young readers.
- Little known library tips that can help you rethink how you approach story, both as a reader and a storyteller.
Special mentions include incredible artist, Molly Watt; Hugo Award winner, Alex E. Harrow's A witches guide to escape, a practical compendium of portal fantasies; Kerri Maniscalco's Stalking Jack the Ripper and Kingdom of the Wicked.
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram or more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
You can find us on our website at www.storybeastpodcast.com or on Instagram. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
Be brave, stay beastly.
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Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, the co-hosts talk about cozy books, books they love, and give some revision updates! Here, you will find:
- An example of bad exposition, in which Courtney frequently says, "as you know, Bob"
- The pair's definition of a "cozy book"
- Authors and books the beasts love (death-y books, kissy books, and more). We mention
Leigh Bardugo, Lisa Kleypas, Brandon Sanderson, Robin Hobb, Christina Lauren, Su Lynn Tan, Kristin Dwyer, TJ Klune, RF Kuang, Joyce Carol Oates, Olga Tokarczuk, T Kingfisher, Naomi Novik, Haruki Murakami, and Neil Gaiman.
- Revision updates and solidarity for both your reading and writing slumps and the Frankenstein-esque beat sheet they are both trying out right now
- Love for Alex Bracken's video, in which she asks: what if everything works out?
You can find us at www.storybeastpodcast.com or on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast.
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram @deore.music or find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
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Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests that are an expert within their area of storytelling. Emily Rath is a romance and fantasy author of THE SECOND SONS DUET, WHISKEY AND SIN, and the forthcoming ALCOTT HALL (Winter 2023). She is repped by Susan Valazquez at JABberwocky. A university professor by day, Emily lives in Florida with her husband, son, and cat. They regularly comb the local beaches looking for shark teeth.
In this episode you'll hear about:
- Insight into how to decide if hybrid publishing is right for you.
- Considerations indie authors can bear in mind when looking for an agent.
- Following the joy.
- One of us may or may not sing some T Swift and Harry Styles numbers.
- Giving yourself grace.
- Writing to market and writing to holes in the market.
- Navigating the landscape of how much of ourselves we share as storytellers.
- Courtney's reference to juggling many balls and hopefully only dropping the plastic ones.
- An exclusive peek into Emily's new monster romance book.
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram or more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
You can find us here on our website at www.storybeastpodcast.com or on Instagram. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
Be brave, stay beastly.
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Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, the co-hosts talk about revision! Here, you will find:
- Practical tips to work through your revision, including a reference to our episode on community
- Ghabiba's thoughts on how to sit down and get the work done
- Courtney's oath to finish this revision by January 1st '23
- Special mentions of Rachel Griffin's revision process, Susan Dennard's process, 8 sequence structure, Jami Gold's library of beat sheets, and Gwen Hayes' book Romancing the Beat
- Revision feelings
- The wonderful cookbook, Party in your Plants, that has the buffalo cauliflower dip recipe
For last month's Beast Bite on community and how to build it, read this.
You can find us at www.storybeastpodcast.com or on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast.
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram @deore.music or find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
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Welcome to another Storybeast LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests that are an expert within their area of storytelling. Faisal G. Binzagr is a creative writer, consultant, and music journalist based in Saudi Arabia. He enjoys storytelling in many forms, whether it's long-form fiction, theatre, poetry, or narrative design for video games. Since completing his Certificate in Filmmaking from The National Film & Television School in the UK, he has been actively involved in a number of projects across a variety of mediums, including recently delivering his first ‘Storytelling for Video Games’ course. He cherishes any opportunity to tell a great story and offer his unique experiences. He has a particular fondness for narratives that empower others, although his current work in progress is a bleak murder mystery/noir novel set in the Arabian Gulf.In this episode you'll hear about: Boldness in storytelling Faisal's perspective on the crossover of game writing with other modalities of narrative craft The necessity of honesty and boldness (and what that means) for Faisal, Ghabiba, and Courtney Parasites, unicorns and scarab beatles Where to find all of the interesting answers our Legendaries give on StorybeastSpecial mentions include technology ecosystem builder, AstroLabs, theatre and film producers, IStage, music journal, Everything is Noise, actor, director, singer, and writer, Zaberi, game designer, Mohammed Hashem, and musician, Imran Binzagr.You can find us at www.storybeastpodcast.com or on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast.Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram @deore.music or find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome back to another episode of Storybeast, where Courtney Shack and Ghabiba Weston discuss the transformative power of story. In this episode, the co-hosts talk about community. Here, you will find:
- Practical tips to gain a community if you don't have one (yet)
- Lots of feelings
- Conversation on how to meet people, whether it is at a workshop, online, at a local bookstore, or at a larger event like Y'ALLFEST
- Ghabiba's opinion on the infamous buffalo cauliflower dip Courtney made for her
For this month's Beast Bite on community and how to build it, read this.
You can find us at www.storybeastpodcast.com or on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast.
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram @deore.music or find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to another Storybeast LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests that are an expert within their area of storytelling. Laura Thomas is a writer, TEDx speaker, and the founder of Next Level Story, where she is a professional editor and ghostwriter. Her first book, The Magic of Well-Being: A Modern Guide to Lasting Happiness, distills masterful advice for living a better life, and her upcoming memoir explores her journey through loss, love, and coming home to herself. You can find her on Instagram @laurathomaswrites.
In this episode you'll hear about:
- What writing a book like The Magic of Well-Being: A Modern Guide to Lasting Happiness is like now for Laura.
- Story midwifing as a ghostwriter and Laura's perspective on helping others bring their stories into the world.
- What supports some of us might need to finish a book. Yes, if you're writing, revising, querying, dreaming--this episode will feel like a warm hug.
- The enduring power of community and connection.
You can find us at www.storybeastpodcast.com or on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast.
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram @deore.music or find more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
Ever wondered how to build atmosphere and what makes a good surprise? Ghabiba and Courtney dig into the concept of surprise and expectation in this follow up to their interview with Maya Chesley.
In this episode:
- Courtney and Ghabiba chat about what makes surprises work for them (and when it doesn't).
- Ghabiba uses Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey to showcase an example of atmosphere and its contribution to surprise. The description of that house had Courtney begging Ghabiba to read more.
- Courtney raves about Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher and the author's use of weaving in unexpected details. It's a short book that packs a punch.
- The co-hosts talk about blending genres and subverting tropes to create a fresh story. Cozy fantasy? Try Legends and Lattes. Chosen One gone wrong? Try the Art of Prophecy.
- Looking to try surprise without writing anything? Try One Night Ultimate Werewolf. Courtney talks about her witch-themed party and the game of deception she played with her guests.
- We also make special mention of Kelly Andrew's The Whispering Dark and Netflix's The Mole.
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram or more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
You can find us here on our website at www.storybeastpodcast.com or on Instagram. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Please reach out if you want to talk story or snacks.
Be brave, stay beastly.
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
Welcome to our first LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests that are an expert within their area of storytelling. Maya Chesley is a Fulbright ETA scholarship recipient and a Pushcart Prize nominee. They hold an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from Johns Hopkins University. Their work has been published in various journals and magazines, including The New Yorker, where they currently work as a copy editor.
In this episode you'll hear about:
- Specificity in writing and how it relates to surprise
- Editing tips for marking up your draft
- Encouragement if you're deep in the query trenches
- And the importance of writing with urgency.
If you are interested in the detailed worksheet covering the topic of surprise, get it here.
Additionally, Maya would like to credit the writer Kate Keleher, from their MFA cohort, for explaining the term "blocking." It's use about talking for writing for the stage and dealing why it's important for fiction writing has been pivotal to their writing process.
Special thanks to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram or more of her creative work on Spotify. As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
You can find us here on our website at www.storybeastpodcast.com or on Instagram. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Please reach out if you want to talk story or snacks.
Be brave, stay beastly.
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/storybeastpodcast/message
In this episode of Storybeast, co-hosts Courtney and Ghabiba discuss the power and importance of beginnings.
You’ll hear about:
- The dynamic relationship between creating stories and their impact on the creator.
- How a good hook reels Courtney in.
- Examples of good beginnings and how they relate to endings. Special mentions are V.E. Scwhab’s The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, N.K. Jemisin’s the Fifth Season, and Avatar the Last Airbender.
- Snacks! DM us on Instagram @storybeastpodcast to hear about the virtues of Buffalo Cauliflower Dip with Courtney or scrap with Ghabiba about what’s better: chocolate or mango.
Be brave, stay beastly, and see you next week!
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Welcome to Storybeast, a podcast for story lovers. Hosted by writers Ghabiba Weston and Courtney Shack, the two friends embark on the first season of Storybeast to talk about their favorite tales and story concepts not only with each other, but also with special guests from the storytelling world. First episode premieres October 20th.
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