The First Episode Is LIVE 🎊
Samantha Allen on her evolution from nonfiction to fiction
Hello Bleeders!
Okay, wow, this is thrilling — we’re officially live.
The first episode features the brilliant Samantha Allen on Her Debut Novel & the Nonfiction That Came Before It.
Samantha is the author of Real Queer America: LGBT Stories From Red States and the upcoming novel Patricia Wants to Cuddle (pub date June 28th). She shared so many nuggets of wisdom for writers. We talked shop about writing and publishing start to finish, book advances, audiobooks and her Audible Original, her foray from nonfiction to fiction, and more.
Here’s a lil preview on why she loves her latest publisher Zando:
“One of the reasons why I love them so much is because they gave a book as weird as Patricia Wants to Cuddle a home. I didn't know where it would wind up when we started the process. I was not known for writing fiction. When I first started writing it, my email to my agent said, like, “You're going to think I'm losing my mind, but I am writing a book where like a monster murders reality show contestants… Do you think we can do something like this?”
Where I write:
I'm asking each guest to give us a peek behind the scenes. This is where Samantha makes the magic happen:
Episode links:
🏃♀️ Follow Samantha Allen on Twitter @SLAwrites.
🛒 Preorder Samantha’s debut novel Patricia Wants to Cuddle. I’m learning that preorders are very important to authors. Here are 9 Reasons You Should Preorder “Patricia Wants to Cuddle.”
💻 Check out her website for more on all her work.
🎧 And, of course, pop in those earbuds and listen to Samantha Allen on Her Debut Novel & the Nonfiction That Came Before It on your favorite podcast platform.
Online reading about writing:
Keith Gessen and Emily Gould on Writing Books and Children - I read this two weeks ago and still find myself thinking, Damn, Emily Gould really called her husband “the Christopher Columbus of mommy blogging.” Lots of delicious family dynamics to nosh on with Emily, Keith, and Masha Gessen all in the same profile.
1% of Books Sell 5K And Other Misleading Stats - Anne Trubek unpacks the recent Twitter buzz about book sales from an indie publisher's perspective.
What if you got to write the sort of books you were desperate for as a teen? - Anne Helen Peterson interviews Camryn Garrett for Culture Study. This was my intro to Garrett, and now I’m very excited to read her work.
Other works of note and inspo I’m diggin’:
Severance - It took me a second to get into this Apple TV+ show about the desire to separate one’s work life from their “real” life, but then it got good fast. Give it a try, if only because of this delightful bit of dialogue from episode 5:
“What is it to fail? My failure to break into the literary world in my 20s was devastating, yet it taught me a vital lesson. That it was not me who was wrong, but literature itself.”
Top Gun: Maverick - I’m not usually a fan of reboots, but this movie will make you fall in love with Tom Cruise, America, and movie theaters all over again. Plus, Jennifer Connelly and Val Kilmer. I cried like 17 times. (Also, watch the Val documentary if you haven’t already.)
I’ll leave you with this relatable piece of lit Twitter (litter?) from Eric Smith:
Until next time, HAPPY BLEEDING!
So… ROLL CALL! 🗣️
What are you reading? Drop a quick note in the comments so we can get to know each other.
Let’s connect on social media! I’m at @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.