Write Or Die Podcast

THANK YOU to all of our WorDies! We love you!

Kat & Claribel say goodbye to Write or Die by listening to snippets from past episodes and discussing the advice they’ve received along the way from amazing past guests including S.Jae Jones, Alex Aster, Victoria Aveyard, Tiffany Jackson, Phil Stamper and More! Then they read listener comments and answer some last “Ask Us Anything” questions! Thank you to all the WorDies who’ve joined us on this journey! Our hope is that you keep this community going even after the podcast is done!

Topics discussed include:

MENTIONS:

• THIS IS WHY THEY HATE US by Aaron H. Aceves

• LIGHTLARK by Alex Aster

Kat & Claribel say goodbye to Write or Die by listening to snippets from past episodes and discussing the advice they’ve received along the way from amazing past guests including Daniel Jose Older, Leigh Bardugo, Holly Black, Ayana Gray, Mark Oshiro, and More! Topics discussed include:

Claribel & Kat discuss what "success" means in publishing (and what it definitely does not mean). Then they interview Vita Ayala about their journey into writing comics, how the Metropolitan Museum of Art is super haunted, being inspired by Octavia Butler as a kid, and the difference between comics and prose writing. 

ABOUT VITA: Vita Ayala (they/them) is a trans non-binary Afro-Puerto Rican writer born and bred in New York City, where they grew up dreaming dreams of dancing on far away worlds, fighting monsters on the block, and racing fish along the bottom of the ocean. Before Vita began freelancing as a writer, they worked in book retail, event coordination, building management, baking, and museum security (day and graveyard shift). They’ve broken at least one of every bone in their body, which means they can feel the rain coming. Vita writes both comics and prose fiction, and has written for publishers such as: Black Mask Studios, DC (comics), Dynamite, IDW, Image Comics, Macmillan, Marvel Comics, Realm, Valiant, and Vault Comics. Vita currently resides in New York City with their wife and cat sons.

Claribel interviews Kat about her young adult k-pop romcom, Once Upon a K-Prom. They chat all things k-pop (including Kat’s first k-pop loves), what inspired the book, whether Kat included BTS in K-Prom, and more!

Claribel & Kat talk about pressures on authors every time a new book comes out & how publishing relationships naturally change over time. Then they interview Traci Chee about her path to publication, behind-the-scenes of finding out her book was a Printz Award Honor, and her newest Fantasy, A Thousand Steps into Night!

BIO: Traci Chee is a best-selling and award-winning author of books for young people, including the instant New York Times best seller and Kirkus Prize Finalist The Reader and Printz Honor Book, Walter Award Honoree, and National Book Award Finalist We Are Not Free. Her newest book is A Thousand Steps into Night, a Japanese-influenced young adult fantasy. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys hiking, egg painting, gardening, and hosting game nights for family and friends. She lives in California with her fast dog.

Claribel & Kat discuss a conversation the saw online about being “satisfied” with your author career vs being “happy” as an author. Then they interview Laekan Zea Kemp about her publishing journey. How she started off self-publishing and transitioned into traditional publishing. And what it’s been like writing across multiple genres and age categories!

Content Warning: Discussions of grief/parental death/cancer

ABOUT LAEKAN: Laekan Zea Kemp is a writer living in Austin, Texas. She’s also the creator and host of the Author Pep Talks podcast, as well as a contributor to the Las Musas podcast. She has three objectives when it comes to storytelling: to make people laugh, cry, and crave Mexican food. Her work celebrates Chicanx grit, resilience, creativity, and joy while exploring themes of identity and mental health. Her debut novel, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN BITTER & SWEET is out now from Little Brown Young Readers.

Kat interviews Claribel about the process of writing and publishing their second middle grade (and first series!). How publishing a second book feels different. How expectations change as your career progresses. And working on not “giving weight to the negative”

ABOUT CLARIBEL: New York Times Bestselling and award-winning author, Claribel A. Ortega is a former reporter who writes middle-grade and young adult fantasy inspired by her Dominican heritage. When she's not busy turning her obsession with eighties pop culture, magic, and video games into books, she’s co-hosting her podcast Bad Author Book Club and helping authors navigate publishing with her consulting business GIFGRRL. Claribel is a Marvel contributor and has been featured on Buzzfeed, Bustle, Good Morning America and Deadline.

Claribel’s debut middle grade novel Ghost Squad is out now from Scholastic and is being made into a feature film. Her forthcoming books include Witchlings (Scholastic) and the graphic novel Frizzy (First Second). You can find her on Twitter, Instagram and Tiktok @Claribel_Ortega and on her website at claribelortega.com.

Claribel & Kat talk about book promo they’ve done that they think was worth it, and what they don’t think they’ll do again. Then they talk to debut author, Judy I. Lin about her debut fantasy, trying out IP, and eventually choosing to go the traditional route instead.

ABOUT JUDY: Judy I. Lin was born in Taiwan and immigrated to Canada with her family at a young age. She grew up with her nose in a book and loved to escape to imaginary worlds. She now works as an occupational therapist, and still spends her nights dreaming up imaginary worlds of her own. She lives on the Canadian prairies with her husband and daughter. A Magic Steeped in Poison is her debut novel.

Claribel & Kat talk about Author-Reviewer “relationships” and what’s okay to do and what to stay away from. Then they interview debut graphic novelist, Alexis Castellanos about how she used family stories to flesh out and inspire her debut graphic novel.

ABOUT ALEX: Alexis Castellanos was born and raised in Florida where she enjoyed sunny days, dramatic thunderstorms, and delicious Cuban food. After graduating from college, she moved to New York City and worked as a scenic artist, bringing theatrical sets to life with a little bit of paint and a whole lot of ingenuity. She currently works as a graphic designer by day and spends her nights dreaming up stories. She lives in Seattle with her partner and her extremely photogenic cat, Belle. Isla to Island is her first graphic novel.

Claribel & Kat discuss their thoughts on jumping back into promoting their new books! Then they interview their PitchWars mentee about her upcoming seering fantasy debut, BLOOD SCION!

ABOUT DEBORAH: Deborah Falaye is a Nigerian Canadian young adult author. She grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where she spent her time devouring African Literature, pestering her grandma for folktales, and tricking her grandfather into watching Passions every night. When she’s not writing about fierce Black girls with bad-ass magic, she can be found obsessing over all things reality TV. Deborah currently lives in Toronto with her husband and their partner-in-crime yorkie, Major.

Claribel & Kat discuss how they decide on what project to work on next. And then they interview Award Winning and NYT Bestselling author, Malinda Lo, about her experience in the industry, her advocacy for diversity in kidlit, and what it was like going back to a shelved project and revising it years later for publication.

ABOUT MALINDA: Malinda Lo is the National Book Award-winning, bestselling author of Last Night at the Telegraph Club, which which was named a Best Book of 2021 by NPR, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, BookPage, and was a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist. Her debut novel Ash, a Sapphic retelling of Cinderella, was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, the Andre Norton Award for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and was a Kirkus Best Book for Children and Teens. She has been a three-time finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Malinda’s short fiction and nonfiction has been published by The New York Times, NPR, Autostraddle, The Horn Book, and multiple anthologies. She lives in Massachusetts with her partner and their dog.