Beyond 300: The New Charlotte Readers Podcast – The Value of Writing Communities, Plus Mystery, Memoir, True Crime and Poetry Features
Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:42:07 — 140.3MB)
In this episode 301, Landis introduces his two new co-hosts of Charlotte Readers Podcast and they share exciting updates, including how the show will feature more authors and offer more readerly and writerly content in each episode, and new ways for listeners to engage–including how your voice can be part of the podcast.
We also hear from three award-winning authors in the mystery, memoir, and true crime genres and have a poetry reading.
We explore the value of critique groups and writing communities and give tips for building your writing community to help market your books long term.
And we offer book recommendations, and much more.
New Co-hosts for Charlotte Readers Podcast – Beyond 300:
Landis is joined on the mic by two very talented women, one a book publicist and book lover and one a traditionally published author and screen writer.
Together, they will explore the world of books and writing, and have fun doing it.
Hannah Larrew
Hannah is a publicist and digital marketing specialist for artists across the creative spectrum, the Founder of Spellbound PR, a boutique marketing and public relations firm, and an avid reader and writer who enjoys talking and writing about good books.
Sarah Archer
Sarah wanted to be a writer since she was seven years old, which led her to screenwriting, sketch comedy, work in the film and television industry in Los Angeles, and her traditionally published debut novel, The Plus One.
Today’s Featured Authors:
Mark de Castrique Time Stamp 24:10
Mystery writer Mark de Castrique has authored twenty-one books. The Chicago Tribune wrote that he “captures the geography – both physical and human – of a unique part of the American South.” His years working in broadcast news and documentary films in Washington inspired his DC thrillers The 13th Target, involving a terrorist plot against The Federal Reserve, The Singularity Race, a winner-take-all quest for Artificial Intelligence, and Secret Lives, the debut of his new heroine Ethel Crestwater, a seventy-five-year-old retired FBI agent who now rents rooms to active agents and is the smartest and most fearless of any in her household. Picture Ruth Bader Ginsburg as an FBI agent and you’ve got the idea.
Judy Goldman Time stamp 50:10
Judy Goldman is the award-winning author of seven books including Together: A Memoir of Marriage and a Medical Mishap, named one of the best books of 2019 by Real Simple. Her new memoir Child tells the story of her relationship with Mattie Culp, the Black woman who worked for her family as a live-in maid and helped raise her. It’s also the story of Mattie’s daughter, who was left behind to be raised by someone else. Child is a 2022 Katie Couric Media Must-Read New Book. Jill McCorkle says of the book “It is a brave undertaking to explore the complexities of that time and place, but Goldman’s wise, clear-eyed recognition of truth moves the memories into a new place.”
Cathy Pickens 1:24:37
Cathy Pickens, a lawyer and college professor, is the author of the crime fiction series Southern Fried Mysteries, as well as several true crime books and a true crime column for Mystery Readers Journal. She also wrote CREATE!, a road map for discovering your creative process, and offers coaching and workshops on creativity and works with writers on telling their stories. In her new book, True Crime Stories of Upstate South Carolina, she brings a novelist’s eye to the Upstate’s real crime stories and the international headlines and the little-known tales that define the sinister—and quirky—side of her home state.
Book Recommendations: Time Stamp: 33:30
Hannah recommends:
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Friend by Sigred Nunez
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
plus some upcoming releases:
The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci
The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
The It Girl by Ruth Ware
Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori
Sarah recommends:
The House Inside My Head by Chris Arvidson
The Museum: A Short History of Crisis and Resilience by Samuel J. Redman
First Person Singular by Haruki Murakami
Landis recommends:
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
Books by Larry McMurtry
Mark West, Storied Charlotte Blog, recommends:
The House Inside My Head by Chris Arvidson
All the Places We Call Home by Patrice Gopo
Chris Arvidson reading of two poems: Time Stamp: 48:05
Writing and Marketing Tips: Time Stamp: 1:01:49
We asked if participating in critique groups and engaging in a writing community can help improve your writing, build your audience, and market your books long term.
Spoiler alert: They can!
Click HERE for Sarah’s blog post on critique groups titled: Why to Join a Critique Group – And How
- There are many types of writers’ groups: critique groups for exchanging feedback, clubs that host speakers and foster networking, groups that get creative together by writing on prompts, and groups that encourage productivity by gathering together to write.
- Receiving notes on your work is crucial to seeing past your own blind spots and getting other perspectives.
- Many writers are nervous at the prospect of feedback: just remember that getting constructive criticism from people you know, while your writing project is still a work in progress, is a good stepping stone before putting your work out to an audience of agents, editors, and readers!
- As author Sita Romero points out in her blog post, It Takes a Village, writers’ groups are a great way to interface with writers from other genres and hear their perspectives.
- Giving feedback can be just as helpful as getting it. Giving notes pushes you to read analytically and problem solve for ways to make the text stronger.
- Romero talks about how her writing group became a valuable community of supportive friends. Writing can be a lonely art–it helps to have people with whom you can bounce around ideas, trade tips, and sometimes just commiserate.
- Your writing network can also be one of your greatest tools for marketing your work. Writers understand what other writers need: they’ll provide blurbs, buy your books, show up at your events, write reviews, and share your work with friends and on social media.
So how do you find your writing community?
- Google writers’ groups in your area. Meetup.com lists many writers’ groups.
- Look at the websites for your local libraries and bookstores, or ask a librarian or bookseller in person.
- Check local coffee shops for open mic nights.
- Once you start building your network, it’ll grow. People in one group can almost always point you in the direction of other resources.
- Think big: so many groups have adopted virtual or hybrid models that you don’t have to be limited by geography. You can join events and meetings around the world!
- Some helpful local resources:
Takeaways Time Stamp: 1:35:33
Landis, Hannah, and Sarah are excited about working together to bring you more author interviews, readings, book recommendations, and writing and marketing tips–and excited to work with YOU as part of our writing community!
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