Before & After: My Literary Podcast Studio Makeover

Author Diaries: My completely inelegant life

Hello, Protagonists, In this post, you’ll find:

🤓 Reader’s Corner: What I’m Reading this Week

🎤 Before & After: My Literary Podcast Studio Makeover!

• + a Preview of Upcoming Authors on the Show

👋🏼 If you’re new here, Welcome!

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🤓 Reader’s Corner: What I’m Reading this Week

I’m getting ready to go on vacation soon to Japan (cherry blossoms! mochi!), so I’m hoarding paperbacks to take with me.

Here’s what I’ve got so far:

• Is She Really Going Out With Him? by Sophie Cousins - a rom-com about a disillusioned divorcée who agrees to let her children play matchmaker

• The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang - historical fiction about the intertwined lives of two wronged women, spanning from the chaos of the San Francisco earthquake to the glittering palaces of Versailles

I would like to take one more book with me…

Suggestions, please?

Just reply to this email or leave a Comment on the website with your book recs! Thank you!!

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🎤 Before & After: My Literary Podcast Studio Transformation!

I’ve been enjoying filming/recording the weekly podcast over the past 10 months (33 episodes—can you believe it?!)

We’ve had some incredible guests like Kate Quinn, Alison Espach, Margarita Montimore, TJ Klune, etc.

So I decided it was finally time to invest in some better lighting, since there was always an annoying shiny spot on my forehead. 😂

That is the fault of this hideous glaring overhead ceiling light in my bedroom:

The only other lighting I had before was a ring light:

😆 Here’s a behind-the-scenes tour of the “Before” podcast studio (which is just a tiny corner in my bedroom):

But now that the podcast is really taking off, I can invest in some serious lighting!

Here is the “After” podcast studio:

There are five different lights now:

• a keylight with a softbox (that’s the big lantern-looking thing),

• a hair light that goes over my head like a gentle spotlight,

• a side light for the part of my face that the keylight doesn’t get,

• a floor light that shines up behind me and adds depth to the background, and

• some fairy lights under the top and second bookshelves to make it less dark behind my books.

However, I’ve still got my laptop precariously perched on the stack of Outlander books, and I still use my iPhone as my video camera…

One thing at a time, lol.

Anyway, you won’t see the new studio lighting on the show until mid-April, since I record my episodes 1-2 months in advance. But hopefully that annoying shiny spot on my forehead will be gone in future episodes!

Upcoming literary podcast guests:

Here’s a preview of some of the author interviews I’ve got scheduled for April & May:

• Emma Pattee (Tilt)

• Gretchen Schreiber (All the Stars Align) - she is also the Books Manager for Hello Sunshine/Reese’s Book Club

• Téa Obreht (The Tiger’s Wife; The Morningside)

• Sarah Penner (The Lost Apothecary; The Amalfi Curse)

• Allegra Goodman (Sam; Isola)

• Katherine Center (The Bodyguard; The Love Haters)

As always, you’ll get these episodes straight into your inbox on Tuesdays, so keep an eye on your email!

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❓Got questions for future podcast guests?

I ask for podcast Qs on our community chat (available via web browser or Substack app.) Pop in every so often to check for open calls for questions for upcoming guests!

• Right now, I’m taking questions for Sarah Penner and Allegra Goodman

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👋🏼 If you’re new here, Welcome!

Here’s when you can expect to hear from me:

Tuesdays are video days:

• 2 - 3 podcasts (author interviews) each month

• Recording of our Book Club meeting

Fridays are written newsletter days:

• Creativity Mini-Challenges

• Author Diaries

• other interesting topics about books, writing, or publishing

“Read Like a Writer” Book Club meetings are usually on a Sunday near the end of the month

• the videos are recorded for those who cannot attend live, and posted on the following Tuesday

This is a general rhythm, but I sometimes take time off. It’s important for all of us to take care of our mental well-being and to allow our creative wells to refill. So if you don’t hear from me on a Tuesday or Friday, I’m just recharging! 💛

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