Lit Service – Details, episodes & analysis

What are the building blocks of a heist? Caitlin Schneiderhan chats with Caitlin (two of us! Correct spelling and everything!) to chat about her debut book Medici Heist and how she went about planning it.

Caitlin Schneiderhan is a genre-loving writer on the hit Netflix show STRANGER THINGS. Originally hailing from Silver Spring, Maryland, Caitlin hatched from a cocoon of Terry Pratchett novels when she was 13. She spent her teenage years scribbling stories during class instead of paying attention (you can’t prove she wasn’t just taking notes). Eventually, she decided to chase that storytelling bug all the way out to sunny Los Angeles, where she spent a few years scribbling scripts at assistant jobs instead of paying attention (you can’t prove she wasn’t just taking notes). She has been named one of MovieMaker Magazine’s 25 Screenwriters to Watch, and has projects in development with multiple production companies around Hollywood.

More about Medici Heist:

A sharp-witted teenage thief leads a team of skilled misfits in a dangerous and daring heist for fortune, freedom and revenge against a corrupt Pope in Renaissance Italy in Caitlin Schneiderhan's clever YA debut, Medici Heist. Welcome to Florence, 1517, a world of intrigue and opulence, murder and betrayal. Seventeen-year-old conwoman Rosa Cellini arrives in the city the same day that the Medici Pope, Leo X, returns to take up the reins of power. This is not a coincidence. The new Pope is extorting a mountain of indulgence money from the people of Florence to bolster his power and standing, and Rosa has a plan to take it back. To pull off the Renaissance’s greatest robbery, she’ll recruit a team of specially-chosen, highly-skilled misfits: Sarra the tinkerer, Khalid the fighter, and Giacomo, the irrepressible master of disguise. To top it all off, and to smooth their entrance into the fortress-like Palazzo Medici, Rosa even enlists the reluctant help of the famed artist Michelangelo. But as the authorities draw closer and the Medici’s noose pulls tighter around the land, old secrets resurface and tensions in the group start to flare. What began as a robbery could be the key to saving the city itself—if Rosa and company don’t destroy each other first.

Tricia Levenseller joins Caitlin to talk about how she plots romance, including a fun twist on Dan Wells' Seven Point Plot structure specifically for romance. (Here's Dan's original presentation, which is worth a watch and an easy-to-use template of the non-romance version)

Tricia is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of eight YA romantasies, including the Daughter of the Pirate King duology and The Shadows between Us. Her books have been translated into twenty languages and counting.

Tricia grew up in Oregon, where she spent her childhood climbing trees and playing make believe. She now lives in Utah with her bossy dog, Rosy, where she writes full time. When she’s not writing or reading, Tricia enjoys putting together jigsaw puzzles, playing video games, and finding tasty restaurants to frequent.

The Darkness within Us is a companion novel to The Shadows between Us. It can be read without reading the first book, but you probably will enjoy it more if you read The Shadows between Us first.

Chrysantha Stathos has won.

By hiding her intelligence and ambition behind the mask of a beautiful air-headed girl, she has become a wealthy duchess. And, once her elderly husband dies, she will have all the freedom, money, and safety she’s ever wanted.

Or so she thought.

A man claiming to be the estranged grandson of Chrysantha’s lecherous late husband has turned up to steal her inheritance. To make matters worse, her little sister is going to be queen and is rubbing it in her face. Chrysantha decides that the only thing to do is upstage Alessandra at her own wedding. And as for this grandson, he has to go. Never mind that he’s extremely handsome and secretive with mysterious powers . . . No, Chrysantha wants Eryx Demos dead, and in the end, a Stathos girl always gets what she wants.

Kristen, Caitlin, and Aliah chat about what goes into the middle of a book.

Nicki Pau Preto, author of Crown of Feathers shares the query that got her an agent along with thoughts from her agent about why it worked.

Nicki Pau Preto lives just outside Toronto, Canada. After getting a degree in visual arts, a masters in art history, and a diploma in graphic design, Nicki discovered two things: she loves to escape the real world, and she isn’t interested in a regular 9-5 life. Luckily, her chosen career covers both. She is represented by Penny Moore at Aevitis Creative Managment.

Livia Blackburne joins the Lit Service crew to discuss beta readers, who you should ask, and, most importantly, how to politely follow up with them. They also critique a bit of fantasy involving elven warriors, magic, and myths. 

As it turns out, writing contemporary novels requires just as much worldbuilding as writing fantasy! Kate Watson and the Lit Service crew discuss the process of researching the real world for your writing.

Caitlin, Cameron, and Kristen discuss the Horcrux Principle (closely related to the objective correlative) with Lisa Mangum. Enjoy fun jokes, references, and a little Regency romance!

People like characters who move, who make decisions, who want things. Caitlin, Cameron, and Kristen discuss how to make this happen on the page.

Books and media we talk about:

Harry Potter

The Hunger Games​

Avatar: The Last Airbender

The Great Gatsby

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

If you'd like a first chapter critique from the podcast, please check out our submission guidelines here: https://litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation/submissions

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Charlie Holmberg reads the query that got her an agent (and some feedback from her agent about why it worked!)

Born in Salt Lake City, Charlie N. Holmberg was raised a Trekkie alongside three sisters who also have boy names. She is a proud BYU alumna, plays the ukulele, owns too many pairs of glasses, and finally adopted a dog. Her fantasy Paper Magician series, which includes The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician, and The Master Magician, has been optioned by the Walt Disney Company. Her stand-alone novel, Followed by Frost, was nominated for a 2016 RITA Award for Best Young Adult Romance, and her novel The Fifth Doll won the 2018 Whitney for Speculative Fiction. She is a board member for Deep Magic Ezine and lives with her family in Utah.

Charlie is represented by Marlene Stringer of the Stringer Literary Agency.

 This week we talk to Nicki Pau Preto about how she approaches world building and how to keep yourself from feeling overwhelmed and also how to create a lush secondary world.

Nicki Pau Preto is the author of Crown of Feathers. She lives just outside Toronto, Canada. After getting a degree in visual arts, a masters in art history, and a diploma in graphic design, Nicki discovered two things: she loves to escape the real world, and she isn’t interested in a regular 9-5 life. Luckily, her chosen career covers both.

Some books and media we talk about in this episode:

If you'd like a first chapter critique from the team, follow our social media or check our website to see who will be coming on the show to critique with us and when we're open for submissions.