February Bonus Episode
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra
4.8 • 842 Ratings
🗓️ 23 February 2026
⏱️ 85 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
February’s bonus episode is packed with oodles of amazing writing tips from incredible authors. In part one of this month’s bonus episode, Bianca, connects with bestselling thriller author Robyn Harding and breaks down how she builds slow-burn suspense in ‘Strangers in the Villa’—from sneaky prologues and curiosity seeds to power imbalances, inciting incidents, and structuring twists that keep readers guessing.
In part two of this month’s bonus episode, Bianca chats with debut romance author and former professional editor Emily Ohanjanians about the winding, very human journey behind ‘The Book Tour’—from leaving in-house publishing to writing her first novel, querying in small batches, and the whirlwind of submission. Emily reflects on being edited as an editor, why fast pacing and early tension matter in romance, and why a guaranteed happy ending is a non-negotiable promise to readers. They dig into tropes (grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity), the joy of secondary characters, and how “spicy” scenes should deepen character and move the story forward. Along the way, Emily discusses second-generation identity, family expectations, and how social commentary can coexist with escapist, feel-good romance.
And lastly, don’t miss out on Emilie’s comps!
Note: CeCe Lyra is a literary agent at Wendy Sherman Associates. If you’d like to query CeCe, please refer to the submission guidelines at www.wsherman.com. Carly Watters is a literary agent at P.S. Literary Agency, but her work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly on this podcast are solely that of her as a podcast co-host and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | What's up, everyone? This is Cece. Do you know something I'm always looking for when I review the slush file? |
| 0:06.1 | Strong interiority. Well-written interiority shows what your protagonist is thinking about in a way that is realistic and interesting. |
| 0:14.2 | It propels the story forward instead of holding it back, but it doesn't stop there. |
| 0:19.5 | A strong writer will leverage interiority into a |
| 0:22.8 | superpower into something I call psychological acuity. Think about it this way. Plot is what happens. |
| 0:30.1 | Interiority is how your protagonist processes what happens. And psychological acuity is why it matters. |
| 0:36.8 | It gives a book depth and meaning and staying power. |
| 0:40.9 | All breakout books have psychological acuity. |
| 0:43.8 | You have been asking me to teach a course about psychological acuity for years, years. |
| 0:48.7 | Well, it's finally here. |
| 0:50.4 | Why did it take me so long? |
| 0:51.9 | Because my courses take years to build. |
| 1:12.5 | They're dense, they're thorough, and they're filled with examples and specific techniques. So this five-day course begins on March 2nd. We'll have an optional interactive component. Students are invited to submit excerpts from their work for a chance to have them critiqued live during a class. If you're ready to take your writing to the next level, join me for writing interiority and psychological acuity. Don't worry if |
| 1:18.5 | you can't attend live. The sessions will be recorded. And for more information, check out my bio |
| 1:23.6 | on Instagram or the podcast website. I'm looking forward to seeing you there. |
| 1:34.3 | Hi there and welcome to our show. The ship no one tells you about writing. I'm best-selling |
| 1:40.8 | author Bianca Murray and I'm joined by Cici Lira of Wendy Sherman Associates and Carly Waters of PS Literary. |
| 1:50.0 | Hi everyone. Today's guest is the bestselling author of The Hators, The Drowning Woman, her pretty face, and the party. |
| 2:01.7 | She has also written an executive produced at independent film. |
| 2:05.6 | She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with her husband, and two cute but deadly |
| 2:10.7 | rescued chihuahuas. |
| 2:12.4 | It's my pleasure to welcome Robin Harding. |
... |
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