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The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra

How To, Books, Education, Fiction, Arts

4.8 • 733 Ratings

🗓️ 24 July 2025

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this exciting episode of Books with Hooks, debut author Tali Shammas steps into the spotlight to share her query letter for her genre-blending novel ‘The Color of Blood’—a bold mix of horror, romance, and razor-sharp feminist themes. The hosts dive into an engaging discussion on social justice in fiction, the power of a strong hook, and how to clearly define your audience. They dissect the manuscript’s opening pages, exploring tone, character depth, and what makes a first line unforgettable. Plus, they wrap up with actionable marketing tips and a look at Tali’s inspiring writing journey.

Don’t hit stop just yet! We have a most puzzling surprise for you at the end of this episode!

Note: Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe on this podcast are solely that of them as podcast co-hosts 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	Beta reader matchup time is happening again. It's been so gratifying over the summer to be tagged in so many posts about beta readers who've become writing besties and who are still going strong many years after they were first matched. Some even travel to meet up and do writing weekends together, which sounds incredible. I can't guarantee
0:23.0	any of that. That's entirely up to you, but what I can guarantee is that you'll be matched with a
0:28.6	group of people working in your genre and or time zone who will critique 3,000 words of your work
0:35.0	as you critique theirs in return. You can sign up from now until the 31st of
0:40.2	August with the match-up emails going out on the 1st of September. Head to my website, Bianca Moray.com,
0:47.6	and look for the beta reader matchup tab.
1:03.4	Hi there and welcome to our show. The Shit No One Tells You About Writing. I'm Bianca Marais and I'm joined by Carly Waters and Cici Lira from PS Literary Agency.
1:10.3	Hi everyone and welcome back to another Books with Hooks.
1:13.6	Today, we have our author joining us, which we're very excited about.
1:17.8	Tally, welcome to the show.
1:19.8	Thank you so much, Bianca.
1:21.3	I'm so excited to be here.
1:23.1	We're excited to have you here.
1:24.8	Will you please kick us off by reading your query letter?
1:28.3	Of course I'd be delighted to. Dear Cece, Carly and Bianca, thank you for having me on Books
1:35.2	with Hooks. I'm a big fan of the podcast, which has been an incredible resource throughout
1:39.7	my writing journey. This query was tailored with Cece in mind, as her wish list mentions a desire
1:45.8	for stories centered around social justice and feminist issues, core themes in my manuscript.
1:52.2	I so appreciate the opportunity to share my work with you. I am seeking representation for
1:57.2	The Color of Blood, a 70,000 word coming of rage horrorments.
2:01.6	The novel blends Latvian mythology and folklore with an examination of critical theory similar to Blood Over Bright Haven,
2:08.6	the Gothic horror and exploitation of Mexican Gothic, and the Eastern European setting of Juniper and Thorn.
	...

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