Stories to Love Tif Marcelo

Episode 67 is a minisode about how to handle deadlines and life with routines. After my last minisode, I was asked what my routines looked like, and thought that this was a perfect time to chat about it. I am under deadline at the recording of this episode, and I’m leaning more of my routines than ever before. So, in this episode, I’m going to share my actual routines and how it has changed over time, and how it helps me, more often than not, start my day on a better foot. 
Before we head on over though, I wanted to mention that my upcoming novel, When Jasmine Blooms, is up for preorder! It’s up on every retailer, and I’ve linked it in the show notes. It releases on April 11, 2023, and is a what-if story inspired by Marmee of Little Women, about a grieving woman who wonders ‘what if’ and that scenario is realized.

Links described:
Hobonichi I use for my journal 
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Preorder Tif's next book WHEN JASMINE BLOOMS, a contemporary fiction inspired by Marmee of Little Women, about a woman who suffers a great tragedy, wonders 'what if' and it comes true.

Note: some links are affiliate links

Contact Tif at tif@tifmarcelo.com
Please check out her website for podcast submissions

Episode 66 is up! Our guest is Paulette Kennedy.
Originally from the Ozarks, Paulette Kennedy now lives in a quiet suburb of Los Angeles with her family and a menagerie of rescue pets. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys tending to her garden, knitting, and finding unique vintage treasures at thrift stores and flea markets. 
As a history lover, she can get lost for days in her research—learning everything she can about the places in her stories and what her characters might have experienced in the past. 
Paulette’s current release is THE WITCH OF TIN MOUNTAIN, a witchy southern gothic set in rural Northern Arkansas during the Great Depression. 
In this episode we discussed the myriad of inspirations for her most recent release, THE WITCH OF TIN MOUNTAIN, to include her father, who lived through the Great Depression; how she managed writing three different timelines and the crossover of some those characters. We discussed her research to include her own genealogy and oral storytelling in the Ozarks and Appalachia, and the pervasive issues she covered which occurred over a hundred years.
I want to thank all of who have subscribed to this podcast! If you haven’t, I’d love it if you’d click to follow so you can get notifications of every new episode. And, if have found this podcast helpful and fun, please leave a rating and review—it really helps to boost discoverability. You can even share this episode with a friend. 
For more information about me, Tif, and submitting to the podcast, please head on to my website, at TifMarcelo.com

Links discussed
Marvelous by Marley Greeley
Sing Our Bones Eternal by Kacey Rayburn
Paper Doll Lina Robyn Lucas
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Preorder Tif's next book WHEN JASMINE BLOOMS, a contemporary fiction inspired by Marmee of Little Women, about a woman who suffers a great tragedy, wonders 'what if' and it comes true.

Note: some links are affiliate links

Contact Tif at tif@tifmarcelo.com
Please check out her website for podcast submissions

Episode 65 of the Stories to Love podcast is with Leni Kauffman.

Leni Kauffman is a Japanese-American illustrator who lives in Lisbon. Leni was born in Tokyo, and grew up in the UK. Her illustration work is inspired by her childhood growing up in Tokyo, nature, and travelling whenever she can.  Her illustrations are used in editorials and book covers, and she specializes in romance book covers. She works mostly digitally, but also enjoys working with traditional mediums such as gouache and watercolors.Through her illustrations she likes to explore narrative, inclusivity, nature, diversity, fashion, food, and travel.
In this episode we discussed her journey to become a professional artist, to include a pivot from fashion communication to graphic design, how one book swept her into the land of illustrating romantic book covers, and her process of collaborating with an author to illustrate a book cover. We also talked business: the pricing of work, scheduling her work and day, her little jungle of plants.
Having Leni on the podcast was amazing. I am a major fan of her work! You will hear how lovely she is, and it was just so nice to be in her presence (albeit virtually) for a few minutes. Book covers are so important—the idea that a book is judged by its cover is a very real thing. I have picked up books because they are illustrated so beautifully by Leni. 
I want to thank all of who have subscribed to this podcast! If you haven’t, I’d love it if you’d click to follow so you can get notifications of every new episode. And, if have found this podcast helpful and fun, please leave a rating and review—it really helps to boost discoverability. You can even share this episode with a friend. 
For more information about me, Tif, and submitting to the podcast, please head on to my website, at TifMarcelo.com
Links:
Episode 13
Tokyo Zodiac murders
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Preorder Tif's next book WHEN JASMINE BLOOMS, a contemporary fiction inspired by Marmee of Little Women, about a woman who suffers a great tragedy, wonders 'what if' and it comes true.

Note: some links are affiliate links

Contact Tif at tif@tifmarcelo.com
Please check out her website for podcast submissions

It's a minisode for episode 64 of a Story to Love podcast. This episode will cover my tips to write the first draft, in vibes.
So, I finished the first draft of my first book in my forthcoming Harlequin series that’s coming out in 2024. It was, as usual at times such a freeing exercise, and then crippling. There were moments in which I was in that zone of writing in which I don’t feel the time pass, and then there were those times when I watched my Study Bunny timer click by in desperate molasses slow seconds.
But, I made it through! I’m deep in first round revisions now, and over the pain of that first draft. I have received quite a few questions on how I draft, so I thought I’d share some tips on how to write that first draft, but in vibes. We’re all so different in our process, in our writing and are surrounded by writers all in their different journeys, but I hope the vibe in my tips can help you out.
Before we head on over though, I wanted to mention that my upcoming novel, When Jasmine Blooms, is up for preorder! It’s up on every retailer, and I’ve linked it in the show notes. It releases on April 11, 2023, and is a what-if story inspired by Marmee of Little Women, about a grieving woman who wonders ‘what if’ and that scenario is realized. For my readers out there, bring out the tissues. Also, know that this is a contemporary fiction novel, not contemporary romance! Now, there is still a marriage romance in this story, and the story ends in a hopeful tone, but it has threads of serious topics. I hope you love it. I hope you will be able to read my love for Marmee, Abigail Alcott, and mothers who have had to navigate grief in their lives. 
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Preorder Tif's next book WHEN JASMINE BLOOMS, a contemporary fiction inspired by Marmee of Little Women, about a woman who suffers a great tragedy, wonders 'what if' and it comes true.

Note: some links are affiliate links

Contact Tif at tif@tifmarcelo.com
Please check out her website for podcast submissions

Episode 63 is up! Here with me today is Suzy England.

Suzy England fell in love with fiction the minute she picked up her first Judy Blume book in third grade. A retired elementary educator and native Texan, she lives in Houston with her husband. She’s the proud mom of two adult children and dog mom to her Havanese, Ivy. Her books include THE WEEKEND (Silver Phoenix, 2019), PERFECT (The Wild Rose Press, 2023), LETTERS FOR LUCIEN (The Wild Rose Press, 2023) and CHASING MR. CROWN (available exclusively on global reading apps Wattpad and Yonder). When she’s not writing Romcoms and Women’s Fiction, Suzy is binge-watching British television, listening to true crime podcasts, planning her next travel adventure, or cheering for her alma-mater, The University of Texas at Austin. Suzy is thrilled to be a Tall Poppy Writer, Class of 2023.
Find out more: www.suzyengland.com
In this episode we discussed Suzy’s most recent novel PERFECT and how it’s a story within a story, her journey from fan fiction and yahoo groups to Wattpad and becoming a novelist, and Perfect’s journey from short story to novel length. We also discussed taking risks in her career, utilizing so many different story tools as a pantser or discovery writer. We also delved into characterization! 

Links discussed:
Portrait of a Thief by Grace Lee
Verity by Colleen Hoover
Emily Henry Beach Reads
The Friendship Breakup by Annie Cathryn
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Preorder Tif's next book WHEN JASMINE BLOOMS, a contemporary fiction inspired by Marmee of Little Women, about a woman who suffers a great tragedy, wonders 'what if' and it comes true.

Note: some links are affiliate links

Contact Tif at tif@tifmarcelo.com
Please check out her website for podcast submissions

Episode 62 of the Stories to Love podcast is up! Here with me today is Gloria Chao
Gloria Chao is an acclaimed author and screenwriter. Her novels include American Panda, Our Wayward Fate, Rent a Boyfriend, and When You Wish Upon a Lantern. Her award-winning books have received starred trade reviews; were Junior Library Guild, Indie Next List, YALSA Teens’ Top 10, and Amelia Bloomer List selections; and were featured on the “Best of” lists of Seventeen, Bustle, Barnes & Noble, PopSugar, Paste Magazine, Booklist, Chicago Public Library, Bank Street, and more.
After a brief detour as a dentist, she is now grateful to spend her days in fictional characters’ heads instead of real people’s mouths. When she’s not writing, you can find her on the curling ice, where she and her husband are world-ranked in mixed doubles.
Visit her tea-and-book-filled world at GloriaChao.wordpress.com and find her on Twitter and Instagram @GloriacChao.
In this episode we discussed how Gloria set out to write a hopeful book in WHEN YOU WISH UPON A LANTERN balancing writing grief and hope. She talked about the sense of belonging while writing her small town setting. We dipped into her transition from health care to authoring, her involvement in NaNoWriMo writers board. And we even talked about her current hybrid system of drafting, and writing college stories within the YA space. 

Links discussed:
First year Orientation - anthology
This Time it's Real by Ann Liang
If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang
Julian Winters  - As You Walk On By
Never Vacation With Your Ex - Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
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Preorder Tif's next book WHEN JASMINE BLOOMS, a contemporary fiction inspired by Marmee of Little Women, about a woman who suffers a great tragedy, wonders 'what if' and it comes true.

Note: some links are affiliate links

Contact Tif at tif@tifmarcelo.com
Please check out her website for podcast submissions