Truer Words Truer Words

In the 68th episode of Truer Words, we speak with Michelle Quach about graphic design, unlikable female characters, and creating a love interest who does more than just the assigned reading. Michelle is the author of the debut YA, NOT HERE TO BE LIKED. Michelle can be found on Twitter @michellequach and Instagram @_michellequach. Her website is michellequach.com.
Mentioned in this Episode:
Gold-Plated Girls newsletter: ‘Never Have I Ever’ & Dead Dads & Me by Victoria Edel
Laura Hankin
A Special Place for Women by Laura Hankin
The Other Two on HBOMax
Munich
Schitt’s Creek on Netflix
Ted Lasso on Apple+
Constance Grady
Why a Christmas Episode Supercharged the Ted Lasso Debate by Kathryn VanArendonk
Reservation Dogs on Hulu
Only Murders in the Building on Hulu
Moving On, A Love Story - Nora Ephron Apthorp article
Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore
League of Extraordinary Women series
The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser
Suddenly You by LIsa Kleypas
Fated Mates podcast
Sally Rooney
Why is the Sex in Sally Rooney’s Novels So Good? by Amil Niazi
She’s All That
Writing the Romantic Comedy by Billy Merritt
Macbeth
Life: A User’s Manual by Georges Perec
The Book Doctors
PitMad
If You, Then Me by Yvonne Woon
In-Between Girl
The Ezra Klein Show: How Blue Cities Became So Outrageously Unaffordable
The Ezra Klein Show: That Anxiety You’re Feeling?
Hana Kh Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin
About Us:
Truer Words is created and produced by Melissa Baumgart and Kathryn Benson. Our music was composed by Mike Sayre, and our logo was designed by Marianne Murphy.
You can follow us on Twitter @truerwordspod and on Instagram @truerwordspodcast. Contact us via our website, truerwordspodcast.com, or email us at truerwordspodcast@gmail.com.

In the 67th episode of Truer Words, we speak with Emma Kress about writing girls in sports, taking risks, and social media as an author. Emma is the author of DANGEROUS PLAY, available now! Emma can be found on Twitter @emma_kress, TikTok @emma_kress, and Instagram @kress.emma. Her website is emmakress.com.
Mentioned in this Episode:
All I Wanna Do
Bluey
Bluey is the Best Kids’ Show of Our Time by Kathryn VanArendonk for Vulture
Flat Stanley
The Nanny
Drawn That Way by Elissa Sussman
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Born in Fire / Born in Ice / Born in Shame (Irish Born trilogy) by Nora Roberts
The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery
Reservation Dogs
Sterlin Harjo on WTF with Marc Maron
Killers of the Flower Moon movie
Brendan Fraser Joins Killers of the Flower Moon
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
The Great House Revival
Cynthia Leitich-Smith
Mary Quattlebaum
Amy King
David Macinnis Gill
A.R. Capetta
Cory McCarthy
Nova Ren Suma
Our episode with Nova Ren Suma
Ruth Ware
Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price
Our episode with Tirzah Price
In the Same Boat by Holly Green
Sarah Dessen
When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris
Mare of Easttown
Ted Lasso
About Us:
Truer Words is created and produced by Melissa Baumgart and Kathryn Benson. Our music was composed by Mike Sayre, and our logo was designed by Marianne Murphy.
You can follow us on Twitter @truerwordspod and on Instagram @truerwordspodcast. Contact us via our website, truerwordspodcast.com, or email us at truerwordspodcast@gmail.com.

In the 66th episode of Truer Words, we speak with Margot Wood about Emma retellings, marketing a book as “queer,” and finding community in book lovers. Margot can be found on Twitter @margotwood and Instagram @margotmwood. Her website is margotwood.com.
Mentioned in this Episode:
Epic Reads
Immersive Van Gogh exhibit
Carrieres de Lumières
Georges Méliès
Hieronymous Bosch
L’Atelier des Lumières Paris
A Black Lady Sketch Show
Issa Rae’s wedding photos
A Special Place for Women by Laura Hankin
While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory
Our episode with Jasmine
Emma by Jane Austen
Emma (2020 film)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Adrienne Kisner
Our episode with Adrienne
Meisner technique
Kiersten White
Alphasmart Neo Typewriter
The Princess Diaries
Love, Simon
Insurgent movie
Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Fraser
The Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon
Bones
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Freddie Prinze Jr.
About Us:
Truer Words is created and produced by Melissa Baumgart and Kathryn Benson. Our music was composed by Mike Sayre, and our logo was designed by Marianne Murphy.
You can follow us on Twitter @truerwordspod and on Instagram @truerwordspodcast. Contact us via our website, truerwordspodcast.com, or email us at truerwordspodcast@gmail.com.

In the 65th episode of Truer Words, we speak with Azadeh Westergaard about illustration, the joys of research, and Nikola Tesla. Azadeh is the author of A LIFE ELECTRIC: THE STORY OF NIKOLA TESLA. She can be found on Twitter @ahwestergaard and Instagram @ahwestergaard. Her website is ahwestergaard.com.
Mentioned in this Episode:
Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults
Heartburn by Nora Ephron audiobook read by Meryl Streep
Heartburn movie
Nora Ephron’s “Heartburn” is an Ideal Audiobook by Helen Rosner
Quotation from Heartburn
Fresh by Margot Wood
Emma by Jane Austen
Clueless
Hacks
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Never Have I Ever
Virgin River
Black Widow
Seven Days in June
Thanks for Waiting by Doree Shafrir
Forever35 podcast
Amelia Bedelia
Roseanne Rosannadanna
Júlia Sardà (illustrator of Azadeh’s book)
She Made a Monster: How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lynn Fulton
Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey, illustrated by Júlia Sardà
Laura Hankin
Andrea Bartz and Laura Hankin Talk About Accidentally Writing Similar Novels
Elizabeth Gilbert
Ann Patchett
Big Magic
Newspapers.com
Nikola Tesla Museum
New York Public Library
Archive.org
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Theatre on Film and Tape Archive
Oklahoma! on Broadway
On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne
Liz Garton Scanlon
Maira Kalman
Ooh-La-La Max in Love by Maira Kalman
School of Visual Arts
Monica Wellington
Mary Quattlebaum
Martha Brockenbrough
Linda Urban
Patent Pending bar
Patent Pending in Nomad is a Cafe by Day, Speakeasy by Night
Call My Agent!
The Worst Witch
The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy
Sing
Sing 2
Misery
Pokko and the Drum by Matthew Forsythe
The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction
Jhumpa Lahiri
“Brownies” by ZZ Packer
The Aspiring Poet’s Journal
About Us:
Truer Words is created and produced by Melissa Baumgart and Kathryn Benson. Our music was composed by Mike Sayre, and our logo was designed by Marianne Murphy.
You can follow us on Twitter @truerwordspod and on Instagram @truerwordspodcast. Contact us via our website, truerwordspodcast.com, or email us at truerwordspodcast@gmail.com.
 

In the 64th episode of Truer Words, we speak with Cassie Gustafson about writing about sexual assault responsibly, loving dark stories, and Tana French. Cassie can be found on Twitter @cassiegusty and Instagram @cassiegusty. Her website is cassiegustafson.com.
Mentioned in this Episode:
Djerassi
Nova Ren Suma
Our episode with Nova Ren Suma
World of Our Fathers: The Journey of Eastern European Jews and the Life They Found and Made by Irving Howe
Norma Klein
Just Friends
Margaret
The Cinematic Traumas of Kenneth Lonergan
Melissa’s Bright Wall / Dark Room essay
Margaret issue of Bright Wall / Dark Room
Smith-Cameron Succession
You Can Count on Me
Manchester by the Sea
Angels in America
West Side Story
Gosford Park
The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson
Truly Devious Trilogy by Maureen Johnson
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Finding Water by Julia Cameron
By Now, Burnout is a Given
Band Candy
Earshot - Buffy saves Jonathan
Danny Strong
Laurie Halse Anderson
Speak
Tana French
The Secret Place by Tana French
The Trespasser by Tana French
In the Woods by Tana French
Laurie Faria Stolarz
Jane Anonymous by Laurie Faria Stolarz
The Last Secret You’ll Ever Keep by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas
A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow
The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu
Land directed by Robin Wright
Songland
About Us:
Truer Words is created and produced by Melissa Baumgart and Kathryn Benson. Our music was composed by Mike Sayre, and our logo was designed by Marianne Murphy.
You can follow us on Twitter @truerwordspod and on Instagram @truerwordspodcast. Contact us via our website, truerwordspodcast.com, or email us at truerwordspodcast@gmail.com.

In the 63rd episode of Truer Words, we speak with Kristy Everington about Australian authors, why Americans call everything “cute,” and Ethan Hawke. Kristy is the author of the debut picture book ISOBEL ADDS IT UP. Kristy can be found on Twitter @kmeverington and Instagram @kristyeveryington. Her website is kristyeverington.com.
Mentioned in this Episode:
Very Sincerely Yours by Kerry Winfrey
Our episode with Kerry Winfrey
Starstruck on HBO Max
Ted Lasso on Apple+
Dickinson on Apple+
Hacks on HBO Max
Succession on HBO
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Our episode with Rachel Lynn Solomon
Kirkus review of Isobel Adds It Up
Kathi Appelt
Praise by Andrew McGahan
Sara Zarr
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Jaclyn Moriarty
Melina Marchetta
Tomorrow, When the War Began series by John Marsden
Martine Leavitt
Jane Kurtz
An Na
Not Great, Bob!
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Buffy on Hulu
Angel on Hulu
The X-Files
THE X-FILES TWEET (allegedly, please don’t sue us)
Dawson’s Creek
Our episode with Laurie Morrison
Mare of Easttown on HBO Max
Cruel Summer on Freeform
Vampire’s Promise by Caroline B. Cooney
You by Caroline Kepnes
You TV series
Dig by A.S. King
The Project by Courtney Summers
About Us:
Truer Words is created and produced by Melissa Baumgart and Kathryn Benson. Our music was composed by Mike Sayre, and our logo was designed by Marianne Murphy.
You can follow us on Twitter @truerwordspod and on Instagram @truerwordspodcast. Contact us via our website, truerwordspodcast.com, or email us at truerwordspodcast@gmail.com.