S3 Ep 3: "Instinct from practice" and other wise words from Kalyn Josephson

Kalyn Josephson is a NYT Bestselling author of both middle grade and young adult novels. Flashback a few years: Shortly after we started reading books together and discussing them as writing critique partners, we read Ravenfall. It’s a book right up both of our alleys and we both really enjoyed talking about the structure and setting of the book.Flash forward to now: This month we wanted to reread the novel because rereading has come up on the podcast many times and we thought we should put it into practice. It was a lot of fun to take annotations anew and then look back at notes we had written from our first read.Here are a few of our favorite lines:* Alexis: I wonder if holding everything in ever really made me strong, or if it just made me hurt all the more.* Also…Embrace the weird.* Brittany: The plants whisper, sliding closer together and sealing off the alcove. A moment later I hear a crunch of gravel, and Colin’s worried voice calling, “Ann’s? Anna, are you up here?” “It’s okay,” I tell the house. “He can come in.”Read her book and share your favorite lines!Further down in the description you can read more about the book, where to buy your own copy, and what we are doing next.You can listen to the podcast above or on Apple Podcasts. We also have transcripts available if listening is not for you. Note: Transcripts on Substack are only available in the web version, not the app.We would love to hear what you thought of the book and our talk with the author.Music credits: Will SaulnierMeet Kalyn JosephsonKalyn Josephson is a NYT Bestselling author, sometimes-baker, and full-time consumer of too much tea. She lives on the California coast with two tiny black cats in a house in constant need of repair. She is the author of the Ravenfall series, The Storm Crow duology, and the This Dark Descent duology.About RavenfallNew York Times bestsellerGoodreads Best MG Book of 2022 NomineeBarnes and Noble book club pick for October 2023Thirteen-year-old Annabella Ballinkay has never been normal, even by her psychic family’s standards. Every generation uses their abilities to help run the Ravenfall Inn, a sprawling, magical B&B at the crossroads of the human world and the Otherworld. But it’s hard to contribute when your only power is foreseeing death.So when fourteen-year-old Colin Pierce arrives at Ravenfall searching for his missing older brother and the supernatural creature who killed their parents, Anna jumps at the chance to help. But the mysteries tied to Colin go much deeper than either of them expects. . . .As the two team up to find answers, they unearth Colin’s family’s secret past and discover that Colin has powers beyond his imagination. And now the supernatural creature, one with eerie origins in Celtic mythology, is coming after him. If Anna and Colin can’t stop the creature by Halloween night, the veil to the Otherworld could be ripped open—which would spell destruction for their world as they know it.Out now from Penguin Random House.Thanks for reading Read to Write Kidlit Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it.Looking aheadWe will be taking December off for the holidays, but we will be back in January! January’s read: The Girl from Earth’s End by Tara DairmanWe would love to hear what you thought about our show-so leave us a comment or DM. Thank you for your continued support. Make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode!On Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review so others can find us!Thanks for reading Read to Write Kidlit Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readtowritekidlit.substack.com