Today's guest is Anna Meriano, author of This Is How We Fly, a contemporary YA that focuses on a Muggle Quidditch team. Anna joined me today to talk about writing sports for young audiences, and how she navigated her debut being so closely tied to what has become a problematic fandom.
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Twelve-year-old Ella is still reeling from the sudden loss of her mother when her father’s oldest friend is murdered in Scotland. Good hook that draws us into the story right away. I would strike "Scotland" here and insert below, as it just tips the sentence into long-winded. She must accompany him to isolated Ravenfell Manor for Cornelius’s funeral. Ella is unsettled by the house which is filled with eccentric curios and precious objects, almost certainly haunted, and has far too many Ravens of both the feathered and family varieties. Not sure what you mean by "family varieties?"
After her father is arrested for the theft of a valuable artefact, could be Australian spelling? In the US it's "artifact" Ella is forced to cancel her plans to fly home Strike "is forced..." It's implied and teams up with Cornelius’s son Lachie to try to clear his name. What is Lachie's interest in clearing her father's name? In in the interest of the old friendship? Or is his father's good name impugned as well? They become aware that Strike "they become aware..."three hidden treasures lie at the heart of the mystery, as well as Cornelius’s murder, but struggle to unravel the dead laird’s cryptic clues Strike everything after "clues" to discover the location of the priceless objects. Someone else is searching too, roaming the manor at night, masquerading as an ancient Raven ghost. Again, is Raven a family name? It's not entirely clear
When Ella’s father is accused of even more serious crimes in order to keep him away from Ravenfell and the hunt for Cornelius’s treasures, Strike everything up to this point she and Lachie are drawn into a dangerous contest with the increasingly ruthless Ghost, who always seems to be a step ahead of them. Just as they finally seem to be getting somewhere, they make a mistake which has life-threatening consequences. The Ghost locks them in the ancient underground tunnel, sealing the crypt doors with tape. Unless they can decipher the final clues and find the code to open the door to the airlock and Cornelius’s secret room, Strike "C's secret room" they will die. And even if they can achieve this, they will never be safe unless they find a way to unmask and trap the Ghost. Strike previous sentence Ella must draw on previously unknown reserves of courage and possibly a little unsolicited help from the supernatural world if she is to save all of their lives.
RAVENFELL is a 38,000 word middle grade adventure/mystery. It is a stand-alone title (with potential for a sequel) that will appeal to readers who enjoy the creepy Gothic settings of The Night Gardener and Serafina and the Twisted Cloak, the mystery elements of Greenglass House and the quirky artefacts of The Ten Thousand Doors of January.
I have had a number of articles published in Good Reading Magazine (Australia) about visiting the settings which inspired my favourite authors. My travels have also sparked the ideas for my own storytelling. As a teacher and librarian, I enjoyed working with middle grade students to foster and expand their love of literature and am excited to read and write fiction for this age group. I live in Melbourne, Australia.
Great bio! Great comp titles! Overall this is strong, you just need to weed it down, as it's a bit wordy in spots. Trim it up, and I think you're ready to go!
How to Record a Podcast Remotely And Get It Right The First Time
This article is originally published on descript.com.
Remote interviews are a fact of life for every podcaster, and in today’s era of social distancing, more so than ever. Since you rarely get the chance at an interview do-over, nailing down your remote recording workflow is essential. We’ll show you how to prepare for and record a remote interview, so you get it right the first time — with some additional tips along the way to make sure all your bases are covered.
Choose the right remote recording setup for your podcast
The first step is to determine the remote recording setup that best suits the format and content of your podcast and your production and editing workflow.
In most cases, your best solution will involve recording remote interviews on Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, or a similar online conferencing service. This low-friction setup makes it easy for guests or co-hosts to contribute, but you’ll need to make sure you have the right software to record these interviews.
It’s also wise to make sure you can record phone calls. Phone interviews don’t offer great audio fidelity, but they make a great backup option in case of technical problems or schedule changes. Phone interviews probably won’t be your first choice, but it’s a good idea to be able to record a phone call just in case you need to.
If you’re recording with the same remote co-host on each episode of your podcast, consider a double-ender setup, in which you and your co-host record your own audio tracks locally and combine them in post-production. For most podcasters, this isn’t the most convenient solution, but it does translate into the highest audio fidelity for you and your co-host.
The best way to record an interview is to prepare for it
When it comes to interviewing — especially remote interviewing — a little preparation goes a long way.
Do some research into your guest’s background, expertise, and projects. Who are they? Why is their work notable? What do you (and in turn, your audience) hope to learn from them?
Putting together a rough outline of the questions you’d like to ask will come in very handy. Write down a handful of specific questions and key points, but keep your outline broad and high-level. That’ll allow you to more easily adapt to the flow of conversation.
Maintaining that conversational flow remotely can be substantially trickier than doing so person-to-person. Prime yourself to listen more than you speak — in particular, try not to interrupt your guest. Editing out awkward silences between speakers is much easier than dealing with too much crosstalk!
When it’s time to record the interview, take a couple final preparatory steps to ensure a clean recording. Close all unnecessary software and set your computer to “Do Not Disturb” mode to make sure unwanted distractions don’t pop up (or worse: end up in the recording).
How to record a Skype call, Zoom interview, or Google Hangout
For most remote recording situations, Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts are your platforms of choice. All three are easy to set up, simple for guests to use, and feature audio fidelity good enough for most podcasts.
Both Zoom and Skype offer built-in call recording functionality, but Google Hangouts currently limits this offering to enterprise users. There’s an additional caveat: the file format (.MP4 or .M4A) that each platform outputs may not be what you want, depending on your podcast production and editing workflow.
For maximum control over your final product, you’re better off using third-party apps to record computer system audio directly into the recording software of your choice rather than relying on their recording functionality.
If you’re on a Mac, BlackHole is a great open-source tool that allows you to route audio between apps, which means you can record the audio output from Zoom (or Skype, or Google Hangouts) directly into your preferred recording software. On Windows, Virtual Audio Cable offers similar functionality.
If you’re already using Descript to record, you won’t need to use additional audio routing software. When recording audio into Descript, open the Record panel, choose Add a Track, select your input, and choose “Computer audio.” Click the Record button whenever you’re ready, and audio from Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts will be piped into Descript.
No matter which remote recording setup you use, make sure you test it — and test it again — with a friend or colleague before you’re actually recording your podcast. Troubleshooting when you should be interviewing ranks near the top of everyone’s Least Favorite Things To Deal With, so make sure everything is in order before your guest is on the line.
How to record a phone interview with Google Voice
Social distancing means nearly everyone has gotten used to handling calls and meetings on Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts. But maybe your podcast guest is really old-school, or their computer is on the fritz, or maybe they’re simply only able to access a phone during your scheduled call time. It’s likely phone interviews will never be your first choice, but being able to record an old-fashioned phone call will come in handy.
Recording phone calls can be tricky, but using Google Voice to make an outgoing phone call from your computer means you can use the same remote recording setup detailed above to record the call.
Follow Google’s instructions to set up Google Voice and then learn how to make an outgoing call. Once everything’s set up, you’ll be able to record phone calls with Google Voice just like you’d record an interview on Zoom or Skype.
Again, make sure to test with a friend and then test again before your interview.
If lossless audio quality is a must, record a “double-ender”
For most remote recording situations, Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts are your platforms of choice. All three are easy to set up, simple for guests to use, and feature audio fidelity good enough for most podcasts.
But if you have a remote co-host that regularly appears on your podcast, and you want to maximize the quality of your audio, a “double-ender” is the way to go: Each host or guest records themselves locally, and audio tracks are combined in post-production. For an additional cost, you can use third-party recording platforms that simulate double-enders without each speaker managing their own recording software.
A traditional double-ender sees each speaker recording their own audio track using their recording software of choice (Descript, Audacity, Quicktime, etc.), and then the host or editor combines each speaker’s recording into a finished product. Each speaker should have a decent microphone — if they’re using a laptop microphone to record, you probably won’t hear a substantial advantage with a double-ender over a Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts recording.
Alternatively, you can simulate a double-ender by using a platform like SquadCast, Zencastr, or Cleanfeed. These services record lossless audio from each speaker, upload each track to the cloud, and combine them automatically. These platforms cost money, but they’re a great alternative to a double-ender when guests or co-hosts don’t have the time or wherewithal to fiddle with recording themselves locally. Again, make sure each speaker has a decent microphone — otherwise you won’t reap the full benefits of lossless audio.
Make remote recording hassles a thing of the past
Recording your podcast remotely isn’t painless, but once you get the hang of it — and nail down your workflow — it’ll become second nature.