BOOKS & BEYOND:
A PODCAST
Books & Beyond is a podcast for writers who are seeking inspiration for their stories, authors preparing to enter the query trenches, readers looking for their next comp title or read, and indie publishing hopefuls. At noon Eastern Daylight Time on every Saturday of each month, Mylee J. Miller and her co-hosts - Abigail Wadlington, Tali Shammas, Alexandra Roma, or John W. Trevino - will dive into one of the four segments above and give listeners their tips about writing, querying, reading, self-publishing, and beyond.
Podcast Creator
Mylee J. Miller
Mylee is a Neurodivergent author of fantasy, retelling, mystery, and contemporary fiction novels. In all genres, she hopes to bring more representation from the marginalized communities she's part of into the fiction literary sphere. She's currently querying her debut epic fantasy novel featuring sea-heists and sea serpents, and has self-published the first book in a political fantasy series, entitled The Raincycle Trilogy. She's also the creator of the online writing pitch event called #PosterPit, and is the creative mastermind behind the idea of the Books & Beyond Podcast. When not writing, she can be found amid paint splatters, hiking trails, or anywhere there's a book to be read.
Podcast Co-Host
Abigail Wadlington
Abigail is a part-time dog daycare worker and a full-time daydreamer. Before earning her Bachelor’s in Creative Writing, she mentored under bestselling author Ridley Pearson and wrote a myriad of books that make her cringe now. She's represented at The Fogelman Agency by agent Rebecca Williamson for her upcoming novel, The Forgotten Realm. When not writing, she can be found painting book edges, filming dog TikToks, or playing cozy Switch games.
Podcast Co-Host
Tali Shammas
Tali Shammas is a lawyer and PhD candidate who teaches employment law. She completed a JD/MBA program in 2015 and was called to the Bar in 2016. Tali is passionate about educating writers on legal issues that may impact them and has delivered numerous talks on the topic. She is currently querying her debut novel, a romantasy, with the support of an incredible mentor.
Podcast Co-Host
John W. Trevino
John W. Treviño still doesn't know how he got here: nothing in his life prepared him to be a writer. He works in insurance regulation, praying that no one figures out his middle name; he once accidentally lit a workplace on fire by misusing a toaster; and he studied English murderers and their executions in school. John W. is not often invited to parties.
Season 1
Want to see what we have planned for Season 1 of the Books And Beyond Podcast?
Check out our guest and topic list, below!
Leona Lach"Writing Magic Systems: The How, The Why & The Consequences"
"Leona is a speculative fiction writer repped by Arianna Siddiqui and Morgan Hughes at Fineprint Lit. She is based in the southern US, and enjoys incorporating lush adventures into harsh worlds while exploring family dynamics and one's self. When she isn't writing, she's acting like a movie critic, baking, and spending her time in the sun."
Tali Shammas"Legal Issues Writers Should Be Aware Of"
"Tali Shammas is a lawyer and PhD candidate who teaches employment law. She completed a JD/MBA program in 2015 and was called to the Bar in 2016. Tali is passionate about educating writers on legal issues that may impact them and has delivered numerous talks on the topic. She is currently querying her debut novel, a romantasy, with the support of an incredible mentor."
Cassandra Baggaley"Creating Original Worlds"
"Cassandra Baggaley is a YA low fantasy author based in Southern Oregon. She has a Master's Degree in Deaf Education and works a day job as a Teacher of the Deaf. She has travelled to Iceland (twice), Denmark (twice), England, Wales, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Australia. She uses her travels as inspiration for the worldbuilding in her stories. In her spare time, Cassandra devours every kind of book she can get her hands on, hosts dinner parties, and swims in circles."
Daniela Ricchezza"An Occultist Perspective on Literature"
"By day, Daniela Ricchezza is a Canadian marketing coordinator in the life sciences industry, where she works to meld the worlds of drug discovery with storytelling to bring fresh perspectives to Canadians coast to coast. By night, she is an explorer of all things esoteric and occult. With a deep passion for the myths of the British Isles (and a Duolingo-fueled attempt at learning Welsh), she weaves folklore into immersive stories featuring complex protagonists, eerie settings, and the things that go bump in the night."
Carolyn Bennett Fraiser"Ways to Approach Nonfiction Topics in Picture Books"
"Carolyn is the author of several educational books for children, including Moon Tree (Reycraft Books, 2022), a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection and SCBWI Crystal Kite Award winner, and M is for Mason Jar, (Familius Books, releasing in August, 2025). She writes from a small homestead in the mountains of western North Carolina, where she loves visiting local farmers markets and visiting the area's many beautiful waterfalls."
Laura Galán-Wells"Handling R&Rs"
"Laura Galán-Wells is a Mexican-American and Coahuiltecan sensitivity reader and speculative fiction writer represented by Samantha Wekstein for literary projects, and The Gotham Group for film adaptations. Her comic book MOLT is upcoming from Chispa Comics, an imprint of AMP Comics, and her unusual claim to fame is having received 86 agent requests and 9 R&Rs while querying her YA Science Fantasy novel."
Aimee Donnellan"How To Find Your Audience As An Indie Author"
"Aimee Donnellan is an author of whimsical queer fantasy for new adults. She is proudly bisexual and on the aromantic spectrum, and loves to write bisexuals even more chaotic and disastrous than herself. She lives in Wellington, New Zealand with her fiancè — who helps her write and worldbuild — and dreams of dog ownership when not playing video games or Dungeons and Dragons."
M. A. Vice"Pacing & Pressure: An Indie Author's Career"
"M. A. Vice is a novelist and artist from the pacific northwest USA. A deep love for fantasy and history, which began early in her life, inspired a passion for writing and has continued to ever since. She enjoys creating epic tales about overcoming adversity and finding family, with a decent helping of political intrigue and mystery."
BONUS EPISODE
CAROLINE J. TRUSSELL"What to Do with Conflicting Industry Feedback and When to Consider It"
"Caroline J. Trussell has served as a literary intern and junior literary agent at Metamorphosis Literary for 3 years, a literary assistant for the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency, and was a freelance reader for The Bent Agency. She has been in the industry for five years now. Caroline has her own editorial services, Tru Story Editing, where she helps authors create the best and truest version of their work."
