Feb. 16, 2026
First Pages!
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Send a text In this session, Beth and Lisa critique the opening of "Beyond the Moon," a middle-grade contemporary manuscript. The discussion focuses on refining the "hook," establishing a consistent tone, and leveraging character relationships to engage readers immediately. Key Critique Points Establishing Tone and Mood: The opening combines a "creepy" atmosphere with a protagonist who is "giggling." The hosts recommend aligning these elements so the reader knows exactly what kind of story th...
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Send a text In this session, Beth and Lisa critique the opening of "Beyond the Moon," a middle-grade contemporary manuscript. The discussion focuses on refining the "hook," establishing a consistent tone, and leveraging character relationships to engage readers immediately. Key Critique Points Esta…
Send us a text Is your inbox is bursting with slop from bots and scammers? In this "Ask Beth & Lisa" episode, we tackle the explosion of predatory emails—from fake "Silent Book Clubs" to fraudulent Amazon publishing offers—aimed at unsuspecting writers. We discuss why these emails are a weird s…
Send us a text Episode Summary What does it actually take to get a non-fiction book published in today's market? In this episode, literary agent and author Alia Hanna Habib pulls back the curtain on the publishing industry. Alia shares insights from her new book, Take It From Me, a practical guide …
Send us a text Note: For the most up-to-date information on Erin’s submission status, interests, and availability, visit https://erincaseywestin.com. Episode Summary In this episode of Writers With Wrinkles, Beth McMullen and Lisa Schmid talk with Erin Casey Westin, associate agent at Galt & Za…
Send us a text In this bonus season-finale episode of Writers With Wrinkles, Beth McMullen and Lisa Schmid reflect on the end of the season, share a behind-the-scenes podcasting mishap, and dive into a First Pages critique of a cozy fantasy submission, The Village Mage. Along the way, they discuss …
Send us a text Query letters make even experienced writers panic—and for good reason. In this special Ask Beth & Lisa episode, we’re joined by author and educator Deborah Crossland for a deep, practical conversation about how to write a strong, effective query letter as we head into the 2026 qu…
Author
Beth McMullen is the author of the Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls series , the Lola Benko, Treasure Hunter series, and The Secret of the Storm series (Aladdin/S&S).
She is also the author of the Spy Mom series (Hyperion).
Beth lives in Northern California with her husband, kids, and very grumpy cats. She's obsessed with podcasts and might give up writing in order to have more time to listen. Could happen.
