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PODCAST

Unfortunately...

Mona West and Courtney Floyd

Unfortunately... is a podcast about fiction, failure, and moving forward. Like nearly all creatives, we’ve experienced our share of rejection, disappointment, jealousy, and frustration. We’ve wallowed in the lonely darkness wrought by that simple phrase, “unfortunately, this story didn’t quite work for us…” With this podcast, we hope to shed light on that darkness. To create a safe space to discuss the harder parts of the craft, to reassure one another that we’re not alone, and to learn together how

arts literature

All Episodes

01:03:05

S1E23 - The Book of Your Heart is Not on Trend

Unfortunately... ·

2025/10/17

Courtney and Mona chat with debut novelist Emily Zipps about going on sub when the world is on fire, silence around the novel submission process, the debut learning curve (options and deadline juggling oh, my!) and selling sapphic romcoms. Transcripts here! Find Zipps online at emilyzipps.com and on Bluesky, Instagram, and Tiktok as @emilyzipps. And preorder Alice Rue Evades the Truth or request it at your local library! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on

en-US

00:53:27

S1E22 - If You Force the Zipper, It Won't Budge

Unfortunately... ·

2025/10/03

Courtney and Mona chat with debut author, Piper L. White, about the debut learning curve, how other types of writing and art inform and interconnect with our fiction, and writing genre in a BFA program. Courtney infodumps about nineteenth-century genre formation. Transcripts here! Find Piper online at piperwhitewrites.com, on Instagram, Bluesky, and Twitter as @piperlwhite and on TikTok as @piperwhitewrites. And check out All (Dead) Girls Lie! Learn more about Unfortunately... at

en-US

01:02:41

S1E21 - It's an Economy of Favors

Unfortunately... ·

2025/09/19

Courtney and Mona chat publishing, precarity, and privilege with debut author Lacey Dunham.Transcripts here! Find Lacey online at www.laceyndunham.com., on Bluesky and on Instagram. And check out The Belles, which is out now! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately

en-US

01:07:48

S1E20 - It's Like Army Crawling Through 30 Inches of...

Unfortunately... ·

2025/09/06

Mona and Courtney chat with debut novelist Rebecca Danzenbaker about the power of persevering, finding what works for you in the publishing process, and using privilege to lift underrecognized authors up.Transcripts here! Find Rebecca online at rebeccadanzenbakerbooks.com, and on Instagram, Threads, and TikTok as @rebeccadanzenbaker. And check out her debut YA, Soulmatch! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Support Unfortunately..

en-US

00:53:30

S1E19 - You Need a Suitcase Full of Skills

Unfortunately... ·

2025/08/15

Mona and Courtney chat with author Lisa Tirreno about shifting from journalism to novel writing, celebrating rejections, gamifying the writing process, motivation, and working out what works for you as a writer. Transcripts here! Find [author] online at lisatirreno.com, on Bluesky and Instagram and Threads. And check out Prince of Fortune! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar:

en-US

01:01:54

S1E18 - You Need Work-Life Balance for Writing, Too

Unfortunately... ·

2025/08/01

Courtney and Mona debut novelist Alysha Rameera about the skills you need to learn on the fly in debut year, the feeling of not being enough to write your culture, how vital work-life balance can be in writing, and our strategies for managing publishing anxiety. Transcripts here! Find Alysha online at alysharameera.com and on Instagram. And check out Her Soul for a Crown which is out August 12th! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod

en-US

01:12:31

S1E17 - You’re (Not?) Two Halves of the Same Brain

Unfortunately... ·

2025/07/18

Courtney and Mona chat with MK Hardy, co-authors of debut Sapphic Gothic Horror, The Needfire, about what happens when your agent leaves agenting, co-writing and editing processes, managing disagreements, and creating community.Transcripts here! Find MK Hardy online at mkhardywrites.com, on Bluesky and on Instagram. And check out The Needfire! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip

en-US

00:50:54

S1E16 - Progress isn't an Upward Slope

Unfortunately... ·

2025/07/04

Mona and Courtney chat with author Rukman Ragas about short stories, getting paid, the importance of complexity in representation, survivorship bias, and finding hope in the darkness.Transcripts here! Find Rukman online at rukmanragas.com, on Bluesky and on Instagram. Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately

en-US

01:00:04

S1E15 - Plotters have an Advantage

Unfortunately... ·

2025/06/20

Courtney and Mona chat with debut author Sasa Hawk about short story vs novel submissions, identifying your own patterns, writing synopses, genre labels as marketing tools, and DIY promo strategies. Transcripts here! Find Sasa online at sasahawk.com, on Bluesky and on Instagram and Threads as @sasahawk. And check out Unlock the Dark! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar:

en-US

01:01:49

S1E14 - You Can't Just Set That Book Aside

Unfortunately... ·

2025/06/06

Courtney and Mona chat deadlines, post-deal writing slumps, advocating for yourself as an introvert, and anxiety and mental health with author Roselyn Clarke.Transcripts here! Find Roselyn online at roselynclarke.com, on Bluesky and on Instagram. And check out her debut,Now She's Dead! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately

en-US

00:56:51

S1E13 - It's a Business Relationship

Unfortunately... ·

2025/05/16

Courtney and Mona chat agent relationships, prioritizing yourself, and combatting comparanoia with author Lorraine Wilson.Transcripts here! Find Lorraine online at shadowsonwater.uk, on Bluesky, on Instagram, and on Substack. And check out The Salt Oracle or any of her other amazing books! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately

en-US

00:56:58

S1E12 - You Lose the Calluses

Unfortunately... ·

2025/05/02

Courtney and Mona chat with mythpunk and horrorromance author Danai Christopoulou about writing in a second language, unsupportive family, the power of community, and more! Transcripts here! Find Danai online at chronovoros.com, on Bluesky(https://bsky.app/profile/premeemohamed.com)), and on Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and Twitter as @danaiwrites. And pre-order Vile Lady Villains here! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Support

en-US

01:11:56

S1E11 - You’re a Member of a Losing Team

Unfortunately... ·

2025/04/18

Mona and Courtney chat with author and writing teacher Daryl Gregory about community, imposter syndrome, awards, teaching, and tricking yourself into writing.Transcripts here! Find Daryl online at [https://darylgregory.com/), on Bluesky and Instagram, and get your copy of When We Were Real here! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar:

en-US

01:02:07

S1E10 - There's a Room Full of People Talking about You

Unfortunately... ·

2025/04/04

Courtney and Mona chat with debut horror author C. J. Dotson about rebuilding your writing process from the ground up, handling reviews, what it's like to put a book out in the world, and the importance of community.Transcripts here! Find C. J. online at cjdotsonauthor.com, on Bluesky, subscribe to her newsletter, and get your copy of The Cut here! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their

en-US

00:57:04

S1E9 - You're On the Publishing Treadmill, and You...

Unfortunately... ·

2025/03/21

Mona and Courtney chat with Nebula, World Fantasy, Ignyte, and Aurora award-winning Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author Premee Mohamed about moving the needle, data in the publishing industry, and how to keep creating when the world wants to uncreate you.Transcripts here! Find Premee online at premeemohamed.com, on Bluesky, and on Instagram. And pick up copies of One Message Remains here! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky

en-US

00:52:57

S1E8 - You're Not (Always) in Charge

Unfortunately... ·

2025/03/07

Courtney and Mona chat with fantasy author Demi Winters about writing from and about personal experiences, her journey from self-pub to trad pub, and letting go of the need to be in charge. Transcripts here! Find Demi online at demiwinters.com, on TikTok, and on Instagram. And get The Road of Bones here! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar:

en-US

00:57:18

S1E7 - You'll Fall Down

Unfortunately... ·

2025/02/21

Mona and Courtney chat with debut author Saratoga Schaefer about reframing failure, getting sober, debut pressures, and mental health support in the publishing industry.Transcripts here! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Find Saratoga online at saratogaschaefer.com and pre-order Serial Killer Support Group! Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately

en-US

00:43:05

S1E6 - It Takes Luck

Unfortunately... ·

2025/02/07

Mona and Courtney chat with debut fantasy author M. Stevenson about luck and timing in the publishing process, revising to trends, and giving back to the writing community.Transcripts here! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Find M. Stevenson online at marinastevenson.com and consider pre-ordering Behooved before if comes out on May 20th! Resources Mentioned The Querying Hub, free querying resources curated by M

en-US

00:48:09

S1E5 - It's Going to Get to You

Unfortunately... ·

2025/01/17

Mona and Courtney chat about the hidden pitfalls of writing full time, the importance of joy in the work, and how to find community with horror and fantasy author R. Haven. Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Find R. Haven online at theirritablequeer.com and check out his debut novel The Other Face of Sympathy when it comes out on September 9th! Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar:

en-US

00:59:47

S1E4 - You Have to Learn to Edit Yourself

Unfortunately... ·

2025/01/03

Mona and Courtney chat about slow-burn careers, leveling up, community, and the importance of learning to edit your own work with David Goodman, author of A Reluctant Spy. Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod. Find David online at davidgoodman.net and check out the blog post we mentioned in the episode here. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately

en-US

23 results

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