In this episode of Audicted, cohosts Katie O’Connor and Kat Johnson share the debuts they’re most excited about this year. Best-selling author Jesse Q. Sutanto () also joins the program to share her experiences as one of last year’s biggest debut authors. Download or stream the full episode .
On the debut Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho
Kat Johnson: You're going to be seeing this one everywhere too. What I love about it is it's a friendship story and it's kind of a look at these two young women and their lives as they grow up together, coming apart, coming together again. If you're a fan of like Elena Ferrante or Sally Rooney, definitely [that] kind of female friendship [story]. But also what I really like is that it's kind of interconnected stories, so it's kind of a novel in short story. So it's innovative and the writing is beautiful and brilliant, [and] the two characters are beautiful and brilliant.
Advice from Jesse Q. Sutanto
KJ: Jesse, I'm curious. I can't believe when Katie said you have four new books coming out next year. […] Do you have a top piece of advice you would give to would-be authors who are dreaming of their debut?
Jesse Q. Sutanto: I have so many pieces of advice, but maybe the top one would be to find a community of writers. Because when I first started writing, I thought it was like, a lonely vocation, you know? I kind of had this image in my mind of like, that isolated writer who lives in a cabin in the woods, and never talks to anyone and their work is, like, sacred, and nobody gets to read it until it's published magically. But then I joined an online writers forum and it literally changed my life, because I met all my writing friends through the forum and they've just been such a big help to me.
