I have very talented grandchildren; nine of them, and each one amazing. Okay, I know what you'll say, "All grandmothers think that their grandkids are amazing." True, but this post is not only about my granddaughter Kitty Bergeron, but her equally talented and amazing friends and co-creators of LITERATIPOP.
Kitty not only led me to a great writing group South Jersey Writers Group, but she's published in the groups' first anthology, Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey...yeah, I'm going to brag a bit about her and her friends.
This past weekend was the big launch party of LITERATIPOP. So join me now as I interview these lovely and talented ladies, Kitty Bergeron, Lynn Bee, Kylee Justine, and Lyzzy Redd
Q: What is LITERATIPOP?
Kitty Bergeron: LITERATIPOP does
two things. The first thing we have is a boot camp for writers, which is a
cycle of giving and receiving constructive criticism on writing done by
members. The second thing we do is take something usually academic –
substantial literature – and making it more relatable and accessible to more
people but putting it in a more familiar context with the likes of music,
movies, fashion, photography, and other art forms, and how they are all in the
same category. We also encourage writers
to experiment with other art forms, not only for the joy of doing something
creative, but how it improves their writing.
K. Lynn Bee: “LITERATIPOP is about
making literature a part of the art cycle of inspiration. We often see other
art forms interact and inspire each other, but literature is never a part of
that. So we're here to change that.” I absolutely love the way that [Kitty and
Kylee] worded it—I seriously can’t put it better myself. LITERATIPOP is all
about merging the arts.
Kylee Justine: LITERATIPOP is an intense writing
website that encourages authors to use other art forms to inspire their
writing. Members can swap critiques on each other's stories, improve their
writing, chat with other serious authors, and learn about the influences of
other art. We also have a monthly Artist Ambassador, which is an artist who can
post their work to the site for a select month. They can comment on members'
stories to give an opinion from a different point of view.
Lyzzy Redd: LITERATIPOP is an art and
literature-inspired website that draws on these inspirations in order to
critique budding writers. Its focus is to stimulate creative senses and show
how art and literature go hand-in-hand with each other.
Q: Who are the people
behind LITERATIPOP? Tell us something about each one of you and how you all
met.
Kitty Bergeron: LITERATIPOP was
initially my idea, but I built it with the help of Kylee, Lyzzy, and K. Lynn.
We all had met on another site together where Lyzzy and I were moderators. Kylee
and K. Lynn Bee were just members, but they worked very hard, whether it was
writing constructive criticism on other people’s writing, or for the magazine, Literati Quarterly, and the quality of
was always high. I saw a lot of leadership potential in both off them, so I
asked them if they were interested, and both said yes. I’m so lucky to have
such a hard-working, talented team to help this happen.
As for myself, I write mostly
realistic fiction, but with something darker or twisted. The horrors of reality
are my biggest inspiration – I couldn’t make up some of that stuff of if I
tried.
K. Lynn Bee: My name is Karalynn
Blatchford but my pen name to K. Lynn Bee. I have big dreams that seem to
always be unstable. But there are two constant things in my life; my love for
Jesus and my passion for writing. By His will, I’m able to intertwine both. I
met Kitty, Lyzzy and Kylee on another writing website where things didn’t quite
work out. Not long after Kitty approached me with her fabulous idea. I’m ever
so grateful to be a part of it!
Kylee Justine: Hi, my name is Kylee Justine. I
write general fiction, fantasy and adventure stories. In my spare time I love
to read, run, play basketball and pick apart people's brains. I can't live
without my laptop and my favorite books include the Harry Potter series by JK
Rowling, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak,
and Looking for Alaska by John Green.
I met the other admins on a website originally
named Literati Sedition. After the website closed down, we wanted to start a
new website, which would involve the intense critiquing factor but also bring
other forms of art into the creative process.
Lyzzy Redd: Hey, I'm Lyzzy Redd! I'm
primarily a fantasy writer (who occasionally delves into other genres). I write
to uncover my unconscious thoughts and desires and maybe reflect on those to
help others perceive their own. On a lighter note, I'm a huge Harry Potter fan,
and that's what got me interested in writing! As for all of us meeting, we all
used to be members on another writing website. Sadly, that one fell through. We
reconnected when Kitty brought forth the idea of LITERATIPOP and have been
working together on it ever since then.
Q: What type of
stories do you feature on your site?
Kitty Bergeron: If
you’re looking for a formal list of what we do/don’t allow to post, you can
visit this page. But I’ll let the other admins elaborate more.
K. Lynn Bee: Fiction of all colors shapes and sizes.
Science fiction, realistic fiction, fantasy, horror, romance, mystery, and so
forth.
Kylee Justine: All genres are accepted! Also, both
short stories and novels are welcomed.
Lyzzy Redd: Fiction! So give us your insane fantasies,
your deep science fiction, your touching realism, and more! As long as it's not
for too young of an audience or too "mature" of an audience, you're
set.
Q: What are your
long term goals with this site?
Kitty Bergeron: LITERTATIPOP
is something very special to me, and I hope it inspires a new period in
literature. The next era in history is always a reaction to the previous. This
is my reaction to how the writing world responds to outside influences. I understand coming from just a nobody on the
internet it’s quite a statement, but you can watch other creative fields have
done this. The most well-known examples of today are probably Lady Gaga and her
ARTPOP app, Jay-Z’s art film Picasso Baby and Kanye West on his
latest album, Yeezus. While it’s certainly debatable if they’re
original, substantial, or if they’re simply being pretentious, it’s important
to see other art forms interacting with each other. We hope to ignite something
similar, but with more inclusion, clarity, and joy!
K. Lynn Bee: For varieties of artists to express
themselves in varieties of art.
Kylee Justine: We hope to encourage other writers to draw
influences in from other artists. We want to create a website where authors can
improve their writing with help from other authors.
Lyzzy Redd: We all hope LITERATIPOP will be around for a
long time. We want to help others and ourselves continually find new ways to
connect art with literature and put that in our own prose.
Q: And finally, what does
LITERATIPOP look for in applying members?
Kitty Bergeron: I was going
to write an answer, but I saw Lyzzy’s response and it was all I would have
said. Have it, honey.
Lyzzy Redd: Dedication, good work ethic,
someone who's willing to learn and share their knowledge and won't put others
down for not being as competent as they may be. That being said, we strive for
a positive environment, something people can look forward to when they log on
to review each other!
I want to thank all four of you lovely ladies for being a guest on my blog and I'm sure that all my followers will now be following you.
For all my friends out there, take a few minutes to check out LITERTATIPOP
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