Alanna Bennett — Crafting Teen Stories In Hollywood from XO Kitty to The Education of Kia Greer

Alanna Bennett — Crafting Teen Stories In Hollywood from XO Kitty to The Education of Kia Greer

Author and screenwriter Alanna Bennett joins Sparkle On to discuss her debut novel The Education of Kia Greer, her work on Netflix's XO Kitty, and why teen stories remain some of the most powerful narratives in Hollywood. From her journalism days at BuzzFeed News to breaking into the writers' room, Alanna shares how she carved out a career telling young adult rom-com stories that center young Black women, queer characters, and the messy, beautiful crossroads of girlhood. Alanna reveals how a pandemic rewatch of Keeping Up with the Kardashians sparked the idea for The Education of Kia Greer, a novel about a 16-year-old reality TV star who dreams of a normal life. She explains how she researched narcissistic family dynamics, the dehumanization of young women in the public eye, and the specific terror of growing up famous without choosing it. This episode explores the vulnerability required to be a full-time artist, the constant negotiation between authenticity and commercial demands, and why Alanna believes that losing a job for staying true to your values is better than selling a piece of your soul. She reminds us that rejection never stops, and that the only way forward is to stop avoiding the writing and start putting yourself out there. Alanna's work proves that the stories we're most afraid to tell are often the ones that matter most. Read The Education of Kia Greer: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739902/the-education-of-kia-greer-by-alanna-bennett/ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739902/the-education-of-kia-greer-by-alanna-bennett/] Follow Alanna Bennett: https://www.instagram.com/alanabennett [https://www.instagram.com/alanabennett] CHAPTERS * 00:00:00 Introduction and Welcome * 00:01:04 Finding Her Story Beat: The Young Adult Rom-Com Niche * 00:02:27 Convincing Hollywood That Teen Stories Matter * 00:03:59 Playing Pretend and the Power of Jenny Han Characters * 00:09:34 The Twilight Between Childhood and Adulthood * 00:11:41 Casting, Representation, and Fighting for Characters * 00:14:01 Knowing When Not to Compromise * 00:16:39 The Birth of Kia Greer: A Pandemic Rewatch and Kylie Jenner * 00:19:25 Dehumanization, Celebrity Culture, and Online Discourse * 00:21:55 Making It Her Own: Beyond Kardashian Fanfic * 00:24:43 Researching Complex Relationships and Narcissistic Mothers * 00:27:24 One Wild and Precious Life: Mary Oliver and Agency * 00:29:21 The Three E's: Exploration, Expression, and Elation * 00:31:54 The Rat King Metaphor: Collaboration in the Writer's Room * 00:34:08 Kitty's Exploration and the Yuri Crush * 00:35:17 Advice for Young Writers: There's No Exact Path * 00:39:33 Overcoming Fear: The Day She Stopped Being Afraid to Write * 00:43:46 Stepping Into the Light Every Day * 00:45:58 What's Next and Where to Find the Book

El Rose — Writing Rage, Mythology, and Sexuality Through Music

Being fierce has always been part of her presence. El Rose joins Sparkle On to share her journey from being a bedroom musician to a performer who has learned to channel rage, mythology, and sexuality through music. Her former identity left little room for creative exploration—until a lonely period in San Francisco led her to a guitar shop, a louder voice, and eventually Austin's thriving music scene. El unpacks her Gothic noir aesthetic and femme fatale persona, drawing inspiration from biblical figures such as Mary Magdalene and mythological goddesses such as Circe. She explains how female sexuality has been weaponized throughout history, and why her music reclaims that power with unapologetic rage. This episode dives into the chokehold of creation, the isolation of being misunderstood by those closest to you, and why playing electric guitar in public for the first time is exactly the kind of intensity that fuels her art. El reminds us that we are all meant to create — and that magic happens when we stop overthinking and let it out. Follow El Rose: https://www.instagram.com/elrosemusic__ [https://www.instagram.com/elrosemusic__] New Single Technicolor: https://open.spotify.com/track/6robqey5ABEDaaJAybGruR?si=yNFH8bwuQmOTDglfT_GI5w [https://open.spotify.com/track/6robqey5ABEDaaJAybGruR?si=yNFH8bwuQmOTDglfT_GI5w] CHAPTERS * 00:00:00 Introduction and Welcome * 00:01:00 The Hidden Identity: From Soccer to Songwriting * 00:02:45 The San Francisco Turning Point and Moving to Austin * 00:04:26 Fashion, Expression, and the Femme Fatale Aesthetic * 00:09:49 Writing Rage: Mythology, Goddesses, and Scorned Women * 00:11:09 Catholic Upbringing and the Absence of Women * 00:13:30 Mary Magdalene, Sexual Shame, and Reclaiming Power * 00:16:23 Sexual Energy as Creative Energy * 00:21:03 Crafting Sound Through Mood Boards and Movie References * 00:27:58 The Late Bloomer Advantage and Breaking the Rules * 00:38:40 The Chokehold of Creation and Letting Go * 00:46:39 Feeling Everything: The Artist's Role and Magic of Creation

Sarah Wang — New Skin: A Mother-Daughter Story of Plastic Surgery's Dark Side

Named one of Apple's Best Books of May, debut novelist Sarah Wang joins Sparkle On to discuss her novel New Skin — a visceral exploration of plastic surgery addiction, immigrant identity, and an intense mother-daughter relationship set in Los Angeles. Sarah reveals how she spent over a decade crafting a story that uses the world of reality TV and botched plastic surgery as a lens to examine class and debt in America. Sarah shares her process of rewriting entire subplots even after selling the book, from navigating rejection with determination to knowing when to protect the beating heart of a story while staying open to critique. She proves that you only need one yes, and that the stories we're most obsessed with are the ones worth telling. Read New Skin: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sarah-wang/new-skin/9780316607704/?lens=little-brown [https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sarah-wang/new-skin/9780316607704/?lens=little-brown] Follow Sarah Wang: https://www.instagram.com/daikonoclast/ [https://www.instagram.com/daikonoclast/] CHAPTERS * 00:00:00 Introduction and Welcome * 00:01:10 LA, Plastic Surgery, and the Spark for New Skin * 00:02:50 Not a Cautionary Tale: Addiction, Class, and Debt in America * 00:04:46 The Ten-Year Journey and Internal Pressure * 00:06:47 Plot Building Through Revision and Rewriting * 00:08:21 The Power of Community and Workshopping * 00:13:39 Writing Is Not Therapy: Universal Truths in New Skin * 00:16:46 Crafting Dialogue and Character Through Revision * 00:18:02 Research, Reality TV, and Avoiding Replication * 00:22:56 COVID, Scapegoating, and Game Theory on Reality TV * 00:26:35 Writing From What Keeps You Up at Night * 00:28:12 Letting Go and Embracing Reader Interpretations * 00:29:52 Determination, Rejection, and Only Needing One Yes * 00:31:36 Holding Onto the Core and What's Next

Solo Devi Jags Episode — Building Sparkle In Public, The Vision, & The Punk Rock Era

Devi Jags flips the mic and lets herself be interviewed for the first time, revealing the raw, unfiltered origin story of Sparkle On. From surviving violent events in college and rediscovering her fire through writing, Devi unpacks how creativity became her lifeline and why she refuses to let anyone define themselves by a single identity. This solo episode dives into the messy, relentless, punk rock era of building a movement from scratch. Devi gets honest about the loneliness of wearing every hat, and what she's building behind the scenes beyond the podcast, and how the Sparkle movement is for that young girl who once felt like nothing. She reminds us that magic exists, flying is possible, and the only way forward is to journal, lose control, and try, even when you're terrified of failing. This is Sparkle On at its most vulnerable, and defiant. CHAPTERS * 00:00:00 Introduction and Welcome * 00:00:50 The Origin Story of Sparkle * 00:03:25 The Accidental Podcaster * 00:06:41 The Reality of Podcasting * 00:11:41 When Writing Works But the Podcast Doesn't * 00:13:52 The Art of the Interview and Capturing Sparkle * 00:15:06 Following Obsessions and Trusting Your Taste * 00:17:58 Season Three and Doubling Down on Creativity * 00:19:07 The Punk Rock Era: Rebelling Against Templates * 00:22:41 Why This Movement Matters * 00:25:42 Living in Alignment and Finding Purpose * 00:29:56 Who This Podcast Is Really For * 00:34:00 Inspiration, Action, and Believing in Magic * 00:35:55 Building Something Bigger in Public * 00:37:56 The Power of Songwriting and Storytelling * 00:39:49 Journal Every Day

Joy Melan — Finding Songwriting Freedom Through Fantasy

Singer-songwriter Joy Melan joins Sparkle On to share how fantasy and intentional melancholy fuel her transcendent old pop sound. From discovering her voice at 17 through poetry to performing with her band, The Wild, across Austin's collaborative music scene, she describes the delicate art of writing songs that help her listeners safely revisit their pain. From Lady Gaga's unapologetic expression to the fashion rebellion of early 2000s movie heroines, Joy's style is entirely tied to her sound. In this episode, she explains how she dresses for the vision of her music, how she navigates a song’s story, and why her newest creative challenge is learning to write from a place of happiness rather than tragedy.