September 23, 2025 • 63 mins
In our 8th episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with author Alexandra Warren. Talking sports romance and the Black romance book platform she co-founded, Girl, Have You Read was so much fun.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
Hello and welcome to Author Spotlight with Kenya Gorey -Bell and myself, Mommy Boyz.
And today we have with us, author Alexandra Warren.
Thank you so much for joining us.
We are so excited to have you with us.
you for having me.
I'm excited to be here.
So I have been, like I said last time, I have been like a big fan of your work.
(00:26):
And for years since I first discovered your writing, and I was just telling Moni how Ifeel like I always thought of you as like the queen of black sports romance.
And tell us about how you, why you decided to.
(00:47):
come out the park with writing sports romance and your, cause I've seen the videos of youand your husband working out together, having fun together and talk a little bit about
that and how that relates to you writing sports romance and why you love writing it somuch.
So first to call me the queen of sports romance is a huge honor.
(01:09):
So I'm just going to say thank you for that shout out.
But I actually, I've grown up around sports.
My dad was a sports coach.
My brother played, I started playing a little later in childhood.
So our Sundays, like they started off being spent at church and then they transformed tobe spent at football fields.
So I've literally been around sports all my life.
(01:32):
And so when it came to writing sports romance, it just seemed like the perfect merger oftwo things that I really enjoy because obviously I always enjoy black romance, writing
black romance, reading black romance.
So to bring the sports into it was just like the perfect match for me.
I love that.
That's like, because I think the first book I read was In His Corner.
(01:54):
And I just, I love that book so much because you don't see, first of all, that's boxing,right?
So you don't see a lot of boxing romance.
That's the only one I ever read that was like a boxing romance.
And then,
And then it was, you know, sexy, all of that and everything.
(02:18):
And that to me, I felt like, I was like, because this is so, such a departure from like,you know, we see a lot of hockey, football that don't have no black people in it, which is
a lot.
is always the question mark like, hey, none?
Like zero?
On the T?
Nobody?
Okay.
Yeah, this is unique.
(02:39):
is just go.
golf made swimming in the old days because like now we come in full force into swimmingbut I'm like hmm we don't never see no brothers in these like my guess is Naima did it
it's great and then we got Alexandra House too but I was like I just chuckle a little bitI just it's so funny I'm like what's with this?
(03:03):
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It's interesting.
And we all know what it's about, but we just let it ride.
We just, you know, we do our thing over here.
They do their thing over there.
We cross every once around the middle and just let it be.
But yeah, doing a boxing romance.
So I'm from Omaha, Nebraska, and there's a like a top boxer from my same city namedTerrence Crawford.
(03:24):
And he was coming up in the ranks at the same time.
And I was like, that would be so fun to write about boxing.
And so as the Virgo, I had to like fully immerse myself.
in boxing so that I knew what I was talking about because I hate to be wrong.
So I really like, you know, started studying, you know, the background of boxing and allthese different techniques and, you know, how would matches go?
(03:46):
How do people prepare for matches?
How are people in training camp versus, you know, after a match and, you know, what dopeople deal with the side effects after a match and all these different things?
And so being able to bring that in just off an idea from somebody in my hometown wasreally fun.
I love that you are really into the research and getting it right.
(04:07):
I think that's part of the fun of being a writer is being able to do that is kind of likeimmerse yourself in and do the research.
Sometimes I get lost down a rabbit hole.
every time, sometimes, every time, every single time.
I'm like, I'm in way too deep.
I know way too much.
Like nobody's gonna care about this certain specific thing, but I have to know.
And I always tell myself like, okay, if an expert in this field is reading this book,would they be like, she's getting it all wrong?
(04:32):
And that just like, that terrifies me.
So I'm like, okay, I gotta get it right.
So I'll like write it.
Or if it's like, you know, some football scene, I'll have my guy reading like, does thismake sense?
Like, will this actually happen?
Like I know, you know, it's fiction, but.
Mm -hmm.
like the running back playing defense like no that would not happen.
That's not a thing.
So yeah, the research is everything for me.
(04:52):
Wait really quickly what sport did you play since I know you said you grew up like playingsports?
I played basketball and I ran track for a little while.
Oh cool, I wish I'd been more athletic.
I think I played up through maybe middle school basketball and then I was just like, andI'm done.
enough of that.
Let's move on to something else.
(05:14):
No sports?
Okay, if you were to do a sport, what sport would you pick?
I am a very good swimmer, okay?
But the boobs is too big, they are falling to the ground.
Just be like, because the thing people don't realize is like when you have big boobs, youhave to try, they want to float and flip you over.
(05:37):
You got to stay, you fighting for your life when you like, you fighting yes.
So you have.
That's why people don't understand when they wear those tight tight in it is like thesegirls look like they don't have any boobs They're trying to flood net resistance.
It's so yeah, so I was a great great swimmer, but that would that would be it because Idon't like no impact
(06:08):
She's like, don't touch me.
And I also do not like to sweat.
It's summer.
It's too bad, too shower season down here.
So we were playing softball.
This is just like a little quick story.
And the ball was coming to me and you could see it coming.
(06:30):
And it was and I was just like my cousin had already got hit in the head with the ball.
So you know the softball.
Y 'all that ball was coming to me.
I threw that glove down and walked off.
They were so mad at me and they was like we would have won.
And then my sister was like you're no better than Tila, I'm from law -o -kenya.
(06:58):
No, I am a girl.
I ain't got time for that.
Look, no.
We playing dolls and we doing our hair.
Hey.
I love it.
No dissolve dump it Kenya
Pick and Seams, yeah, she's last pick and that's fine.
(07:18):
in no life during this situation neither.
I don't like now is watching sports or at least I'll say this I don't like watching themon TV I will gladly go to a get like a live sports game and cheer and do all the things I
just don't like watching it on TV because there's I think part of what it is it's toobroken up by like commercials and like and Yeah, the momentum gets like taken away like
(07:43):
every time it does that and I'm just like
Yeah, so it's funny you say that because that's part of why I enjoy writing sports romanceis because I don't have to write that part.
Like the boring, like I don't have to write the boring parts.
I don't have to write the breaks and games unless it's like an intense moment or somethinglike that.
And it's useful, but I can pretty much write the highlights.
And so that makes a huge difference.
(08:04):
your point, I think that's what I love about watching like movies about sports and evenreading books about sports is that.
But I also think there's more of an element of like, you see kind of like the emotional orhuman side and like a movie or reading a book about it.
And so for me, I think that's what draws me because I love my God, give me a good likesports movie, TV show book.
(08:26):
And I'm like,
eating it up but then it's like in real life I'm like we gotta watch basketball like I'mgood.
yeah.
They're still playing, it's still on, yeah.
I feel you.
I could go to an event because I can I will read while I'm there and I used to go fishingwith Huh?
(08:48):
Everything church everything I used to be in the choir stand reading
She said no Bible for me, honey.
I got my book.
Bible, but I would have my book and they'd be like, we saw you reading the Quoistad.
Right.
But I did not care.
(09:09):
I was like, I am not I'm re like I listen to but you know, we go to a church is so muchbefore he actually get to the And so I'm doing announcements and all of that but I paid
attention during the sermon but I was like But my husband would go fishing and I would besitting out there It would be high and he would be fishing and I would be reading my book
(09:37):
You
me and I felt, and I was like, anytime he didn't like want to go to the museum orsomething with me, I was like, I said out there three hours with you trying to kiss one
girl.
So...
Alexander, tell us more about how you came up with the Houston Skyhawk series.
So I guess I'm from Nebraska, I live in Houston now and so I've always wanted to dosomething that was Houston based.
(10:03):
And I've wanted to write a football romance for a long time, but I just, for whateverreason, I kept pushing it off.
I think it was because one of my friends was writing the really popular football romanceseries this time.
So I'm like, you got football right now.
Like, I'll let you do it and I'll jump in later.
But the time came around where I finally was like, okay, let's sit down and do this.
And I knew I wanted to write a defensive player first.
(10:25):
because every football romance ever seems to be about the quarterback or maybe a widereceiver.
But you never see anybody from defense.
I was like, I gotta make it my mission to give these defensive guys some love.
So yeah, it was like, like I said, match made in heaven for me to write sports romance.
I'm a football girlie.
I've grown up around football.
So that was like the sports part was just as exciting as the romance part for me.
(10:47):
But yeah, it was just, it was time.
It was time.
Yes.
the first book.
And that's Friends to Lovers.
And Can't Catch Me is the name of the book for those of y 'all listening.
Go get all the books in the series.
This is book number one.
(11:07):
Why Friends to Lovers?
And what is also your favorite trope?
Why we talk about Lance and Bree.
favorite trope.
That's a good question.
It's not Prince of Lovers.
I'll explain why when I start talking about Rihanna and Lynn.
(11:28):
I do enjoy an actual pregnancy.
It was a fun.
That's the first one that comes to mind and I enjoy.
Just like regular like boy meets girl, girl meets boy like hit it off immediately.
Not insta -lovey though, but just like instant chemistry like real basic.
(11:52):
Yeah.
So I don't know if that falls under like a name, but just the basic romance trope, Iguess.
But yeah, Brianna and Lance were friends to lovers.
I typically don't like friends to lovers because usually you can already see that theylike should have been together.
And it's like, what, like what's been going on?
Why y 'all haven't been together?
(12:12):
But the reason why I was able to write Brianna and Lance is because they hadn't beentogether and they hadn't been in each other's like circle for a while.
And so coming back to each other was a different experience than like, you guys areclearly in love with each other while you're not together.
Yeah.
Like it's hard to pull off.
And then I think another thing, cause I wrote a friends to lovers and it was so, it was sotedious.
(12:37):
I said I would never do it again because making it, cause a lot of friends to lovers endup is not not ever friends with benefits.
It's not, you know, it's always slow burn.
And I think it took me the longest.
Like I was like, can y 'all just go hunt it over?
(12:58):
already, like you just go ahead and do it.
And that was the frustration, even reading it.
But yeah, but I think the execution of yours in this book and like what you do so well islike great character development, the angstiness, that push pull that you have in the
(13:22):
story.
And you really like genuinely like and root for your characters.
Yeah, the character development, because I always love good character development.
Mm -hmm.
So what go like what is that?
Are you a student of people as well as doing research?
How are you or is it like they like the great relationship that you have with your husbandbecause you could see y 'all not just a couple y 'all right Yeah, like I like each other
(13:53):
for real
Sometimes you can tell folks just tolerating them.
We can tell y 'all best friends, which, you know, that's why I was like, no wonder she didFriends to Love Me So Good, because she's married to our best friend.
now that wasn't our story, but I'm a very nosy people watcher.
(14:17):
I've always been a people watcher.
So when I'm in airports and restaurants and all these things, I'm like looking at peopleand I'm making up their story in my mind.
And so I felt like that goes into it.
And then just, you know, being around people and talking to people and hearing people'smannerisms that you know in real life and.
hearing your friends' situations in real life, like it's so easy to not tell their story,but take bits and pieces of everything that's going on around you and put them into a
(14:43):
character.
I like that.
I know I love people watching.
Yeah, and like you said, making up what you think their life is really like.
don't know these people obviously, but I'm just looking at the way that they'reinteracting with each other and like, hmm, yep, okay.
I feel like that's always been helpful too, even as I'm trying to come up with a story oranything like that.
(15:05):
Oh yeah, yeah.
I would say all of my storylines have come from like being in somebody else's business andjust like, hmm, that looks interesting.
What a story like that.
comes first for you?
Is it the characters or the story?
Um, it changes.
Sometimes it's the characters and it's like, okay, how do you like the two people willcome and it's like, how do you guys get to, you know, the happy ending and figuring all
(15:30):
that out?
And sometimes it's like, I'll see two choreographers online and be like, oh my God,writing to her story about choreographers would be crazy.
Let's try that.
Like, so yeah, sometimes it'll be the characters and then sometimes it'll just be like,knowing I want to write about football and okay, what?
what situation around football could happen and then those characters come to me as I'mdeveloping a storyline around football.
(15:55):
Mm -hmm.
And then one thing that I loved about this story in particular, which resonates, I think,with so many women and writers, was how he encouraged her in her dreams and how that he
continued to encourage her.
(16:16):
They shared the love of sneakers and everything, and she was in sneaker design.
And how does...
find writing supportive male characters.
Like why is that important?
Why is that important to you?
I always say I don't go into it like trying to teach lessons like that's not my job.
(16:38):
I want to be entertaining.
I want to be fun.
I want to feel realistic and I feel like that is a realistic thing in my life.
I've seen supportive partners.
I was raised by somebody who was a supportive partner.
I have a supportive partner.
You know, my sister's married to a supportive partner.
So that's just what I know.
And so that's what comes out naturally when I'm writing about black romance.
Mm -hmm.
like that.
(17:00):
So, okay, so talk about, well, let's talk about Black romance then.
So, you're a Black romance writer, I write across the board and Moni writes across theboard too.
But talk about Black romance and the community, the support and everything that comes withbeing a Black romance author.
(17:28):
Yeah, it's crazy because I've been writing for, I think it's nine years now.
And to see how much the community has grown in that time has been like, it blows my mind.
And it's really amazing to be a part of, to see, you know, us go from not having, youknow, any black romance centered events to having so many different options to see us
(17:51):
having no black romance centered websites and bookstagrams and all these different thingsand see all that develop.
to see Black Book Talk and that be a thing.
It's really amazing to see and I'm very grateful to be a part of it because I just feellike I found my people.
I know a lot of times when authors are coming in and they're new, it's like, okay, well,how do I find readers?
(18:15):
And to know that people coming in now have so many places they can go to be able to reachnew people is amazing.
So it's such a great place to be a part of, ever growing place to be a part of.
And I just...
I'm excited to see how much further it's going to go.
Well, you're part of that.
I mean, talk more about the platform that you started, Girl Happy Red.
(18:36):
Like, I mean, because I think that is amazing that you started that to help facilitate,you know, readers being able to find these authors.
and it was in direct response to, like I said, once we, you know, me and Christina,Christina maybe came in a year, Christina C.
Jones is who I'm talking about.
She maybe came in a year and a half, maybe before me.
But as we were starting off, there was just not any places that were specifically Blackromance centered.
(19:01):
You see diverse romance or you see, you know, general romance or all these differentthings.
But a lot of times people were looking for just Black romance.
And when you go to Amazon, it's very difficult to find sometimes because you're sortingthrough so many different things when you're just, you know, trying to search for black
romance.
And so we just wanted to make it easier for readers to be able to find what they werelooking for and provide a place for authors to be able to reach the readers that they know
(19:29):
are out there, but maybe their book is just getting lost on Amazon.
And so it's been great to grow that space to continue to be a support to new authors,to...
already existing authors who just, you know, want to find new people.
And me and Christina just are, we do it for the love.
(19:49):
Like it's such a labor of love.
And I'm grateful that people support it because if people didn't support it, then it'slike, okay, what are we doing this for?
But people have really supported it and embraced it and enjoy it and truly rely on it fortheir week to week resource for Black Roman.
Mm -hmm.
I love that.
I love that.
So what are you working on now?
(20:14):
And what's got you excited?
What am I working on or what am I supposed to be working on?
Because those are two different answers.
The project that's had me in a chokehold for a very long time is called Full Court Press.
It's book six in the Nymphs and Trojans series, which I share with Nicole Fogg.
(20:37):
We've collaborated.
It's a WNBA team, which is the Nashville Nymphs, and then an NBA team, the TennesseeTrojans.
And basically we switch off every season.
So this season she wrote about the NBA team and I'm on WNBA duty.
So that's what I was supposed to be working on.
Ideally, it would have been out a long time ago, but y 'all know how these characterswork.
(20:58):
So I'm on their time.
I'm on their time, but it will be my next release.
So yeah.
Okay, so okay, so when because the readers are gonna know Are we talking?
Listen, I'm a reader first.
That's what people forget.
Like I've learned not to set myself up like that, can you?
(21:21):
So I'm just gonna say, right, they're gonna say, on the Author Spotlight podcast, we heardyou say that it's supposed to be out.
But no, I would just say follow me on social media and you will know when it's out.
That's all I'm saying.
I'll keep it safe.
since you mentioned process, what's your process?
(21:44):
It's very messy.
It usually starts with notes in my phone of just different things that are coming to mefrom the characters, about the characters, about scenes that I want to happen at some
point.
And then it transferred from notes in my phone to a Google Doc of just different details,some light plotting.
(22:05):
I try to plot hard sometimes and it never works out that way.
I end up changing stuff.
And so I usually do like a just a loose plot to like keep me on track as I'm writing.
And yeah, that's that's pretty much it.
I like that, I know, I'm not like a huge plotter.
Like when I see people that have like, you know, 20, 30 plus pages of like, I'm just like,I cannot, I feel like that actually stifles me or makes me kind of like, ugh, I start
(22:36):
having trouble then with like finishing, cause it's, you know, you're trying to.
a job to like navigate all this information.
And it's like, but I just kind of want to buy like, give me the character just buy.
Thankfully, that's been working for me for all these years now.
But yeah, all the people that do the sticky note thing and all these things, I'm like,wow, that's amazing.
(22:58):
Good for you because my brain just does not work like that.
Like this is how you know we weren't suited for real work because as soon as it startsfeeling like the job part, I check out like anything like emails.
(23:21):
No, don't do them.
And like, Sierra's about was like, you need to get an assistant, but I'm too much of acontrol freak.
Same, same.
feel like a manager feels like a job.
Going to the post office, y 'all should see this stack of books over here that's supposedto be going to the post office.
(23:43):
It's feeling like a job.
So I avoid the post office and I'm like, I know it's been three months, you will get yourbook.
And I...
you say three months?
Okay, I got one girl, I hate to confess this, but y 'all know I tell everything.
I got one girl that's like at the highest tier on my portrayal, and she got three bookboxes over there.
(24:09):
And she keeps.
child, she's never gonna see those, is she?
one day.
is.
She got the whole series.
She got the moguls and she got the Blood Legacy series.
And she and she's like, the thing is, like, she's a high executive and she's like, it'sfine.
I'm super busy.
It's okay.
Well, alright, if you good, I'm definitely good.
(24:31):
You should be way too nice, but I promise, I promise Stacey, if you listen to it, by thetime you listen to this, you gonna have your pussy kicked.
And you know, we're like, are we taking vets?
Like, who's got this?
She said three whole book boxes.
Yeah.
it might be three by the time she get them.
(24:51):
I don't know.
sorry, that makes me laugh because I'm like she didn't receive the first one but thenbought a second one.
Real loyal.
her everything.
So I, you know, I overgift anyway.
So I just overgift.
Yeah, but I just get a kick out of buying stuff.
I just like, oh, let me go get this.
(25:12):
Let me add this to the box.
And then the box is too full.
And then I got to get another one.
It's fine.
It's better.
And so, but anything that is just amazing how writers.
It was like across the board.
Once it starts feeling like a job, now we ain't doing it no more.
It's over.
well only because you know, writing was always fun.
(25:32):
It was always just a way for me to express or put the story that was in my head out.
And so when it starts to feel like work or a chore, like I know there's a problem.
I know I need to either take a step back and like reevaluate and do something only becauseI know the writing's not gonna be what I want it to if I'm feeling like that.
Yeah, I cannot, I cannot press myself to write like, and so yeah.
(25:57):
Same.
mean, I definitely try to sit down and like write every day, but.
like discipline versus like am I pressing?
And sometimes the lines get blurred and so then I just go lay down.
But yeah, I'm the same way.
reading and writing, that's why I was asking Alexandra about the next book, because I'malways going to pick reading.
(26:23):
See that's the thing for me, I can't read while I'm writing like this because I just don'twant to like cross any ideas.
Yeah, so I have this big to be read list because exactly, exactly.
Yeah, I would hate for somebody to read it and be like.
genre.
So I'll read like right now I'm reading fan, I got into the fantasy thing and I'm big intofantasy right now.
(26:52):
So I'll read outside of my genre.
And since there are not too many people writing dark romance, I'm good.
Y 'all need to come on the dark romance side so y 'all can read all the contemporary.
we can read all we want.
don't know how good I would be at writing dark romance.
Like, not that my guys are like nice guys per se, but I don't, I don't think I'm, like, Idon't think my head or even my heart will, like, I love love love reading it, but writing
(27:24):
it is a completely different...
it would be fighting in my head the whole time.
I would be fighting them.
Like, why are you doing this?
Why are you like this?
So then try to put it on the page.
Yeah.
The heroines be saying it and they be like, cause I am and you gonna be a littleanguished.
you do it and you put it out and you be good at it.
(27:44):
Yeah.
That's just like for me, people that write like the romantic comedy kind of romance, like,like I find that, you know, they're they're gifted because it takes a special person to
pull off comedy.
I'm not that person.
You know what, it's like, especially when it's actually funny, because D .O.
(28:07):
White wrote the Neverlist, and that was like the first one where I was like laugh out loudfunny.
So if y 'all haven't read that one, get that one, because that was like.
the one that was actually and I told her we did an author spotlight on IG and I was like,this was the reason I had to talk to you was because it was actually because you get those
run and they do the other ones and they be like mid and I was like, this was actuallyfunny from like page one to the to the last page was actually like one of my favorite
(28:35):
books of that year.
And but I'm telling you on the dark romance that I get messages every day inundated.
for people, especially Black readers asking for more dark romance.
So if y 'all know anybody that's like, I'm out here, it's like three or four of us, maybefive, we just out here by ourselves.
(28:59):
And like, they want more, they're clamoring for it.
like that.
I do, I really do.
But like I've written, I wouldn't even call it dark romance, but like just more morallygray heroes.
And like I said, I was fighting them the whole time.
Like I would never like, ugh, why does she like you?
Because I would hate you.
(29:21):
But it works in the story.
But yeah.
Yeah.
it's definitely, I don't think it's, it has to be love, cause like, what?
He kidnapped you, threw you in the trunk, and you, but it's okay.
He has some issues.
-
(29:41):
I agree.
Like, I, like, as a reader, I can suspend disbelief and be like in the, you know, like, mygod, yes, I want them to be together, but when I have to write it, it's like, you said it
turns into like, I wouldn't want to, like, what?
No.
It's like the reality kicks in for me.
right.
Exactly, this is in my brain, what do you mean?
(30:04):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Well, y 'all know I'm a little off, so it's fun.
are nuts!
Like I said, I wish I had that skill.
You have a skill ma 'am.
Like, let's be clear.
be sitting up here just like, Ooh, I just be giggling and like sometimes like I write liveon TikTok and I just be like, I break out like, like they'd be like, what are you laughing
(30:27):
about?
I'm like, listen, you got to pay for this.
It'd be like, it'd be so diabolical.
It'd be like, it's so like this hero, he says something so crazy.
And I was just like, I never, like you just said that to this girl.
And he just, and she just stood there like.
She was like, she's feisty.
(30:49):
This is my first feisty hair.
And she was like, she was so shocked that she just...
else would you react?
Like, you're talking crazy.
But.
of you talking about like paying for you, do you do anything like Patreon or have likeother things of like where like your really like hardcore fans and readers, you know, can
(31:14):
go to get like extra content?
Do you do that sort of thing yet or are -
I was organized enough to do that.
I don't trust myself to be able to give consistent content unless I plan it in advance.
So, so yeah, like I would hate, I would hate to have people paying and being like,actually I have nothing to give you.
(31:34):
So that's the end of that.
Like, so I would have to like plan it out and structure it a certain way to be able to doit.
I would love to do it though at some point for sure.
Yeah.
'all two planners.
I'm just a seed of your paint.
Now, which is weird because I'm actually a plotter.
I actually, when y 'all was on the plotting conversation and I plot and do a synopsis andall that, but actual things like I have a Patreon.
(31:59):
Yeah, I think I said it right.
I actually, did I say it right?
Because I've been saying.
Patreon.
That's how I say it.
If there's another way, please forgive us for butchering the name.
I used to say, portraying.
Yeah.
No, that's not right!
I put it up there and I had a massive amount of signups and they was like you're gonna getweekly Weekly updates as I write it.
(32:37):
Okay, and No because
You're like, when you start, that's why I ask the question.
you know me I'm standing with my work and I'm standing with my work and I hoard it and sothen I'd be like they get drips and drabs and then they just get the whole book at lower
(32:59):
and they just be like, oh my god And I go to like people like theodore Taylor and likethey're like dedicated the her and Kenya right there like dedicatedly updating their
patreon patreon
uh, every week, like two or three and posey parties.
And I'm just like, bam.
(33:19):
Yeah, hear something.
Yeah.
all of the treasure.
So y 'all plan it out, do it the right way or whatever, because the.
for me, it's that coming from film and being a producer, for me, it's just like, if Ihaven't done all the work, I'm not gonna do it.
(33:46):
Like you said, I've gotta plan it out and like, yeah.
So, yeah.
to deliver is not on.
Like I don't need any pressure in any situations.
Like I've lived that, I'm done with that.
I need to have it ready.
You talked about Virgo energy.
It's very Sagittarius energy.
It's just a whirlwind of chaos.
(34:06):
It's just, yeah, but you know why?
Because the people who come, and this is why y 'all should really both do it, because thepeople on your Patreon, they love you.
They already know.
Those are like the fans that are gonna support no matter what you - yeah.
you flaky.
(34:26):
They didn't follow your whole career.
They already know.
They already know.
They'd be like, we know, we know, we know, we know.
It's like they already, they follow you, they adore you.
But the feedback, like if you could actually do like, right, work in progress like things.
(34:48):
And then they tell you they're like excellent beta readers too.
They're like, can we have more, this thing needs more this and stuff like that.
And I go back and read all of this stuff.
But you gotta do it.
used them like for my first two books and then after that I didn't.
(35:09):
It's like that...
Have you guys ever seen that old YouTube, the Too Many Cooks?
Too many cook...
correct.
That's exactly how I would feel.
I'll send it to other writer friends and stuff like that and they'll hype me up to keep megoing.
But any formal beta reader, yeah, that's something I never got into.
the Patreon it's like you don't have to really like listen to them because you knowthey're not like real old.
(35:34):
But they will point out the little inconsistencies because I called a woman Lily and hername was Marlene in the book.
I'm sorry.
Wait, had you changed your name or something?
Like, had you changed the character's name and then you just forgot that it was?
gave her the name Marlene because my husband always pretends like there's a Marlene inhere.
(35:58):
So I said, I'm going to put Marlene in a book.
And I put her in the last book and I put her as Lily in this book and one of the readslike, I could have sworn his mom name was Marlene and not Lily.
And I went back and check and she saved me.
Because you know, people will use anything to take a star away, honey.
They'll be like, oh, distances.
(36:21):
That's good that they had your back there.
But so she talked about events.
So does girl have you read have a event is that have a.
to have an event, Girl Have You Met, that we did, I wanna say our first year was 2018.
(36:45):
We did one in Houston, we did one in Dallas, and then we did one in Memphis.
And then we were going to do 2020 in St.
Louis, but obviously COVID happened.
And so we haven't done one since, because that just threw us completely off.
And then Christina also had a baby.
So that was a whole nother thing of we were gonna bring it back.
It was like, actually there's a baby and now there's a newborn.
(37:07):
Like, yeah, go take care of your child, please.
But we've been talking about potentially bringing it back at some point.
Oh cool, I'm sure readers would love that.
I know, I think for a lot of events and things like that that happened pre -COVID, it'staken some time for everybody to come back to the table on a lot of that.
yeah, recalibrate and fill those rooms again.
(37:30):
Yeah.
here.
And then, because I know the Boozy Book Tour is out.
And then when I thought of that, they just seemed like a lot of fun.
So that was a...
definitely are.
And like I said, when we started Grady Met, I think there was maybe like two or threeevents that were like Black Romance Center.
(37:52):
And so it was an important thing at the time.
But now there's so many more between, I want to say like Loving Books, Girls Unfiltered,Girlfriends Unfiltered.
There's Behind the Pimples out when we were out.
Indie Love is another one.
There's a couple of different new ones being added.
Gosh, I'm trying to think.
One Love Reunion.
And Monique, I realized we were there the same year in Orlando.
(38:16):
And I realized that after we got off, I was like, her voice sounded so familiar.
And I'm like, I think she was at one level, Orlando.
Yeah.
But it was like post -COVID time, so we all had on masks.
And so it was a different experience.
But I sure didn't realize that.
But events, yeah, me and my romance friends, Chicago Urban Book Expo, like there's just somany more options now.
(38:42):
So it's good to see that, because I know readers really enjoy it.
I love that.
So you said you don't read while you're writing, and we're not sure if you're writingright now.
So what do you do?
She's like, we're not in the movie, right?
(39:03):
Thank you.
Continue.
That's it.
I mean if we're being honest here that that's a fair assessment.
Yeah
you've been on TikTok for any length of time last week, you saw how my mouth got me intosome little problems.
(39:24):
Because I said your book is not selling because your cover is trash.
And so folks got upset about it.
And so I was like, all right, well, I'm going to tell you what God love and it's thetruth.
Okay.
But, so what have you been reading and loving lately?
(39:46):
Oh God, let me think, what's the last thing I read?
Me and Christina are obviously really close, so I read all of her stuff as it's comingout.
So I'll say, Hostile Takeover, which was kind of dark romance -y actually.
Yeah, so that's something I definitely read and loved.
I've been reading, Nicole Falls has a four -ab short series.
(40:09):
I read all those.
It's like the festival, the wedding, and two other ones that I can't remember off the topof my head, but those are really good.
I read, I like to read short stuff because I like to read stuff that I can read in likeone sitting.
Like if it's gonna take me a couple days and it's like, that's too much.
Like I can't do that right now.
But if I can read it, like I bought a trip or something, I can read it on the flight tosomewhere.
(40:30):
Like that's perfect for me.
So yeah, but those are the two that I can remember off the top of my head that I readrecently and really enjoyed.
I wish that Christina would continue that.
I know you read Wonder, right?
I wish she would do like a whole series with that.
That's like a dystopian Alice in Wonderland.
(40:51):
Let me tell you something.
And I told her like as she was writing it, I'm like, I would have never picked upsomething like this to read, but reading it from you makes me want to pick up more because
it's just that good.
Like it's so good.
Yeah, it's really, really good.
the park.
It's good.
Like I read that and I listened to it at the same time.
(41:11):
Because I like to do that with my audio books is listen to them and read them at the sametime.
It was so good.
It was perfect.
I love it.
is like, I'm like, how does your brain work like that?
That was one of those ones, because it was just so just good.
Like you said, it was just so good and just so just the storytelling of it, the worldbuilding of it.
(41:36):
It was, yeah, it was really good.
knocked that out.
You would love that, Moni, because that's right up your alley.
That was.
I was like, this has so many legs with the sister and all the sad people.
It can just keep going.
(41:58):
So what else, which brings me to, because she was stepping out of her comfort zone writingthat.
What?
kind of what do you think would be something that you would be interested in writing thatwould be taking you out of your comfort zone in a similar fashion?
(42:20):
I have to write a romantic suspense at some time.
I think that would just be so much fun to do and Well, thanks for the vote of confidenceguys, I appreciate it But yeah Yeah But yeah, I think that would be so fun for me to do
and you know still rooted in romance But still a bit also adventure from what I usually dowith people great
(42:45):
Yeah.
So I would.
So when we gonna get that one?
I was like so
said, so when can I put that on mine to be read?
When can I be expecting that one?
Like I said, I've been saying it for a long time and it hasn't happened, but it is thething that I want to happen.
Yeah, yeah.
Because like, I feel like a lot of, I don't know if y 'all feel like this, I just feellike there are so many books in my head.
(43:11):
I don't, like I wanna write them.
And I don't know, I just like, I don't know if I'm gonna have enough time.
It's like.
idea.
I feel like I have to literally just like, like I think you said earlier, you keep noteson your phone.
I have a memo section on my phone where there's tons of notes.
I've got post -its around here where I've just like scribbled like something that came tome or whatever.
(43:35):
I probably have stuff that could take me into like 2027 at this point.
And so it's hard trying to fight the voices of everybody like fighting for like dominanceof right me.
exactly.
I always said like I wish I could just download my brain sometimes like this is like turnit plug it in get the information out boom there's a story like Yeah, well, I'll be scared
(44:01):
of technology like that's not probably way to use it
and the likenesses.
The brains are coming next.
If they could download our brains, it's over.
No, you're, you are correct.
I would not be a participant willingly.
I'll say that.
definitely not.
(44:21):
They'll just be snatching us off the street.
You know that's what they'll do.
It's still not over yet.
Listen, let me tell you something.
My brother is a police officer and he swears they are still snatching people and stillthere.
He's like, he's a conspiracy theorist.
I mean, you know what?
I wouldn't put it past anybody, so.
(44:42):
ain't nobody just disappear.
He said, we find everybody, but if something is always some young, healthy, black guy,like in the top peak of hell, who never did drugs, just disappears.
Nobody know where he is.
They took him to the kids.
They came to him.
They did.
(45:03):
So, like, I know you might have to cut that for us.
By the way, they're snatching people off the streets.
this is how conversations would be gone.
Monty will tell you.
I would go left so quick.
(45:23):
I'll bring them back in when I have to though.
I was like, you're probably right, but also, yeah, I understand what in the edit.
So what, what are you like a Discovery ID girl too?
Like are you, do you watch those?
Like why suspense?
I'm definitely like a true crime doc girly Any new one that comes out I like those I likecult documentaries also because I'm always just like how you get all these people and you
(45:52):
start watching like yeah I can see that
It's like you're like how many people just well, you know a part of that cuz I it wassomething I saw the other day and I was just like what makes you Susceptible to that like
how do you buy into it?
I don't understand
like, yeah, you do sound like you'd be vulnerable and stuff like that.
Like, you understand it for them, but you can't see it for yourself.
(46:14):
But yeah, I do enjoy that.
And I enjoy reading Romantic Suspense when I do get to read.
I like the pace of it.
I like the suspense, obviously.
And I like that, you know, even when there's like so much going on on the suspense side,that there's still a love story happening.
So I like seeing it together.
So if you were to write one, what would it be about?
(46:40):
Just a minute, I'm just asking.
in trouble because old me would have been like, yeah, I got this storyline right now on myphone, blah, blah, blah.
But current me is going to say, you have decided for my Patreon.
And by the time this air, we're going to be blank.
Because both of y 'all are gonna work on it, yes?
(47:00):
Yes.
That was hilarious.
Because both of y 'all are going to work on it, right?
Yes.
Like I said, if I could get ahead enough to be able to do it in my version ofsuccessfully, then I would absolutely do it.
But I always remember like, it does nothing ever has to be perfect.
(47:22):
It doesn't.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, but.
you have any events coming up this year where people might catch you at?
I do.
I'll be at one love reunion again, actually in Nashville this year.
That's in July.
And then I'll be at me and my romance friends in September in Dallas.
And that's hosted by Gray Huffington, who is absolutely killing it with her series.
(47:44):
So I'm excited to be a part of that.
Oh, awesome.
Oh, I love that.
Naima is gonna be at One Love.
I might, if I could get her to dump her husband as her plus one, then I would.
I didn't say no to her, because I'm in one love.
That's a lot for an event, can you?
Is that okay?
(48:05):
it's just in Tennessee.
Yeah, but neither one of us like to drive, so we'll see.
Yeah, I was like, who's gonna be driving the car?
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
That is funny.
So do you have like, do you plan to keep like just adding to like the Houston Skyhawkseries or do you have like, I'm gonna end to that book whatever or you're just gonna like
(48:35):
keep it open considering it since it's about football you can essentially like have like,you know, keep that going forever.
yeah, in my head I have at least the next two books worked out.
And I also want to start sprinkling in some novellas.
I did a short that was kind of a part of the series too that's just on my website.
But yeah, it's so open ended that I can go on forever, but who knows if it will go foreveror if I'll ever say like, this is actually the last book because I might want to write it
(49:04):
again for her.
And if I want to write football players, I'm definitely going to go to them.
But.
at least two more books for sure.
Oh, awesome.
I love that.
I love it.
I always leave it open so you can just come back to it.
That's what I think.
Yeah.
Just drop one in, you know, because there are waxes and flows in the business.
(49:25):
And so some things are up and some things, you know, kind of wane.
And then you never know.
People then, especially with TikTok, buzz emerges about a certain, you know, romance tropeor whatever.
And then you can be like, let me go and just do this one right quick or whatever.
But I think anything you write sports wise just is fantastic.
(49:50):
Probably because you have you love sports and you do such a but you it's not just aboutthe sport is not just about the stuff.
You know, the plotting is great.
The characters are great.
You know, I feel, you know, you're such a well rounded author.
that you could write, I can't wait for the romantic suspense.
(50:12):
No, I think it's...
I said it out loud, listen, I'm glad, stay on me about it.
Maybe it would have happened for real now.
Yeah, so about that romantic suspense you said.
Yeah, feel free.
and pass along what we said about wonder, what I took Christina, because I was like, thisis so good.
(50:42):
It was the best thing I read.
And it was so refreshing.
That's another thing.
I think romantic suspense from you would be that that'd be an excellent wheelhouse foryou.
And I would be excited about it.
So, yeah.
So besides all of that, like how many other books do you have coming out before the end ofthe year?
(51:07):
Oh, see, I feel like I would be lying again if I gave an answer to this.
Because like I said, I've said stuff on stuff and then I'll go back and like, yeah, thatdid not happen at all.
What was that about?
But.
You know, it's kind of refreshing, I have to say, too.
Because I mean, like you said, I you had it's like the best laid plans.
(51:27):
And then it's like something just doesn't work out because trust me, I couldn't tell you.
I know what I'd like to see happen.
Now, what actually will is a totally different story.
I say out loud confidently?
Maybe I shouldn't say anything.
It's kinda nice to meet somebody else that kinda doesn't know what the rest of the year isgonna bring.
(51:49):
that's
being indie too because it gives you the freedom to like explore and go at your own paceand really put out the best product, you know, that you can, even though some people, you
know, like, you know, anything can happen.
Like I had this book, particular book on eight weeks, then it went to 10 weeks and nowit's like 12, 13 weeks when it's coming out.
(52:14):
And then, you know, you could just.
You can accelerate or drop back the pace however you want to because we have the freedomin the authors to do that.
So are you going to stick to the path of Indy or do you also want to try and write intraditional publishing?
(52:38):
Right now I'm definitely sticking with indie, but I think if the right opportunity came, Iwould be open to traditional publishing.
I think being in control of every aspect for so long has like, that's just ingrained in meas a writer.
So like relinquishing some of that control in different places would be a test to say theleast.
(52:58):
But if it was the right opportunity, I would be open to it.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah, the money gotta be right.
that's definitely part of it, the money and then just, you know, who's editing this thingbecause do they know my tone enough to be able to maintain that and maintain the integrity
of what I'm trying to say without over editing and, you know, diluting it anyway?
(53:21):
Like that's that would be a big concern for me.
But like I said, the right opportunity, then I could I think I could do it.
lot of people who are being offered deals now, but they are more established like we are.
And they are being able to maintain that integrity.
(53:42):
And I think having so many years on the indie side gives you that strength that youwouldn't necessarily have if this was your first, second, or third book.
You have two books out.
Your audience has this expectation.
And so you fight for those, for that, you know, for your voice, basically is what it is.
(54:03):
So, yeah.
But I mean, run me that million dollar bill, we'll talk.
I mean, you know, the money talks, let's be honest, money does talk.
But yeah.
you done any, cause I know Kindle Della is becoming quite a thing that a lot of authorsare also like adding to kind of like the repertoire of where they put things out.
(54:28):
Is that something that you are considering or do you have anything out on Kindle Della oranything like that?
know, I haven't explored can develop at all yet, but I would definitely be open to it.
I think I would have to have the right storyline that fits that, you know, episode toepisode storytelling.
Um, but I would be open to it.
I would definitely be open to it.
(54:50):
Yeah, it's fun.
But like, again, I jumped in there and did it.
And then people have like 72 episodes and I've just like, I just wrote, mine is just 20.
Yeah.
Yeah, because I...
(55:11):
the money versus just telling the whole story as is, then.
you got to be able to like keep it keep that going and and I just be like it's good forpeople who like cliffhangers and stuff like that and and keep doing and can write short
because I can't like it was 20 episodes But it was like 85 ,000 words, you know what I'msaying?
(55:34):
So I'm like and they want you to write in like short little snippets or whatever.
So I just
It was fun.
You know, it was all right.
But I was like, it's very, it's for a very specific type of writer, I feel like.
And yeah.
Bradish a few years ago now and they took in his corner actually and broke it intoepisodes and I was like, you know from the reader's perspective I wonder what that
(56:03):
experience was like versus just reading the whole thing straight through because obviouslyit was written to be read straight through.
But they seemed to enjoy it over there so that was good but...
thing too, the reader, just like it's maybe for specific writers, I think it's specificreaders that, because like I think the same people that would pick up our actual books are
not going to necessarily go to Kindle Vella.
(56:27):
So I do think it's like, yeah, exactly.
I want to read the whole thing right now.
So I definitely think it's like completely separate and different audiences just based onlike.
the reading style of who would be interested in that versus like, yeah.
definitely learned that with audiobooks too.
(56:48):
It was like there's a completely different audience that listens to audiobook versuspicking up an ebook or even buying a paperback.
And that's been, it's been really fun to introduce myself to that space as somebody who'snot an audiobook person.
Yeah.
Like I...
(57:08):
into it!
be listening and then I realize I haven't been listening at all actually.
So I can listen to stuff if I've already read it before and just want to hear thenarration or if I'm listening back when I get files back from my own audiobooks, I can
listen to those because I know what's happening just to hear how they put their spin onit.
But yeah, audiobooks weren't my thing.
(57:30):
And then I saw how big that space was growing and it's like, okay, different audiobookcompanies are reaching out to do some work.
And so I'm like, okay, let's, you know, just try a couple of things and people really gotinto it.
And so I was like, okay, I gotta keep delivering over there too.
And yeah, it's been a completely different reader base, which is nice.
Yeah, because I've seen, I've listened to quite a few of your books on hoopla becausethey're over on hoopla and they have a great audio section, them and Libby and stuff
(58:02):
because audible $15 for one correct listen.
I can't, I can't with them.
I'm a voracious reader.
And so, you know, but like I said,
with your books and like with wonder I was able to listen and read at the same time andit's just like a full immersive experience especially if it's like you know Winston James
(58:27):
and like it's just Winston.
the other thing, like listening to audio, but I feel like a lot of narrators would soundlike robots to me.
So I'm like, people enjoy listening to this.
And then once I found the right narrators that match my work a little better, then it waslike, I see why people enjoy this.
Yeah.
Yeah, the voice is key with that.
(58:48):
-hmm.
Yeah, because I was listening to a book and they put the male narrator, I'm not going tosay the name of the book, but at the end, like they do it from his perspective.
The whole book is done through the girl's perspective.
And then the epilogue was done from his perspective.
And I think they just did that because.
(59:11):
for sales or whatever.
And then, right, it felt like a one -off, right?
And then, like, she was great the whole time.
And then he had, like, this really, like, very, like, hokey kind of voice that didn'tmatch the guy I had in my brain.
(59:31):
And I was like, ew, I hope you don't have to be in this magazine.
Like, ew, get away.
And, um...
But anyway, it was still a great book.
The book was perfection.
They could have done without him because her POV was excellent.
So yeah, but yeah, I love your books in all formats.
(59:56):
And yeah, so where can we find you on the interwebs and your newsletter and all of that?
Yeah.
So I would start at my website actually is alexandra .com if you click the meet me tabyou'll find links to all my social media I'm on Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok YouTube
(01:00:20):
And then you also find the links in my mailing list and I have a text list also So if youdon't like your emails clogging up, then you can just get a text about the most important
stuff
And what's the, give them the web address for the girl have you read?
Yeah, so it's girlhappyred .com.
We're also on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook, which you get like the main post andthen you find links to the post for the new releases and spotlights and different thing,
(01:00:50):
cover reveals, things like that.
We have author services.
So if you have a new release coming out as an author, you can submit your book and we'llshare it to our website and to our social media channels.
We also do like any pre -order spotlights, any...
Audiobooks, spotlights, any of that kind of stuff.
If it's Black romance, we will help you out and try to promote it as much as we can.
(01:01:14):
So authors reach out, readers, if you're looking for Black romance, come to our website.
We have tons and tons of books for you to go through and add to your To Be Read.
I love that.
Yes.
Thank you so much again for, you know, giving up your time and being able to speak with ustonight.
We really appreciate it considering we had technical difficulties on the first time weattempted to do it.
(01:01:38):
No, that's right, because I had to reach out to Kenya.
Like, I think I either called her texts or like, my God, please see if she's because Imean, I couldn't even log in.
And that's when I like I started getting the strip across the website.
Like you are.
Like, we are having technical difficulties, we are aware, and you should be bad.
And I was like, we're not gonna get back on time.
Yeah, we were all like, is it just me?
(01:02:00):
Because I was there for a minute.
was when it went on for too long.
I was like, my God, they're just sitting there waiting and my screen is just trying toload.
She messes me up on Facebook.
So yeah, I'm glad we were able to make this happen.
And again, thank you ladies for having me on.
This was fun.
And everybody please go follow her and read all of her stuff.
(01:02:21):
Have a good night.
you, you too.
Hello and welcome to Author Spotlight with Kenya Gorey -Bell and myself, Mommy Boyz.
And today we have with us, author Alexandra Warren.
Thank you so much for joining us.
We are so excited to have you with us.
you for having me.
I'm excited to be here.
So I have been, like I said last time, I have been like a big fan of your work.
(00:26):
And for years since I first discovered your writing, and I was just telling Moni how Ifeel like I always thought of you as like the queen of black sports romance.
And tell us about how you, why you decided to.
(00:47):
come out the park with writing sports romance and your, cause I've seen the videos of youand your husband working out together, having fun together and talk a little bit about
that and how that relates to you writing sports romance and why you love writing it somuch.
So first to call me the queen of sports romance is a huge honor.
(01:09):
So I'm just going to say thank you for that shout out.
But I actually, I've grown up around sports.
My dad was a sports coach.
My brother played, I started playing a little later in childhood.
So our Sundays, like they started off being spent at church and then they transformed tobe spent at football fields.
So I've literally been around sports all my life.
(01:32):
And so when it came to writing sports romance, it just seemed like the perfect merger oftwo things that I really enjoy because obviously I always enjoy black romance, writing
black romance, reading black romance.
So to bring the sports into it was just like the perfect match for me.
I love that.
That's like, because I think the first book I read was In His Corner.
(01:54):
And I just, I love that book so much because you don't see, first of all, that's boxing,right?
So you don't see a lot of boxing romance.
That's the only one I ever read that was like a boxing romance.
And then,
And then it was, you know, sexy, all of that and everything.
(02:18):
And that to me, I felt like, I was like, because this is so, such a departure from like,you know, we see a lot of hockey, football that don't have no black people in it, which is
a lot.
is always the question mark like, hey, none?
Like zero?
On the T?
Nobody?
Okay.
Yeah, this is unique.
(02:39):
is just go.
golf made swimming in the old days because like now we come in full force into swimmingbut I'm like hmm we don't never see no brothers in these like my guess is Naima did it
it's great and then we got Alexandra House too but I was like I just chuckle a little bitI just it's so funny I'm like what's with this?
(03:03):
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
What's with this?
It's interesting.
And we all know what it's about, but we just let it ride.
We just, you know, we do our thing over here.
They do their thing over there.
We cross every once around the middle and just let it be.
But yeah, doing a boxing romance.
So I'm from Omaha, Nebraska, and there's a like a top boxer from my same city namedTerrence Crawford.
(03:24):
And he was coming up in the ranks at the same time.
And I was like, that would be so fun to write about boxing.
And so as the Virgo, I had to like fully immerse myself.
in boxing so that I knew what I was talking about because I hate to be wrong.
So I really like, you know, started studying, you know, the background of boxing and allthese different techniques and, you know, how would matches go?
(03:46):
How do people prepare for matches?
How are people in training camp versus, you know, after a match and, you know, what dopeople deal with the side effects after a match and all these different things?
And so being able to bring that in just off an idea from somebody in my hometown wasreally fun.
I love that you are really into the research and getting it right.
(04:07):
I think that's part of the fun of being a writer is being able to do that is kind of likeimmerse yourself in and do the research.
Sometimes I get lost down a rabbit hole.
every time, sometimes, every time, every single time.
I'm like, I'm in way too deep.
I know way too much.
Like nobody's gonna care about this certain specific thing, but I have to know.
And I always tell myself like, okay, if an expert in this field is reading this book,would they be like, she's getting it all wrong?
(04:32):
And that just like, that terrifies me.
So I'm like, okay, I gotta get it right.
So I'll like write it.
Or if it's like, you know, some football scene, I'll have my guy reading like, does thismake sense?
Like, will this actually happen?
Like I know, you know, it's fiction, but.
Mm -hmm.
like the running back playing defense like no that would not happen.
That's not a thing.
So yeah, the research is everything for me.
(04:52):
Wait really quickly what sport did you play since I know you said you grew up like playingsports?
I played basketball and I ran track for a little while.
Oh cool, I wish I'd been more athletic.
I think I played up through maybe middle school basketball and then I was just like, andI'm done.
enough of that.
Let's move on to something else.
(05:14):
No sports?
Okay, if you were to do a sport, what sport would you pick?
I am a very good swimmer, okay?
But the boobs is too big, they are falling to the ground.
Just be like, because the thing people don't realize is like when you have big boobs, youhave to try, they want to float and flip you over.
(05:37):
You got to stay, you fighting for your life when you like, you fighting yes.
So you have.
That's why people don't understand when they wear those tight tight in it is like thesegirls look like they don't have any boobs They're trying to flood net resistance.
It's so yeah, so I was a great great swimmer, but that would that would be it because Idon't like no impact
(06:08):
She's like, don't touch me.
And I also do not like to sweat.
It's summer.
It's too bad, too shower season down here.
So we were playing softball.
This is just like a little quick story.
And the ball was coming to me and you could see it coming.
(06:30):
And it was and I was just like my cousin had already got hit in the head with the ball.
So you know the softball.
Y 'all that ball was coming to me.
I threw that glove down and walked off.
They were so mad at me and they was like we would have won.
And then my sister was like you're no better than Tila, I'm from law -o -kenya.
(06:58):
No, I am a girl.
I ain't got time for that.
Look, no.
We playing dolls and we doing our hair.
Hey.
I love it.
No dissolve dump it Kenya
Pick and Seams, yeah, she's last pick and that's fine.
(07:18):
in no life during this situation neither.
I don't like now is watching sports or at least I'll say this I don't like watching themon TV I will gladly go to a get like a live sports game and cheer and do all the things I
just don't like watching it on TV because there's I think part of what it is it's toobroken up by like commercials and like and Yeah, the momentum gets like taken away like
(07:43):
every time it does that and I'm just like
Yeah, so it's funny you say that because that's part of why I enjoy writing sports romanceis because I don't have to write that part.
Like the boring, like I don't have to write the boring parts.
I don't have to write the breaks and games unless it's like an intense moment or somethinglike that.
And it's useful, but I can pretty much write the highlights.
And so that makes a huge difference.
(08:04):
your point, I think that's what I love about watching like movies about sports and evenreading books about sports is that.
But I also think there's more of an element of like, you see kind of like the emotional orhuman side and like a movie or reading a book about it.
And so for me, I think that's what draws me because I love my God, give me a good likesports movie, TV show book.
(08:26):
And I'm like,
eating it up but then it's like in real life I'm like we gotta watch basketball like I'mgood.
yeah.
They're still playing, it's still on, yeah.
I feel you.
I could go to an event because I can I will read while I'm there and I used to go fishingwith Huh?
(08:48):
Everything church everything I used to be in the choir stand reading
She said no Bible for me, honey.
I got my book.
Bible, but I would have my book and they'd be like, we saw you reading the Quoistad.
Right.
But I did not care.
(09:09):
I was like, I am not I'm re like I listen to but you know, we go to a church is so muchbefore he actually get to the And so I'm doing announcements and all of that but I paid
attention during the sermon but I was like But my husband would go fishing and I would besitting out there It would be high and he would be fishing and I would be reading my book
(09:37):
You
me and I felt, and I was like, anytime he didn't like want to go to the museum orsomething with me, I was like, I said out there three hours with you trying to kiss one
girl.
So...
Alexander, tell us more about how you came up with the Houston Skyhawk series.
So I guess I'm from Nebraska, I live in Houston now and so I've always wanted to dosomething that was Houston based.
(10:03):
And I've wanted to write a football romance for a long time, but I just, for whateverreason, I kept pushing it off.
I think it was because one of my friends was writing the really popular football romanceseries this time.
So I'm like, you got football right now.
Like, I'll let you do it and I'll jump in later.
But the time came around where I finally was like, okay, let's sit down and do this.
And I knew I wanted to write a defensive player first.
(10:25):
because every football romance ever seems to be about the quarterback or maybe a widereceiver.
But you never see anybody from defense.
I was like, I gotta make it my mission to give these defensive guys some love.
So yeah, it was like, like I said, match made in heaven for me to write sports romance.
I'm a football girlie.
I've grown up around football.
So that was like the sports part was just as exciting as the romance part for me.
(10:47):
But yeah, it was just, it was time.
It was time.
Yes.
the first book.
And that's Friends to Lovers.
And Can't Catch Me is the name of the book for those of y 'all listening.
Go get all the books in the series.
This is book number one.
(11:07):
Why Friends to Lovers?
And what is also your favorite trope?
Why we talk about Lance and Bree.
favorite trope.
That's a good question.
It's not Prince of Lovers.
I'll explain why when I start talking about Rihanna and Lynn.
(11:28):
I do enjoy an actual pregnancy.
It was a fun.
That's the first one that comes to mind and I enjoy.
Just like regular like boy meets girl, girl meets boy like hit it off immediately.
Not insta -lovey though, but just like instant chemistry like real basic.
(11:52):
Yeah.
So I don't know if that falls under like a name, but just the basic romance trope, Iguess.
But yeah, Brianna and Lance were friends to lovers.
I typically don't like friends to lovers because usually you can already see that theylike should have been together.
And it's like, what, like what's been going on?
Why y 'all haven't been together?
(12:12):
But the reason why I was able to write Brianna and Lance is because they hadn't beentogether and they hadn't been in each other's like circle for a while.
And so coming back to each other was a different experience than like, you guys areclearly in love with each other while you're not together.
Yeah.
Like it's hard to pull off.
And then I think another thing, cause I wrote a friends to lovers and it was so, it was sotedious.
(12:37):
I said I would never do it again because making it, cause a lot of friends to lovers endup is not not ever friends with benefits.
It's not, you know, it's always slow burn.
And I think it took me the longest.
Like I was like, can y 'all just go hunt it over?
(12:58):
already, like you just go ahead and do it.
And that was the frustration, even reading it.
But yeah, but I think the execution of yours in this book and like what you do so well islike great character development, the angstiness, that push pull that you have in the
(13:22):
story.
And you really like genuinely like and root for your characters.
Yeah, the character development, because I always love good character development.
Mm -hmm.
So what go like what is that?
Are you a student of people as well as doing research?
How are you or is it like they like the great relationship that you have with your husbandbecause you could see y 'all not just a couple y 'all right Yeah, like I like each other
(13:53):
for real
Sometimes you can tell folks just tolerating them.
We can tell y 'all best friends, which, you know, that's why I was like, no wonder she didFriends to Love Me So Good, because she's married to our best friend.
now that wasn't our story, but I'm a very nosy people watcher.
(14:17):
I've always been a people watcher.
So when I'm in airports and restaurants and all these things, I'm like looking at peopleand I'm making up their story in my mind.
And so I felt like that goes into it.
And then just, you know, being around people and talking to people and hearing people'smannerisms that you know in real life and.
hearing your friends' situations in real life, like it's so easy to not tell their story,but take bits and pieces of everything that's going on around you and put them into a
(14:43):
character.
I like that.
I know I love people watching.
Yeah, and like you said, making up what you think their life is really like.
don't know these people obviously, but I'm just looking at the way that they'reinteracting with each other and like, hmm, yep, okay.
I feel like that's always been helpful too, even as I'm trying to come up with a story oranything like that.
(15:05):
Oh yeah, yeah.
I would say all of my storylines have come from like being in somebody else's business andjust like, hmm, that looks interesting.
What a story like that.
comes first for you?
Is it the characters or the story?
Um, it changes.
Sometimes it's the characters and it's like, okay, how do you like the two people willcome and it's like, how do you guys get to, you know, the happy ending and figuring all
(15:30):
that out?
And sometimes it's like, I'll see two choreographers online and be like, oh my God,writing to her story about choreographers would be crazy.
Let's try that.
Like, so yeah, sometimes it'll be the characters and then sometimes it'll just be like,knowing I want to write about football and okay, what?
what situation around football could happen and then those characters come to me as I'mdeveloping a storyline around football.
(15:55):
Mm -hmm.
And then one thing that I loved about this story in particular, which resonates, I think,with so many women and writers, was how he encouraged her in her dreams and how that he
continued to encourage her.
(16:16):
They shared the love of sneakers and everything, and she was in sneaker design.
And how does...
find writing supportive male characters.
Like why is that important?
Why is that important to you?
I always say I don't go into it like trying to teach lessons like that's not my job.
(16:38):
I want to be entertaining.
I want to be fun.
I want to feel realistic and I feel like that is a realistic thing in my life.
I've seen supportive partners.
I was raised by somebody who was a supportive partner.
I have a supportive partner.
You know, my sister's married to a supportive partner.
So that's just what I know.
And so that's what comes out naturally when I'm writing about black romance.
Mm -hmm.
like that.
(17:00):
So, okay, so talk about, well, let's talk about Black romance then.
So, you're a Black romance writer, I write across the board and Moni writes across theboard too.
But talk about Black romance and the community, the support and everything that comes withbeing a Black romance author.
(17:28):
Yeah, it's crazy because I've been writing for, I think it's nine years now.
And to see how much the community has grown in that time has been like, it blows my mind.
And it's really amazing to be a part of, to see, you know, us go from not having, youknow, any black romance centered events to having so many different options to see us
(17:51):
having no black romance centered websites and bookstagrams and all these different thingsand see all that develop.
to see Black Book Talk and that be a thing.
It's really amazing to see and I'm very grateful to be a part of it because I just feellike I found my people.
I know a lot of times when authors are coming in and they're new, it's like, okay, well,how do I find readers?
(18:15):
And to know that people coming in now have so many places they can go to be able to reachnew people is amazing.
So it's such a great place to be a part of, ever growing place to be a part of.
And I just...
I'm excited to see how much further it's going to go.
Well, you're part of that.
I mean, talk more about the platform that you started, Girl Happy Red.
(18:36):
Like, I mean, because I think that is amazing that you started that to help facilitate,you know, readers being able to find these authors.
and it was in direct response to, like I said, once we, you know, me and Christina,Christina maybe came in a year, Christina C.
Jones is who I'm talking about.
She maybe came in a year and a half, maybe before me.
But as we were starting off, there was just not any places that were specifically Blackromance centered.
(19:01):
You see diverse romance or you see, you know, general romance or all these differentthings.
But a lot of times people were looking for just Black romance.
And when you go to Amazon, it's very difficult to find sometimes because you're sortingthrough so many different things when you're just, you know, trying to search for black
romance.
And so we just wanted to make it easier for readers to be able to find what they werelooking for and provide a place for authors to be able to reach the readers that they know
(19:29):
are out there, but maybe their book is just getting lost on Amazon.
And so it's been great to grow that space to continue to be a support to new authors,to...
already existing authors who just, you know, want to find new people.
And me and Christina just are, we do it for the love.
(19:49):
Like it's such a labor of love.
And I'm grateful that people support it because if people didn't support it, then it'slike, okay, what are we doing this for?
But people have really supported it and embraced it and enjoy it and truly rely on it fortheir week to week resource for Black Roman.
Mm -hmm.
I love that.
I love that.
So what are you working on now?
(20:14):
And what's got you excited?
What am I working on or what am I supposed to be working on?
Because those are two different answers.
The project that's had me in a chokehold for a very long time is called Full Court Press.
It's book six in the Nymphs and Trojans series, which I share with Nicole Fogg.
(20:37):
We've collaborated.
It's a WNBA team, which is the Nashville Nymphs, and then an NBA team, the TennesseeTrojans.
And basically we switch off every season.
So this season she wrote about the NBA team and I'm on WNBA duty.
So that's what I was supposed to be working on.
Ideally, it would have been out a long time ago, but y 'all know how these characterswork.
(20:58):
So I'm on their time.
I'm on their time, but it will be my next release.
So yeah.
Okay, so okay, so when because the readers are gonna know Are we talking?
Listen, I'm a reader first.
That's what people forget.
Like I've learned not to set myself up like that, can you?
(21:21):
So I'm just gonna say, right, they're gonna say, on the Author Spotlight podcast, we heardyou say that it's supposed to be out.
But no, I would just say follow me on social media and you will know when it's out.
That's all I'm saying.
I'll keep it safe.
since you mentioned process, what's your process?
(21:44):
It's very messy.
It usually starts with notes in my phone of just different things that are coming to mefrom the characters, about the characters, about scenes that I want to happen at some
point.
And then it transferred from notes in my phone to a Google Doc of just different details,some light plotting.
(22:05):
I try to plot hard sometimes and it never works out that way.
I end up changing stuff.
And so I usually do like a just a loose plot to like keep me on track as I'm writing.
And yeah, that's that's pretty much it.
I like that, I know, I'm not like a huge plotter.
Like when I see people that have like, you know, 20, 30 plus pages of like, I'm just like,I cannot, I feel like that actually stifles me or makes me kind of like, ugh, I start
(22:36):
having trouble then with like finishing, cause it's, you know, you're trying to.
a job to like navigate all this information.
And it's like, but I just kind of want to buy like, give me the character just buy.
Thankfully, that's been working for me for all these years now.
But yeah, all the people that do the sticky note thing and all these things, I'm like,wow, that's amazing.
(22:58):
Good for you because my brain just does not work like that.
Like this is how you know we weren't suited for real work because as soon as it startsfeeling like the job part, I check out like anything like emails.
(23:21):
No, don't do them.
And like, Sierra's about was like, you need to get an assistant, but I'm too much of acontrol freak.
Same, same.
feel like a manager feels like a job.
Going to the post office, y 'all should see this stack of books over here that's supposedto be going to the post office.
(23:43):
It's feeling like a job.
So I avoid the post office and I'm like, I know it's been three months, you will get yourbook.
And I...
you say three months?
Okay, I got one girl, I hate to confess this, but y 'all know I tell everything.
I got one girl that's like at the highest tier on my portrayal, and she got three bookboxes over there.
(24:09):
And she keeps.
child, she's never gonna see those, is she?
one day.
is.
She got the whole series.
She got the moguls and she got the Blood Legacy series.
And she and she's like, the thing is, like, she's a high executive and she's like, it'sfine.
I'm super busy.
It's okay.
Well, alright, if you good, I'm definitely good.
(24:31):
You should be way too nice, but I promise, I promise Stacey, if you listen to it, by thetime you listen to this, you gonna have your pussy kicked.
And you know, we're like, are we taking vets?
Like, who's got this?
She said three whole book boxes.
Yeah.
it might be three by the time she get them.
(24:51):
I don't know.
sorry, that makes me laugh because I'm like she didn't receive the first one but thenbought a second one.
Real loyal.
her everything.
So I, you know, I overgift anyway.
So I just overgift.
Yeah, but I just get a kick out of buying stuff.
I just like, oh, let me go get this.
(25:12):
Let me add this to the box.
And then the box is too full.
And then I got to get another one.
It's fine.
It's better.
And so, but anything that is just amazing how writers.
It was like across the board.
Once it starts feeling like a job, now we ain't doing it no more.
It's over.
well only because you know, writing was always fun.
(25:32):
It was always just a way for me to express or put the story that was in my head out.
And so when it starts to feel like work or a chore, like I know there's a problem.
I know I need to either take a step back and like reevaluate and do something only becauseI know the writing's not gonna be what I want it to if I'm feeling like that.
Yeah, I cannot, I cannot press myself to write like, and so yeah.
(25:57):
Same.
mean, I definitely try to sit down and like write every day, but.
like discipline versus like am I pressing?
And sometimes the lines get blurred and so then I just go lay down.
But yeah, I'm the same way.
reading and writing, that's why I was asking Alexandra about the next book, because I'malways going to pick reading.
(26:23):
See that's the thing for me, I can't read while I'm writing like this because I just don'twant to like cross any ideas.
Yeah, so I have this big to be read list because exactly, exactly.
Yeah, I would hate for somebody to read it and be like.
genre.
So I'll read like right now I'm reading fan, I got into the fantasy thing and I'm big intofantasy right now.
(26:52):
So I'll read outside of my genre.
And since there are not too many people writing dark romance, I'm good.
Y 'all need to come on the dark romance side so y 'all can read all the contemporary.
we can read all we want.
don't know how good I would be at writing dark romance.
Like, not that my guys are like nice guys per se, but I don't, I don't think I'm, like, Idon't think my head or even my heart will, like, I love love love reading it, but writing
(27:24):
it is a completely different...
it would be fighting in my head the whole time.
I would be fighting them.
Like, why are you doing this?
Why are you like this?
So then try to put it on the page.
Yeah.
The heroines be saying it and they be like, cause I am and you gonna be a littleanguished.
you do it and you put it out and you be good at it.
(27:44):
Yeah.
That's just like for me, people that write like the romantic comedy kind of romance, like,like I find that, you know, they're they're gifted because it takes a special person to
pull off comedy.
I'm not that person.
You know what, it's like, especially when it's actually funny, because D .O.
(28:07):
White wrote the Neverlist, and that was like the first one where I was like laugh out loudfunny.
So if y 'all haven't read that one, get that one, because that was like.
the one that was actually and I told her we did an author spotlight on IG and I was like,this was the reason I had to talk to you was because it was actually because you get those
run and they do the other ones and they be like mid and I was like, this was actuallyfunny from like page one to the to the last page was actually like one of my favorite
(28:35):
books of that year.
And but I'm telling you on the dark romance that I get messages every day inundated.
for people, especially Black readers asking for more dark romance.
So if y 'all know anybody that's like, I'm out here, it's like three or four of us, maybefive, we just out here by ourselves.
(28:59):
And like, they want more, they're clamoring for it.
like that.
I do, I really do.
But like I've written, I wouldn't even call it dark romance, but like just more morallygray heroes.
And like I said, I was fighting them the whole time.
Like I would never like, ugh, why does she like you?
Because I would hate you.
(29:21):
But it works in the story.
But yeah.
Yeah.
it's definitely, I don't think it's, it has to be love, cause like, what?
He kidnapped you, threw you in the trunk, and you, but it's okay.
He has some issues.
-
(29:41):
I agree.
Like, I, like, as a reader, I can suspend disbelief and be like in the, you know, like, mygod, yes, I want them to be together, but when I have to write it, it's like, you said it
turns into like, I wouldn't want to, like, what?
No.
It's like the reality kicks in for me.
right.
Exactly, this is in my brain, what do you mean?
(30:04):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Well, y 'all know I'm a little off, so it's fun.
are nuts!
Like I said, I wish I had that skill.
You have a skill ma 'am.
Like, let's be clear.
be sitting up here just like, Ooh, I just be giggling and like sometimes like I write liveon TikTok and I just be like, I break out like, like they'd be like, what are you laughing
(30:27):
about?
I'm like, listen, you got to pay for this.
It'd be like, it'd be so diabolical.
It'd be like, it's so like this hero, he says something so crazy.
And I was just like, I never, like you just said that to this girl.
And he just, and she just stood there like.
She was like, she's feisty.
(30:49):
This is my first feisty hair.
And she was like, she was so shocked that she just...
else would you react?
Like, you're talking crazy.
But.
of you talking about like paying for you, do you do anything like Patreon or have likeother things of like where like your really like hardcore fans and readers, you know, can
(31:14):
go to get like extra content?
Do you do that sort of thing yet or are -
I was organized enough to do that.
I don't trust myself to be able to give consistent content unless I plan it in advance.
So, so yeah, like I would hate, I would hate to have people paying and being like,actually I have nothing to give you.
(31:34):
So that's the end of that.
Like, so I would have to like plan it out and structure it a certain way to be able to doit.
I would love to do it though at some point for sure.
Yeah.
'all two planners.
I'm just a seed of your paint.
Now, which is weird because I'm actually a plotter.
I actually, when y 'all was on the plotting conversation and I plot and do a synopsis andall that, but actual things like I have a Patreon.
(31:59):
Yeah, I think I said it right.
I actually, did I say it right?
Because I've been saying.
Patreon.
That's how I say it.
If there's another way, please forgive us for butchering the name.
I used to say, portraying.
Yeah.
No, that's not right!
I put it up there and I had a massive amount of signups and they was like you're gonna getweekly Weekly updates as I write it.
(32:37):
Okay, and No because
You're like, when you start, that's why I ask the question.
you know me I'm standing with my work and I'm standing with my work and I hoard it and sothen I'd be like they get drips and drabs and then they just get the whole book at lower
(32:59):
and they just be like, oh my god And I go to like people like theodore Taylor and likethey're like dedicated the her and Kenya right there like dedicatedly updating their
patreon patreon
uh, every week, like two or three and posey parties.
And I'm just like, bam.
(33:19):
Yeah, hear something.
Yeah.
all of the treasure.
So y 'all plan it out, do it the right way or whatever, because the.
for me, it's that coming from film and being a producer, for me, it's just like, if Ihaven't done all the work, I'm not gonna do it.
(33:46):
Like you said, I've gotta plan it out and like, yeah.
So, yeah.
to deliver is not on.
Like I don't need any pressure in any situations.
Like I've lived that, I'm done with that.
I need to have it ready.
You talked about Virgo energy.
It's very Sagittarius energy.
It's just a whirlwind of chaos.
(34:06):
It's just, yeah, but you know why?
Because the people who come, and this is why y 'all should really both do it, because thepeople on your Patreon, they love you.
They already know.
Those are like the fans that are gonna support no matter what you - yeah.
you flaky.
(34:26):
They didn't follow your whole career.
They already know.
They already know.
They'd be like, we know, we know, we know, we know.
It's like they already, they follow you, they adore you.
But the feedback, like if you could actually do like, right, work in progress like things.
(34:48):
And then they tell you they're like excellent beta readers too.
They're like, can we have more, this thing needs more this and stuff like that.
And I go back and read all of this stuff.
But you gotta do it.
used them like for my first two books and then after that I didn't.
(35:09):
It's like that...
Have you guys ever seen that old YouTube, the Too Many Cooks?
Too many cook...
correct.
That's exactly how I would feel.
I'll send it to other writer friends and stuff like that and they'll hype me up to keep megoing.
But any formal beta reader, yeah, that's something I never got into.
the Patreon it's like you don't have to really like listen to them because you knowthey're not like real old.
(35:34):
But they will point out the little inconsistencies because I called a woman Lily and hername was Marlene in the book.
I'm sorry.
Wait, had you changed your name or something?
Like, had you changed the character's name and then you just forgot that it was?
gave her the name Marlene because my husband always pretends like there's a Marlene inhere.
(35:58):
So I said, I'm going to put Marlene in a book.
And I put her in the last book and I put her as Lily in this book and one of the readslike, I could have sworn his mom name was Marlene and not Lily.
And I went back and check and she saved me.
Because you know, people will use anything to take a star away, honey.
They'll be like, oh, distances.
(36:21):
That's good that they had your back there.
But so she talked about events.
So does girl have you read have a event is that have a.
to have an event, Girl Have You Met, that we did, I wanna say our first year was 2018.
(36:45):
We did one in Houston, we did one in Dallas, and then we did one in Memphis.
And then we were going to do 2020 in St.
Louis, but obviously COVID happened.
And so we haven't done one since, because that just threw us completely off.
And then Christina also had a baby.
So that was a whole nother thing of we were gonna bring it back.
It was like, actually there's a baby and now there's a newborn.
(37:07):
Like, yeah, go take care of your child, please.
But we've been talking about potentially bringing it back at some point.
Oh cool, I'm sure readers would love that.
I know, I think for a lot of events and things like that that happened pre -COVID, it'staken some time for everybody to come back to the table on a lot of that.
yeah, recalibrate and fill those rooms again.
(37:30):
Yeah.
here.
And then, because I know the Boozy Book Tour is out.
And then when I thought of that, they just seemed like a lot of fun.
So that was a...
definitely are.
And like I said, when we started Grady Met, I think there was maybe like two or threeevents that were like Black Romance Center.
(37:52):
And so it was an important thing at the time.
But now there's so many more between, I want to say like Loving Books, Girls Unfiltered,Girlfriends Unfiltered.
There's Behind the Pimples out when we were out.
Indie Love is another one.
There's a couple of different new ones being added.
Gosh, I'm trying to think.
One Love Reunion.
And Monique, I realized we were there the same year in Orlando.
(38:16):
And I realized that after we got off, I was like, her voice sounded so familiar.
And I'm like, I think she was at one level, Orlando.
Yeah.
But it was like post -COVID time, so we all had on masks.
And so it was a different experience.
But I sure didn't realize that.
But events, yeah, me and my romance friends, Chicago Urban Book Expo, like there's just somany more options now.
(38:42):
So it's good to see that, because I know readers really enjoy it.
I love that.
So you said you don't read while you're writing, and we're not sure if you're writingright now.
So what do you do?
She's like, we're not in the movie, right?
(39:03):
Thank you.
Continue.
That's it.
I mean if we're being honest here that that's a fair assessment.
Yeah
you've been on TikTok for any length of time last week, you saw how my mouth got me intosome little problems.
(39:24):
Because I said your book is not selling because your cover is trash.
And so folks got upset about it.
And so I was like, all right, well, I'm going to tell you what God love and it's thetruth.
Okay.
But, so what have you been reading and loving lately?
(39:46):
Oh God, let me think, what's the last thing I read?
Me and Christina are obviously really close, so I read all of her stuff as it's comingout.
So I'll say, Hostile Takeover, which was kind of dark romance -y actually.
Yeah, so that's something I definitely read and loved.
I've been reading, Nicole Falls has a four -ab short series.
(40:09):
I read all those.
It's like the festival, the wedding, and two other ones that I can't remember off the topof my head, but those are really good.
I read, I like to read short stuff because I like to read stuff that I can read in likeone sitting.
Like if it's gonna take me a couple days and it's like, that's too much.
Like I can't do that right now.
But if I can read it, like I bought a trip or something, I can read it on the flight tosomewhere.
(40:30):
Like that's perfect for me.
So yeah, but those are the two that I can remember off the top of my head that I readrecently and really enjoyed.
I wish that Christina would continue that.
I know you read Wonder, right?
I wish she would do like a whole series with that.
That's like a dystopian Alice in Wonderland.
(40:51):
Let me tell you something.
And I told her like as she was writing it, I'm like, I would have never picked upsomething like this to read, but reading it from you makes me want to pick up more because
it's just that good.
Like it's so good.
Yeah, it's really, really good.
the park.
It's good.
Like I read that and I listened to it at the same time.
(41:11):
Because I like to do that with my audio books is listen to them and read them at the sametime.
It was so good.
It was perfect.
I love it.
is like, I'm like, how does your brain work like that?
That was one of those ones, because it was just so just good.
Like you said, it was just so good and just so just the storytelling of it, the worldbuilding of it.
(41:36):
It was, yeah, it was really good.
knocked that out.
You would love that, Moni, because that's right up your alley.
That was.
I was like, this has so many legs with the sister and all the sad people.
It can just keep going.
(41:58):
So what else, which brings me to, because she was stepping out of her comfort zone writingthat.
What?
kind of what do you think would be something that you would be interested in writing thatwould be taking you out of your comfort zone in a similar fashion?
(42:20):
I have to write a romantic suspense at some time.
I think that would just be so much fun to do and Well, thanks for the vote of confidenceguys, I appreciate it But yeah Yeah But yeah, I think that would be so fun for me to do
and you know still rooted in romance But still a bit also adventure from what I usually dowith people great
(42:45):
Yeah.
So I would.
So when we gonna get that one?
I was like so
said, so when can I put that on mine to be read?
When can I be expecting that one?
Like I said, I've been saying it for a long time and it hasn't happened, but it is thething that I want to happen.
Yeah, yeah.
Because like, I feel like a lot of, I don't know if y 'all feel like this, I just feellike there are so many books in my head.
(43:11):
I don't, like I wanna write them.
And I don't know, I just like, I don't know if I'm gonna have enough time.
It's like.
idea.
I feel like I have to literally just like, like I think you said earlier, you keep noteson your phone.
I have a memo section on my phone where there's tons of notes.
I've got post -its around here where I've just like scribbled like something that came tome or whatever.
(43:35):
I probably have stuff that could take me into like 2027 at this point.
And so it's hard trying to fight the voices of everybody like fighting for like dominanceof right me.
exactly.
I always said like I wish I could just download my brain sometimes like this is like turnit plug it in get the information out boom there's a story like Yeah, well, I'll be scared
(44:01):
of technology like that's not probably way to use it
and the likenesses.
The brains are coming next.
If they could download our brains, it's over.
No, you're, you are correct.
I would not be a participant willingly.
I'll say that.
definitely not.
(44:21):
They'll just be snatching us off the street.
You know that's what they'll do.
It's still not over yet.
Listen, let me tell you something.
My brother is a police officer and he swears they are still snatching people and stillthere.
He's like, he's a conspiracy theorist.
I mean, you know what?
I wouldn't put it past anybody, so.
(44:42):
ain't nobody just disappear.
He said, we find everybody, but if something is always some young, healthy, black guy,like in the top peak of hell, who never did drugs, just disappears.
Nobody know where he is.
They took him to the kids.
They came to him.
They did.
(45:03):
So, like, I know you might have to cut that for us.
By the way, they're snatching people off the streets.
this is how conversations would be gone.
Monty will tell you.
I would go left so quick.
(45:23):
I'll bring them back in when I have to though.
I was like, you're probably right, but also, yeah, I understand what in the edit.
So what, what are you like a Discovery ID girl too?
Like are you, do you watch those?
Like why suspense?
I'm definitely like a true crime doc girly Any new one that comes out I like those I likecult documentaries also because I'm always just like how you get all these people and you
(45:52):
start watching like yeah I can see that
It's like you're like how many people just well, you know a part of that cuz I it wassomething I saw the other day and I was just like what makes you Susceptible to that like
how do you buy into it?
I don't understand
like, yeah, you do sound like you'd be vulnerable and stuff like that.
Like, you understand it for them, but you can't see it for yourself.
(46:14):
But yeah, I do enjoy that.
And I enjoy reading Romantic Suspense when I do get to read.
I like the pace of it.
I like the suspense, obviously.
And I like that, you know, even when there's like so much going on on the suspense side,that there's still a love story happening.
So I like seeing it together.
So if you were to write one, what would it be about?
(46:40):
Just a minute, I'm just asking.
in trouble because old me would have been like, yeah, I got this storyline right now on myphone, blah, blah, blah.
But current me is going to say, you have decided for my Patreon.
And by the time this air, we're going to be blank.
Because both of y 'all are gonna work on it, yes?
(47:00):
Yes.
That was hilarious.
Because both of y 'all are going to work on it, right?
Yes.
Like I said, if I could get ahead enough to be able to do it in my version ofsuccessfully, then I would absolutely do it.
But I always remember like, it does nothing ever has to be perfect.
(47:22):
It doesn't.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, but.
you have any events coming up this year where people might catch you at?
I do.
I'll be at one love reunion again, actually in Nashville this year.
That's in July.
And then I'll be at me and my romance friends in September in Dallas.
And that's hosted by Gray Huffington, who is absolutely killing it with her series.
(47:44):
So I'm excited to be a part of that.
Oh, awesome.
Oh, I love that.
Naima is gonna be at One Love.
I might, if I could get her to dump her husband as her plus one, then I would.
I didn't say no to her, because I'm in one love.
That's a lot for an event, can you?
Is that okay?
(48:05):
it's just in Tennessee.
Yeah, but neither one of us like to drive, so we'll see.
Yeah, I was like, who's gonna be driving the car?
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
That is funny.
So do you have like, do you plan to keep like just adding to like the Houston Skyhawkseries or do you have like, I'm gonna end to that book whatever or you're just gonna like
(48:35):
keep it open considering it since it's about football you can essentially like have like,you know, keep that going forever.
yeah, in my head I have at least the next two books worked out.
And I also want to start sprinkling in some novellas.
I did a short that was kind of a part of the series too that's just on my website.
But yeah, it's so open ended that I can go on forever, but who knows if it will go foreveror if I'll ever say like, this is actually the last book because I might want to write it
(49:04):
again for her.
And if I want to write football players, I'm definitely going to go to them.
But.
at least two more books for sure.
Oh, awesome.
I love that.
I love it.
I always leave it open so you can just come back to it.
That's what I think.
Yeah.
Just drop one in, you know, because there are waxes and flows in the business.
(49:25):
And so some things are up and some things, you know, kind of wane.
And then you never know.
People then, especially with TikTok, buzz emerges about a certain, you know, romance tropeor whatever.
And then you can be like, let me go and just do this one right quick or whatever.
But I think anything you write sports wise just is fantastic.
(49:50):
Probably because you have you love sports and you do such a but you it's not just aboutthe sport is not just about the stuff.
You know, the plotting is great.
The characters are great.
You know, I feel, you know, you're such a well rounded author.
that you could write, I can't wait for the romantic suspense.
(50:12):
No, I think it's...
I said it out loud, listen, I'm glad, stay on me about it.
Maybe it would have happened for real now.
Yeah, so about that romantic suspense you said.
Yeah, feel free.
and pass along what we said about wonder, what I took Christina, because I was like, thisis so good.
(50:42):
It was the best thing I read.
And it was so refreshing.
That's another thing.
I think romantic suspense from you would be that that'd be an excellent wheelhouse foryou.
And I would be excited about it.
So, yeah.
So besides all of that, like how many other books do you have coming out before the end ofthe year?
(51:07):
Oh, see, I feel like I would be lying again if I gave an answer to this.
Because like I said, I've said stuff on stuff and then I'll go back and like, yeah, thatdid not happen at all.
What was that about?
But.
You know, it's kind of refreshing, I have to say, too.
Because I mean, like you said, I you had it's like the best laid plans.
(51:27):
And then it's like something just doesn't work out because trust me, I couldn't tell you.
I know what I'd like to see happen.
Now, what actually will is a totally different story.
I say out loud confidently?
Maybe I shouldn't say anything.
It's kinda nice to meet somebody else that kinda doesn't know what the rest of the year isgonna bring.
(51:49):
that's
being indie too because it gives you the freedom to like explore and go at your own paceand really put out the best product, you know, that you can, even though some people, you
know, like, you know, anything can happen.
Like I had this book, particular book on eight weeks, then it went to 10 weeks and nowit's like 12, 13 weeks when it's coming out.
(52:14):
And then, you know, you could just.
You can accelerate or drop back the pace however you want to because we have the freedomin the authors to do that.
So are you going to stick to the path of Indy or do you also want to try and write intraditional publishing?
(52:38):
Right now I'm definitely sticking with indie, but I think if the right opportunity came, Iwould be open to traditional publishing.
I think being in control of every aspect for so long has like, that's just ingrained in meas a writer.
So like relinquishing some of that control in different places would be a test to say theleast.
(52:58):
But if it was the right opportunity, I would be open to it.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah, the money gotta be right.
that's definitely part of it, the money and then just, you know, who's editing this thingbecause do they know my tone enough to be able to maintain that and maintain the integrity
of what I'm trying to say without over editing and, you know, diluting it anyway?
(53:21):
Like that's that would be a big concern for me.
But like I said, the right opportunity, then I could I think I could do it.
lot of people who are being offered deals now, but they are more established like we are.
And they are being able to maintain that integrity.
(53:42):
And I think having so many years on the indie side gives you that strength that youwouldn't necessarily have if this was your first, second, or third book.
You have two books out.
Your audience has this expectation.
And so you fight for those, for that, you know, for your voice, basically is what it is.
(54:03):
So, yeah.
But I mean, run me that million dollar bill, we'll talk.
I mean, you know, the money talks, let's be honest, money does talk.
But yeah.
you done any, cause I know Kindle Della is becoming quite a thing that a lot of authorsare also like adding to kind of like the repertoire of where they put things out.
(54:28):
Is that something that you are considering or do you have anything out on Kindle Della oranything like that?
know, I haven't explored can develop at all yet, but I would definitely be open to it.
I think I would have to have the right storyline that fits that, you know, episode toepisode storytelling.
Um, but I would be open to it.
I would definitely be open to it.
(54:50):
Yeah, it's fun.
But like, again, I jumped in there and did it.
And then people have like 72 episodes and I've just like, I just wrote, mine is just 20.
Yeah.
Yeah, because I...
(55:11):
the money versus just telling the whole story as is, then.
you got to be able to like keep it keep that going and and I just be like it's good forpeople who like cliffhangers and stuff like that and and keep doing and can write short
because I can't like it was 20 episodes But it was like 85 ,000 words, you know what I'msaying?
(55:34):
So I'm like and they want you to write in like short little snippets or whatever.
So I just
It was fun.
You know, it was all right.
But I was like, it's very, it's for a very specific type of writer, I feel like.
And yeah.
Bradish a few years ago now and they took in his corner actually and broke it intoepisodes and I was like, you know from the reader's perspective I wonder what that
(56:03):
experience was like versus just reading the whole thing straight through because obviouslyit was written to be read straight through.
But they seemed to enjoy it over there so that was good but...
thing too, the reader, just like it's maybe for specific writers, I think it's specificreaders that, because like I think the same people that would pick up our actual books are
not going to necessarily go to Kindle Vella.
(56:27):
So I do think it's like, yeah, exactly.
I want to read the whole thing right now.
So I definitely think it's like completely separate and different audiences just based onlike.
the reading style of who would be interested in that versus like, yeah.
definitely learned that with audiobooks too.
(56:48):
It was like there's a completely different audience that listens to audiobook versuspicking up an ebook or even buying a paperback.
And that's been, it's been really fun to introduce myself to that space as somebody who'snot an audiobook person.
Yeah.
Like I...
(57:08):
into it!
be listening and then I realize I haven't been listening at all actually.
So I can listen to stuff if I've already read it before and just want to hear thenarration or if I'm listening back when I get files back from my own audiobooks, I can
listen to those because I know what's happening just to hear how they put their spin onit.
But yeah, audiobooks weren't my thing.
(57:30):
And then I saw how big that space was growing and it's like, okay, different audiobookcompanies are reaching out to do some work.
And so I'm like, okay, let's, you know, just try a couple of things and people really gotinto it.
And so I was like, okay, I gotta keep delivering over there too.
And yeah, it's been a completely different reader base, which is nice.
Yeah, because I've seen, I've listened to quite a few of your books on hoopla becausethey're over on hoopla and they have a great audio section, them and Libby and stuff
(58:02):
because audible $15 for one correct listen.
I can't, I can't with them.
I'm a voracious reader.
And so, you know, but like I said,
with your books and like with wonder I was able to listen and read at the same time andit's just like a full immersive experience especially if it's like you know Winston James
(58:27):
and like it's just Winston.
the other thing, like listening to audio, but I feel like a lot of narrators would soundlike robots to me.
So I'm like, people enjoy listening to this.
And then once I found the right narrators that match my work a little better, then it waslike, I see why people enjoy this.
Yeah.
Yeah, the voice is key with that.
(58:48):
-hmm.
Yeah, because I was listening to a book and they put the male narrator, I'm not going tosay the name of the book, but at the end, like they do it from his perspective.
The whole book is done through the girl's perspective.
And then the epilogue was done from his perspective.
And I think they just did that because.
(59:11):
for sales or whatever.
And then, right, it felt like a one -off, right?
And then, like, she was great the whole time.
And then he had, like, this really, like, very, like, hokey kind of voice that didn'tmatch the guy I had in my brain.
(59:31):
And I was like, ew, I hope you don't have to be in this magazine.
Like, ew, get away.
And, um...
But anyway, it was still a great book.
The book was perfection.
They could have done without him because her POV was excellent.
So yeah, but yeah, I love your books in all formats.
(59:56):
And yeah, so where can we find you on the interwebs and your newsletter and all of that?
Yeah.
So I would start at my website actually is alexandra .com if you click the meet me tabyou'll find links to all my social media I'm on Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok YouTube
(01:00:20):
And then you also find the links in my mailing list and I have a text list also So if youdon't like your emails clogging up, then you can just get a text about the most important
stuff
And what's the, give them the web address for the girl have you read?
Yeah, so it's girlhappyred .com.
We're also on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook, which you get like the main post andthen you find links to the post for the new releases and spotlights and different thing,
(01:00:50):
cover reveals, things like that.
We have author services.
So if you have a new release coming out as an author, you can submit your book and we'llshare it to our website and to our social media channels.
We also do like any pre -order spotlights, any...
Audiobooks, spotlights, any of that kind of stuff.
If it's Black romance, we will help you out and try to promote it as much as we can.
(01:01:14):
So authors reach out, readers, if you're looking for Black romance, come to our website.
We have tons and tons of books for you to go through and add to your To Be Read.
I love that.
Yes.
Thank you so much again for, you know, giving up your time and being able to speak with ustonight.
We really appreciate it considering we had technical difficulties on the first time weattempted to do it.
(01:01:38):
No, that's right, because I had to reach out to Kenya.
Like, I think I either called her texts or like, my God, please see if she's because Imean, I couldn't even log in.
And that's when I like I started getting the strip across the website.
Like you are.
Like, we are having technical difficulties, we are aware, and you should be bad.
And I was like, we're not gonna get back on time.
Yeah, we were all like, is it just me?
(01:02:00):
Because I was there for a minute.
was when it went on for too long.
I was like, my God, they're just sitting there waiting and my screen is just trying toload.
She messes me up on Facebook.
So yeah, I'm glad we were able to make this happen.
And again, thank you ladies for having me on.
This was fun.
And everybody please go follow her and read all of her stuff.
(01:02:21):
Have a good night.
you, you too.
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Dateline NBC
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CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.