July 15, 2025 • 34 mins
Can a global pandemic become the launchpad for your wildest dreams? For Jennifer Hartman, being laid off alongside her husband during COVID created the perfect "now or never" moment that transformed this shy, introverted mom into a bestselling romance author with 14 books in just four years.
Jennifer pulls back the curtain on her meteoric rise in publishing, sharing how her fourth book "Still Beating" – a dark romance about two people chained together in a basement – unexpectedly caught fire online and is now being adapted for film. With refreshing candor, she discusses the emotional vulnerability of sharing her words with strangers and the surreal experience of seeing her books on Target shelves. Her creative process might surprise you; each book gets its own unique Spotify playlist that helps spark inspiration when writer's block strikes.
What's most touching is how Jennifer's stories have profoundly impacted readers' lives. She recounts a tearful encounter with a woman who credited one of Jennifer's books for giving her a reason to live during a dark period. These connections remind us why storytelling matters. Meanwhile, at home, her family dynamic has evolved beautifully as her husband transitioned from corporate life to becoming her business partner and stay-at-home dad, handling everything from book covers to household management.
Whether you're harboring secret dreams of authorship or simply love hearing how ordinary people achieve extraordinary things, Jennifer's journey proves that stepping outside your comfort zone can lead to unimaginable success. As she puts it: "It doesn't matter how big or wild your dream seems, it is absolutely attainable. You just have to do the steps to get there."
On this episode, Jennifer Hartmann
More about Jennifer!
Jennifer Hartmann is a celebrated romance author known for her captivating storytelling and heartfelt narratives. With a passion for crafting love stories that resonate with readers, she has captured the hearts of romance enthusiasts around the world. Through her engaging characters and vivid settings, Jennifer transports readers to worlds filled with passion, emotion, and the timeless allure of romance.
Connect with Jennifer!
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author.jenniferhartmann/
- Website: http://www.jenniferhartmannauthor.com
Connect with Brianna!
- Instagram: @mombossinaustin
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/briannademike
Follow the Podcast on Instagram: @badassbasicbitch
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
What's up, batty Bees ?
I'm Brianna, mom, wife, serialentrepreneur and host of the
Badass Basic Bitch podcast.
Each week, I sit down with aseemingly ordinary woman who's
doing extraordinary things and Iget to share her story with you
.
So let's go Buckle up, as we'regoing to get real and dive into
(00:31):
the shit nobody talks about.
Welcome to the Batty B Club.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Just be brave, step outside your comfort zone.
That, I think, has been thebiggest thing for me, is because
I think people just like trapthemselves into these bubbles
and feel like they're onlycapable of so much.
It doesn't matter how big orwild your dream seems, it is
absolutely attainable.
You just have to do the stepsto get there.
That was the biggest steppingstone for me Making connections
(00:56):
Like I'm not someone thatreaches out to people Like I.
You know I feel shy and awkwardabout it, but sending that
email, you know, making thatcomment to someone that you know
you never know where it couldlead and mine has only opened up
new doors that I never thoughtI'd be able to get through.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Welcome back to another episode of Badass Basic
Bitch.
On today's episode, we arediving into the world of romance
literature with author JenniferHartman.
Known for her storytelling,Jennifer has captured the hearts
of readers worldwide, so joinus as we explore her life
(01:32):
inspirations and creativeprocess, uncovering the magic
behind her heartfelt narrativesand the timeless allure of
romance.
Thank you so much for beingwith us today, Jennifer.
Hi, thank you so much for havingme Really excited to be here so
before we get started, can youtell our listeners a little bit
more about who you are and whatyou do?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yes, so I am a wife and a mother.
I live in Northern Illinois andI've always wanted to be a
writer, but I never reallythought it was something that I
could achieve, but I just I wentfor it.
My husband's like just you knowwhy not?
And so one day about four yearsago, I just decided to publish
my first book I had been workingon for probably a decade prior.
(02:09):
And, yeah, it just kind ofspiraled after that, and so it's
only been about four years andI have 14 books out right now.
So, yeah, it's my life, Iabsolutely love it and it's been
great.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
I did not realize that you've only been doing this
professionally in that sense,where your first book was out
four years ago.
That is insane to me.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
It's been very surreal.
I did not anticipate.
So basically my husband and Ihad both been laid off with
COVID.
This happened in 2020.
And it was just kind of likenow or never situation.
If I'm going to do it, might aswell do it now.
So, yeah, I just kind oftackled my first book.
Yeah, you know, I got some goodfeedback and then I wrote two
more after that and then it wasmy fourth book, still Beating
(02:55):
that just kind of like caught abuzz on the internet and the
Facebook groups and it's justbeen.
You know, it just took off fromthere.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
So what inspired you to start writing?
I mean, obviously you said thatyou both were laid off and it
was COVID time, but I mean,someone just doesn't wake up and
be like I'm going to write abook, or maybe they do, but
usually those people aren'tsuccessful.
So where did this all startfrom?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Yeah, so I devoured historical romance novels
probably earlier than I shouldhave, like in my teens my young
teens probably and so I reallyjust had a voracious love for
reading and I took that towriting.
I would write poetry and shortstories.
I loved English class in schooland I actually started kind of
writing my own stories in thefan fiction world back in the
(03:40):
day and one day, like maybe in2009 or so, I kind of
transformed one of those fanfiction stories with like my own
made up characters and I gotpretty far into it, maybe
halfway through the book, andthen I started having kids.
I settled down.
I just didn't think I had timefor it, so it was just on, you
know, in the background, andyeah, it was like maybe end of
(04:00):
2019.
My husband's like I think youhave something here because he
read what I had written.
He's like you should go for itand I was like I don't have time
, we both work full time.
Then and yeah, and then COVIDhit and I just I actually had
time on, you know, my husbandwas watching the kids, he let me
work upstairs and I just doveinto it and I haven't stopped.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
So, yeah, and then, like what did you pick?
Like romance literature,because you've just been
passionate about that.
You always found it mostfascinating.
So you're like, might as wellwrite what I love to read and
what I know.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yes, I don't know why , but I, even with movies and TV
shows, I always just latch onto that.
You know, the romance, the lovestory that you know in a lot of
shows and that kind of withbooks as well, it was.
That's just my driving force.
I love just seeing like twocharacters defeat the odds and
that's why I kind of put mycharacters in these like
(04:55):
forbidden or tragic situations,cause it's just it's really fun
to see them get to the otherside and have the happy ending.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Yeah, I, oh my gosh, I just think that's so.
I still can't get over the factthat this was like oh, I'm just
going to do it because you'vehad, like I was looking at some
of your books and there's somebooks that have like tens of
thousands of just reviews, whichmeans hundreds of thousands of
people, and you've been namedbestseller and top 25 and all of
(05:25):
that.
So how did you because it wassuch a little bit of time and it
seems like some of your booksreally went viral for lack of
better words how did you handlethat transition from oh, like I
just write for fun and but tonow people are demanding it and
wanting it and there's thisexpectation that you have to
(05:48):
fulfill that?
Like, how did you handle thattransition, or how are you
handling it?
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Yeah, I mean, as fun as it is, it's also it's also
difficult because I'm very like,I'm a sensitive person, I'm
kind of introverted, so it'svery vulnerable to put your
words out there and thatexpectation.
People say it gets easier withevery book.
For me it actually gets harderbecause as my audience grows, so
do those reader demands, andI'm such a people pleaser that I
(06:12):
wish I could just please everysingle reader and that's
impossible.
So yeah, it's harder.
When you start writing a newbook you kind of overthink
things like oh well, thisperson's like this and so on and
so forth.
So it's hard to kind ofnavigate those like
self-limiting beliefs that youknow the demand, expectation
versus like just writing whatyou love and being passionate
(06:33):
about you know the storiesyou're writing.
But I think when you find abalance is when you can really
thrive.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
And what about writer's block?
Like there's got to be momentswhen you feel creatively drained
, right, how do you handle that?
Because I think that's reallyrelatable, because people may
not relate to the fact of beinga writer but work life getting
out and about, like you havethis like draining or depletion,
(06:56):
like how do you handle that?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Absolutely.
My stories are always veryemotionally draining.
I write very angsty, lots oflike tragic stories.
They end happily, but there's alot of you know stuff that goes
down in the middle.
So it's hard.
Time management is difficult.
Having three children and ahusband and a household.
You just really have to kind ofbuckle down and focus, and
that's never been a strong suitof mine.
(07:18):
I'm a big procrastinator but,for whatever reason, writing
like I feel like I'm notcomplete if I'm not, you know,
contributing to the writingprocess at least a little bit
every day, even if I'm notactively writing, I'm usually
brainstorming or for writer'sblock.
I think that I've looked intoso many things, I've tried
everything and for me it's justa waited out.
(07:39):
Sometimes there's just a lot oftraveling going on or, you know
, stressful life situations andI don't want to force anything.
Um, because I feel like I cantell, and readers can tell, if
it's not authentic and my mindwasn't in it.
So, um, I think the best thingfor me is music.
I really gravitate towards, um,just putting, you know, my, my
Spotify playlist on and I haveone for every book, so I'll just
(08:03):
kind of listen to the songs andit helps kind of get me, you
know, ground me a little bit andget me back in the zone.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Yeah, oh, I love that .
So do you develop your?
Okay, I'm just like this ismore for, like, personal
curiosity.
Do you develop your Spotifyplaylist based on, like, the
type of book you're writing, ordo you have one list that you
listen to no matter what youwrite?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
No, everything is individual to every book, so on
my.
Spotify there's literally aplaylist for every story.
It has the story title on thereand the song.
Pretty much all the songs aredifferent.
Occasionally there's like oneor two songs, but it's just like
my favorite songs that end upon every playlist.
But yeah, I kind of go by a mixbetween mood and lyrics and if
they just mesh, it gets added tothe list and I just my daughter
(08:46):
, she's 14.
She'll be like, well we knowwhen mom's writing a new book,
because we hear the same 10songs on repeat over and over in
the car or whatever.
So yeah, I'll just kind of havethose.
You know, they're just in theback of my mind and they really
just help inspire me.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
And then, what about your experience with, like
publishing?
Because I could imagine whenyou're writing your first book,
there is a lot of things thatyou have to go through without
even knowing is this going to besuccessful?
Is this even going to be worththe money?
So maybe someone's listeningand they've always wanted to
write a book or publish a book.
I would love to hear from youlike advice for aspiring authors
(09:23):
, or just like your experienceof there was a lot of roadblocks
that you had to get through.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Yes, author life, you have to wear many hats.
I was never good at themarketing and promoting or
anything like that.
I'm definitely not ananalytical type.
So like ads and all that,that's just like not my
wheelhouse.
So I mean first I would say,just write the book.
So I know a lot of peoplestress over the after.
(09:49):
You know what you do afterwards, but just get the book written
first.
And then there's so many groupsout there I would say it.
I mean it takes a village.
I don't think I'd be where I amif I didn't have like a really
great group of people, a supportsystem.
People I've met online.
I've made like a best friendjust through the author journey,
like truly best friend.
She lives states away but westill visit, we talk daily my
husband and just other writersthat are in the same position as
(10:10):
you.
It's like they're the only onesthat kind of understand what
you're going through andeverybody has been really
helpful.
I know people see negativity alot online but there are just
really good people that areeager to help.
So ask questions there's noquestion, that's, you know, too
silly Do research and then justkind of latch on to some good
people that have the strengthsthat you lack.
(10:31):
So my husband is veryanalytical, so he helps me with
that side of things and yeah, itjust you kind of combine your
strengths until you get it right.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
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Have you ever read the book whoNot, how?
I have not.
Okay, it's a really interestingbook, but it kind of makes me
(12:32):
feel very similar to what you'resaying now.
It's like you have all of thesethings that you have to get
done and a lot of people tend tofocus in on how am I going to
get that done, right?
How am I going to sell books?
How am I going to write thisbook?
How am I going to do all thesethings?
But this book who, not how?
Really has you focusing in onthe who?
Like, who is going to help you,right?
(12:53):
I recognize that it's not mystrength for ads or publishing
or whatever it is.
Who are the people in my youknow, three touchpoint network
or whatnot that I can pull fromthat can help me accomplish this
, because I can't take oneverything.
It's super fascinating and Ithink once you it sounds like
(13:16):
you had that mindset of insteadof like, oh my God, how am I
going to do all of these thingsmyself.
It's just more of like how am Igoing to pull to help me get
those done?
And I think that's like superrelatable to really anything
that people are trying to do.
So I would love to hear this isan interesting question in the
sense of some people want to beinfluencers or content creators
(13:38):
or advocates or want to get incertain community aspects or
volunteer.
How do you engage with yourwriters and fans and like how
did you build that network foryourself?
Speaker 2 (13:56):
So a lot of authors do things differently.
A lot of them are kind ofbehind the scenes or they have
someone else kind of take overtheir social media.
I have always loved justinteracting with readers and
fans.
I guess you could say it reallyfills my cup.
So I try to just be out thereand I try to respond to like
every single comment I can, youknow, every tag.
I try to share a lot of storiesbecause it makes me happy and
(14:19):
it like I just appreciateeverybody that, because it's
time, time-consuming, makingvideos and reels and content and
people aren't necessarilygetting anything out of it aside
from just the joy of readingand sharing.
So that means a lot to me andso I try my best to just be
really I guess, hands-on, youcan say and put myself out there
.
I think with any business you'renot just selling your brand and
(14:42):
your product, you're sellingyourself too.
So I really just try to be mybest self and put my you know,
try to stay positive and put mybest foot forward when it comes
to social media.
Because you know, I mean, aseverybody knows, negativity and
stuff that really is like stuffthat trends and it's, you know,
it's that I don't like that.
So I mean you'll never reallysee me talking about anything
controversial or negative orgetting in on any of the drama.
(15:04):
I try to stay out of thatbecause I really just want my
space to be, you know, a safespace and a positive space.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah, have you had any like really touching or
inspiring fan interactions?
Speaker 2 (15:17):
I have and those are the ones that like, keep me
going If I'm honestly, if I'mever just struggling or in a
block or something that likereaders reaching out to me, it's
great when they say I love yourbook, it was so entertaining.
But when you can touch someoneon a deeper level I mean I've
had people say they, you knowtheir life was changed reading
their.
You know one of my stories thisis a little bit personal I met
(15:38):
this person at a signing,face-to-face, and she was crying
and hugged me.
And one of my stories the wrongpart kind of, deals with
suicidal themes and overcomingthat.
And she said she was close todoing that.
And she said she read the bookand completely just had a whole
new outlook on life and likeshe's like this is why I wanted
to live again and I'mrecognizing all the little
things in life and you know Icall them starting points in the
(16:01):
book and she's like it reallyjust opened my eyes and she
thanked me and like that youcan't replace that.
I think everybody wants totouch the world in some way and
to leave, you know, their mark.
So the fact that I can touch somany people through words is
just the most fulfilling thing.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
That's amazing, oh my .
Speaker 2 (16:18):
God.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
I couldn't even imagine that, like your words
and your stories that you'resharing real or not, real way,
or inspired or not inspired ishaving such an impact, and a lot
of the times you probably don'teven know that, but in this
case, this woman came up andsaid that to you, which is, like
I, just so incredibly special.
(16:41):
Let's talk about some of yourbooks, because you had mentioned
that Still Beating was the onethat really took off.
Is that right?
Yes, that's the one, mm-hmm.
So maybe give us a high-leveloverview of which one came out
first, because I know you haveLotus, the Wrong Heart, june 1st
.
There's a bunch, so maybe youcan just talk about the history
(17:04):
and what was so different aboutStill Beating.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Yeah, so Still Beating the premise of the story
.
So this is my one, really trulykind of darker romance.
It's a survivor story.
But I really kind of go darkwith the beginning of the book
and this was just a littlenugget I had in my brain a long
time ago and I'm like I'm neverwriting that.
That's so depraved.
Like if my parents read thisbook, oh my God.
So I'm like I'm never going todo it.
(17:27):
But then one day I was I'm likewhy not?
And I almost did it under a penname because I was very nervous
about putting that out thereafter I.
My last three books before thatwere just kind of like
contemporary romance.
But yeah, this one is twocharacters who've never gotten
along.
But yeah, this one is twocharacters who've never gotten
along.
They're kidnapped by the sameman, they're chained in a
basement together for threeweeks and then they kind of have
to work together to survive andjust a lot of terrible things
(17:50):
happen.
And I was going to kind of endit there and just leave it as
just this dark, twisted littlenovella.
And I sent it to a couple offriends at the time beta readers
and they're like you have tokeep going.
And I was like you're right,like I really want to see how
these two people overcome thisand get to the other side.
So I would say two thirds ofthe book is actually the healing
(18:11):
journey after the captivity andso it's very it's kind of a bit
like a bit of a trauma bond andall that.
But it I don't know, it justkind of took off and sometimes I
do think it's luck, I mean justgetting the right book out
there at the right time.
And when I did publish this,like the darker romance was
really kind of getting a buzzand I also my husband and I shot
the cover of the book theoriginal cover in our living
(18:32):
room we were photographers atthe time, so we had our arms
chained together and the cover,the story behind the cover, also
kind of took off.
So it was a little bit of a mixof things.
But yeah, that's my one bookthat's really kind of gotten a
lot of traction on, you know,like TikTok and things like that
.
So that's really cool.
And it got picked up for to bea movie by Passion Flick last
(18:54):
month.
So I'm excited about that.
Yes, good to see it come tolife.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
A dream come true, that is so cool yeah, when
you're doing that, when you'reseeing that some of your like
your actual book is movingtowards a movie or getting
picked up like whatparticipation do you have in
that?
Speaker 2 (19:14):
So it's different for all studios.
The reason why I felt socomfortable and had a lot of
faith in this particular studiowith Passion Flicks is because
they give the author a lot ofcreative control and I know this
book was, you know, very it'svery special to a lot of readers
and some sensitive topics thatI wanted to do it justice and I
know sometimes you could hand itover to like a big studio or
Netflix and then it's really outof your hands and it's kind of
(19:36):
you leave all the creativity tothem and so it's nice that I get
to I have control over, likethe final script revisions.
I get to be on set the wholetime, um, get you know, have a
say in the casting andeverything.
So that was really important tome and um, so yeah, that's why
I feel so comfortable with itand I'm very excited to see what
they can do.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
So that's so cool, so you get to be on set the whole
time, like, what do you?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
how do you feel about that?
Oh my God, it's surreal.
So this is honestly my bucketlist dream.
I, when I was in communitycollege, I actually studied
screenwriting.
So movies were that was kind ofmy end game.
Um, originally I loved writing,but I liked writing in script
form.
So just the fact that you knowI I gravitated more towards, you
know, storytelling in books,but just seeing that kind of
come full circle is amazing.
(20:25):
So it really was my ultimatedream going into writing, like
it would be so cool to see amovie, you know.
So the fact that it's happeningis amazing.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
What were you like as a kid?
Were you like so into books andwriting and creativity?
Speaker 2 (20:42):
I was.
I was a little bit of abookworm.
I was very shy and introverted,um kind of insecure I mean I
still carry a lot of that withme to this day just very
sensitive, and you know, um, Idefinitely wasn't, you know,
like the star of thecheerleading squad or anything
like that.
I was just kind of like awallflower, I guess.
So, um, yeah, so this has beendifferent to like kind of put
(21:05):
myself out there and, um, like Isaid, I was a photographer for
a long time too and I was like,oh, I was comfortable behind the
scenes, you know.
But to be kind of, you know,getting your, your stories and
such like an intimate part ofyou, like your words to, to
share them with just completestrangers all around the world,
is very, um, it's scary but it'svery satisfying at the yeah, oh
(21:27):
my gosh.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
I can only imagine.
So, what is some advice thatyou would give people who want
to follow in similar footsteps?
And it doesn't have to beromance novels.
It could be a business book oror biography, or whatever it is.
What's some advice that youwould give people?
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Um, my ultimate advice is to just be brave, to
step outside your comfort zone.
That, I think, has been thebiggest thing for me, is because
I think people just like trapthemselves into these bubbles
and feel like they're onlycapable of so much.
But I think it doesn't matterhow big or wild your dream seems
, it is absolutely attainable.
You just have to do the stepsto get there.
(22:11):
So, just being brave withwhatever it is you do For me it
was just writing that story.
I never thought I couldactually get up.
You know, put out there.
That was the biggest steppingstone for me.
Making connections, like I'mnot someone that reaches out to
people Like I.
You know I feel shy and awkwardabout it, but just, you know,
sending that email, you knowmaking that comment to someone
that you know you never knowwhere it could lead and mine has
(22:35):
only opened up new doors that.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
I never thought I'd be able to get through.
Can people self-publish?
Because it sounds like you wentthrough a publisher the first
time.
Can people self-publish?
Speaker 2 (22:43):
No, actually I started off as indie, so
independent, you know,self-publishing, basically.
So I just kind of latched ontoAmazon.
It was KDP.
Everyone was like that's theway to do it, it's the biggest
platform.
So I started there.
I only got a publisher at theend of 2022.
And I actually reached out tothem.
I was just it was one of thosethings.
I'm like you know what, why not?
(23:03):
So I just messaged one of theeditors it's with Bloom source
books and I'm like, hey, this isa long shot, don't mind me just
creeping in your inbox here,but what are the chances?
And it was just like fate,because she had just read my
book June 1st, and she's like,wow, I just read this.
This seems like perfect timing,it seems like it's meant to be,
and I was thinking aboutreaching out to you.
(23:25):
And yeah, the rest is historythere.
So they have published three ofmy backlist books Still Beating
, lotus and June 1st.
And then I have my next releasethey call it the Frontline the
book I wrote for them and that'scoming out in just a couple of
weeks Catch the Sun.
So, yeah, it's very exciting.
So I have my toes dipped intoboth avenues.
(23:46):
They call it hybrid, I guess,and it's been fun to experience
both sides of it.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Is self-publishing on Amazon hard.
What are the steps that youtake?
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Yeah, no, it's not hard.
They make it very user-friendly, which was great for me
starting out, because I didn'tknow what I was doing, and I'm
sure a lot of people are in thesame boat.
So it's a really great platform.
I mean, they even can do yourcover for you.
You can just do like a littlelike mock-up cover Not that I
recommend it, but yeah, theymake it so simple and you can
just pop your manuscript in andhit publish and that's that.
(24:19):
So, yeah, it's been a greatavenue.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Yeah, so okay, Obviously you spend a lot of
time writing, but I'm curiouswhat are some things that you do
when you're not writing?
Speaker 2 (24:31):
I do with my life like 10 years ago, like trying
to think back to all the stuff Idid, because writing is, like
it kind of has taken over myworld.
That used to be my main hobby.
But yeah, I mean, I feel likeI'm pretty ordinary.
I love spending time with myfamily, I love going for walks,
I love nature, I love animals.
I used to work in pet care forlike 13 years, so you know, I
just kind of like I obviouslylove reading, so that's probably
(24:54):
my biggest hobby, I guess, butnothing too crazy.
You know I'm not out theresurfing or you know anything
like that.
So I'm just kind of liketypical mom in suburbia with the
family and just getting by andholding down the household.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
What do your kids think about your career and your
books?
Speaker 2 (25:11):
They're very excited about it.
My oldest is 14.
So she, my next book coming outis geared towards YA, young
adult.
So like she's like, oh, myfriends heard that your book is
coming out and they can actuallyprobably read it.
I'm like, no, you can't read it.
But yeah, they're very excitedand the first time saw one of my
books at Target, I think that'swhen it set in for them Like,
(25:33):
oh, this is more than just momis just hanging out in the
bedroom writing all the time.
They actually saw it Like, wow,mom's book is at Target.
So yeah, I think it's surrealfor them too that it's not
something that always happens.
It's kind of like rare,exciting thing that I'm glad I
get to experience with them.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
And then you said that in COVID time your husband
lost his job.
Is he back to work or is hemore?
Speaker 2 (26:04):
ahead of a household.
How has his role changed withyour success?
Yeah, so we are absolutely ateam.
We work together with thebusiness.
He did go back to work for, Ithink, about a year and a half
or so and then he took an earlyretirement because it was just
kind of getting too much for meso to do on my own to write and
manage the household.
So, yeah, he does my bookcovers, he does a lot of my
stuff that I'm not good at, likemy ads and stuff like that, and
(26:27):
, yeah, just holds down the fortlike stay at home, dad, while
I'm writing, and he loves itbecause we have a little one too
.
He's six now, but I mean Ithink it's a rare thing where
you can kind of see your kidsgrow up, where you're not
leaving the house nine to fiveto go to work every day.
So it's really special and I'mglad that you know I'm able to
allow him to do this too and youknow he loves it.
(26:47):
He's my number one support andI don't think I could do it
without him.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Yeah, I love that.
I'm curious, though has theroles or the way that you guys
work together changed at all?
Because I know that's somethingthat's very common.
When women see some success,their partner I see it two ways.
It's either like someone who'slike super supportive, but then
also like sometimes it's astruggle, because there's this
(27:15):
feeling of potential, likeinadequateness or not being able
to fulfill those shoes.
So I'm curious what has yourexperience been?
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean I think when it firststarted maybe there was a little
bit of that, because it's a bitof a role reversal, so I mean
there's kind of like it'sstrange, it's not something that
everybody experiences.
So I think there was a littlebit of a learning curve.
But it really just comes downto acceptance.
And yeah, luckily my husband isjust like completely accepted
everything.
He's super happy for me.
(27:43):
He does all the signings withme, so when I go to all the book
signings he's my assistant andI think it, you know it makes
him just as happy as it makes me, you know, to watch me succeed.
And you know he has his ownhobbies.
He's a musician, so he has aband, so he still gets out and
gets to experience.
You know his own, you knowhobbies and everything.
Speaker 1 (28:03):
But yeah, we just like we work really well
together and I know that's notalways the case, so I feel very,
very lucky in that aspect.
Yeah, when it works, it works,and I think it's really
interesting to see some men thatare finding themselves in this
position have the realization of, like, if I pour into this,
then we're both successful, weboth get, and it's like a choice
(28:25):
of either having someresentment and battling it and
then pouring in, because whenyou pour into something, you're
both getting back in return, andit sounds like you guys have
figured that out, which isawesome.
So what about balancing withyour kids?
Are you able to still find thebalance?
(28:46):
And, because it sounds like youhave a six-year-old, you have a
14-year-old, I'm sure you'vegot maybe like a 10-year-old
somewhere in there, because youhave three, 11, I figured it was
somewhere.
Has being more of a businessowner and a brand owner been
able, like, allowed you theability to be the mom that you
want to be and show up when youwant to show up, or do you find
(29:08):
it being more conflicting withbeing able to show up how you
want to show up?
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Yeah, it's, um, it's definitely double-sided, I feel
it's.
I think it's harder to just gointo the office and write when
the kids you know now that it'ssummertime they're just like
hanging out in the house and Ithen I get the mom guilt.
(29:34):
When they're at school it's alittle bit easier, but it's
definitely.
I mean, it's nice that I canjust pop out and take a break
and see what's going on, but atthe same time it takes a lot of
discipline and that's verytricky for me.
So I think it's easiersometimes when you do have an
outside office and you'releaving in the morning, and I
feel like I wouldn't feel as badif I was like okay, this is
work, even though it is work.
But it's just different whenyou're at home and you feel like
you're kind of missing out onsomething that's just on the
other side of the door.
(29:55):
So it's been hard to navigatethat a little bit.
Yeah, sometimes you're reallystretched thin, so you can't
really do everything at once andyou have to make sacrifices.
If I have a deadline that's due, then I really have to buckle
down and be like I promise I'llmake it up to you guys, but if
you do like, right now I do havea little bit of time to spare.
So I am trying hard to justreally be very present with the
(30:20):
household and the kids andsummer activities, and then
knowing that I have to dive backin and kind of just be absent
for a little bit.
So yeah, it's hard, especiallywith traveling, cause I've been
able to go to a lot of coolplaces, but you know I can't
always take the kids because youknow they're in school or
whatever.
So that's hard too.
So I'm like oh, I promise I'llmake it up to you, we'll go
somewhere fun, but yeah it's,it's tricky.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Yeah, it's finding that the juggling between it all
.
So obviously you talked aboutthis movie.
You have a new book coming out.
Remind us what that is and thenalso tell us any other things
that you have coming up in thenext year or so.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Yeah.
So my next book is called Catchthe Sun.
This is a little bit itdeviated from my normal books,
because I normally write adultromances and this was kind of
just like an accident.
I'm like, hey, I always need tobe writing something different.
And this was kind of just likean accident.
I'm like, hey, I always need tobe writing something different.
I'm not one of those authorsyou can kind of put in a box
which is hard for marketing, butit is what it is.
So this time I was like I kindof want to write younger kids
(31:18):
like not kids, but like 18 inhigh school.
And so it's still like mytypical story, like I have a
slow burn.
It's very angsty, there'stwists and turns, heavy topic,
but yeah, it's just yours for alittle bit of a younger audience
maybe.
So it was really fun to writekind of like a sarcastic, moody
heroine and it's a friend tolover story and she has a
(31:41):
brother that was put on deathrow for committing a crime.
So she kind of comes back tothe town that she had left,
reconnects with the boy that sheloved when she was little and
it's just this slow burnfriendship.
But then, like about halfwaythrough the book we take a turn
into kind of Amesville and Idon't want to spoil anything,
but yeah, it gets a little bitdarker and grittier from there.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Oh my gosh, I love that.
Where can people find you oryour books?
I mean I want to read thatStill Beating book that I mean I
want to read that still beatingbook that sounds amazing the
way that you're describing it,but I would love to have you
share, like where can peoplefind you or where can they
download or buy your books?
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Sure, so all my books are on Amazon, so that's an
easy place to find them.
My traditionally publishedbooks are with Bloom, so you can
find those anywhere.
A lot of them are in Barnes,noble and Target, walmart,
places like that, somewhere atairports.
But yeah, there's.
I have a link in my.
I mostly post on Instagram.
That's my primary platform, soI post.
(32:39):
I'm there the most and I haveall my like little link trees
and all that stuff, so you canfind more about me there.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
Awesome.
And then I always ask this thisone piece of advice you'd give
to listeners from today'sepisode.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Yeah, I mean, I would say just if you have something
that you're passionate about andyou feel like you can't do it
because of other things, justmake time for it and even if
it's a slow process, if it'sbaby steps, if you just every
day work towards your ultimatedream, your ultimate goal, like
I promise, you will get there.
But it takes a lot ofdiscipline and focus and you
(33:12):
just have to want it bad enough.
But yeah, nothing is too small,just little tiny stuff, little
goals along the way, and you'llget there.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
I like that.
Thank you so much, jennifer,for being with us.
Really appreciated today'sconversation, of course.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's been great.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
As always.
Thank you for listening.
Check us out on Instagram atbadass basic bitch and thank you
to saw and sign our productionstudio.
We'll see you next week.
We'll see you next time, Bye.
What's up, batty Bees ?
I'm Brianna, mom, wife, serialentrepreneur and host of the
Badass Basic Bitch podcast.
Each week, I sit down with aseemingly ordinary woman who's
doing extraordinary things and Iget to share her story with you
.
So let's go Buckle up, as we'regoing to get real and dive into
(00:31):
the shit nobody talks about.
Welcome to the Batty B Club.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Just be brave, step outside your comfort zone.
That, I think, has been thebiggest thing for me, is because
I think people just like trapthemselves into these bubbles
and feel like they're onlycapable of so much.
It doesn't matter how big orwild your dream seems, it is
absolutely attainable.
You just have to do the stepsto get there.
That was the biggest steppingstone for me Making connections
(00:56):
Like I'm not someone thatreaches out to people Like I.
You know I feel shy and awkwardabout it, but sending that
email, you know, making thatcomment to someone that you know
you never know where it couldlead and mine has only opened up
new doors that I never thoughtI'd be able to get through.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Welcome back to another episode of Badass Basic
Bitch.
On today's episode, we arediving into the world of romance
literature with author JenniferHartman.
Known for her storytelling,Jennifer has captured the hearts
of readers worldwide, so joinus as we explore her life
(01:32):
inspirations and creativeprocess, uncovering the magic
behind her heartfelt narrativesand the timeless allure of
romance.
Thank you so much for beingwith us today, Jennifer.
Hi, thank you so much for havingme Really excited to be here so
before we get started, can youtell our listeners a little bit
more about who you are and whatyou do?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yes, so I am a wife and a mother.
I live in Northern Illinois andI've always wanted to be a
writer, but I never reallythought it was something that I
could achieve, but I just I wentfor it.
My husband's like just you knowwhy not?
And so one day about four yearsago, I just decided to publish
my first book I had been workingon for probably a decade prior.
(02:09):
And, yeah, it just kind ofspiraled after that, and so it's
only been about four years andI have 14 books out right now.
So, yeah, it's my life, Iabsolutely love it and it's been
great.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
I did not realize that you've only been doing this
professionally in that sense,where your first book was out
four years ago.
That is insane to me.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
It's been very surreal.
I did not anticipate.
So basically my husband and Ihad both been laid off with
COVID.
This happened in 2020.
And it was just kind of likenow or never situation.
If I'm going to do it, might aswell do it now.
So, yeah, I just kind oftackled my first book.
Yeah, you know, I got some goodfeedback and then I wrote two
more after that and then it wasmy fourth book, still Beating
(02:55):
that just kind of like caught abuzz on the internet and the
Facebook groups and it's justbeen.
You know, it just took off fromthere.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
So what inspired you to start writing?
I mean, obviously you said thatyou both were laid off and it
was COVID time, but I mean,someone just doesn't wake up and
be like I'm going to write abook, or maybe they do, but
usually those people aren'tsuccessful.
So where did this all startfrom?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Yeah, so I devoured historical romance novels
probably earlier than I shouldhave, like in my teens my young
teens probably and so I reallyjust had a voracious love for
reading and I took that towriting.
I would write poetry and shortstories.
I loved English class in schooland I actually started kind of
writing my own stories in thefan fiction world back in the
(03:40):
day and one day, like maybe in2009 or so, I kind of
transformed one of those fanfiction stories with like my own
made up characters and I gotpretty far into it, maybe
halfway through the book, andthen I started having kids.
I settled down.
I just didn't think I had timefor it, so it was just on, you
know, in the background, andyeah, it was like maybe end of
(04:00):
2019.
My husband's like I think youhave something here because he
read what I had written.
He's like you should go for itand I was like I don't have time
, we both work full time.
Then and yeah, and then COVIDhit and I just I actually had
time on, you know, my husbandwas watching the kids, he let me
work upstairs and I just doveinto it and I haven't stopped.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
So, yeah, and then, like what did you pick?
Like romance literature,because you've just been
passionate about that.
You always found it mostfascinating.
So you're like, might as wellwrite what I love to read and
what I know.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yes, I don't know why , but I, even with movies and TV
shows, I always just latch onto that.
You know, the romance, the lovestory that you know in a lot of
shows and that kind of withbooks as well, it was.
That's just my driving force.
I love just seeing like twocharacters defeat the odds and
that's why I kind of put mycharacters in these like
(04:55):
forbidden or tragic situations,cause it's just it's really fun
to see them get to the otherside and have the happy ending.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Yeah, I, oh my gosh, I just think that's so.
I still can't get over the factthat this was like oh, I'm just
going to do it because you'vehad, like I was looking at some
of your books and there's somebooks that have like tens of
thousands of just reviews, whichmeans hundreds of thousands of
people, and you've been namedbestseller and top 25 and all of
(05:25):
that.
So how did you because it wassuch a little bit of time and it
seems like some of your booksreally went viral for lack of
better words how did you handlethat transition from oh, like I
just write for fun and but tonow people are demanding it and
wanting it and there's thisexpectation that you have to
(05:48):
fulfill that?
Like, how did you handle thattransition, or how are you
handling it?
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Yeah, I mean, as fun as it is, it's also it's also
difficult because I'm very like,I'm a sensitive person, I'm
kind of introverted, so it'svery vulnerable to put your
words out there and thatexpectation.
People say it gets easier withevery book.
For me it actually gets harderbecause as my audience grows, so
do those reader demands, andI'm such a people pleaser that I
(06:12):
wish I could just please everysingle reader and that's
impossible.
So yeah, it's harder.
When you start writing a newbook you kind of overthink
things like oh well, thisperson's like this and so on and
so forth.
So it's hard to kind ofnavigate those like
self-limiting beliefs that youknow the demand, expectation
versus like just writing whatyou love and being passionate
(06:33):
about you know the storiesyou're writing.
But I think when you find abalance is when you can really
thrive.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
And what about writer's block?
Like there's got to be momentswhen you feel creatively drained
, right, how do you handle that?
Because I think that's reallyrelatable, because people may
not relate to the fact of beinga writer but work life getting
out and about, like you havethis like draining or depletion,
(06:56):
like how do you handle that?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Absolutely.
My stories are always veryemotionally draining.
I write very angsty, lots oflike tragic stories.
They end happily, but there's alot of you know stuff that goes
down in the middle.
So it's hard.
Time management is difficult.
Having three children and ahusband and a household.
You just really have to kind ofbuckle down and focus, and
that's never been a strong suitof mine.
(07:18):
I'm a big procrastinator but,for whatever reason, writing
like I feel like I'm notcomplete if I'm not, you know,
contributing to the writingprocess at least a little bit
every day, even if I'm notactively writing, I'm usually
brainstorming or for writer'sblock.
I think that I've looked intoso many things, I've tried
everything and for me it's justa waited out.
(07:39):
Sometimes there's just a lot oftraveling going on or, you know
, stressful life situations andI don't want to force anything.
Um, because I feel like I cantell, and readers can tell, if
it's not authentic and my mindwasn't in it.
So, um, I think the best thingfor me is music.
I really gravitate towards, um,just putting, you know, my, my
Spotify playlist on and I haveone for every book, so I'll just
(08:03):
kind of listen to the songs andit helps kind of get me, you
know, ground me a little bit andget me back in the zone.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Yeah, oh, I love that .
So do you develop your?
Okay, I'm just like this ismore for, like, personal
curiosity.
Do you develop your Spotifyplaylist based on, like, the
type of book you're writing, ordo you have one list that you
listen to no matter what youwrite?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
No, everything is individual to every book, so on
my.
Spotify there's literally aplaylist for every story.
It has the story title on thereand the song.
Pretty much all the songs aredifferent.
Occasionally there's like oneor two songs, but it's just like
my favorite songs that end upon every playlist.
But yeah, I kind of go by a mixbetween mood and lyrics and if
they just mesh, it gets added tothe list and I just my daughter
(08:46):
, she's 14.
She'll be like, well we knowwhen mom's writing a new book,
because we hear the same 10songs on repeat over and over in
the car or whatever.
So yeah, I'll just kind of havethose.
You know, they're just in theback of my mind and they really
just help inspire me.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
And then, what about your experience with, like
publishing?
Because I could imagine whenyou're writing your first book,
there is a lot of things thatyou have to go through without
even knowing is this going to besuccessful?
Is this even going to be worththe money?
So maybe someone's listeningand they've always wanted to
write a book or publish a book.
I would love to hear from youlike advice for aspiring authors
(09:23):
, or just like your experienceof there was a lot of roadblocks
that you had to get through.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Yes, author life, you have to wear many hats.
I was never good at themarketing and promoting or
anything like that.
I'm definitely not ananalytical type.
So like ads and all that,that's just like not my
wheelhouse.
So I mean first I would say,just write the book.
So I know a lot of peoplestress over the after.
(09:49):
You know what you do afterwards, but just get the book written
first.
And then there's so many groupsout there I would say it.
I mean it takes a village.
I don't think I'd be where I amif I didn't have like a really
great group of people, a supportsystem.
People I've met online.
I've made like a best friendjust through the author journey,
like truly best friend.
She lives states away but westill visit, we talk daily my
husband and just other writersthat are in the same position as
(10:10):
you.
It's like they're the only onesthat kind of understand what
you're going through andeverybody has been really
helpful.
I know people see negativity alot online but there are just
really good people that areeager to help.
So ask questions there's noquestion, that's, you know, too
silly Do research and then justkind of latch on to some good
people that have the strengthsthat you lack.
(10:31):
So my husband is veryanalytical, so he helps me with
that side of things and yeah, itjust you kind of combine your
strengths until you get it right.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
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Have you ever read the book whoNot, how?
I have not.
Okay, it's a really interestingbook, but it kind of makes me
(12:32):
feel very similar to what you'resaying now.
It's like you have all of thesethings that you have to get
done and a lot of people tend tofocus in on how am I going to
get that done, right?
How am I going to sell books?
How am I going to write thisbook?
How am I going to do all thesethings?
But this book who, not how?
Really has you focusing in onthe who?
Like, who is going to help you,right?
(12:53):
I recognize that it's not mystrength for ads or publishing
or whatever it is.
Who are the people in my youknow, three touchpoint network
or whatnot that I can pull fromthat can help me accomplish this
, because I can't take oneverything.
It's super fascinating and Ithink once you it sounds like
(13:16):
you had that mindset of insteadof like, oh my God, how am I
going to do all of these thingsmyself.
It's just more of like how am Igoing to pull to help me get
those done?
And I think that's like superrelatable to really anything
that people are trying to do.
So I would love to hear this isan interesting question in the
sense of some people want to beinfluencers or content creators
(13:38):
or advocates or want to get incertain community aspects or
volunteer.
How do you engage with yourwriters and fans and like how
did you build that network foryourself?
Speaker 2 (13:56):
So a lot of authors do things differently.
A lot of them are kind ofbehind the scenes or they have
someone else kind of take overtheir social media.
I have always loved justinteracting with readers and
fans.
I guess you could say it reallyfills my cup.
So I try to just be out thereand I try to respond to like
every single comment I can, youknow, every tag.
I try to share a lot of storiesbecause it makes me happy and
(14:19):
it like I just appreciateeverybody that, because it's
time, time-consuming, makingvideos and reels and content and
people aren't necessarilygetting anything out of it aside
from just the joy of readingand sharing.
So that means a lot to me andso I try my best to just be
really I guess, hands-on, youcan say and put myself out there
.
I think with any business you'renot just selling your brand and
(14:42):
your product, you're sellingyourself too.
So I really just try to be mybest self and put my you know,
try to stay positive and put mybest foot forward when it comes
to social media.
Because you know, I mean, aseverybody knows, negativity and
stuff that really is like stuffthat trends and it's, you know,
it's that I don't like that.
So I mean you'll never reallysee me talking about anything
controversial or negative orgetting in on any of the drama.
(15:04):
I try to stay out of thatbecause I really just want my
space to be, you know, a safespace and a positive space.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah, have you had any like really touching or
inspiring fan interactions?
Speaker 2 (15:17):
I have and those are the ones that like, keep me
going If I'm honestly, if I'mever just struggling or in a
block or something that likereaders reaching out to me, it's
great when they say I love yourbook, it was so entertaining.
But when you can touch someoneon a deeper level I mean I've
had people say they, you knowtheir life was changed reading
their.
You know one of my stories thisis a little bit personal I met
(15:38):
this person at a signing,face-to-face, and she was crying
and hugged me.
And one of my stories the wrongpart kind of, deals with
suicidal themes and overcomingthat.
And she said she was close todoing that.
And she said she read the bookand completely just had a whole
new outlook on life and likeshe's like this is why I wanted
to live again and I'mrecognizing all the little
things in life and you know Icall them starting points in the
(16:01):
book and she's like it reallyjust opened my eyes and she
thanked me and like that youcan't replace that.
I think everybody wants totouch the world in some way and
to leave, you know, their mark.
So the fact that I can touch somany people through words is
just the most fulfilling thing.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
That's amazing, oh my .
Speaker 2 (16:18):
God.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
I couldn't even imagine that, like your words
and your stories that you'resharing real or not, real way,
or inspired or not inspired ishaving such an impact, and a lot
of the times you probably don'teven know that, but in this
case, this woman came up andsaid that to you, which is, like
I, just so incredibly special.
(16:41):
Let's talk about some of yourbooks, because you had mentioned
that Still Beating was the onethat really took off.
Is that right?
Yes, that's the one, mm-hmm.
So maybe give us a high-leveloverview of which one came out
first, because I know you haveLotus, the Wrong Heart, june 1st
.
There's a bunch, so maybe youcan just talk about the history
(17:04):
and what was so different aboutStill Beating.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Yeah, so Still Beating the premise of the story
.
So this is my one, really trulykind of darker romance.
It's a survivor story.
But I really kind of go darkwith the beginning of the book
and this was just a littlenugget I had in my brain a long
time ago and I'm like I'm neverwriting that.
That's so depraved.
Like if my parents read thisbook, oh my God.
So I'm like I'm never going todo it.
(17:27):
But then one day I was I'm likewhy not?
And I almost did it under a penname because I was very nervous
about putting that out thereafter I.
My last three books before thatwere just kind of like
contemporary romance.
But yeah, this one is twocharacters who've never gotten
along.
But yeah, this one is twocharacters who've never gotten
along.
They're kidnapped by the sameman, they're chained in a
basement together for threeweeks and then they kind of have
to work together to survive andjust a lot of terrible things
(17:50):
happen.
And I was going to kind of endit there and just leave it as
just this dark, twisted littlenovella.
And I sent it to a couple offriends at the time beta readers
and they're like you have tokeep going.
And I was like you're right,like I really want to see how
these two people overcome thisand get to the other side.
So I would say two thirds ofthe book is actually the healing
(18:11):
journey after the captivity andso it's very it's kind of a bit
like a bit of a trauma bond andall that.
But it I don't know, it justkind of took off and sometimes I
do think it's luck, I mean justgetting the right book out
there at the right time.
And when I did publish this,like the darker romance was
really kind of getting a buzzand I also my husband and I shot
the cover of the book theoriginal cover in our living
(18:32):
room we were photographers atthe time, so we had our arms
chained together and the cover,the story behind the cover, also
kind of took off.
So it was a little bit of a mixof things.
But yeah, that's my one bookthat's really kind of gotten a
lot of traction on, you know,like TikTok and things like that
.
So that's really cool.
And it got picked up for to bea movie by Passion Flick last
(18:54):
month.
So I'm excited about that.
Yes, good to see it come tolife.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
A dream come true, that is so cool yeah, when
you're doing that, when you'reseeing that some of your like
your actual book is movingtowards a movie or getting
picked up like whatparticipation do you have in
that?
Speaker 2 (19:14):
So it's different for all studios.
The reason why I felt socomfortable and had a lot of
faith in this particular studiowith Passion Flicks is because
they give the author a lot ofcreative control and I know this
book was, you know, very it'svery special to a lot of readers
and some sensitive topics thatI wanted to do it justice and I
know sometimes you could hand itover to like a big studio or
Netflix and then it's really outof your hands and it's kind of
(19:36):
you leave all the creativity tothem and so it's nice that I get
to I have control over, likethe final script revisions.
I get to be on set the wholetime, um, get you know, have a
say in the casting andeverything.
So that was really important tome and um, so yeah, that's why
I feel so comfortable with itand I'm very excited to see what
they can do.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
So that's so cool, so you get to be on set the whole
time, like, what do you?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
how do you feel about that?
Oh my God, it's surreal.
So this is honestly my bucketlist dream.
I, when I was in communitycollege, I actually studied
screenwriting.
So movies were that was kind ofmy end game.
Um, originally I loved writing,but I liked writing in script
form.
So just the fact that you knowI I gravitated more towards, you
know, storytelling in books,but just seeing that kind of
come full circle is amazing.
(20:25):
So it really was my ultimatedream going into writing, like
it would be so cool to see amovie, you know.
So the fact that it's happeningis amazing.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
What were you like as a kid?
Were you like so into books andwriting and creativity?
Speaker 2 (20:42):
I was.
I was a little bit of abookworm.
I was very shy and introverted,um kind of insecure I mean I
still carry a lot of that withme to this day just very
sensitive, and you know, um, Idefinitely wasn't, you know,
like the star of thecheerleading squad or anything
like that.
I was just kind of like awallflower, I guess.
So, um, yeah, so this has beendifferent to like kind of put
(21:05):
myself out there and, um, like Isaid, I was a photographer for
a long time too and I was like,oh, I was comfortable behind the
scenes, you know.
But to be kind of, you know,getting your, your stories and
such like an intimate part ofyou, like your words to, to
share them with just completestrangers all around the world,
is very, um, it's scary but it'svery satisfying at the yeah, oh
(21:27):
my gosh.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
I can only imagine.
So, what is some advice thatyou would give people who want
to follow in similar footsteps?
And it doesn't have to beromance novels.
It could be a business book oror biography, or whatever it is.
What's some advice that youwould give people?
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Um, my ultimate advice is to just be brave, to
step outside your comfort zone.
That, I think, has been thebiggest thing for me, is because
I think people just like trapthemselves into these bubbles
and feel like they're onlycapable of so much.
But I think it doesn't matterhow big or wild your dream seems
, it is absolutely attainable.
You just have to do the stepsto get there.
(22:11):
So, just being brave withwhatever it is you do For me it
was just writing that story.
I never thought I couldactually get up.
You know, put out there.
That was the biggest steppingstone for me.
Making connections, like I'mnot someone that reaches out to
people Like I.
You know I feel shy and awkwardabout it, but just, you know,
sending that email, you knowmaking that comment to someone
that you know you never knowwhere it could lead and mine has
(22:35):
only opened up new doors that.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
I never thought I'd be able to get through.
Can people self-publish?
Because it sounds like you wentthrough a publisher the first
time.
Can people self-publish?
Speaker 2 (22:43):
No, actually I started off as indie, so
independent, you know,self-publishing, basically.
So I just kind of latched ontoAmazon.
It was KDP.
Everyone was like that's theway to do it, it's the biggest
platform.
So I started there.
I only got a publisher at theend of 2022.
And I actually reached out tothem.
I was just it was one of thosethings.
I'm like you know what, why not?
(23:03):
So I just messaged one of theeditors it's with Bloom source
books and I'm like, hey, this isa long shot, don't mind me just
creeping in your inbox here,but what are the chances?
And it was just like fate,because she had just read my
book June 1st, and she's like,wow, I just read this.
This seems like perfect timing,it seems like it's meant to be,
and I was thinking aboutreaching out to you.
(23:25):
And yeah, the rest is historythere.
So they have published three ofmy backlist books Still Beating
, lotus and June 1st.
And then I have my next releasethey call it the Frontline the
book I wrote for them and that'scoming out in just a couple of
weeks Catch the Sun.
So, yeah, it's very exciting.
So I have my toes dipped intoboth avenues.
(23:46):
They call it hybrid, I guess,and it's been fun to experience
both sides of it.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Is self-publishing on Amazon hard.
What are the steps that youtake?
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Yeah, no, it's not hard.
They make it very user-friendly, which was great for me
starting out, because I didn'tknow what I was doing, and I'm
sure a lot of people are in thesame boat.
So it's a really great platform.
I mean, they even can do yourcover for you.
You can just do like a littlelike mock-up cover Not that I
recommend it, but yeah, theymake it so simple and you can
just pop your manuscript in andhit publish and that's that.
(24:19):
So, yeah, it's been a greatavenue.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Yeah, so okay, Obviously you spend a lot of
time writing, but I'm curiouswhat are some things that you do
when you're not writing?
Speaker 2 (24:31):
I do with my life like 10 years ago, like trying
to think back to all the stuff Idid, because writing is, like
it kind of has taken over myworld.
That used to be my main hobby.
But yeah, I mean, I feel likeI'm pretty ordinary.
I love spending time with myfamily, I love going for walks,
I love nature, I love animals.
I used to work in pet care forlike 13 years, so you know, I
just kind of like I obviouslylove reading, so that's probably
(24:54):
my biggest hobby, I guess, butnothing too crazy.
You know I'm not out theresurfing or you know anything
like that.
So I'm just kind of liketypical mom in suburbia with the
family and just getting by andholding down the household.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
What do your kids think about your career and your
books?
Speaker 2 (25:11):
They're very excited about it.
My oldest is 14.
So she, my next book coming outis geared towards YA, young
adult.
So like she's like, oh, myfriends heard that your book is
coming out and they can actuallyprobably read it.
I'm like, no, you can't read it.
But yeah, they're very excitedand the first time saw one of my
books at Target, I think that'swhen it set in for them Like,
(25:33):
oh, this is more than just momis just hanging out in the
bedroom writing all the time.
They actually saw it Like, wow,mom's book is at Target.
So yeah, I think it's surrealfor them too that it's not
something that always happens.
It's kind of like rare,exciting thing that I'm glad I
get to experience with them.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
And then you said that in COVID time your husband
lost his job.
Is he back to work or is hemore?
Speaker 2 (26:04):
ahead of a household.
How has his role changed withyour success?
Yeah, so we are absolutely ateam.
We work together with thebusiness.
He did go back to work for, Ithink, about a year and a half
or so and then he took an earlyretirement because it was just
kind of getting too much for meso to do on my own to write and
manage the household.
So, yeah, he does my bookcovers, he does a lot of my
stuff that I'm not good at, likemy ads and stuff like that, and
(26:27):
, yeah, just holds down the fortlike stay at home, dad, while
I'm writing, and he loves itbecause we have a little one too
.
He's six now, but I mean Ithink it's a rare thing where
you can kind of see your kidsgrow up, where you're not
leaving the house nine to fiveto go to work every day.
So it's really special and I'mglad that you know I'm able to
allow him to do this too and youknow he loves it.
(26:47):
He's my number one support andI don't think I could do it
without him.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Yeah, I love that.
I'm curious, though has theroles or the way that you guys
work together changed at all?
Because I know that's somethingthat's very common.
When women see some success,their partner I see it two ways.
It's either like someone who'slike super supportive, but then
also like sometimes it's astruggle, because there's this
(27:15):
feeling of potential, likeinadequateness or not being able
to fulfill those shoes.
So I'm curious what has yourexperience been?
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean I think when it firststarted maybe there was a little
bit of that, because it's a bitof a role reversal, so I mean
there's kind of like it'sstrange, it's not something that
everybody experiences.
So I think there was a littlebit of a learning curve.
But it really just comes downto acceptance.
And yeah, luckily my husband isjust like completely accepted
everything.
He's super happy for me.
(27:43):
He does all the signings withme, so when I go to all the book
signings he's my assistant andI think it, you know it makes
him just as happy as it makes me, you know, to watch me succeed.
And you know he has his ownhobbies.
He's a musician, so he has aband, so he still gets out and
gets to experience.
You know his own, you knowhobbies and everything.
Speaker 1 (28:03):
But yeah, we just like we work really well
together and I know that's notalways the case, so I feel very,
very lucky in that aspect.
Yeah, when it works, it works,and I think it's really
interesting to see some men thatare finding themselves in this
position have the realization of, like, if I pour into this,
then we're both successful, weboth get, and it's like a choice
(28:25):
of either having someresentment and battling it and
then pouring in, because whenyou pour into something, you're
both getting back in return, andit sounds like you guys have
figured that out, which isawesome.
So what about balancing withyour kids?
Are you able to still find thebalance?
(28:46):
And, because it sounds like youhave a six-year-old, you have a
14-year-old, I'm sure you'vegot maybe like a 10-year-old
somewhere in there, because youhave three, 11, I figured it was
somewhere.
Has being more of a businessowner and a brand owner been
able, like, allowed you theability to be the mom that you
want to be and show up when youwant to show up, or do you find
(29:08):
it being more conflicting withbeing able to show up how you
want to show up?
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Yeah, it's, um, it's definitely double-sided, I feel
it's.
I think it's harder to just gointo the office and write when
the kids you know now that it'ssummertime they're just like
hanging out in the house and Ithen I get the mom guilt.
(29:34):
When they're at school it's alittle bit easier, but it's
definitely.
I mean, it's nice that I canjust pop out and take a break
and see what's going on, but atthe same time it takes a lot of
discipline and that's verytricky for me.
So I think it's easiersometimes when you do have an
outside office and you'releaving in the morning, and I
feel like I wouldn't feel as badif I was like okay, this is
work, even though it is work.
But it's just different whenyou're at home and you feel like
you're kind of missing out onsomething that's just on the
other side of the door.
(29:55):
So it's been hard to navigatethat a little bit.
Yeah, sometimes you're reallystretched thin, so you can't
really do everything at once andyou have to make sacrifices.
If I have a deadline that's due, then I really have to buckle
down and be like I promise I'llmake it up to you guys, but if
you do like, right now I do havea little bit of time to spare.
So I am trying hard to justreally be very present with the
(30:20):
household and the kids andsummer activities, and then
knowing that I have to dive backin and kind of just be absent
for a little bit.
So yeah, it's hard, especiallywith traveling, cause I've been
able to go to a lot of coolplaces, but you know I can't
always take the kids because youknow they're in school or
whatever.
So that's hard too.
So I'm like oh, I promise I'llmake it up to you, we'll go
somewhere fun, but yeah it's,it's tricky.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Yeah, it's finding that the juggling between it all
.
So obviously you talked aboutthis movie.
You have a new book coming out.
Remind us what that is and thenalso tell us any other things
that you have coming up in thenext year or so.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Yeah.
So my next book is called Catchthe Sun.
This is a little bit itdeviated from my normal books,
because I normally write adultromances and this was kind of
just like an accident.
I'm like, hey, I always need tobe writing something different.
And this was kind of just likean accident.
I'm like, hey, I always need tobe writing something different.
I'm not one of those authorsyou can kind of put in a box
which is hard for marketing, butit is what it is.
So this time I was like I kindof want to write younger kids
(31:18):
like not kids, but like 18 inhigh school.
And so it's still like mytypical story, like I have a
slow burn.
It's very angsty, there'stwists and turns, heavy topic,
but yeah, it's just yours for alittle bit of a younger audience
maybe.
So it was really fun to writekind of like a sarcastic, moody
heroine and it's a friend tolover story and she has a
(31:41):
brother that was put on deathrow for committing a crime.
So she kind of comes back tothe town that she had left,
reconnects with the boy that sheloved when she was little and
it's just this slow burnfriendship.
But then, like about halfwaythrough the book we take a turn
into kind of Amesville and Idon't want to spoil anything,
but yeah, it gets a little bitdarker and grittier from there.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Oh my gosh, I love that.
Where can people find you oryour books?
I mean I want to read thatStill Beating book that I mean I
want to read that still beatingbook that sounds amazing the
way that you're describing it,but I would love to have you
share, like where can peoplefind you or where can they
download or buy your books?
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Sure, so all my books are on Amazon, so that's an
easy place to find them.
My traditionally publishedbooks are with Bloom, so you can
find those anywhere.
A lot of them are in Barnes,noble and Target, walmart,
places like that, somewhere atairports.
But yeah, there's.
I have a link in my.
I mostly post on Instagram.
That's my primary platform, soI post.
(32:39):
I'm there the most and I haveall my like little link trees
and all that stuff, so you canfind more about me there.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
Awesome.
And then I always ask this thisone piece of advice you'd give
to listeners from today'sepisode.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Yeah, I mean, I would say just if you have something
that you're passionate about andyou feel like you can't do it
because of other things, justmake time for it and even if
it's a slow process, if it'sbaby steps, if you just every
day work towards your ultimatedream, your ultimate goal, like
I promise, you will get there.
But it takes a lot ofdiscipline and focus and you
(33:12):
just have to want it bad enough.
But yeah, nothing is too small,just little tiny stuff, little
goals along the way, and you'llget there.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
I like that.
Thank you so much, jennifer,for being with us.
Really appreciated today'sconversation, of course.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's been great.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
As always.
Thank you for listening.
Check us out on Instagram atbadass basic bitch and thank you
to saw and sign our productionstudio.
We'll see you next week.
We'll see you next time, Bye.
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