Live from Ink and Indie - Romance Author Panel - Where I Left Off

Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_07 (00:08):
I'm Krista Balls, the author of A Flare for
Trouble, and you are listeningto Where I Left Off, a Bookish
Podcast.
And today we have a very specialepisode because this is a live
recording from Ink and Indy inMaryland.
Yay! And this is a paneldiscussion with authors Kay

(00:30):
Sinko and Harriet Ashford.
So I'm gonna go ahead and letthem introduce themselves and
tell you a little bit abouttheir books.

SPEAKER_06 (00:38):
Um hi, I'm Harriet Ashford from Houston, Texas.
And um The Trouble with Love inInc.
is my first novel.
And it is an enemies to loverswith fake dating, one bed.
Essentially, she hates him fromthe start.
Whenever he swoops in and stealsthe promotion, she was all but
promised.
And to make matters worse, hefinds out a secret.

SPEAKER_05 (00:58):
I'm sorry, I gotta stop because I see someone at
the back and I'm gonna cry.
Sorry.
Am I narrator here?
I love her so much.

SPEAKER_07 (01:09):
And anyway, um is actually our special guest on
the panel today.
Marie, can you tell us a littlebit about your journey to get
here to support Harriet today?

SPEAKER_09 (01:23):
I rode on a plane.
Um so I think it was almost inlike late August, your husband
and Stacy uh kind of bothapproached about like, I think
actually Mr.
Ashford approached me aboutcoming to Maryland, and then I
approached Stacy about how canwe make this a surprise and not
make it weird?

(01:45):
Which we made it sufficientlyweird.
Um and um I think it was justreally funny because I had
bought the tickets and I hadeverything ready to go, and then
you contacted me like nine dayslater, like, hey, you want to
come down to Houston?
And I'm like, yeah, you can'ttell me no after Gabriel Michael

(02:06):
said yes.
So I it was supposed to be ourfirst time meeting today, but we
met last week by chance.
So it's still special.

SPEAKER_06 (02:14):
Um, okay, so the trouble with love and ink is an
enemy celebrators with fakedating, one bed.
Um essentially, Emily hates himfrom the start when he swoops in
and steals her promotion.
Um, to make matters worse, hefinds out a secret she's keeping
and he won't tell anyone, butshe has to agree to be his fake
date for a destination weddingin Costa Rica.
And um, the trouble with loveand coaches is a sports romance

(02:36):
with Forbidden Love.
We got found family.
Um, essentially, April istraining for an Iron Man, and
Gabe knows he can help get herto the finish line, but it could
cost him the promotion of hisdreams.
Um, and then training he's up inmore ways than one.
Well, hi everyone.

SPEAKER_04 (02:53):
My name is Kay Cinco.
I am from New York City, so I'mreally excited to be here.
I have written a few books.
Um, the series I'm probably mostknown for is the Scoops series.
So Safe Harbor was my firstbook.
It is uh it's a series set incoastal small town Connecticut

(03:13):
uh about a group of coworkersthat work at an ice cream shop.
Each book follows one of thefemales that works in the ice
cream shop.
It's like a really cozy foundfamily, but a lot of my books
deal with some heavier themes.
I like to like bring lots oflike things that are good for
like people to talk about.
So I'll bring up like differentmental health, financial

(03:34):
struggles, addiction, and thatsort of thing in some of my
books.
So yeah, that's the scoopseries.
Safe Harbor became an Amazonbestseller and won two awards,
the Indy Indiverse Awards.
And then I also wrote somestandalone adult romances.
So uh if you're looking for acozy fall romance set in New

(03:54):
York City with a very yummy chefwho is basically like Jeremy
Allen White from The Bear.
Um, and he makes her say yes,chef in bed.
That is Sunday Supper.
Um, yeah, it's a really goodone.
And then uh Call of the Loon isanother one of my books set in

(04:14):
um northern Minnesota.
Yeah, set during the pandemic.
So it like deals obviously witha lot of really heavier themes
there, and it's like a secondchance romance.
They're coming back togetherafter eight years of not
speaking to each other.
Very sweet.
And then I also wrote anovelette, please be mine.
It's a Valentine's Day storytold through letters.

SPEAKER_07 (04:33):
Well, I have to start out the podcast, how I do
every episode.
Authors always have the bestrecommendations, and narrators
always also have the bestrecommendations.
So if we can talk about what weare all currently reading right
now.

SPEAKER_06 (04:46):
Okay, so first of all, I am a bad author right
now, and I'm right in the middleof listening to our second
audiobook um that's coming out,The Troubled Love and Coaches.
And so, like, that has taken upso much of my time.
Um, just a little plug here, ify'all don't know.
Um, Marie Mitchell, it's a duet,but Marie Mitchell's doing um
the female voice.

(05:07):
Um, the male voice is GabrielMichael, voice of Zaydan
Ryerson.
So if you enjoy that, you thismight be your cup of tea.
Um, so that's been reallyamazing.
And so the last book I actuallyread was Flare for Trouble,
which is by Kristen, and it isso amazing, such a great, cozy
um teacher mystery.
And as a teacher, I can verifyit is like hits the nail on the

(05:27):
head, and it is so good, justabsolutely so adorable.
So thank you for writing such afun book.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 (05:33):
I was trying to look up, I'm really bad at author
names, which is terribleconsidering my job.
But I'm reading The Butcher.
I'm in my like spooky girl phaseright now.
So I've read Sloughfoot andThistlefoot and Behind Her Eyes,
which is also like a series onNetflix.
So now I'm going back andwatching that.
But what I'm currently readingis The Butcher, and I will find
the author's name if anybodyneeds it.

SPEAKER_04 (05:53):
Uh right now I'm almost finished with Shield of
Sparrows by Devney Perry.
Um which is really I'm I alsoreally love a lot of romanticy,
is what I read.
Um, so yeah, it's it's just likescratching the edge for me.

SPEAKER_07 (06:09):
It's so good.
That's my book club pick forthis month.
So now I'm about to read it.
Yes, that was what our book clubpicked.
Yeah.
Yay.
I can't wait.
Uh I actually, so a friend wasworking at Barnes and Noble, and
they let her look at the arcshelf and they said, pick any
arc.
And so at that location, theyreally didn't like romance.
And so in Ark of Good Spirits byB.K.

(06:30):
Borison was just sitting on theshelf.
And so she let me read it.
So I'm in the middle of it rightnow, and then I'm gonna give it
back to her.
Yeah, it is really cool.
So I got like can I send you,can meet you my address so you
can send it to me after yes,book club, perfect.
We can just mail it and make itthe traveling book.

(06:51):
Yes, it is it is really good.
It's kind of based on uh theChristmas Carol, and so yeah,
she falls in love with the ghostof Christmas past, and they're
both trying to figure out whyshe's there and what she did.
Yeah, so it is it is really,really good.
It's so clever.
She's so clever.

SPEAKER_03 (07:11):
Yeah, yes.
I'm so pumped.
Everything, I feel likeeverything she writes is just
gold.
It is so good, so well written.

SPEAKER_07 (07:19):
I agree.
I love Love Light Farms and thatentire series and First Time
Caller and all of those too.
Yes, yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (07:26):
Can we just talk about the fact that like she's a
mechanic in that book?
Oh, yeah.
I think that's such a uniquelike job for a female like main
character to have.

SPEAKER_07 (07:35):
So, next up, what is your current work in progress,
and what is your current uh bookthat you're working on for
narrating as well?
Because it it is a work inprogress.

SPEAKER_04 (07:46):
Um, so my current work in progress, I have a
holiday romance coming outNovember 6th.
It's called Ruin the Friendship,and it's got all the things that
you'd want with that title.
So it's Fribbid and Love,Brother's Best Friend.
Um it's a fast burn.
He's like like head over heelsfor her, and there's lots of

(08:07):
fake dating.

SPEAKER_07 (08:08):
So and when does it come out?

SPEAKER_06 (08:10):
November 6th.
Yeah.
Um, our next one will be thethird book in the trouble
series.
Um, if you've been following meon social media and you're like,
wow, she won't shut up about thebirds.
That's the bird book that we'reworking on, the researching.
Um, and essentially, um, Trevor,which you'll meet in the second
book, he ends up getting a jobat Exposure, which is a nature,

(08:32):
um, it's a nature magazine, andum, he takes a picture of this
birding guide, and he justthinks she is so beautiful, and
she ends up on the front page ofthis magazine, and she wasn't
supposed to be there, and itgets her fired.
And so she like really hatesthis guy, um, but he needs her
help to find a specific bird,and they go off on an island

(08:53):
together, and you know the rest.
Um, so it's been a lot of fun towrite.
Um, yeah, just like lots of thethe birding, it's it's been
really fun.

SPEAKER_09 (09:01):
Uh, we're still like we're in the the final stages of
the trouble with love andcoaches, but there's still
pickups and stuff like that todo.
So still working on that.
I do have a book coming up witha publisher that I can't talk
about yet.
But if you are interested in umnarrators in general um and
Dungeons and Dragons, we have aDungeons and Dragons podcast
called Punch and Roll forInitiative.
Um we stream, actually, they'restreaming tonight, and um,

(09:24):
that's a lot of fun.
And then I also record forwebtoons.com um in some of their
um webtoons that are coming outon audio.

SPEAKER_07 (09:32):
So how many projects do you typically have going at
one time?

SPEAKER_09 (09:35):
I rarely work on, like commercial work aside, I
rarely work on more than onebook at a time because I will
rush inadvertently, like I Iwant to get that next one
started, you know what I mean?
So I I take only a book or so ata time, um, but kind of in this
cadence where like one iswrapping up and the next one's
ready to go.

SPEAKER_07 (09:54):
And also, sorry, another follow-up question that
I thought of.
Okay, you're good.
Um, so whenever you're trying todecide on the voice for a
character, how do you kind of goabout that?
And like what's your process tomake it sound like that specific
character for each book?

SPEAKER_09 (10:08):
Um, most narrators we have like uh probably say
three to five, like standardcharacters.
Like this is you're gonna haveyour like best friend character
who's usually gonna be like morehigh-pitched.
That's Haley in The Trouble withLove and Ink.
But in this one, we couldn't, Icouldn't give them the same
voice because they all appear inthe dang book.
Um, but also like the bestfriend in this one, she's kind

(10:28):
of hippie-ish and she's sassy,and she's so she's gonna be like
a deeper voice.
So some of it is preparing yourmanuscript ahead of time and
understanding who the charactersare a little bit more.
Sometimes you need to reach outto your um author and be like,
well, like what are youenvisioning for this character?
Although usually I'll test somestuff before and see if the
author comes back like I hatethat.
Never so um, but most of it'sjust the the prep work and

(10:52):
seeing how um how they sound inmy head, I guess.
That makes sense.

SPEAKER_07 (10:56):
That sounds like a really lengthy process for sure.

SPEAKER_09 (10:58):
Yeah, prepping, I think, is it's key to making the
book go smoothly.
There has been one singular timein my career, and it was my very
first book that I thought Icould do without like a bunch of
prep ahead of time, and that'swhen you find out that there's a
Scottish character in chapterfour.
Um like there you they've beenScottish, but you were not
Scottish.
And so, you know, when you haveto go back and rework those

(11:21):
things, um, everybody's firstbook is terrible as a narrator,
but um, you you get better overtime, and one of those things is
learning to prep better.

SPEAKER_07 (11:29):
Makes sense.
One of those things that liketrial by fire, I guess.
Kind of like writing.
I feel like it's like writing itaway.
When you said everyone's wasterrible, I was like, yeah,
absolutely.
Yeah.
Just trying to figure out whatyou're doing at first.

unknown (11:42):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 (11:43):
So moving on to a little bit of the panel.
Um, Harriet, how did you okay?
So you really get into theresearch of your books.
For book one, it wascalligraphy.
For book two, it was uh IronMan, and then book three is now
birding.
So how do you choose which topicis gonna go next?

SPEAKER_06 (12:00):
So it has to be something I am 100% interested
in because like it's going to bemy hyper focus for the next year
or whatever.
And I mean, truly, with birding,I mean, we we're out there like
the book's already pretty muchthe draft's done, and we're
still out there birding thismorning, and it's just like our
life now, like it's a part of usnow.
And so it's like we always tryto pick I always try to pick

(12:21):
something that okay, this isgoing to hold my interest for a
while because I've really got tofigure these characters out.
That makes sense.

SPEAKER_07 (12:28):
Yeah.
Do you have an idea, any ideaswhat book four is gonna look
like that you can talk about?

SPEAKER_06 (12:34):
Yeah, wait, hold on, let me see how much I can say.
Um, so book four will followAnderson, and Anderson is a
musician, and so I'm reallyexcited about that too.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 (12:47):
And you're still gonna get to see all the
characters that you know andlove from the other book 100%.
Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 (12:52):
I can't stop.
I just love them so much, likeI've gotta put them in there.
I don't know.
Next question is for K5.

SPEAKER_07 (13:00):
So, how do you create tension between your
characters?
Um, and they just have such goodbanter and such a good back and
forth in the scoop series andreally throughout all of your
books.
So, how do you not make it soundforced and so natural?
Do you have any kind of liketips or tricks that you rely on
most of the time?

SPEAKER_04 (13:18):
Yeah, okay.
So for tension, I would say alot of the tension that is built
between characters is more oflike the actual physical, like
watching what they're doing.
So like different like way bodylanguage things or different
ways that they interact witheach other that isn't actually
being spoken.
There's certain moments where Iwrite where it kind of feels
more like cinematic because Ifeel like you're watching

(13:40):
something, you really see thetension based on like how
they're acting, right?
And like what like how whatthey're doing with their bodies.
And so I try to emulate that inmy books as well to create that
tension, um, instead of it beingsomething that's like internal
monologue.
It's one of the reasons why Iactually decided to do third
point of view in my books ratherthan uh first point of view,
because I liked the idea of youkind of seeing the tension from

(14:03):
that rather than from likeinternal monologue.
And then in terms of banter,it's a lot of like I have a lot
of really funny notes in myphone of like things that people
say.
So do not make jokes around mebecause you never know if it'll
end up in one of my books.
I'm so sorry.
But it's also just like I liveliving in New York, you just

(14:24):
hear people like saying weirdthings all the time.
They're not realizing they're inpublic, and I'm like, I'm gonna
write that down because that isfunny.
Um so there's a lot of that, alot of like like taking up like
of what people are saying, andjust like my husband and I have
like a funny banter every nowand then, and just like actually
all the time.
But so it's like I'll like writecertain things that you know

(14:46):
we'll say together or whatever.
But um yeah, that banter comesfrom just a lot of like
listening.
Like, how are people gonna talk?
How are they gonna act?
What are the kind of things thatthey're gonna say in a certain
situation?

SPEAKER_07 (14:56):
And when you said some of the scenes were
cinematic, do you see them inyour head as you're writing them
and can kind of picture themlike a movie?

SPEAKER_04 (15:03):
Yeah, absolutely.
For part of my research is likescouting different locations for
like, yeah, okay, if this were amovie or a scene, this is how I
would like see it, you know.
So not a ton of you know what,yeah, that's that's kind of
true.
Not a ton of my books thedifferent locations that are
there that I'm like, they'refictional, but they're also very

(15:24):
heavily based on places thatexist.
And so that really does help mewith like putting together how
it all looks, like when I'm likewriting it out or whatever.

SPEAKER_07 (15:32):
Was it easier with all of your books or was there
one that was kind of hard topicture at first?

SPEAKER_04 (15:37):
I think that's with all of my books.
Yeah, I don't know.
Like I've I've preferred.
Yeah, because I think if I'mgonna put something together, a
lot of okay, a lot of what Iwrite um the place is really the
first thing and then the storycomes with it.
So if I'm in like like therestaurant that is widest
restaurant in New York isheavily based on a restaurant

(15:58):
that I really, really love inNew York, and I was eating
dinner there, and that's whenthe story like popped up in my
head.
So like that's I feel like theplace and like putting things
together that way comes firstfrom those experiences, and then
the story kind of flows.

SPEAKER_07 (16:12):
So do you have a notebook for story ideas and any
that you want to share that youthink you might do in the
future?
You're putting me on the spotright now.
I have to try to get, you know,a little something.

SPEAKER_04 (16:28):
I I don't know if anybody follows me on Instagram,
but I just went on this bigjourney.
Um, I was in London last year.
Um, and oh yay.
I was in London last year, uhtook a break from my job and
decided to go to Le Court enBleu, and I studied wine.
So I did that for six months andI got my diploma.
I now work as a Somalier.

(16:50):
So I've had a lot of changeshappen in the past year.
Yeah, I mean, I can't go toLondon for six months and not
write something set in London.
That would be crazy.
Uh so I will say this definitelysomething in London in the
future, and we'll probablyheavily be focused on wine.
Um, and that's all I'm gonnagive you.

SPEAKER_07 (17:09):
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
Oh man.
Uh, Marie, this next question isactually for you, so I'm gonna
pass it to you.
So, what is the most commonmisconception that either
authors or readers have aboutaudiobook narration?

SPEAKER_09 (17:25):
Authors think we're busier than we are.
It's true story, not just withGabriel, um, who we didn't think
you would would have space forus, but he did.
I I just I've had several timesan author who was like, Well, I
was gonna contact you, but Ifigured you were busy.
And I'm like I said, I usuallyonly take books a couple in
advance because I don't everwant to rush somebody's baby in

(17:46):
order to get to the next baby.
I am not somebody who books outlike a year, and if I like the
project, then I'm gonna do itregardless.
Um, and I think that likeGabriel, we got lucky, but like
came to the table with the sameattitude, especially for Indies.
Like, we Trad Pub's gonnaschedule you out a year, but for
Indies, we can make time.

SPEAKER_07 (18:04):
Can you talk a little bit about the process of
getting him and how that workedtoo?
Here, I'll hand it to Harriettoo.

SPEAKER_06 (18:10):
Yeah, and so the process um with Gabriel.
So, first of all, I Marie hasbeen just like, you know how you
find people who are in yourcorner and like they've got your
back, and like that was Mariefrom the start.
Like, from the start.
She, you know, um, what was it,Femme Audio Takeover?
Ended up doing a few of mylines.
She ended up ordering my book,like before I even decided she

(18:32):
um she ended up reading it, allthis, and I was just and she,
you know, gushed about it, andjust she's just this champion
for indie authors, and I justremembered like like and on top
of her being so talented, herhaving the perfect Emily voice,
I'm like, she's just someone whois genuinely on indie author
side, and I was like, I want heron my team, and so it's like she
did the Trouble with Love andInc.
And like I just thought blew itout of the water, like just it

(18:54):
was everything I could havewanted and more.
And so, like, with the Troublewith Love and coaches, like I
knew I wanted her on the projectfor sure, but it's a dual point
of view, and so we wanted a malein it.
The only thing is, then that's alot more money, and um, I'm an
indie author and a teacher, youknow?
And so um what ended uphappening was I wasn't looking
for a ghostwriting job, it justfell from the sky, like into my

(19:17):
lap, and I I messaged Marie likeright away, like, I mean, the
ink had not dried on the check,and I said, Do you think this is
enough for us to do thisproject?
And she said, Yeah, I thinkactually um we can actually be
picky about it.
And um, you know, going back atthe time I was drafting The
Trouble with Love and Coaches, Iwas listening to Fourth Wing on

(19:37):
audiobook, and of course, likehis voice, like I know I'm
biased, but his voice is just sogreat.
And there were so many timeswhen I was writing Gabriel's
lines, and it's a littleconfusing because Gabriel
Michael and Gabriel Torres, andI promise I did not name him
after him, but it just sohappened to happen that way.
But anyway, when I was writinghis lines, I would like hear it

(19:58):
in like his deep Zaydan voice,and it like really helped me
like wrap my head around thecharacter and like would he
really say that?
No, let me kind of refra Soanyway, from the beginning I
kind of had like him, his theidea of him, but it's Gabriel
Michael, voice of Zayd andRyerson.
And so I ended up finding hisemail, and I wrote this long,

(20:21):
the most awkward, pathetic thingyou've ever seen.
And it was like, oh, I love youso much, and I know I'm just an
indie author, and I for thisreason, this reason, and this
reason, I know you wouldn't wantto take on my project, but I
just wanted to say that nomatter what, I love you as an
audio a narrator, and I wouldlove it if you would consider
being a narrator for my book.
And I could see he opened it up.

(20:42):
Well, before that, I wrote thatout and I was like, I'm not
gonna send it.
And Marie was like, Yes, youare, it's gonna be fine, just
send it.
The like what's the worst thatcould happen?
The worst he can say is no.
So I was like, sure, fine, I'lljust embarrass myself.
So I sent it and I see he opensit and no response.
And I was like, fair.
We all knew that was gonnahappen.
That's fine.
So we start we start kind oflike figuring out who else we

(21:05):
get who else can do this, andit's really not looking great
because all your friends werelike booked out for a while, it
wasn't looking great.
And then 24 hours later he says,Yeah, I'm interested.
And then he he was withinbudget, and the way I
hyperventilated was like, I mustbe misunderstanding.
Like, I don't the amount ofunhinged voice notes I sent to

(21:27):
Marie.

SPEAKER_09 (21:28):
I have blackmail material.

SPEAKER_06 (21:30):
I know, and so anyway, it just like all came
together, and then you know, wewe ended up getting him.
Um, he's just so kind.
We found out, you know, for awhile I thought I'd catfished
myself.
Like, this isn't really GabrielMichael, and then he sends a
video of him saying my lines,and again, I'm like, oh my god,
it's Gabriel Michael! Anyway,um, then if y'all don't know the

(21:56):
local bookstore that I workwith, they ended up saying, Hey,
do you think that we could haveGabriel Michael and Marie do a
podcast with us um for a bookevent?
And I was like, Marie for sure,because she's my homie.
And I said, But but Gabe, I'llask.
And um his assistant was like,Yeah, sure.

(22:16):
I was like, oh wow.
And then the bookstore goes,What what if you what if you got
him?
We got him in person, and I go,ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, yeah, what
if?
And they go, Harry, we'reserious.
And I was like, Oh, and sureenough, I ended up asking, and
he said, Yeah, I'll come toTexas, and it's just been the
craziest, wildest ride.

(22:36):
And we had it last week, andthese two just like the crowd
loved them, they are so kind, soamazing.
So, anyway, that's enough aboutthat.
But it was just the bestexperience of my life.

SPEAKER_07 (22:47):
Whenever uh you guys are recording, do you both
record together?
So you've been talking to eachother a lot, or is it kind of
like you record your thing, herecords his thing, and then an
audio engineer is putting themboth together.

SPEAKER_09 (22:58):
You can do both, but in our case, we were completely
asynchronous.
Um, I actually finishedrecording, I think about a week
before he did.
Do you know there's more work toit when you do async because
there's a chance that like I'mnarrating something he's saying
and we might not have leftthings off the right way, but
that's where the engineer comesin and lets us know hey, like
could you go back and fix this?
If we really needed to, um, I'msure we could have done like a

(23:21):
directed session kind of thingtoo.
But all of those, like gettingthree busy people in across
multiple time zones together toproduce a book these days is
really hard.
Like COVID let us do this athome now, which is wonderful,
but actually getting people intothe same room is really hard.

SPEAKER_06 (23:35):
So but it's crazy because you would not know that
they are in different rooms,like when you listen to it, the
banter is just like bah bah bah,and like the tension, like I
know this story backwards andforwards, and the way I was
crying in our hotel room lastnight because we were like
listening to it together.
Oh my gosh, it was so good.

(23:55):
And like I've said over and overagain, like I'm an indie author,
like y'all didn't have to hit itthat hard, but they like acted
their hearts out, like for real.
It's so good.

SPEAKER_07 (24:05):
Well, congratulations to you both, and
we can't wait to listen to it.
Yay! So, are you for this is foreveryone?
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
And then Marie will talk alittle bit about how you kind of
like mark up scripts foraudiobooks.
So we can go for everyone.
Who would like to go first?

SPEAKER_04 (24:23):
I am definitely a plotter.
Um, I spend more time plottingand outlining and planning out
my book than I actually dowriting.
So like the research part of it,like outlining everything, like
sitting down to write that isn'ta long process for me.
I've you know, I've studiedjournalism, I've like been
writing my whole life.
So like that part isn't as hard.

(24:45):
It's like the planning it outthat like I find that takes a
lot of time.
So definitely a plotter.

SPEAKER_07 (24:50):
Do you typically like use a computer software or
is yours all manual and paper?
Like how do you kind of piecethings together?
Um, I use Notion.

SPEAKER_04 (24:59):
I don't know if anybody else is a Notion user on
here.
It's like a I don't know, like anote, it's a it's a like a note
app, but it's like on steroids.
So it's just like you can addall these little like folders
and you can add like coverimages and like play with emojis
and you can make like calendarsand I've got spreadsheets and
it's like a whole thing.
So I like organize my whole bookin there where I have like

(25:22):
different folders and thechapters and everything that
played out.

SPEAKER_07 (25:24):
Thank you.
All that helps to hear.
It's really interesting to hearhow everyone kind of crafts
their stories.

SPEAKER_06 (25:29):
Yeah, so I we've talked about this before.
I try really hard to be aplotter, and like I do, I plot
out exactly like down to thedialogue, what they all need to
say, and then inevitably I getin there and I'm like, this
isn't working.
Like, I don't know why.
It just doesn't.
And so, like, inevitably, I willlike have to rip the first

(25:50):
manuscript in half, like startover again.
And I don't know why I'm notgreat at it, but it's just my
process.
I've learned I've just got to doeverything the hard way, I
guess, and just like fail, fail,fail, fail.
Oh, this is right, maybe.

SPEAKER_07 (26:02):
I was gonna say Ali Hiswood literally like writes
her entire book pantser styleand then rewrites it like two or
three times.
So there really isn't like aright or wrong way, it's just
whatever works for you.

SPEAKER_06 (26:11):
Yeah, and you you're a plotter, right?

SPEAKER_07 (26:13):
You save the cat.

SPEAKER_06 (26:14):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 (26:15):
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Um, I'm a hardcore plotter.
Uh, I literally have like wordcount ranges of from 600 to
3,000.
This is going to be happening.
Um, but my books are cozymystery with romance.
So in order for me to have amystery happen sequentially and
like clues to kind of fall intoplace, I do have to plan that

(26:35):
out a little bit more and justkind of yeah, small bullet
points.
So that helps.

SPEAKER_04 (26:40):
Okay, so I love cozy mysteries, and I have a question
for you if that's okay.
Um, how in the world do you plana mystery?
Like, do you go backwards?
Like, I need to know.
I'd like this is one of thosethings where people are like,
what other genre would youwrite?
And like I'd write murdermysteries.
So But I'm not smart enough.
Smart enough.
I like read so many of them inthe fall.

(27:02):
Like, that's like my thing.
Um, and I just I need to, I wantto know inside your brain.

SPEAKER_07 (27:07):
So I decide who the victim is first, and then I
decide what the motivation is,uh, why they were killed.
So for example, uh the secondbook is actually taking place at
a Christmas lodge.
And so I figured out who thevictim was first, why they were
killed, uh, who the murdererswere, and then I kind of backed
it up from there.
So they are actually um stabbedwith a vintage Christmas tree

(27:31):
topper.

SPEAKER_05 (27:31):
Oh my gosh.
And yes.
So rad.
Yes.
I found it on Etsy, by the way.
So this murder was homemade.
Yes, it was.

SPEAKER_07 (27:44):
So then I just started backing it up from there
and kind of figuring out, okay,if they were stabbed, like why
were they stabbed?
How are they stabbed?
What's the manner of death, andkind of how can they uncover
these clues?
And mine are definitely amateursluice, so they're not very
intuitive, so they're kind offiguring out as they go along.
So half the clues they kind ofstumble onto, and then half of

(28:05):
it they're kind of figuring outas they go.
So then I decide what are theygonna stumble on, and then what
are they actually gonna figureout, and then I can kind of
piece together like what detailsare actually leading you to
picking this specific thing.

SPEAKER_06 (28:17):
That's amazing.

SPEAKER_07 (28:18):
I try, and then I just see what it sounds like,
and the beta readers tell methat does not make sense at all,
and I fix it, pretty much.
Yeah.
Lot of plot holes, lot of plotholes.

SPEAKER_06 (28:30):
100%.

SPEAKER_04 (28:32):
I just got uh beta feedback back for the book
that's coming out in November,and just like the little things
that they'll catch here or therethat are just like, I didn't
even think of that.
Um, like one of my one of myvery close friends who's a beta
reader, been one for a while.
She like pointed out somethingin the prologue where she's
like, Well, you said this here,and now I'm really confused back
here in like chapter 23.

(28:53):
Like, those things don'tconnect.
I'm like, how did you find that?
What?

SPEAKER_06 (28:58):
It's awesome.
They are crazy cool.
And like I I the the way that Ireally I take what they say to
heart, I will rip up like thelast book.
I ripped the last third of thebook, like completely off and
started started over becausetheir feedback, and it was so
much stronger because of it.
It's insane.

SPEAKER_07 (29:18):
The ideas that they come up with, like you said,
when they notice things thatyou're just I didn't even think
about that.
You're just too close to it.
You're too close to realize.
Yeah.
How many beta readers do youboth typically use?

SPEAKER_04 (29:31):
I think I have five to seven.
I I have three.
Like I've I've because I've gonethrough a few books now where
like I've had different peoplebeta read, but I've got three
that are like, okay, these threeare my solid ones.
You know, I've got like my onethat is my writing friend, I've
got one that's like my readingfriend who's like will catch all
of the little plot holes, andthen I have one who's my hype

(29:51):
girl.
I mean, she'll catch things, butshe just makes me feel really
good.

SPEAKER_06 (29:57):
Yes, that's a perfect mix.
No, you need that.
Well, and it is important.
I I tell my beta readers, it'snot like I'm fishing for
compliments, but I do need toknow when you like the apart
because I need to know to notget rid of it.
You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 (30:10):
Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_07 (30:11):
I will say um for anyone that ends up beta
reading, if you do, you can alsotell them when you laugh.
Uh that's something that I dofor other authors.
Like if I laugh out loud, I'llwrite, you know, laughed out
loud, and that, yeah, that helpsa lot.
But yeah.
I had nine and that was way toomany.
And I had like 1400 comments,and I will never do that again.
But now I know.
Now I learned.
And Marie, so whenever you aremarking up copy for narration,

(30:36):
what kind of things are youlooking for just generally?

SPEAKER_09 (30:39):
I usually first go through and mark up characters
that they're all gonna gethighlighted.
I use I annotate on um uh like atablet, and so you know, girls'
names, of course, are gonna besome shade of pink, usually,
boys' names are gonna be theblues um and greens, and um,
which in this case I marked themup and thankfully I did, but
like um I just left all of theboys in blue because I didn't

(31:01):
have to read any of them thistime, which was very nice.
But I also go through and likeuh red dot any words that I know
in my head the firstread-throughs that I want
emphasis on those words.
I also, uh, for any Star Warsfans, I write punch it chewy on
the margins when I'm like thisis gonna be my section here.
Um, just like a lot of thingslike that, too.

(31:21):
I try not to share it with myauthors because it almost looks
like I've edited their book.
I'll add in commas.
The commas are not where commasshould go, the commas are where
I need to breathe.
Um, so doing those things in thefirst couple run throughs really
helps make the recording just goso much more smooth.
That makes sense.

SPEAKER_07 (31:36):
And have you honed your process kind of as you've
done more books?

SPEAKER_09 (31:39):
Yeah, definitely.
I used to just didn't highlightanything.
Like I read the book, but Ididn't go farther than that.
And then um over time it'sgotten more involved.
And then last year I was luckyenough to talk with Carol Mondo,
and she's a big narrator, andshe actually did a course for us
on how to really like pump upyour prep just to make that
easier on yourself, and that'sreally helped in the last year.

SPEAKER_07 (31:59):
Okay, we're going to get to some rapid fire
questions, and then we will betaking audience questions.
So go ahead and start kind ofthinking what you want to ask
any of the authors.
So with the rapid firequestions, we're going to try to
give answers with little to noexplanation if we can.

unknown (32:17):
Yikes.

SPEAKER_07 (32:18):
Maybe not our thing, but we'll try.

SPEAKER_05 (32:20):
I'm a talker.

SPEAKER_07 (32:22):
If you want to give a couple sentences, I give or
take, give or take.
Okay.
Rapid fire question one is yourfavorite romance trope?
This could be to read or towrite.
Fake dating.
Enemies to lovers.
Friends to lovers.
Grumpy sunshine.
Oh, that's a good one.
Uh, next up, favorite epiloguethat you have written or

(32:42):
narrated.
This is so mean.

SPEAKER_04 (32:45):
Um, probably the offer.
It's it and it ends up, it endsthe whole scoop series.

SPEAKER_06 (32:49):
I like the way love and ink.
I like love and ink the most, Ithink.

SPEAKER_09 (32:53):
Yeah, same.

SPEAKER_06 (32:54):
I was thank you.

SPEAKER_07 (32:57):
And then next, dream fictional couple that you would
go on a double date with.

SPEAKER_04 (33:02):
When I say Tyler Swift and Travis Gill.
No, I was kidding.
100%.

SPEAKER_06 (33:09):
Zaydan and Violet.
Are you trying to die?

SPEAKER_09 (33:15):
Um, I actually like Beck and Emily, and I feel like
I'd get along very well withthem.

SPEAKER_07 (33:20):
Uh, what song would be the soundtrack to your
latest?
Gabe's abs if there's one.
We were talking about thisearlier.

SPEAKER_04 (33:28):
And all I had in my head at the time was When did
you get to me inspired by thatsong?
I wanna ruin the friendship.
But then also Taylor Swift's newruin the friendship song could
work, I guess.
I don't know.

SPEAKER_07 (33:42):
Yeah, I get that.
Is there a song that you thoughtof whenever you listened to
Harry Hitzbook?
I don't think I'm not trying to.
And then um last question andthe rapid fire round what is a
romance book that you alwaysrecommend?

(34:07):
Guys, I love that.
Um, and I would say probably forbook one, Brutal by Olivia
Rodrigo, um, and I'm not farenough into the Beach Reed,
Emily Henry.
No, yet, but probably aChristmas song, maybe if
something's a little Christmassyand stabby.

SPEAKER_09 (34:20):
Um A Love Letter to Whiskey by a Candy Steiner if
you want to get your heartrepeated.

SPEAKER_07 (34:24):
And then um, last question in the rapid fire round
what is a romance book that youalways recommend?

SPEAKER_04 (34:31):
I'm having like a lot of like brain fart moments.
It's Rebecca Ross, A RiverEnchanter.

SPEAKER_07 (34:36):
I will be recommending that from here on
out.
I bought it because of you.
Practice makes perfect by SarahAdams.
Oh, yeah.
Have to bring in some SarahAdams, yeah.
I was literally wearing um an LAShark.
That's the best though.
Sometimes you know, a little bitof emotion.
Okay.
Um the View by Jessica Joyce.
Uh I just read Well out of theway.
I thought we did good.
And I will be recommending thatfrom here on out.

(34:58):
And Practice Makes Perfect bySarah Adams.
Have to bring in some SarahAddams, yeah.
I was literally wearing um an LAShark lovely today.
Yep.
Okay, and that is the end of therapid fire question round.
We were really, really rapid.
That was pretty good.
That was almost too good.

SPEAKER_04 (35:18):
Oh, cool.
Can I say my characters for adouble date?
Because I wrote a chef, and Ifeel like if I'm gonna do
dinner, I should hang out withthe chef, you know?
So I would pick uh Bella andWyatt from Sunday Supper.

SPEAKER_07 (35:31):
Don't be shy.
So my assistant, Michaela,assistant slash producer, she's
been keeping time for me today,so thank you, Michaela.
She will be up here, and so ifanyone has a question, you can
walk up to Michaela and we willhand you the microphone and you
can ask it, and it will berecorded on the podcast.
And Michaela has a couplequestions to start us out.

SPEAKER_02 (35:53):
Here's some online questions.

SPEAKER_06 (35:55):
I um I actually started out on my unpublished
novel is fantasy.
And while that is a dumpsterfire and I have no plans on
going back, I would love to doum a cozy fantasy one day when I
get time.

unknown (36:12):
Yeah, I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_07 (36:13):
Oh, I'm sorry.
Forgot there was one away.
It's all good.

SPEAKER_04 (36:15):
I was just gonna say uh I mean, cozy mystery,
probably.
But I like the element of likealso adding romance because I
think romance always has to bein there for me, but definitely
like some kind of mystery.

SPEAKER_06 (36:25):
Wait, Marie, how about you tell everyone like if
you could what you the genre youwant to narrate you were telling
us the other day?

SPEAKER_09 (36:32):
I want to do thriller and suspense.
I am um not mad about beingtypecast as a rom-com narrator,
but one of these days I'm gonnabe spooky.

unknown (36:40):
I love it.

SPEAKER_05 (36:42):
I love it.

SPEAKER_02 (36:43):
I believe we have a question.

SPEAKER_08 (36:45):
Yay! It's been so fun having you here.
So thank you all so much forcoming in.
Um I am an illustrator byprofession, but I unfortunately
do not work in the book market.
So I'm a little curious about asindies, how did you go about
choosing your illustrator?
Is there anything you lookedfor?
Anything, did you scroll throughportfolios?
What caught your eye and whatkind of information did you give

(37:07):
your illustrator in order tocreate these beautiful editions?

SPEAKER_06 (37:11):
I love that question.
That is so cool.
Thank you for like making artand putting it out into the
world.
Um, so I use a website calledReadsy, and it's where they like
vet um illustrators.
But when I was there, what wasimportant to me is of course
like the portfolio, and I wantedto see the characters mainly
like the colors that went intoit, because basically you just

(37:33):
want something that screams,okay, like this is this genre,
you know, get the feeling fromit.
But also the reason I picked myspecific illustrator is whenever
she asked me about, hey, what'syour book about, and I told her
about it, she just seemedgenuinely excited about it.
And I was like, Then you'remine.
Okay, it's done.

SPEAKER_04 (37:51):
My answer is really boring.
I'm so sorry.
Um, I actually had a few friendsin New York who are like, I
really want to make a bookcover, and I ended up using my
friends.
So that the scoop series is doneby my friend Johnny, and then
Hannah did Sunday Supper as wellas Ruin the Friendship.
Um, maybe in the future I'lllike look to hire somebody else.
We could chat.

(38:12):
I'm like, yeah, you're throwingher.
Do you have a business card?
Let's hang.
Um, but yeah, I just I had somefriends in the city that wanted
to give it a go and work ontheir portfolios.
I'm like, yeah, why not?
Let's help each other out.

SPEAKER_07 (38:22):
So um so I actually went off of an author friend's
recommendation.
Um I asked her for someillustrators and she sent me a
couple names.
And once I talked with her, Ilooked at their portfolio.
Um and actually what I gavethem, what she asked for was
Pinterest images of their bodylanguage and their clothing.

(38:44):
Uh, and then I described thescene for her and told her
specifics like the bookcase hasto be green, this has to look
like this, and I sent her myPinterest.
I have like a Pinterest picturewith bullet points of like their
height, their eye color, theirstuff like that.
So I gave her all that info andsent it off, and she just took
what was in my brain and put itout there.

SPEAKER_04 (39:03):
Um that's really big is like asking any client you
have, like for theirinspiration, um, sending out
like even like Pinterest boards,like this isn't really meant for
the public, it's just for me aslike a vibe check.
It's really, really I'm sure youknow this, but it's like very,
very helpful to like give themlike okay, this is what I want
my cover and my book to feellike, and then like they can
take that.

SPEAKER_01 (39:22):
So yeah.

unknown (39:23):
Thank you guys so much.

SPEAKER_06 (39:24):
Yeah, absolutely.
Just to like go off of that,it's funny you say that, and I
think it's so important too.
But like I sent my Pinterestpicture that I had for Beck, and
it came out like he looked likeMichael Bolton, and Michael
Bolton's great, but like notwhat I had pictured at all.
And I was like, you know what?
I'm just gonna give you freedomas an artist.
And then she came up with thiscutie, and I was like, Yeah,
sorry I said anything, just doyour job.

SPEAKER_02 (39:46):
Alrighty, we have another audience question.

SPEAKER_00 (39:49):
Hello there, thank you all for coming.
Um, I have a question for bothour authors and our narrator,
and it regards um consistency inthe characters that you create,
particularly when it comes totheir dialogue and their
mannerisms and such.
When you are writing acharacter, you have a general
idea of how they're gonnabehave, their personality, but
when you're creating scenes anddialogue, how do you ensure that
the character you are writingfrom page one is the same, is

(40:10):
halfway through is the sametowards the end, you know how
they react to things, how theyrespond, and then when you're
doing narration, how do youensure that their um
affectations and their emphasison things is the same at the
beginning as it is towards theend and things of that nature?

SPEAKER_09 (40:24):
Um so for me, um, and you'll find a lot of
narrators do this, um, afterI've decided on the the voice
and maybe I mean the habits andaffectations a lot of times come
from the text itself.
But um I'm going to the firsttime I talk is them, I'm gonna
save it as a sound clip, andit's gonna be like in its own
little file so that God forbidthe number of times that it
happens, not in your books,thankfully, but get that

(40:46):
character disappears for 24chapters.
I do not remember what theysounded like six weeks ago.
So I have that file to kind ofremind me and get me back in
that space.
Um for characters that are morecommon, like Haley, I lost
Haley's voice during a liverecording.
Um, and there's usually asentence of theirs, a phrase of
theirs that will stick with meand will kind of get me back to

(41:07):
where it was.
So that helps a lot too.

SPEAKER_06 (41:10):
I think this is such a great question because it's so
hard to make sure you you'relike creating this person and
with all their flaws and youknow, like you said, the things
that they say.
And honest to God, I alwaysthink I know this character when
I start out and write a book.
I have no idea.
I'll have no idea who thischaracter is until months later,
and then finally I get them.

(41:31):
And then when I'm going back andI'm doing my drafts, I'm like,
absolutely, he would not saythat, or he would not do that.
And that's why like I think Ichange so much, and I think
that's why whenever I'm doing myplotting, it doesn't work out
quite as well because I alwaysthink I know them and no I
don't.

SPEAKER_04 (41:43):
For me, I I feel like a lot of people in general
like the way that they act likearound people and the different
decisions they make is acombination of like their
personality, but also like theirfears and their insecurities.
And so when I think of mycharacter and like make a little
character profile, that's likethe biggest thing is like what
are their fears?
What is the thing that they'reafraid of?

(42:04):
And what are their insecurities?
How does that play out in thestory?
And then how does that play outin their behaviors?
And you'd be surprised that likea lot of the time that just kind
of comes out with however theyspeak or act in certain
situations, especially if theirinsecurity is tied to like their
work of any kind, and that's abig part of the story.
Yeah, so like for example, withSunday Supper, a big insecurity

(42:25):
for the chef was that he hadn'twon like a Michelin star an
award yet.
So he had a big insecurity abouthis work there.
And so then how does that playout with like also there's
insecurities because um ofcertain uh sexual things he
cannot do?
But I took that as a challengewhen I wrote that book.
Yes, chef.
Um but there's lots of there'slots of insecurities there as

(42:48):
well.
So then he is a very, he's veryhumble, but then he's also like
very guarded.
And so yeah, like how does thatplay?
Like, I don't know.
That's that's the biggest thingfor me is that like the
consistency really comes fromthose things because that's just
how they act.
Because that's how all we all weall act.
We all act based on thosethings.

SPEAKER_07 (43:04):
So um in in book one, I actually kind of wrote it
out of order a little bit.
So I went based on my mood.
If I was feeling a little bitmore like one character that
day, then I would write theirs,and if I was feeling another,
then I would write theirs.
Um probably won't do that quiteas much in book two, but I would
definitely say that um I'll takemy mood and I also whenever I'm

(43:25):
plotting, I put like little.
You were also an author justwith him, or like their phrasing
or their way of sayingsomething, so that way I have
something to kind of go back toand get me ready before I write
in uh their point of view.
Hi.

SPEAKER_03 (43:38):
Uh this is a question purely based on
curiosity.

SPEAKER_07 (43:40):
Um, in your book, are any of your victims or
characters based on people youknow in real life?

SPEAKER_04 (43:45):
And have you told them?

SPEAKER_02 (43:47):
That's a great question.

SPEAKER_04 (43:48):
I have a very hard rule that I don't write about my
friends or family.
So no.
However, when I first publisheduh Safe Harbor, my whole because
I'm from a small town inConnecticut, and it was like a
big thing where everyone wastrying to figure out who the
main character Calvin is, and itwas like gossip in town.
And so when I got home for likethe holidays, like a lot of

(44:09):
people came up to me about it.
I'm like, no, no, it's based onno one.
But people had all theiropinions.
But yeah, it's like I I wouldsay out of anything, in Call of
the Loon, Archer is very closeto my husband.
Other than that, no.

SPEAKER_06 (44:23):
Um, a lot of the banter just comes out from my
husband, but none of thecharacters, like like you said,
with friends and family, usuallyit's like off limits the same.
Um, I will say that we weretalking about Clay is so
unlovable.
The the um he's like our villainin the second book.
And um I it's not like thethings that he did necessarily

(44:45):
came from a person, but like theway he made me feel like someone
made me feel, I was like, thisfeels awful.
And like I hate the way I feelright now after talking to this
person.
And I was like, let's write himin a book.
So now everyone can hate onthem.

SPEAKER_04 (45:02):
Um, however, if I have friends who have weird
romantic encounters, that almostalways goes in the book,
especially if it's like fromweird hinge dates.
Like I'm I'm write all thatdown.

SPEAKER_07 (45:12):
Uh Cohen, my male main character, is actually a
combination of all the maleteachers I've ever interacted
with.
Um so they they all have a lotof similarities and different
things to their personality.
So I kind of took little piecesof everyone and just put them
into one person and made it him.
But yeah, victims, I shouldstart doing that on people that

(45:32):
bug me.
Yeah.
That's a genius idea.
I'm gonna use that.
I'm definitely gonna use that.
Yeah.
Therapeutic.
Therapeutic.

SPEAKER_02 (45:40):
We have another audience question.

SPEAKER_07 (45:42):
Hi.
Um, what book traumatized you?
Safe Harbor.
I started the scoop series, andum, it is really, really sweet
and fantastic.
And then you get to the superemotional part, and I don't
think I've ever cried as muchduring a book as I cried when I

(46:02):
read Safe Harbor.
There's this plot twist thatjust takes you by surprise.
So please read the scoop series.
It is really, really, reallygood.

SPEAKER_04 (46:11):
Um I I'll I won't say say what the plot twist is,
but um I have a brother who isan addict.
Um, he's three years intorecovery.
Um, but that's something that isa big part of my story.
And so um uh Safe Harbor is theperspective of a sister who has
a brother who is an addiction.
And it's like her realizingthose things and his behaviors,

(46:34):
and so it like there is when Ifirst started writing that book,
it wasn't meant to be a romance,and then Calvin just kind of
like sauntered in and like tookmy heart, so um ended up being a
romance, but yeah, it's ittraumatized me, but like in a
way of like going back to a lotof the things I dealt with when
I was in high school.

(46:54):
So yeah.

SPEAKER_07 (46:56):
It's definitely one of those books that you feel
like you came out a betterperson after reading it and you
understood a perspective thatyou might not have thought about
before.

SPEAKER_04 (47:04):
My brother hasn't read that read it yet, so I feel
like there's gonna be a lot ofconversations in the future um
through his healing process.
Um and I told him to take histime, but yeah, I feel like
there's more trauma to come.

SPEAKER_06 (47:15):
I usually try to like stay away from the hurdy
hurdy books, like the reallylike painful ones.
I'm just like such a Disneyreader, but um Flowers for
Algernon, am I gonna say thatwrong?
Is that right?
Yeah, it's like a classic.
Oh my gosh.
Oh, that like ripped my soulout.
So what about you, Marie?

SPEAKER_09 (47:34):
I'm gonna go back to a love letter to Whiskey.
I think that it was my firsttime, and this was because I I
narrated a book for Candy, andthen it was the first I had
really heard of her.
And then of course I fell inlove with her writing.
But that was the first time Ihad had like the that toxic
relationship that you know youshould quit, and like that
somebody got that whole thing inwriting and the absolute pain of

(47:57):
how it goes down, especially onethat's protracted over like 10
years.
Otherwise, um, when you firstasked the question about like
trauma, it was gonna be it byStephen King.
But I decided I'd go with the uhromance traumas, the rom traums.

SPEAKER_05 (48:12):
The rom traums.

SPEAKER_07 (48:13):
Oh, and if you want another book that is going to
tear you to pieces, uh PeytonCorinne's series is amazing.
It's hockey romance, and oh man,Unsteady is the first book and
unloved is the second.
And I couldn't stop crying whenI was reading Unloved, and I had
to keep closing it, but it is sogood.
It's one of those like justemotionally deep
recommendations.

SPEAKER_02 (48:34):
Sure.
Uh from Marie.
What is the most interestingscene you have narrated lately?
If you can answer.

SPEAKER_09 (48:41):
Um earlier this year I did a time travel romance,
which was that first for me.
And narrating the scene in whichshe disappears was definitely um
a new one where the the shewalks out and I won't give it
away in case anybody wants tolisten to it, but the thing that
transports her actu accidentallyhappens, and so she's gone, and

(49:03):
then you're playing this likebereft man who's like, where the
hell did she go?
And this is you know, like1800s, vic not 1800s, but like
Victorian settings.
So um they don't have any likeconcept for like how to discuss
that sort of thing either.
So that was a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_02 (49:16):
And a question for everyone Do you listen to music
while you write for our authors?
And if so, tell us a little bitabout it.

SPEAKER_06 (49:24):
It depends.
Sometimes I need just silence.
Um, but if I am gonna listen tomusic, it usually can't be.
I'll like have playlists likewhen I'm driving in the car
where I'm thinking of sceneswhen I'm when I'm sitting at the
computer, it'll usually be umeither video game music because
that's designed to like make youfocus, which I really need, or
um, I'll just do uh like lo-fiplaylists.

SPEAKER_03 (49:48):
Me too.
I'll just like my YouTube is sofunny because the algorithm is
just different, like lo-ficreators, and I just like go
down a rabbit hole of all ofthem.

SPEAKER_04 (49:59):
But yeah, so usually it's like I need dead silence or
something lo-fi.
And that's nice because it alsoif I put one of those videos on,
it's like an hour, hour and ahalf of music, and I focus for
an hour and an hour and a half,and by the end of it, I'm like,
oh, I had a good writing sessionand it came to an end.
It was good.

SPEAKER_07 (50:15):
Yeah.
If you have not listened toPalmer, I would highly recommend
him.
He is like kind of the mixturebetween calm and they are kind
of like love songs, but they'rea little bit more chill.
So I feel like I can kind oflisten in and out, but still
focus.
So I just pretty much put himon.

SPEAKER_02 (50:32):
Yep.
We have another audiencequestion.

SPEAKER_01 (50:36):
Okay.
Um, if your couple gotaccidentally handcuffed together
for 48 hours, what is the firstfight that they'd have and how
fast would it turn intoforeplay?

SPEAKER_04 (50:49):
Okay, so in Sunday Supper, the big thing between
the chef and the female maincharacter is they fight about
meatballs.
Um, specifically because shegoes to the restaurant and he
makes like a weird deconstructedmeatball that's like very fancy,
and she comes from like ameatball empire in New York, so
she's like, This is like crazyweird.
And they end up fighting aboutit, and that's how they fall in

(51:10):
love.
But I feel like it would go backto the meatball of and they
would be fighting about that.
And I mean, Wyatt can't controlhimself, so I feel like it would
just escalate very quickly, butman, this is so hard, but I love
it.

SPEAKER_06 (51:23):
Okay, so I I'm I'm I'm into the book three right
now, and my head is really withTrevor and Marg.
So um, I would say Trevor reallylikes to make her mad.
Um, and so I would say he wouldjust purposely be like, oh hey,
there's this bird over there,and she'd be like, No, that's
not a whatever bird he said, andhe's be like, Yeah, it is, and

(51:44):
then they would just fight aboutthat.
And I think it would probablyturn pretty saucy pretty quick,
but yeah, he just likes toirritate her.

SPEAKER_04 (51:51):
Please write that into the next book.
I'm also sitting here like,okay, but then how would the
spicy scene happen with thehandcuffs if they're handcuffed
together?
Like, how would that go?
Now I'm like playing that out inmy head.
Should I write that?

SPEAKER_07 (52:05):
I was about to say, please write that in the next
book.

SPEAKER_04 (52:08):
I mean, what if they get to go to jail because one of
them or like they're both seemlike victims or not victims, um
what's the word I want?
They're both going to jailbecause of a murder that they
didn't do and they're bothhandcuffed together.
Is that weird?
Spicy, spicy in jail?

SPEAKER_07 (52:26):
Please put that up on your ideal.
Um my books are closed door, um,but typically in a cozy mystery,
uh, you follow the samecharacters throughout the entire
series.
Um, and so with this, I have togo very slow burn to keep it

(52:48):
going the whole time.
So it would be a little bitslower, but they could still
have some tension if they'rehandcuffed together and they're
trying to solve things.
And, you know, maybe one of themmight want to stab each other
with the Christmas tree topperby the time they're done.
I don't know.
Like it could happen for sure.
Thank you so much for your timetoday.
This was so fun.
And thank you also to Stevie andMichaela for your help.

(53:10):
And that's it for today.
Thank you for listening to WhereI Left Off a Bookish Podcast.
You will see links to everyone'ssocial media accounts and of
course the links to purchasetheir novels through Romance
Landia in the show notes below.
And thank you so much to Stacyat Romance Landia for having us
for Ink and Indy twenty twentyfive.

(53:30):
Thank you.

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