We had the pleasure of hosting USA Today Bestselling Author Sharon M. Peterson. If you’re a fan of witty romantic comedies, an aspiring writer looking for a shot of inspiration, or anyone navigating the creative process with ADHD, this is an interview you absolutely don’t want to miss.Sharon’s journey to becoming a beloved rom-com author is nothing short of extraordinary. Imagine receiving 107 rejections for your first novel. Most of us would have packed it in. Not Sharon. Her story is a powerful testament to the fact that perseverance truly is “90% of it.”Why We Need Laughter (Especially Now.)As a former middle school teacher, Sharon found her calling in humor. She explained that she writes romantic comedies because, in her words, “laughter is hopeful.” In a world that often feels heavy, her books offer a delightful escape—a chance to find joy and cope with life’s stresses through heartwarming stories and genuine belly laughs.The Unspoken Chapter: Writing with ADHD.One of the most candid and impactful parts of our conversation revolved around Sharon’s adult diagnosis of ADHD. This realization was a turning point, shedding light on why external deadlines were always crucial for her focus and productivity. She also highlighted the often-misunderstood representation of ADHD, especially in women, and shared her own “aha!” moment connecting with others who navigate similar challenges.This discussion wasn’t just personal; it was packed with actionable advice. Sharon generously shared her top tips for maintaining focus and boosting productivity—strategies that resonate deeply whether you have ADHD or simply juggle a busy life:* The Brain Dump Before Bed: A simple yet powerful technique to clear your mind and reduce anxiety by writing down all your next-day tasks before you sleep.* The 20-Minute Alarm: Turn writing into a game! Set a timer for 20 minutes and challenge yourself to beat your previous word count. It’s a fantastic dopamine boost.* Minimize Distractions: Utilize focus modes on your word processor, eliminate distracting tabs, and even turn off the word count display to stay immersed in your story.Diving into The Fix Up.We also shone a spotlight on Sharon’s latest novel, The Fix Up. This “grumpy sunshine” forced-proximity rom-com introduces us to Ellie, a single mom, and Gil, a secret grandson, who are forced to co-inherit a property in charming Two Hearts, Texas.Sharon revealed a personal connection to Ellie—her protagonist also has adult-diagnosed ADHD, making this book a particularly challenging but rewarding one to write. And for those who love practical life hacks, you’ll be fascinated by Ellie’s unique Sticky-Note System for managing her “chaotic brain”—a system divided into “Now,” “Soon,” and “In the Future” tasks.Beyond the Books: Poodles, Success, and What’s Next.From her hilarious confession about a lifelong poodle phobia (it’s a “fight or flight” response, she assures us!) to her heartfelt definition of success—making people smile and laugh—Sharon offered a glimpse into the person behind the pages. And for those eagerly awaiting more, she teased an exciting new book in the Two Hearts series, featuring the character Iris!This interview was truly a masterclass in resilience, a deep dive into the craft of writing, and a touching conversation about embracing one’s unique brain. Whether you’re a seasoned author or just starting your writing journey, there’s so much wisdom to gain from Sharon M. Peterson.Listen to the full podcast or watch the interview here:Don’t forget to check out Sharon M. Peterson’s fantastic rom-coms wherever books are sold, and let us know your biggest takeaway from this inspiring interview in the comments below!Support Our Non-Profit CICAs many of you know, The Writing Community Chat Show is now officially a non-profit Community Interest Company (CIC). Our mission is to support authors and creatives through interviews, workshops, competitions, and community projects.Running the show takes time, effort, and resources — from live streaming and editing, to event hosting and outreach. If you enjoy what we do and want to help us continue providing a platform for authors, please consider donating directly to our PayPal. Every contribution goes right back into growing the show and supporting the writing community.Donate here: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/TheWCCSEven the price of a coffee makes a difference in helping us keep the lights on, the mics live, and the conversations flowing.Featured on these blog posts as one of the best writing podcasts:Number 7 in the top 11 writing podcasts of 2025 by Million Podcasts. com https://millionpodcasts.com/author-interview-podcasts/…Number 3 in the top 10 best writing UK podcasts of 2025.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to a brand new episode episode for Writing Community
Chat Show. If I can get my words out, that
is Happy Friday. I hope you're doing well and let
us know in the conversation in the chat if you
are indeed having a good week or I've had a
good week, if you're watching back or listening back, thank
you very much. Please do hit that like button and
subscribe if you haven't done so. Yeah, it's great to
(00:21):
be back on the show. We've got a great guest
for you. It's going to be a lot of entertainment,
I'm sure based on our pre chat and Chris Hooley,
how are you doing, buddy?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Yeah, good back from the Brooklyn Book Festival, which was
brilliant last week, obviously being on the mental health panel
and doing all that, and then you created a WhatsApp
group for all of our Writing Community Chat Show regulars
and yeah, that's been fun.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
It has. Yeah, definitely got some more conversation than we
normally get in that WhatsApp group. Used to be the
old ex or Twitter kind of platform social chat, which
is actually Chris you might not have known, but I've
just today canceled our Premium X membership thing which promises,
you know, better engagement. Let's adds all that stuff, But
(01:10):
all I see is exactly the same. And this week
has been dire on that social platform. And if you
are an author on that platform and you've been trying
to promote stuff, let us know if you've had this
similar experience. But definitely pushing things out in different areas.
But yeah, the WhatsApp group has been very entertaining for
many reasons.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, I mean shout out to us who's not canceled
us yet, he's stuck in there with chat And yeah,
it's nice to have a place.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Where that's because Twitter at one point felt like WhatsApp
that group feels now in terms of people interacting, people
having conversations and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
And obviously, as you've alluded to, it's it's not the
case anymore.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
On that platform.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yeah, sad times, but we move on and we find
different avenues and different platforms, and you know, substack is
one for us with all the fellow writers.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
We venture on TikTok occasionally.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
But yeah, obviously people watching now thank you, and again
people listening back to the show. We do appreciate that. Obviously,
our numbers when people watch live massive. I love the
fact that people watch us live and things like that,
but the fact that people listen to us all over
the world still baffles me when you show me, Oh,
(02:29):
somebody in Zambia to show this week and stuff like that. So,
you know, thank you to everyone who keeps listening to
the show. And again, the reason why you're listening is
because you want to be a better writer. I'm guessing
all you're interested in the book, and that's what we're
going to do tonight. We're going to pick the brains
of another author, get some really good writing tips and
hopefully that can help you push on into getting your
(02:52):
own book out in the world.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Yeah, definitely, And I was thinking about it earlier, Chris.
It just started going around my mind. I really took
in the length of time we'll be doing the show.
It's five and a half years onwards, and it'll be
six in March next year, which is coming around quick
because October next week, guys, is spooky season. Halloween is
fast approaching. By the way. I have just put the
(03:17):
Words of eleven Horror for a kindle promotion this weekend
Saturday and Sunday. You can get that for free on Amazon,
So look for that. But yeah, so I've been thinking
about it, and it's kind of I haven't really taken
that into account five and a half years of doing
this every week, but yeah, it kind of hit me
in the face today. And yeah, it's kind of kind
of crazy that we're still doing it and enjoyed it
(03:39):
just as much as we were at day one.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Yeah, I mean way to ten, I suppose, or more
than halfway to ten. We've got to do ten ten
years as a minimum, because most podcasts don't see ten years,
but yeah, ten years as a minimum, and who knows,
we could be here in thirty years time. Still, And
on the topic, I've been reading Dracula this week, so
(04:05):
that's if you want to see my version of Dracula.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
That's what I'm going to dress up for Halloween. This
time we do a Halloween show.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Hopefully we can do a panel show because we're overdue
a panel show and Halloween is definitely a good time
to do a panel show.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
It is, And just before I know we get our
guests on very shortly, I want to float something out there.
I want your advice and your suggestions. I've been doing
something that I should have done a long time ago,
which is doing a lot of TV show reviews and
film reviews on my substack. And that's something I'm very
passionate about and I've dabbled with it but never really
committed to it. This week, I've put a lot out there.
(04:42):
I do watch too many shows instead of writing, but
that's just the way it is. But with the substack,
But what I'm doing is thinking about creating a little
side podcast where I just read those reviews in kind
of a different style to the review itself, but more
of a vocal version. And I want to know if
people would actually enjoy that, if you want to say
a short five minute episode of a review. And if
(05:06):
that's the case, let me know. I'd be interested to
say yes or no. If it's a no, fine, I
don't think it's a big difference if it is written
or verbally spoken. But yeah, i'd like your feedback on
that please. Mm hmm. Yeah, what do you think, Chris? Yeah?
I like it.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
I do with that.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I think maybe five minute episodes to people? Yeah, I
mean people, maybe do those. You might want to do
a longer one. You might do a monthly one where
you've you review all your viewing, but Yeah, it's good.
You know, people love recommendations for TV shows and stuff
(05:44):
like that, so yeah, why not amazing.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Okay, I'm going to get tonight's guest on, so please
get yourself involved in the conversation through the chat and
ask questions if you like. And then also remember there's
a dedicated section at the end four questions, but regardless,
send them through out the show. So I'm genuinely thrilled
about our next guest. A former middle school teacher, so
you know that she has the personality to handle anything.
(06:08):
As teachers, we can agree with that statement pretty much.
She has channeled her love of humor into becoming a
USA Today best selling author of heartfelt and hilarious romantic comedies.
Her debut novel, The do Over, was called a pure
delight by Christin Higgins and is even slated for translation
into three different languages. The latest book, The Fake Out,
(06:28):
probably presented above. Chris Juli's head is jam packed with
cheesy pickup lines and the kind of laughter she strives
to create in all of the work. She lives in Washington,
is a mom of four, has one cat, two dogs,
and a very intense fear of poodles, which we're definitely
going to ask her about so please give a huge one.
Welcome to the wonderful, funny and talented Sharon Sharon and Peterson.
Speaker 5 (06:52):
Hello, Hello, thank you for having me. I see that
I should have really looked closer at the at the
at the bio. I sent you because I have forecasts
now and my latest book was The Fix Up, and
the Duelver is out in five languages.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Now, so oh my goodness. Well that's my that's my No,
it's my fault.
Speaker 5 (07:13):
I sure, I just didn't pay attention, so I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Well, there's your update, guys, and I shall adjust it
later on. Sharon, thank you so much for joining us.
How are you doing doing okay?
Speaker 5 (07:25):
Doing all right this morning? Or I guess it's afternoon
right now. Yeah, just been up for a while, got
the kids all of school, and we have two new
kittens that one of them likes to crawl under my
sweater and sleep, so she was there all morning. So
it just prevents me from doing anything.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
You know, I suppose you could write in that in
that sort of.
Speaker 5 (07:50):
I could, but it's a good excuse.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
You know, he doesn't like a snuggle then on a blanket. Yeah,
that's right, and you're still in Washington. I take it
yest that bit, yes, amazing, So as always what I'd
love to do at the start of the show, and
I ask every guest in nice Chris is doing the
show on his own and he can ask them. But generally,
(08:13):
what is the writing situation like in your area? Do
you link up with authors? Is it mainly online kind
of situation or do you actually go to any local events?
Speaker 5 (08:24):
Mainly now it's almost all online. We moved here to
Washington State about three and a half years ago. Before that,
we lived in Texas for twenty years, and in Texas
I had like an in person writing group and just
a lot more connections with the community bookstores. It was
right outside of Houston, which is just a huge, huge area.
(08:44):
So now we live in a much smaller town in Washington.
And the month after we moved here, I got my
first book contract. So it's just been like and then
I've published four books in three years, so it's just
been like boom boom, boom, boom boom. I haven't had
a chance to barely learn what street I live on,
so so yeah, almost everything, most of my writing connections
(09:08):
are all online. I have done a couple of events,
like at a couple of Barns and Nobles, or there
is our library here does like an author event every spring.
I've gone to that. But yeah, it's pretty much been
all online.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Well, when you're when in that process of books out,
in that process you described as boom boom boom boom boom,
is a case of moving on to the next as
soon as the last one is out and not actually
taking the time to accept and appreciate what you've just done,
or you so focused on the next thing you just
go into it quickly.
Speaker 5 (09:43):
No, I'm never focused. I was diagnosed with ADHD three
years ago, which makes total sense. Usually what happens is
that my books generally come out in June and then
in summer the kids are all home, and it's really
hard for me to actually get really good writing time in.
I'm usually always thinking about the next book, but I'm
(10:03):
not I don't really start writing it until about now. Yeah,
it's due to my editor in December, the first draft.
So it's a I'm with Bookcher and they're a digital
first imprint of Hashet and they move fast, so much
faster and like a traditional more traditional publisher. So but
(10:26):
it's still it's still I will be crying in a
couple of months, I'm sure. I wish I had started
in June when the last book came out, but that's
just not how it ever happens.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
So I imagine that having that deadline for some people is
a real motivator, but some it's kind of an a
daunting aspect of prospect. So which is it.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
For you both? It's yeah, uh huh. But I think big,
scary deadlines are what make me stay focused and on track.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Yeah, so yeah, m.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
And Sharon, how was that diagnosis obviously said about being
diagnosed with ADHD. Did that sort of make sense to
you in terms of like what was your writing life
like before that diagnosis? And do those deadlines like really
push you? And do you think if we didn't have
them it might be harder to concentrate?
Speaker 5 (11:21):
Oh yeah, I think the deadlines helped me a lot,
even though I hate them, I have to have them.
I think it's one of the reasons why I haven't
self published, because I would have to. I'd have to.
I'd come up with excuses, I would set something and
then I'd oh no, I can push it a little further,
I can push it a little further. So so yeah,
I mean it's been good. Medication has helped a lot.
(11:45):
It started because I also have generalized anxiety, and when
the doctor put me, I had kind of this episode.
And the doctor put me on my third anxiety medicine.
So I was taking three a day and I was like,
and it wasn't really helping. So I was doing my
own research and I happened across a TikTok video of
all things, and I just saw a lot of myself
(12:06):
in what they were saying, and so I kept researching
and researching, and then finally went back to my doctor
and I said, what if we're medicating the wrong part
of my brain? And so we did an evaluation and
she started me on adderall and the first time I
took it, it was like my whole body just went
and let out all of this anxiety.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
It was.
Speaker 5 (12:28):
It was wild. So I definitely feel a lot less
anxiety and a lot more of an ability to focus
than I did before. It doesn't solve everything, and I'm
still a mess most of the time. A lot of
people think I'm more organized than I am. I'm not,
But I mean that's kind of also a woman with adhds,
(12:50):
we learn how to mask really really well so and
figure out how to look like we have it all
together until we don't.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
So so that's really impressive. Even more so to look
back at kind of what things were like before, with
your children and your dogs and your cats and your
undiagnosed ADHD at that time. Why did how did you
fit writing into around your career as well writing into
that lifestyle.
Speaker 5 (13:20):
It's kind of a long story, how I So, I've
always been a reader, voracious reader my whole life. Always
kind of secretly wanted to be a writer. But I
always say that my life made me ruthlessly practical. And
writing is not practical. It is a hobby until you
can make money at it, and that can take years
and years and years. And I taught for a few years, married,
(13:43):
taught for a few years, had three boys in three years.
Two of those boys are autistic. One of them is
severely autistic and requires twenty four hour supervision. So life
was just really really stressful when they were all younger.
I mean stressful now too, but we're used to it more.
(14:04):
And I just never picked. I never wrote, I never
wrote anything, and you know, I had before, but not
once the kids came, it just was out of the picture.
And then about twenty fifteen, some friends begged me to
start a blog, I think because my Facebook posts were
getting way too long, and so I did that. I
(14:25):
started a free one and I blogged faithfully for a year,
and at the end of the year I learned that
I really hated blogging, but I did like telling stories
because my favorite things to write were like creative nonfiction
and stories about my life and those kinds of things.
And I think if you want to be successful at blogging,
(14:46):
you have to write things like, you know, three fun
things to do when you're a vampire, or you know,
stuff like that that catchy titles, and those are the
kinds of things that people click on and not hey,
I cleaned up something really gross today, you know. So
(15:06):
I did that. And then at the end of the year,
my computer stopped working, my laptop, and we could not
afford to replace it. At that point, we had four
kids and therapy for the boys was expensive. So I
realized really fast that I missed writing a lot. It
had been kind of free therapy for me and a
(15:27):
way to express myself. But I didn't have it anymore.
And then a couple of months later, a friend invited
me out for coffee and she presented me with a
new laptop. And she said that she in a local
group of moms who had been following my blog didn't
want me to stop writing, and so they all chipped
(15:47):
in and bought me a laptop. And I say, it
was like the most remarkable gift I've ever received, because
it kind of like gave me permission. And I just
decided right then and there, I'm going to write a book.
I'm going to do it. And I did, and I
would write like i'd write. I had it set on
my kitchen counter on top of a box of economy
(16:08):
baby whites, so I could stand at it and type.
And so I'd type for five or ten minutes, and
then i'd go clean up some spilled milk or type
for ten more minutes and then go yell at someone
to get off the trampoline naked, which did happen. And
I hpped til one am, I you know, type write
when they napped whenever, and I was able to finally
(16:29):
finish the first draft of that book. And then uh,
I started looking for agents and it took up sixteen
months and one hundred and seven no's before I got
a yes. And then we started to go out on
submission with that, and we pulled it to do some revisions.
(16:52):
And then in the middle of me revising my sister,
my little sister, my only sister, to lose y'all, am
I talking too much?
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Me?
Speaker 1 (16:59):
No?
Speaker 5 (16:59):
No, it was out a secor.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
No, No, it was picking out me. You were breaking up,
but you came back. It was a bit okay, okay.
Speaker 5 (17:09):
So my only sister passed away and she was like
my best unexpectedly and she was like my best friend.
And I went through a pretty deep depression for about
six months, and I think the only thing that kept
me going was were my kids and writing that book.
Finishing that book. So this is the part where I
tell you that it sold for lots of money, but
(17:30):
it didn't. It never sold. So I had to write
a second book, and that went out on submission in
February of twenty twenty. Because my timing is awesome, And
that was on submission for two solid years before book
Thatcher picked it up and in those two so it
actually I went out in February of twenty twenty. Then
(17:52):
my husband was laid off his job in twenty twenty
in August of twenty twenty, his job of ten years.
Then he got cod in October and had to be hospitalized.
He's okay now, but that was just really scary because
that was like before vaccines or anything like that, and
it was in the real unknown time. And then in
January of twenty twenty one, my oldest son began having
(18:15):
grandma seizures out of the clear blue sky. And then
in February of twenty twenty one, this big freeze came
through Texas and all of our pipes broke and we
were we had to live in a hotel for five
months while our house was put back together, and so
it was like a whole year there where I could
I couldn't even read a book, let alone write one.
(18:35):
So it's just amazing to see how the timing worked,
because a few months later, my husband got a job
here in Washington, we packed up and moved here, and
a month later I was signing a book contract. So
it's been kind of a wild nine I guess ten
years now since I started first writing that first one.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
So yeah, wow, Yeah, it's amazing the apart from the blogging.
But when you started pitching your books or looking for
an agent, you know, you mentioned over one hundred nos.
So many people would give up way before that. So
what was going through your mind in terms of was
(19:13):
it a case of I know this is going to happen,
or is I'm just going to keep going.
Speaker 5 (19:17):
I'm very we don't say stubborn in our house. I'm
very steadfast, but I just perseverance. And I think people
do give up too soon, Like they get those first
noes and they're like, no, I'll just I'll just self publish,
or no, I'm just done. I'm not meant to be
a writer. But statistically speaking, it takes about one hundred
nos before you get a guess when you're quarrying. So
(19:39):
it is a in some ways, it's a game of numbers.
In some ways it's I really do think it's the
people that don't give up. Yeah, that that perseverance is
like ninety percent of it.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
So yeah, So with that, then obviously he talks about
how hectic and difficult You'll I was what drew you
to romantic comedy because I should imagine that's difficult to
write at.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
The best of times, let alone some of the hardest times.
Speaker 5 (20:09):
Well, I always joke, Well, I say that my favorite
literary quote of all times is from The Grapes of Wrath,
which is the most depressing book of all time. But
the quote is it was her habit to build up
laughter with inadequate materials. And I always say life has
given me a lot of inadequate materials. So the way
that I deal with life is I have to laugh
(20:30):
at it, have to. I have to find a humor
in it, or I would be curled up in the
fetal position somewhere. So for me, I've always been a
lover of romance. And I think there's two reasons why
I'm really drawn to the romantic comedy. One because I
think laughter is very hopeful. If you can laugh in
(20:53):
the middle of a situation, not all hope is lost.
And romance is the same way. You know, you always
get that happily ever after, and there's hope in that,
like the future is looking good. So I think for
those two reasons, and I also think I've kind of
sort of been I mean, laugh there's a gift, like
(21:13):
it's a gift for you to laugh at things. Apparently
like women who laugh more, get pregnant faster. That's real statistic.
But also I think I've been given a gift of
humor and so, which isn't a very you know, nice
(21:34):
gift like service to people or compassion or anything like that.
But you know, at least I found a way to
use it by writing, by writing funny books. So if
I if I want someone to read my book and
then just smile, be happy, laugh out loud, you know,
so because the world is so heavy. My life is heavy.
World life is hard, and I want it to be
(21:56):
a not hard for a little while while you're reading.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
So I think it is one of the best gifts
you can have is to make someone laugh and smile. So,
but like Chris said, it's notoriously a difficult thing to do.
Is it something you had to work on as in practice,
trying to make the scenes funnier and go back and
revise them, or is it a natural process for yourself.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
There was one book I turned into my editor the
first draft, and I remember writing to her, I'm sorry,
I don't think this is funny. I don't think it's
funny enough. And then she wrote me back and she said,
I don't think you realize how naturally funny you are,
and it's a lot lot funnier than you think it is.
So I think it. I'm not trying to brag here,
but I do think it comes naturally to me. I
(22:43):
also had one writer friend who wrote writes thrillers, and
she was like, how do you approach your scene? She said,
like she said, when I write them, I write the
scene and then I go back and add more suspense.
And I was like, well, I guess I kind of
do the same thing. I write the scene and then
I go back and try and make it work. Because
that's stuff comes from, right. It's because you know, with
(23:05):
rom com you can have a lot more fun and
be a little more silly and stuff like that. So
so you kind of make the situation first the worse
but funnier. So yeah, m hm, Sharon.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
There's so many wrongcoms in the world and TV film
books as well, and so in your opinion, what makes
a good wrong com?
Speaker 5 (23:28):
I think first that it has to be funny, it's
romantic comedy. Second of all, I think that the characters
you need to be drawn to the I think that
with any good writing, like you have to identify with
the character somehow, relate to them somehow, And uh, I mean,
(23:50):
I think those are the two big things. I tend
to write very character driven things. And if I've nailed
a character, I think I have a reader identifies with
that character, relates to that character, finds them relatable, then
you've got them. They'll read the whole book.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
So and do you think from starting writing then that
our perception of romance has changed.
Speaker 5 (24:12):
Oh? Yes, I mean it's definitely become a lot more mainstream.
We are less likely to be made fun of than
you were twenty or thirty years ago if you were
reading a romance novel, you know, oh, it's just a
romance novel, or you know, that's not real reading or
or real literature or anything like that. And I think
(24:32):
now it's definitely become a lot more mainstream. And I
think maybe that has something to do with just women
having more of a voice in society, because obviously women
are the ones that read romance the most, and romance
often carries the publishing industry, to be honest, so you know,
in terms of sales. So yeah, I mean, I think
(24:57):
the perception has definitely changed a lot.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
What about the perception not from the book point view,
but in terms of like what people's idea of romances,
in terms of like, you know, there's sort of new
trends and you know, I'm thinking from a writer is
point of view, Like you've got you know, dating apps
and all that type of stuff to be considering in
the sort of romance world. So how have you sort
(25:22):
of navigated that from when you started to sort of
like through the trends and what have you.
Speaker 5 (25:27):
Well, I don't know that I'm on trend exactly. I
mean I think right now on trend in romance is
very romantic see and dark romance. Those seem to be
the biggest, uh things that seem to be driving the
industry right now. I think definitely a lot more you know,
like text messages and emails and and those kinds of
(25:50):
things show up in books more often, Like we kind
of expect people to text each other now it's just
a part of our daily life, So why wouldn't it
be a part of our books kind of a thing.
I mean, I guess those would be the I mean, yeah,
I don't know. I haven't really done too much. Like
when I've been married for twenty four years, so I
(26:12):
did not meet my husband through a dating app or anything.
I started my first email address to email him though,
so uh yeah, I'm sure I would be awful if
I had to date now, I would be terrible at it. Terrible.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
So maybe that's been like any research in and around dating. Like,
I know, obviously you're happily married, been married for a
long time and stuff like that, But have you ever
gone do you know what for this book I need
to see, you know, maybe look at a dating app.
I need to ask some people who are single, like
what it's like and the experience of cos.
Speaker 5 (26:50):
Now, I would say, yes. I do a lot of
kind of lurking on Reddit. There's several good boards on
Reddit where you people will share stories about how they
met or this or that which or bad dates. I
love reading about bad first dates, so I'll do a
lot of googling and searching and and that kind of thing.
I mean, it's sad, but I guess I don't have
(27:12):
a lot of unmarried friends right now either. You know,
I've just did that age bracket, I guess so. But yeah,
I mean I have a few friends and we've talked
about it some, so but I guess I don't.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
A lot of the strangest thing that you've found when
you've been researching in all those areas, what's like really.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
Stood out to your Like I said, whoa moment, I.
Speaker 5 (27:35):
Mean, I just yeah, I just think, well, there are
just some apps that are not necessarily for dating, for
just kind of hooking up or something like that, and
that whole thing just kind of weirds me out a little.
I also write closed door with a closed door romance
or clean romance, it's kissing only, whatever you want to
call it. So I don't really get into that side
(27:59):
of things very much. And yeah, I think that whole
aspect of it just doesn't is weird to me.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
But you know, yeah, I agree.
Speaker 5 (28:10):
Maybe that's just a me thing, it's not a world thing.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
So Okay, before we move on to the next part,
which we will talk about the fix up, I'm going
to ask you addressed the elephant in the room, or
perhaps the poodle not in the room, what is the
story about the fear the intense fear of poodles.
Speaker 5 (28:31):
When I was like three or four, I had to
run in with a standard black poodle. He, I guess
snapped and growled at me, and I guess it just
stuck in my lizard brain and ever since, like it's
it's not just a ooh gross kind of a thing.
It's like I will walk across the street. It's like
that fight or flight feeling like my heart starts pounding
(28:53):
when I see them, and they just freaked me out.
I apologize to poodle owners everywhere. I am sorry, please
keep them away from me.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
Then you've got dogs, It's not like a dog thing.
It's not a dog thing. Yes, amazing. It's kind of
like et with Chris.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Oh yeah, is horrifying, though I've said this multiple times.
Very scary looking thing and oh.
Speaker 4 (29:23):
Yeah, don't get into that because.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
Space aliens and the fact that turns up his star
Wars that really irritated me with loads of over eats
waving like no, thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
And you has put question there is does this phobia
include doodles or just poodles.
Speaker 5 (29:41):
Doodles I can handle a little bit more because they
usually I think it's especially that classic shave where it's
like they're big poofy heads and the little tails and
I'm getting the shivers.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
We'll move on, We'll move on. Sorry, sorry to remind you,
but I have to ask, Okay, so I'm going to
play the video even though I forgot video number one, Chris,
I do apologize. I haven't played that for a while.
So we're going to play a little video for part two,
watch the story, and then when we come back. Can
you let everybody know what the fix Up is all about?
And we'll ask you some questions about that? Sure?
Speaker 5 (30:15):
Sounds good?
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Excellent? So Sharon the fix Up? Can you let everybody
know what that's all about? Please?
Speaker 5 (30:33):
Sure? So this is the third book in my series
set in the fictional town of Two Hearts, Texas, which
is kind of based on the town that I lived
in a little bit. It's smaller and they're all standalone,
so you don't have to read the books before it
to be able to follow along. This one is about Ellie.
She's a single mom. She has a six year old son,
(30:54):
and she moved to Two Hearts about three years ago
and kind of they kind of took her under their
wing and she just came from She's made some decisions
in her life that she's not real thrilled with, and
so she feels like like being in Two Hearts is
kind of like a new life for her. And the
local cafe she worked at the local cafe and the
(31:14):
owner was just this curmudgeonly old man who didn't have
any family, and when he passed away, she was left
with half of the cafe, the house, and then the
twenty acres. It was all on but she finds out
the whole town does really that he had a secret
grandson no one knew about, and he gets the other half.
(31:36):
But in order for them to inherit, they both have
to live on the property for six months before they
can stay claim. So it's kind of a bit of
force proximity. They're kind of a grumpy sunshine kind of
a mix. She makes them live in a tent in
the back yard for a while, and yeah, he fixes
(31:57):
things around the house. And she has ADHD. She was
diagnosed as an adult. So this book was in some
ways really really really hard for me to write because
I identified so much with her in certain ways. In fact,
I think I spent the whole time going I hate
this book. I hate this book, and my editor was like, no,
(32:18):
don't hate it, it's good, and I just still didn't
believe it. I think about the week before I came out,
I decided I liked it again, So yeah, so yeah,
so it's you know, about their six months time, and
of course they don't like each other, and then they
do and then we get happily ever after, because it's so.
Speaker 1 (32:37):
Considering the other books you've written, and your fear about
this book almost that you know, because of the connection,
you're not quite loving it, perhaps as much as the
others did. You have an expectation that would do better
or worse than the other books.
Speaker 5 (32:51):
Oh, I always think they're going to go they're going
to go terribly wrong. Always. I always, I really struggle
with confidence when it comes to that. Like I always
before a book comes out of the anxiety is nuts,
like if a book goes up on net Galley or
anything like that. Yeah, I try to avoid the the
(33:15):
reviews as much as I can until I can't see any.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
Then this book sounds fantastic, and based on what you
just said, I'm going to read you two reviews or
parts of so yeah, this will help your confidence. I
haven't picked anything out bad because there wasn't any of course,
I wouldn't do that anyway. But I've read all of
Sharon Mpisson's books now, and I think unwittingly save the
(33:39):
best to last the vivid character descriptions and use of
humor made this a real page turner. Great five star review. There.
What I want to ask based on that is that
you mentioned the characters earlier, but the vivid character descriptions.
How do you approach writing such complex characters and describing
them vividly without to perhaps overly descriptive.
Speaker 5 (34:03):
So I write in first person, just one point of view.
And although I say I'm not a plotter, I do
think that I think about it for months and months
ahead of time. That character lives in my head, and
I will take that character places with me and do
silly things like we're waiting in line at this grocery store.
I wonder what Ellie would be doing right now, or
(34:25):
what Ellie would be thinking right now. And so there's
a certain point when I'm writing the rough draft, usually
about thirty percent in, where it just suddenly clicks, like
it all comes together, and then I almost feel like
she takes the she takes over, you know, and I'm
just writing what she tells me to write. So and
I think as writers we should always know way way
(34:47):
more about our characters than ever makes it on the page.
And I think that's how you give them depth and
make them feel more real. You know that they you know,
broke their arm in the ninth grade climbing out their
go to meet a boy. You know, you know that.
It doesn't mean it's going to be in the book,
but you know that about them. So all of those
(35:07):
little things I think show up and you're writing without
you realizing it.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
So yeah, I like that. I like that example of
how to get to know your characters that are shopping
in the queue of the shopping center. That it's a really
interesting thing to think about because at that point most
people are kind of either looking around, playing on the phone,
and if you've got a really special kind of character
that could be doing anything right.
Speaker 5 (35:28):
Right, Yes, yeah, if you know what their reactions are
to things, to little things, I think it helps to know.
Then you start to learn how they won't react to
big things too.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Yeah, of course, nice, Chris. I was going to say
leading on to that from that, and I'll ask this, Chris,
because it links into what she just said, which was
the next review. I've got the two here and this
is the second one. We only have Ellie's point of view,
which you mentioned throughout the story, but I find it
really helps understand her and a chaotic brain. I am
(35:59):
one hundred percent pinching this sticky note to do list.
Oh yeah, is that something you talk about for someone
else who might have a chaotic brain?
Speaker 5 (36:09):
Yes, so, Ellie. And this is something that like a
technique that counselors or will give to like someone with ADHD.
And what it is is like you use a wall
or something and you divide it into three things today,
soon or in the future, and then on the today
(36:29):
you are only allowed to have three sticky notes, and
those are your three things or now put as now,
and those are the three things that you have to
work on. And when you work on one, you crumple
it up and you throw it away and you get
a little hit of dopamine, and then you go over
to your soon pile and you pick one that you
can move over there. So you're always shifting things over,
(36:50):
but you're only ever having to work on those three things,
so it kind of helps keep you focused. I always
say my biggest thing is finishing fully, because I may
finish it almost and then I'll just walk away from
it and then procrastinate and do all of these things
and not finish it. So that's something that can be
(37:11):
really helpful. So Ellie has that whole thing set up
on the wall in the kitchen, and that's kind of Gil,
the main the male character. That's kind of one of
his first introductions to her as he sees that. And
he happens to have a background as a special education teacher.
So she was all worried he was going to think
she was weird or something, and he was like, Oh,
that's actually kind of smart. So I've had a few
(37:34):
readers say, oh, that is a idea. I'm going to
try that.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
That's something very good. Excellent.
Speaker 2 (37:41):
Yeah, my question, Sharon kind of up to now, so
I just thought of another one.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
But the first question that I was going to ask.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
Was the single mother sort of storyline narrative. How much
does complicate a romance when you're putting it all together.
Speaker 5 (38:00):
I think it makes I think kids should make things
a little more challenging. It's because I think as a parent,
those are your first you know, your kids are your
first priority, and so you I mean, I guess I've
never been in that situation, but I was raised by
basically a single mom, and I just know that she
(38:22):
always put us first. You know every time, Like so,
I think that that dynamic is weird. And then in
this case, in this book, it's a stranger. That's why
she makes them live in the backyard for a while
because she doesn't want him interacting with her kid, or
or her kid getting attached to him or anything like that,
you know, because in the book she says he deserves
(38:44):
the best, and I'm not allowing him to be around
what's not the best. I don't know, you, you know,
So I think in this book, and maybe it's not
like this in a lot of single parent books, but
in this one, her son Oliver was a is a
big driving force for her and her motivations and her
(39:05):
desire to have a big, bright future because she wanted
to do that for him especially.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
So, yeah, my second question off the back of the
things you've been talking about.
Speaker 4 (39:17):
Is what are your top tips then?
Speaker 2 (39:19):
Because we know writers can suffer from that dophamine or
lack of dophamine, what tips could you give somebody that's
going to instantly boost their sort of delphamine makeup other
than obviously the whiteboard things.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (39:37):
I think it's a great idea. Well, let's say three
tips to improve your dophamine.
Speaker 5 (39:43):
I don't know if it's improving my dopamine, But before
I go to bed every night, I make a list
of things that I need to do the next day.
It's kind of like a brain dump because I tend
to be that person that wakes up at three in
the morning remembering that one thing I'm supposed to do
two weeks to go or something like that. So if
I dump all that stuff out before bed, it helps
(40:05):
me sleep. You know, getting good sleep is important in
terms of just like really practical things that help me.
When I'm writing, I turn off the word count on
word when I'm writing. I don't want to see how
many words I'm writing because it stresses me out. I
use the focus button on word, which not a lot
of people know about, but it told it takes it
(40:26):
makes word your complete screen, takes away all your tabs
and everything, so you can't see anything but what you're
writing in front of you. Oh, setting an alarm twenty
minute writing, I'll set an alarm for twenty minutes in
some reason that seems like a race, you know to me,
And I will even count up how many words I
wrote in that twenty minutes, and then try and beat
(40:47):
myself the next time, and I'll do twenty minutes and
then depending on how I'm doing, I'll take twenty minutes
and go do something else around the house and then
come back for twenty minutes. Also, things that writers have
to do that maybe don't involve actually writing, or maybe
some people can do this while they're writing, but I
have like a little mini stepper and if I'm watching,
(41:07):
like if I have to do emails or I have to,
you know, do social media stuff or anything like that,
if I'm moving while i'm doing it, it helps me
also to stay on track. So what I like to
do is I'm writing and then I think, oh, I
wonder what XYZ is about. I should go research that,
And then three hours later I'm learning about miniature rabbits
(41:30):
or something. So you know, I mean, so I have
to try and keep myself as focused as I can
because I don't have a lot of time to do.
To sit in a quiet house I'm write. So also
leaving your house entirely, even if it is a quiet house,
because sometimes just sitting in the house, they're the distractions.
Don't have to be noise, They're just like that pile
(41:51):
of laundry or those dishes, or those bills I need
to pay, or so just by removing yourself. So I
sit in my backyard a lot and write, which is
going to be a problem because we're about to hit
rainy seasons. But I'll sit in the backyard a lot,
and I don't take my phone or my tablet or
anything with me. It's just me and my laptop.
Speaker 1 (42:10):
So well, talking about the being busy and being distracted,
Halo said earlier, I made the whole light It made
a whole lightsaber battling movie with my sun the other day.
Feels you, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (42:24):
You were making memories there.
Speaker 1 (42:26):
I think that right, all right, I think that's quite
a good point. Was that an answer for your question that, Chris?
Because I think that was a really good detailed answer. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
I mean, obviously we've talked a lot about mental health
and stuff. You know how important though for me and
is especially people who need a lot of it. And yeah,
definitely some really good tips there, So thank you.
Speaker 1 (42:51):
Excellent. Okay, So those that are watching live right now,
we're going to ask our staple questions very shortly, and
it's a chance for you to send in any questions
you might have. If you do have them, please put
them in the link right now, in the link, in
the description, in the comments, in the chat, whatever the
case is there and we'll get them on screen. But
(43:12):
before we do that, I was going to ask you something. Oh, yes, okay,
do you have a favorite comedy romantic comedy movie?
Speaker 5 (43:22):
Ooh, I would probably say, Dear Frankie. I don't know
if anybody's seen that. It's probably from the nineties. It
has uh oh no Darar Butler in it, and he's
like a salty sea captain. It takes place, it takes
place in contemporary times, but it's this woman who has us,
(43:47):
who has a little boy who's deaf, and the father
just ran off or whatever, but she's told him his
whole life. No, no, no, he's he's just a way
he's coming back, and so she's been writing less as
the father to the son. And I can't remember, it's
been so long since I've watched it. Now I need
(44:08):
to rewatch it obviously. Anyway, she ends up talking Gerard
Butler into pretending to be his dad while he's there,
and it goes from there. So I really love that one.
And then seven Brides for Seven Brothers is my favorite
movie of all time, so and obviously it's a classic,
so brilliant.
Speaker 1 (44:29):
Yeah, Jared Butler definitely looks like he could play a
salty sea chap Chris, do you want to do you
want to talk about your favorite romantic comedy because you
always want an opinion on that film.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
It's not really a romantic comedy, see Sharon. People give
me a lot of stick for like in La La
Land on this show, and I say, it's a really
good depiction of love. And I've not seen sort of
like it'd be told in that way before in terms
of like they could have stayed together, but they didn't,
and it didn't give you a happy ending. But that
(45:04):
scene at the end, sorry if nobody's watched it, but
they sort of see each other and they're in different lives,
but they kind of got what they wanted, so they're
still happy for each other. And there's a whole montage
of that they could have had it if they stayed together,
but they didn't, And I just, yeah, I thought it
was brutal love at its best.
Speaker 1 (45:24):
Yeah, where your opinion is, I.
Speaker 5 (45:26):
Actually have not seen it, but I would call that
a love story versus a romance. But I think, yeah,
I mean, I think sometimes the biggest act of love
is letting someone go, right, is knowing that maybe you're
not the best for them, or there's something out there
that they need to do or is bigger than you.
Speaker 2 (45:47):
So yeah, I mean I think more happy, happy ending
That's what I'm after.
Speaker 4 (45:52):
I don't want love to where people let each other go.
Speaker 5 (45:57):
Yes, I like happy endings too, So now I'm might
need to stay away from Lalla Land.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
So my favorite comedy romantic comedy is The Festive, The Holiday.
I love that film.
Speaker 5 (46:12):
Oh yeah, that's a good one. I haven't seen that
forever either.
Speaker 1 (46:16):
I watch it every year.
Speaker 4 (46:19):
Sorry, they're doing a holiday too, they're not.
Speaker 1 (46:24):
Yeah, oh, that's just going to ruin things. Maybe you
never know, because they want another They probably pre built
a building in a nice cotsold area and they're gonna
they're gonna rent it out after the film has been
made and make a lot of money. That's probably what
the case is there, because that holiday of the cottage
in the Holiday is rented out all year round. Still anyway, Okay,
(46:48):
so let's move on to part through the show. Otherwise
we talking about random films all afternoon, which is fine.
Community questions, please send them in and we will get
our staple questions uh asked, and then we'll ask your
questions straight after that. So, like Chris, I would like
(47:20):
happy endings. I'm hoping this will be a happy ending
with some great questions. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (47:27):
So one of our first staple questions is if you
could take any character from fiction and make that character
your own, which character would you choose?
Speaker 5 (47:34):
Some Why make that character my own? I probably would
go with like Anna Anne Shirley from Anna green Gables.
I think she would just be super fun. She's just
full of you know, curiosity and optimism and just I
think she would be perfect in a wrong calm honestly
(47:56):
so and kind of her and Anne and Gilbert were
kind of the inspiration for Ellie and Gill in the book.
So I am a fan. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (48:08):
Nice good. If you could change the ending of anything,
whether it be a TV show, a movie, or book ending,
would you choose some way?
Speaker 5 (48:17):
Well? So many TV shows. The Thrones was awful, dexter awful.
Oh How I Met Your Mother? That was awful. I
hated the ending to that. In fact, I refuse to
watch it. There is an alternative ending on YouTube, so
I refer to that one. And also in terms of books,
(48:43):
I love this book, love it, love the love the book,
love the movies that come out within everything, Little Women,
but I kind of the ending of that was kind
of frustrating, Like who everybody ended up with just didn't
seem happy in a lot of ways. Laurie was in
love with Beth with it. Then Beth dies so that
he marries Amy because she was in love with him
(49:05):
and Joe didn't. And Laurie was in love with Joe,
but Joe gave him up. I gave him up for
Beth who died, And I'm sorry if I'm ruining the
ending for anybody. And then she ends up with a
grumpy professor. So I don't know, It's not how I
would have written it.
Speaker 1 (49:21):
Damn it, that's the wrong way. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (49:23):
Great, Nicewer, brilliant. So we've got some questions to ask.
The first one and so thank you Chris for this.
How have you always wanted to be a writer? Who
your influences when you started out?
Speaker 5 (49:39):
Uh? Definitely always secretly wanted to be a writer, But
I was always I never said it out loud to
anyone because I just again, I didn't think it was practical.
I didn't think it was something I could ever do
or accomplish. So yeah, and I think in terms of
(49:59):
of him influences, in terms of like the rom com arena,
I would say Kristin Higgins was a really big influence
for me. I kind of found her books when I
was when my boys were a little and I couldn't
do anything else but maybe read a book for ten minutes.
But I found hers and just devoured them all and thought,
(50:21):
I love these books. I want to write books like this,
And so that little seed was planted, I think with
her nice, nice cool thank you.
Speaker 1 (50:30):
For that, Chris Anie. It says, are there any and
realistic excuse me, depictions of add ADHD in the media
you find problematic? Do you find it problematic when people misrepresent.
Speaker 5 (50:43):
I mean sure, obviously I think women with ADHD er
way miss misrepresented and under missed and underrepresented in terms
of you know, media. I think that for women oftentimes,
ADHD is is very internal. It's very very much anxiety
(51:07):
and having the twelve thousand tabs open in your brain
kind of a thing. And I always say it's like
I have fifty squirrels in my head, and they're all
saying I have an idea. No, I have an idea,
and they're all really good ideas, and so I don't
know what to pick, you know. So I don't think
you see that represented very much in media. Also, as
(51:28):
a mom of two kids with autism, I find a
lot of the representation in media to be problematic at times.
You know, I have a kid who is severely autistic,
and I don't really see him represented it all in media,
you know. So I see people like Sheldon Cooper from
The Big Bang Theory. So yeah, that can be frustrating
(51:53):
at times because I feel like my kids don't get
a voice or get seen.
Speaker 1 (51:58):
Yeah. I want to follow on question to that, which is,
as a woman who found out that she had ADHD,
lege on in life with the sort of any nagging
thoughts in your brain to suggest that that's what you
thought you had, and what might you suggest for someone
in a similar situation. You know, I hasn't quite got
(52:18):
that diagnosis yet.
Speaker 5 (52:21):
I think I never really considered it for a while,
because we always see ADHD represented as that kid that's
bouncing off the walls, you know, and that was never
me I was an excellent student. I never got in trouble,
you know, I for the most part, I guess I
(52:43):
would be deemed successful. You know, I was a teacher
before this. I can write books. I can write whole books,
but then I will look at the pile of laundry
for for three weeks and things I don't want to
fold that you know it's and so yeah, I kind
of had an inkling something was up about the way
my brain worked. I think when my sister passed away,
(53:05):
it was kind of a breaking point for me, and
it really brought a lot of things out. And I
I've told my husband this, I think my brain kind
of broke, like all of that, all of those things
I've been doing to sort of keep it together, and
all the strategies that I had been using and didn't
realize I was using, they just they just were gone.
And my executive function just plummeted. So I struggled for
(53:30):
the for those seven sixty six years trying to kind
of do life and keep it together again. I have
no idea how I write books, guys, I have no idea,
no idea.
Speaker 1 (53:46):
Powered by squirrels. So did you have any advice then
for someone because I'm you know, I hope she doesn't mind.
But my wife has mentioned that she thinks that might
be the case for her, and she's perhaps, I don't know,
maybe a similar age to when you found out. I'm
not sure. I don want to suggest a major of anybody,
but so you know, what would be the next step
(54:09):
for someone like maybe in that position.
Speaker 5 (54:11):
At the time, I was working with a counselor anyway,
so I brought it up to her first. Also, I mean,
I have two kids with autism. I have another son
with dyslexi and dysgraphia, So we're a little bit of
a neurospicy family as it is, and that had to
come from somewhere, so you or spicy. So I wondered
(54:39):
for a while kind of, and then I started to
see like a little videos on on TikTok or something
like that. Someone would talk about having ADHD as a woman,
and I was like, oh, wait a minute, And then
I saw this one about highly successful women with ADHD.
Speaker 1 (54:56):
Yeah, and it just.
Speaker 5 (54:58):
Kind of like it stopped my heart for a minute
because everything she was saying sounded exactly like me. But
so I was working with a counselor and she was like,
you know, I think you should get tested. And I'm
very grateful to have a doctor that actually listens to
me and she's she's been more than willing to work
(55:18):
with me, and so we got an evaluation and she
started me on medication and it's helped a lot, a lot,
a lot. Yeah, brilliant.
Speaker 2 (55:29):
We've got another question from the audience, so thank you, Halo.
What book was the most formative to you as a kid,
A team and an apple?
Speaker 5 (55:38):
Oh oh boy. I always struggle with these questions. I
always say that, like I don't have a favorite book
because there are too many good ones, you know, and
I can't trust people that have a favorite book. But
I would say I discovered I don't know, I read
(55:59):
a lot a lot as a kid. I can't think
of a book that really pops out. I know, when
I was a teenager, I discovered A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
And that's not a made up answer, Like I really
discovered it one day in the school library and decided
to read it. And I saw myself a lot in Francis,
the main character, and just really drew me in, Like
(56:23):
I go back to that book a lot. And then
as an adult. Oh my, I don't know. There's so
many books that I don't know about formative. I don't know,
that's one I'd have to think about a lot.
Speaker 1 (56:36):
Would say, one that you've read this year, maybe that
you would recommend for someone to read.
Speaker 5 (56:42):
Oh, I read the one by is it John mar
or Mars? Yeah? I just I just read that one,
which is out of my typical genre. But yeah, that
one was good. I walked around all day asking people
if if there was DNA that told you who your
(57:03):
perfect match was and you were already married, you know,
So that that one stuck with me for a while. Yep.
Speaker 1 (57:15):
So interview. We've interviewed him plenty of times at the
Harget crimeri As Festival. He is a lovely, lovely man
and a great.
Speaker 5 (57:21):
Awesome a little twisted in the head obviously.
Speaker 1 (57:23):
But awesome. Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 5 (57:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (57:28):
Mirror novels, Yeah brilliant.
Speaker 5 (57:32):
Yeah, very very very like paid. I love when there
are books like that that make you just keep turning
the pages and keep turning the pages. So yeah, it
was very very thought provoking for sure.
Speaker 1 (57:44):
Yeah, really amazing. Okay, yeah, on yeh, I's gonna see.
We've got like two minutes left. So, Chris, if you
want to finish yourself with the Morgage question, we'll then
find out where people can find stop Sharon uh, and
then we'll wrap it all up.
Speaker 2 (58:01):
Yeah. So the morbid question is you're on your deathbed,
you're looking back at your writing career.
Speaker 4 (58:05):
What would you be happy with? What is success to you?
Speaker 5 (58:08):
If I'm looking back on my writing career, I would
just be honestly, I just be thrilled to know that
I made people smile, I made them laugh, I made
their day a little bit better because they read one
of my books. That would make me. That make me happy?
Yeah nice, I mean aside from dying and.
Speaker 1 (58:29):
Well, yeah I made someone smile, It's okay.
Speaker 5 (58:33):
Yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (58:39):
A bookish redhead just commented, I'm so disappointed. I just
saw this was happening there now almost she almost said
that in a Welsh way, But there you go. Yes,
it's there to watch back and listening back. Don't worry.
Yes it'll be a replay. You can watch the live
replay straightway and YouTube, but it will be dropped later
on as well, and the podcast will be over the weekend.
(59:01):
So just to wrap it up, then, where can people
find Sharon on social media? Where can they stalk you?
And where can they buy your books? Including The Fix Up?
Speaker 5 (59:12):
All my books are available on Amazon. They all have
audio books also, and they're all on Kindle Unlimited. If
you have that, you can stalk me. That's funny. Instagram
is where I am a lot, so it's just search
for my name and then I do have a TikTok account.
I'm sorry in advance on my website Sharon Apeterson dot com.
Speaker 1 (59:38):
Oh, just before we do finish, then, what can people
expect next?
Speaker 5 (59:43):
Oh? I'm working on the another book set in Two Hearts,
and it's about two characters that you've met in the
three books. So I think people will be excited that
they're coming.
Speaker 1 (59:55):
Back so lovely, brilliant. Yeah. For me, I want to
say thank you so much. You know, you've been a
very great person to talk to an interview, and you
know the story you told about, you know what you've
been through, and you've still managed to juggle everything and
get the words on the page and get the stories
out there, and the success you've had is amazing. So
(01:00:18):
thank you so much for sharing all that with us.
I've really enjoyed it so for me. Thank you. I'll
see you with Chris.
Speaker 2 (01:00:25):
Yeah, I was going to say, obviously five book children
and four actual children, that is a busy schedule. So yeah,
there's congratulations, and I hope more keep coming, not necessarily
children because they.
Speaker 1 (01:00:36):
Can be.
Speaker 5 (01:00:41):
Thank you all so much. It's been lovely talking to you,
and yeah, you guys made it easy, so hopefully talk.
I know I can talk too much sometimes.
Speaker 1 (01:00:51):
Not at all. Booker Shredder, just before we go, says
hoping it's the best friends away Chris.
Speaker 5 (01:00:58):
It's Irish.
Speaker 1 (01:01:00):
There you go, exclusive right there, and yes, that's great show.
Thank you for everybody tuning in, and hopefully you're gonna
have a cracking weekend and we'll see you next week.
But in the meantime, make sure you get your writing down.
If you're a writer, if you're a reader, support your authors,
get on their social media, give them a shout out,
share this stuff and all that good stuff. But go
and find the fixed up, pick that up and leave
(01:01:23):
Sharon a review even though she doesn't like to read them.
We'll send them on to her. But yeah, from us,
it's goodbye and stay safe, everybody, enjoy your weekend. Bye,
Welcome to a brand new episode episode for Writing Community
Chat Show. If I can get my words out, that
is Happy Friday. I hope you're doing well and let
us know in the conversation in the chat if you
are indeed having a good week or I've had a
good week, if you're watching back or listening back, thank
you very much. Please do hit that like button and
subscribe if you haven't done so. Yeah, it's great to
(00:21):
be back on the show. We've got a great guest
for you. It's going to be a lot of entertainment,
I'm sure based on our pre chat and Chris Hooley,
how are you doing, buddy?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Yeah, good back from the Brooklyn Book Festival, which was
brilliant last week, obviously being on the mental health panel
and doing all that, and then you created a WhatsApp
group for all of our Writing Community Chat Show regulars
and yeah, that's been fun.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
It has. Yeah, definitely got some more conversation than we
normally get in that WhatsApp group. Used to be the
old ex or Twitter kind of platform social chat, which
is actually Chris you might not have known, but I've
just today canceled our Premium X membership thing which promises,
you know, better engagement. Let's adds all that stuff, But
(01:10):
all I see is exactly the same. And this week
has been dire on that social platform. And if you
are an author on that platform and you've been trying
to promote stuff, let us know if you've had this
similar experience. But definitely pushing things out in different areas.
But yeah, the WhatsApp group has been very entertaining for
many reasons.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, I mean shout out to us who's not canceled
us yet, he's stuck in there with chat And yeah,
it's nice to have a place.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Where that's because Twitter at one point felt like WhatsApp
that group feels now in terms of people interacting, people
having conversations and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
And obviously, as you've alluded to, it's it's not the
case anymore.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
On that platform.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yeah, sad times, but we move on and we find
different avenues and different platforms, and you know, substack is
one for us with all the fellow writers.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
We venture on TikTok occasionally.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
But yeah, obviously people watching now thank you, and again
people listening back to the show. We do appreciate that. Obviously,
our numbers when people watch live massive. I love the
fact that people watch us live and things like that,
but the fact that people listen to us all over
the world still baffles me when you show me, Oh,
(02:29):
somebody in Zambia to show this week and stuff like that. So,
you know, thank you to everyone who keeps listening to
the show. And again, the reason why you're listening is
because you want to be a better writer. I'm guessing
all you're interested in the book, and that's what we're
going to do tonight. We're going to pick the brains
of another author, get some really good writing tips and
hopefully that can help you push on into getting your
(02:52):
own book out in the world.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Yeah, definitely, And I was thinking about it earlier, Chris.
It just started going around my mind. I really took
in the length of time we'll be doing the show.
It's five and a half years onwards, and it'll be
six in March next year, which is coming around quick
because October next week, guys, is spooky season. Halloween is
fast approaching. By the way. I have just put the
(03:17):
Words of eleven Horror for a kindle promotion this weekend
Saturday and Sunday. You can get that for free on Amazon,
So look for that. But yeah, so I've been thinking
about it, and it's kind of I haven't really taken
that into account five and a half years of doing
this every week, but yeah, it kind of hit me
in the face today. And yeah, it's kind of kind
of crazy that we're still doing it and enjoyed it
(03:39):
just as much as we were at day one.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Yeah, I mean way to ten, I suppose, or more
than halfway to ten. We've got to do ten ten
years as a minimum, because most podcasts don't see ten years,
but yeah, ten years as a minimum, and who knows,
we could be here in thirty years time. Still, And
on the topic, I've been reading Dracula this week, so
(04:05):
that's if you want to see my version of Dracula.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
That's what I'm going to dress up for Halloween. This
time we do a Halloween show.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Hopefully we can do a panel show because we're overdue
a panel show and Halloween is definitely a good time
to do a panel show.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
It is, And just before I know we get our
guests on very shortly, I want to float something out there.
I want your advice and your suggestions. I've been doing
something that I should have done a long time ago,
which is doing a lot of TV show reviews and
film reviews on my substack. And that's something I'm very
passionate about and I've dabbled with it but never really
committed to it. This week, I've put a lot out there.
(04:42):
I do watch too many shows instead of writing, but
that's just the way it is. But with the substack,
But what I'm doing is thinking about creating a little
side podcast where I just read those reviews in kind
of a different style to the review itself, but more
of a vocal version. And I want to know if
people would actually enjoy that, if you want to say
a short five minute episode of a review. And if
(05:06):
that's the case, let me know. I'd be interested to
say yes or no. If it's a no, fine, I
don't think it's a big difference if it is written
or verbally spoken. But yeah, i'd like your feedback on
that please. Mm hmm. Yeah, what do you think, Chris? Yeah?
I like it.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
I do with that.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I think maybe five minute episodes to people? Yeah, I
mean people, maybe do those. You might want to do
a longer one. You might do a monthly one where
you've you review all your viewing, but Yeah, it's good.
You know, people love recommendations for TV shows and stuff
(05:44):
like that, so yeah, why not amazing.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Okay, I'm going to get tonight's guest on, so please
get yourself involved in the conversation through the chat and
ask questions if you like. And then also remember there's
a dedicated section at the end four questions, but regardless,
send them through out the show. So I'm genuinely thrilled
about our next guest. A former middle school teacher, so
you know that she has the personality to handle anything.
(06:08):
As teachers, we can agree with that statement pretty much.
She has channeled her love of humor into becoming a
USA Today best selling author of heartfelt and hilarious romantic comedies.
Her debut novel, The do Over, was called a pure
delight by Christin Higgins and is even slated for translation
into three different languages. The latest book, The Fake Out,
(06:28):
probably presented above. Chris Juli's head is jam packed with
cheesy pickup lines and the kind of laughter she strives
to create in all of the work. She lives in Washington,
is a mom of four, has one cat, two dogs,
and a very intense fear of poodles, which we're definitely
going to ask her about so please give a huge one.
Welcome to the wonderful, funny and talented Sharon Sharon and Peterson.
Speaker 5 (06:52):
Hello, Hello, thank you for having me. I see that
I should have really looked closer at the at the
at the bio. I sent you because I have forecasts
now and my latest book was The Fix Up, and
the Duelver is out in five languages.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Now, so oh my goodness. Well that's my that's my No,
it's my fault.
Speaker 5 (07:13):
I sure, I just didn't pay attention, so I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Well, there's your update, guys, and I shall adjust it
later on. Sharon, thank you so much for joining us.
How are you doing doing okay?
Speaker 5 (07:25):
Doing all right this morning? Or I guess it's afternoon
right now. Yeah, just been up for a while, got
the kids all of school, and we have two new
kittens that one of them likes to crawl under my
sweater and sleep, so she was there all morning. So
it just prevents me from doing anything.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
You know, I suppose you could write in that in
that sort of.
Speaker 5 (07:50):
I could, but it's a good excuse.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
You know, he doesn't like a snuggle then on a blanket. Yeah,
that's right, and you're still in Washington. I take it
yest that bit, yes, amazing, So as always what I'd
love to do at the start of the show, and
I ask every guest in nice Chris is doing the
show on his own and he can ask them. But generally,
(08:13):
what is the writing situation like in your area? Do
you link up with authors? Is it mainly online kind
of situation or do you actually go to any local events?
Speaker 5 (08:24):
Mainly now it's almost all online. We moved here to
Washington State about three and a half years ago. Before that,
we lived in Texas for twenty years, and in Texas
I had like an in person writing group and just
a lot more connections with the community bookstores. It was
right outside of Houston, which is just a huge, huge area.
(08:44):
So now we live in a much smaller town in Washington.
And the month after we moved here, I got my
first book contract. So it's just been like and then
I've published four books in three years, so it's just
been like boom boom, boom, boom boom. I haven't had
a chance to barely learn what street I live on,
so so yeah, almost everything, most of my writing connections
(09:08):
are all online. I have done a couple of events,
like at a couple of Barns and Nobles, or there
is our library here does like an author event every spring.
I've gone to that. But yeah, it's pretty much been
all online.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Well, when you're when in that process of books out,
in that process you described as boom boom boom boom boom,
is a case of moving on to the next as
soon as the last one is out and not actually
taking the time to accept and appreciate what you've just done,
or you so focused on the next thing you just
go into it quickly.
Speaker 5 (09:43):
No, I'm never focused. I was diagnosed with ADHD three
years ago, which makes total sense. Usually what happens is
that my books generally come out in June and then
in summer the kids are all home, and it's really
hard for me to actually get really good writing time in.
I'm usually always thinking about the next book, but I'm
(10:03):
not I don't really start writing it until about now. Yeah,
it's due to my editor in December, the first draft.
So it's a I'm with Bookcher and they're a digital
first imprint of Hashet and they move fast, so much
faster and like a traditional more traditional publisher. So but
(10:26):
it's still it's still I will be crying in a
couple of months, I'm sure. I wish I had started
in June when the last book came out, but that's
just not how it ever happens.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
So I imagine that having that deadline for some people is
a real motivator, but some it's kind of an a
daunting aspect of prospect. So which is it.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
For you both? It's yeah, uh huh. But I think big,
scary deadlines are what make me stay focused and on track.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Yeah, so yeah, m.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
And Sharon, how was that diagnosis obviously said about being
diagnosed with ADHD. Did that sort of make sense to
you in terms of like what was your writing life
like before that diagnosis? And do those deadlines like really
push you? And do you think if we didn't have
them it might be harder to concentrate?
Speaker 5 (11:21):
Oh yeah, I think the deadlines helped me a lot,
even though I hate them, I have to have them.
I think it's one of the reasons why I haven't
self published, because I would have to. I'd have to.
I'd come up with excuses, I would set something and
then I'd oh no, I can push it a little further,
I can push it a little further. So so yeah,
I mean it's been good. Medication has helped a lot.
(11:45):
It started because I also have generalized anxiety, and when
the doctor put me, I had kind of this episode.
And the doctor put me on my third anxiety medicine.
So I was taking three a day and I was like,
and it wasn't really helping. So I was doing my
own research and I happened across a TikTok video of
all things, and I just saw a lot of myself
(12:06):
in what they were saying, and so I kept researching
and researching, and then finally went back to my doctor
and I said, what if we're medicating the wrong part
of my brain? And so we did an evaluation and
she started me on adderall and the first time I
took it, it was like my whole body just went
and let out all of this anxiety.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
It was.
Speaker 5 (12:28):
It was wild. So I definitely feel a lot less
anxiety and a lot more of an ability to focus
than I did before. It doesn't solve everything, and I'm
still a mess most of the time. A lot of
people think I'm more organized than I am. I'm not,
But I mean that's kind of also a woman with adhds,
(12:50):
we learn how to mask really really well so and
figure out how to look like we have it all
together until we don't.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
So so that's really impressive. Even more so to look
back at kind of what things were like before, with
your children and your dogs and your cats and your
undiagnosed ADHD at that time. Why did how did you
fit writing into around your career as well writing into
that lifestyle.
Speaker 5 (13:20):
It's kind of a long story, how I So, I've
always been a reader, voracious reader my whole life. Always
kind of secretly wanted to be a writer. But I
always say that my life made me ruthlessly practical. And
writing is not practical. It is a hobby until you
can make money at it, and that can take years
and years and years. And I taught for a few years, married,
(13:43):
taught for a few years, had three boys in three years.
Two of those boys are autistic. One of them is
severely autistic and requires twenty four hour supervision. So life
was just really really stressful when they were all younger.
I mean stressful now too, but we're used to it more.
(14:04):
And I just never picked. I never wrote, I never
wrote anything, and you know, I had before, but not
once the kids came, it just was out of the picture.
And then about twenty fifteen, some friends begged me to
start a blog, I think because my Facebook posts were
getting way too long, and so I did that. I
(14:25):
started a free one and I blogged faithfully for a year,
and at the end of the year I learned that
I really hated blogging, but I did like telling stories
because my favorite things to write were like creative nonfiction
and stories about my life and those kinds of things.
And I think if you want to be successful at blogging,
(14:46):
you have to write things like, you know, three fun
things to do when you're a vampire, or you know,
stuff like that that catchy titles, and those are the
kinds of things that people click on and not hey,
I cleaned up something really gross today, you know. So
(15:06):
I did that. And then at the end of the year,
my computer stopped working, my laptop, and we could not
afford to replace it. At that point, we had four
kids and therapy for the boys was expensive. So I
realized really fast that I missed writing a lot. It
had been kind of free therapy for me and a
(15:27):
way to express myself. But I didn't have it anymore.
And then a couple of months later, a friend invited
me out for coffee and she presented me with a
new laptop. And she said that she in a local
group of moms who had been following my blog didn't
want me to stop writing, and so they all chipped
(15:47):
in and bought me a laptop. And I say, it
was like the most remarkable gift I've ever received, because
it kind of like gave me permission. And I just
decided right then and there, I'm going to write a book.
I'm going to do it. And I did, and I
would write like i'd write. I had it set on
my kitchen counter on top of a box of economy
(16:08):
baby whites, so I could stand at it and type.
And so I'd type for five or ten minutes, and
then i'd go clean up some spilled milk or type
for ten more minutes and then go yell at someone
to get off the trampoline naked, which did happen. And
I hpped til one am, I you know, type write
when they napped whenever, and I was able to finally
(16:29):
finish the first draft of that book. And then uh,
I started looking for agents and it took up sixteen
months and one hundred and seven no's before I got
a yes. And then we started to go out on
submission with that, and we pulled it to do some revisions.
(16:52):
And then in the middle of me revising my sister,
my little sister, my only sister, to lose y'all, am
I talking too much?
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Me?
Speaker 1 (16:59):
No?
Speaker 5 (16:59):
No, it was out a secor.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
No, No, it was picking out me. You were breaking up,
but you came back. It was a bit okay, okay.
Speaker 5 (17:09):
So my only sister passed away and she was like
my best unexpectedly and she was like my best friend.
And I went through a pretty deep depression for about
six months, and I think the only thing that kept
me going was were my kids and writing that book.
Finishing that book. So this is the part where I
tell you that it sold for lots of money, but
(17:30):
it didn't. It never sold. So I had to write
a second book, and that went out on submission in
February of twenty twenty. Because my timing is awesome, And
that was on submission for two solid years before book
Thatcher picked it up and in those two so it
actually I went out in February of twenty twenty. Then
(17:52):
my husband was laid off his job in twenty twenty
in August of twenty twenty, his job of ten years.
Then he got cod in October and had to be hospitalized.
He's okay now, but that was just really scary because
that was like before vaccines or anything like that, and
it was in the real unknown time. And then in
January of twenty twenty one, my oldest son began having
(18:15):
grandma seizures out of the clear blue sky. And then
in February of twenty twenty one, this big freeze came
through Texas and all of our pipes broke and we
were we had to live in a hotel for five
months while our house was put back together, and so
it was like a whole year there where I could
I couldn't even read a book, let alone write one.
(18:35):
So it's just amazing to see how the timing worked,
because a few months later, my husband got a job
here in Washington, we packed up and moved here, and
a month later I was signing a book contract. So
it's been kind of a wild nine I guess ten
years now since I started first writing that first one.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
So yeah, wow, Yeah, it's amazing the apart from the blogging.
But when you started pitching your books or looking for
an agent, you know, you mentioned over one hundred nos.
So many people would give up way before that. So
what was going through your mind in terms of was
(19:13):
it a case of I know this is going to happen,
or is I'm just going to keep going.
Speaker 5 (19:17):
I'm very we don't say stubborn in our house. I'm
very steadfast, but I just perseverance. And I think people
do give up too soon, Like they get those first
noes and they're like, no, I'll just I'll just self publish,
or no, I'm just done. I'm not meant to be
a writer. But statistically speaking, it takes about one hundred
nos before you get a guess when you're quarrying. So
(19:39):
it is a in some ways, it's a game of numbers.
In some ways it's I really do think it's the
people that don't give up. Yeah, that that perseverance is
like ninety percent of it.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
So yeah, So with that, then obviously he talks about
how hectic and difficult You'll I was what drew you
to romantic comedy because I should imagine that's difficult to
write at.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
The best of times, let alone some of the hardest times.
Speaker 5 (20:09):
Well, I always joke, Well, I say that my favorite
literary quote of all times is from The Grapes of Wrath,
which is the most depressing book of all time. But
the quote is it was her habit to build up
laughter with inadequate materials. And I always say life has
given me a lot of inadequate materials. So the way
that I deal with life is I have to laugh
(20:30):
at it, have to. I have to find a humor
in it, or I would be curled up in the
fetal position somewhere. So for me, I've always been a
lover of romance. And I think there's two reasons why
I'm really drawn to the romantic comedy. One because I
think laughter is very hopeful. If you can laugh in
(20:53):
the middle of a situation, not all hope is lost.
And romance is the same way. You know, you always
get that happily ever after, and there's hope in that,
like the future is looking good. So I think for
those two reasons, and I also think I've kind of
sort of been I mean, laugh there's a gift, like
(21:13):
it's a gift for you to laugh at things. Apparently
like women who laugh more, get pregnant faster. That's real statistic.
But also I think I've been given a gift of
humor and so, which isn't a very you know, nice
(21:34):
gift like service to people or compassion or anything like that.
But you know, at least I found a way to
use it by writing, by writing funny books. So if
I if I want someone to read my book and
then just smile, be happy, laugh out loud, you know,
so because the world is so heavy. My life is heavy.
World life is hard, and I want it to be
(21:56):
a not hard for a little while while you're reading.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
So I think it is one of the best gifts
you can have is to make someone laugh and smile. So,
but like Chris said, it's notoriously a difficult thing to do.
Is it something you had to work on as in practice,
trying to make the scenes funnier and go back and
revise them, or is it a natural process for yourself.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
There was one book I turned into my editor the
first draft, and I remember writing to her, I'm sorry,
I don't think this is funny. I don't think it's
funny enough. And then she wrote me back and she said,
I don't think you realize how naturally funny you are,
and it's a lot lot funnier than you think it is.
So I think it. I'm not trying to brag here,
but I do think it comes naturally to me. I
(22:43):
also had one writer friend who wrote writes thrillers, and
she was like, how do you approach your scene? She said,
like she said, when I write them, I write the
scene and then I go back and add more suspense.
And I was like, well, I guess I kind of
do the same thing. I write the scene and then
I go back and try and make it work. Because
that's stuff comes from, right. It's because you know, with
(23:05):
rom com you can have a lot more fun and
be a little more silly and stuff like that. So
so you kind of make the situation first the worse
but funnier. So yeah, m hm, Sharon.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
There's so many wrongcoms in the world and TV film
books as well, and so in your opinion, what makes
a good wrong com?
Speaker 5 (23:28):
I think first that it has to be funny, it's
romantic comedy. Second of all, I think that the characters
you need to be drawn to the I think that
with any good writing, like you have to identify with
the character somehow, relate to them somehow, And uh, I mean,
(23:50):
I think those are the two big things. I tend
to write very character driven things. And if I've nailed
a character, I think I have a reader identifies with
that character, relates to that character, finds them relatable, then
you've got them. They'll read the whole book.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
So and do you think from starting writing then that
our perception of romance has changed.
Speaker 5 (24:12):
Oh? Yes, I mean it's definitely become a lot more mainstream.
We are less likely to be made fun of than
you were twenty or thirty years ago if you were
reading a romance novel, you know, oh, it's just a
romance novel, or you know, that's not real reading or
or real literature or anything like that. And I think
(24:32):
now it's definitely become a lot more mainstream. And I
think maybe that has something to do with just women
having more of a voice in society, because obviously women
are the ones that read romance the most, and romance
often carries the publishing industry, to be honest, so you know,
in terms of sales. So yeah, I mean, I think
(24:57):
the perception has definitely changed a lot.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
What about the perception not from the book point view,
but in terms of like what people's idea of romances,
in terms of like, you know, there's sort of new
trends and you know, I'm thinking from a writer is
point of view, Like you've got you know, dating apps
and all that type of stuff to be considering in
the sort of romance world. So how have you sort
(25:22):
of navigated that from when you started to sort of
like through the trends and what have you.
Speaker 5 (25:27):
Well, I don't know that I'm on trend exactly. I
mean I think right now on trend in romance is
very romantic see and dark romance. Those seem to be
the biggest, uh things that seem to be driving the
industry right now. I think definitely a lot more you know,
like text messages and emails and and those kinds of
(25:50):
things show up in books more often, Like we kind
of expect people to text each other now it's just
a part of our daily life, So why wouldn't it
be a part of our books kind of a thing.
I mean, I guess those would be the I mean, yeah,
I don't know. I haven't really done too much. Like
when I've been married for twenty four years, so I
(26:12):
did not meet my husband through a dating app or anything.
I started my first email address to email him though,
so uh yeah, I'm sure I would be awful if
I had to date now, I would be terrible at it. Terrible.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
So maybe that's been like any research in and around dating. Like,
I know, obviously you're happily married, been married for a
long time and stuff like that, But have you ever
gone do you know what for this book I need
to see, you know, maybe look at a dating app.
I need to ask some people who are single, like
what it's like and the experience of cos.
Speaker 5 (26:50):
Now, I would say, yes. I do a lot of
kind of lurking on Reddit. There's several good boards on
Reddit where you people will share stories about how they
met or this or that which or bad dates. I
love reading about bad first dates, so I'll do a
lot of googling and searching and and that kind of thing.
I mean, it's sad, but I guess I don't have
(27:12):
a lot of unmarried friends right now either. You know,
I've just did that age bracket, I guess so. But yeah,
I mean I have a few friends and we've talked
about it some, so but I guess I don't.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
A lot of the strangest thing that you've found when
you've been researching in all those areas, what's like really.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
Stood out to your Like I said, whoa moment, I.
Speaker 5 (27:35):
Mean, I just yeah, I just think, well, there are
just some apps that are not necessarily for dating, for
just kind of hooking up or something like that, and
that whole thing just kind of weirds me out a little.
I also write closed door with a closed door romance
or clean romance, it's kissing only, whatever you want to
call it. So I don't really get into that side
(27:59):
of things very much. And yeah, I think that whole
aspect of it just doesn't is weird to me.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
But you know, yeah, I agree.
Speaker 5 (28:10):
Maybe that's just a me thing, it's not a world thing.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
So Okay, before we move on to the next part,
which we will talk about the fix up, I'm going
to ask you addressed the elephant in the room, or
perhaps the poodle not in the room, what is the
story about the fear the intense fear of poodles.
Speaker 5 (28:31):
When I was like three or four, I had to
run in with a standard black poodle. He, I guess
snapped and growled at me, and I guess it just
stuck in my lizard brain and ever since, like it's
it's not just a ooh gross kind of a thing.
It's like I will walk across the street. It's like
that fight or flight feeling like my heart starts pounding
(28:53):
when I see them, and they just freaked me out.
I apologize to poodle owners everywhere. I am sorry, please
keep them away from me.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
Then you've got dogs, It's not like a dog thing.
It's not a dog thing. Yes, amazing. It's kind of
like et with Chris.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Oh yeah, is horrifying, though I've said this multiple times.
Very scary looking thing and oh.
Speaker 4 (29:23):
Yeah, don't get into that because.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
Space aliens and the fact that turns up his star
Wars that really irritated me with loads of over eats
waving like no, thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
And you has put question there is does this phobia
include doodles or just poodles.
Speaker 5 (29:41):
Doodles I can handle a little bit more because they
usually I think it's especially that classic shave where it's
like they're big poofy heads and the little tails and
I'm getting the shivers.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
We'll move on, We'll move on. Sorry, sorry to remind you,
but I have to ask, Okay, so I'm going to
play the video even though I forgot video number one, Chris,
I do apologize. I haven't played that for a while.
So we're going to play a little video for part two,
watch the story, and then when we come back. Can
you let everybody know what the fix Up is all about?
And we'll ask you some questions about that? Sure?
Speaker 5 (30:15):
Sounds good?
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Excellent? So Sharon the fix Up? Can you let everybody
know what that's all about? Please?
Speaker 5 (30:33):
Sure? So this is the third book in my series
set in the fictional town of Two Hearts, Texas, which
is kind of based on the town that I lived
in a little bit. It's smaller and they're all standalone,
so you don't have to read the books before it
to be able to follow along. This one is about Ellie.
She's a single mom. She has a six year old son,
(30:54):
and she moved to Two Hearts about three years ago
and kind of they kind of took her under their
wing and she just came from She's made some decisions
in her life that she's not real thrilled with, and
so she feels like like being in Two Hearts is
kind of like a new life for her. And the
local cafe she worked at the local cafe and the
(31:14):
owner was just this curmudgeonly old man who didn't have
any family, and when he passed away, she was left
with half of the cafe, the house, and then the
twenty acres. It was all on but she finds out
the whole town does really that he had a secret
grandson no one knew about, and he gets the other half.
(31:36):
But in order for them to inherit, they both have
to live on the property for six months before they
can stay claim. So it's kind of a bit of
force proximity. They're kind of a grumpy sunshine kind of
a mix. She makes them live in a tent in
the back yard for a while, and yeah, he fixes
(31:57):
things around the house. And she has ADHD. She was
diagnosed as an adult. So this book was in some
ways really really really hard for me to write because
I identified so much with her in certain ways. In fact,
I think I spent the whole time going I hate
this book. I hate this book, and my editor was like, no,
(32:18):
don't hate it, it's good, and I just still didn't
believe it. I think about the week before I came out,
I decided I liked it again, So yeah, so yeah,
so it's you know, about their six months time, and
of course they don't like each other, and then they
do and then we get happily ever after, because it's so.
Speaker 1 (32:37):
Considering the other books you've written, and your fear about
this book almost that you know, because of the connection,
you're not quite loving it, perhaps as much as the
others did. You have an expectation that would do better
or worse than the other books.
Speaker 5 (32:51):
Oh, I always think they're going to go they're going
to go terribly wrong. Always. I always, I really struggle
with confidence when it comes to that. Like I always
before a book comes out of the anxiety is nuts,
like if a book goes up on net Galley or
anything like that. Yeah, I try to avoid the the
(33:15):
reviews as much as I can until I can't see any.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
Then this book sounds fantastic, and based on what you
just said, I'm going to read you two reviews or
parts of so yeah, this will help your confidence. I
haven't picked anything out bad because there wasn't any of course,
I wouldn't do that anyway. But I've read all of
Sharon Mpisson's books now, and I think unwittingly save the
(33:39):
best to last the vivid character descriptions and use of
humor made this a real page turner. Great five star review. There.
What I want to ask based on that is that
you mentioned the characters earlier, but the vivid character descriptions.
How do you approach writing such complex characters and describing
them vividly without to perhaps overly descriptive.
Speaker 5 (34:03):
So I write in first person, just one point of view.
And although I say I'm not a plotter, I do
think that I think about it for months and months
ahead of time. That character lives in my head, and
I will take that character places with me and do
silly things like we're waiting in line at this grocery store.
I wonder what Ellie would be doing right now, or
(34:25):
what Ellie would be thinking right now. And so there's
a certain point when I'm writing the rough draft, usually
about thirty percent in, where it just suddenly clicks, like
it all comes together, and then I almost feel like
she takes the she takes over, you know, and I'm
just writing what she tells me to write. So and
I think as writers we should always know way way
(34:47):
more about our characters than ever makes it on the page.
And I think that's how you give them depth and
make them feel more real. You know that they you know,
broke their arm in the ninth grade climbing out their
go to meet a boy. You know, you know that.
It doesn't mean it's going to be in the book,
but you know that about them. So all of those
(35:07):
little things I think show up and you're writing without
you realizing it.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
So yeah, I like that. I like that example of
how to get to know your characters that are shopping
in the queue of the shopping center. That it's a really
interesting thing to think about because at that point most
people are kind of either looking around, playing on the phone,
and if you've got a really special kind of character
that could be doing anything right.
Speaker 5 (35:28):
Right, Yes, yeah, if you know what their reactions are
to things, to little things, I think it helps to know.
Then you start to learn how they won't react to
big things too.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Yeah, of course, nice, Chris. I was going to say
leading on to that from that, and I'll ask this, Chris,
because it links into what she just said, which was
the next review. I've got the two here and this
is the second one. We only have Ellie's point of view,
which you mentioned throughout the story, but I find it
really helps understand her and a chaotic brain. I am
(35:59):
one hundred percent pinching this sticky note to do list.
Oh yeah, is that something you talk about for someone
else who might have a chaotic brain?
Speaker 5 (36:09):
Yes, so, Ellie. And this is something that like a
technique that counselors or will give to like someone with ADHD.
And what it is is like you use a wall
or something and you divide it into three things today,
soon or in the future, and then on the today
(36:29):
you are only allowed to have three sticky notes, and
those are your three things or now put as now,
and those are the three things that you have to
work on. And when you work on one, you crumple
it up and you throw it away and you get
a little hit of dopamine, and then you go over
to your soon pile and you pick one that you
can move over there. So you're always shifting things over,
(36:50):
but you're only ever having to work on those three things,
so it kind of helps keep you focused. I always
say my biggest thing is finishing fully, because I may
finish it almost and then I'll just walk away from
it and then procrastinate and do all of these things
and not finish it. So that's something that can be
(37:11):
really helpful. So Ellie has that whole thing set up
on the wall in the kitchen, and that's kind of Gil,
the main the male character. That's kind of one of
his first introductions to her as he sees that. And
he happens to have a background as a special education teacher.
So she was all worried he was going to think
she was weird or something, and he was like, Oh,
that's actually kind of smart. So I've had a few
(37:34):
readers say, oh, that is a idea. I'm going to
try that.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
That's something very good. Excellent.
Speaker 2 (37:41):
Yeah, my question, Sharon kind of up to now, so
I just thought of another one.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
But the first question that I was going to ask.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
Was the single mother sort of storyline narrative. How much
does complicate a romance when you're putting it all together.
Speaker 5 (38:00):
I think it makes I think kids should make things
a little more challenging. It's because I think as a parent,
those are your first you know, your kids are your
first priority, and so you I mean, I guess I've
never been in that situation, but I was raised by
basically a single mom, and I just know that she
(38:22):
always put us first. You know every time, Like so,
I think that that dynamic is weird. And then in
this case, in this book, it's a stranger. That's why
she makes them live in the backyard for a while
because she doesn't want him interacting with her kid, or
or her kid getting attached to him or anything like that,
you know, because in the book she says he deserves
(38:44):
the best, and I'm not allowing him to be around
what's not the best. I don't know, you, you know,
So I think in this book, and maybe it's not
like this in a lot of single parent books, but
in this one, her son Oliver was a is a
big driving force for her and her motivations and her
(39:05):
desire to have a big, bright future because she wanted
to do that for him especially.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
So, yeah, my second question off the back of the
things you've been talking about.
Speaker 4 (39:17):
Is what are your top tips then?
Speaker 2 (39:19):
Because we know writers can suffer from that dophamine or
lack of dophamine, what tips could you give somebody that's
going to instantly boost their sort of delphamine makeup other
than obviously the whiteboard things.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (39:37):
I think it's a great idea. Well, let's say three
tips to improve your dophamine.
Speaker 5 (39:43):
I don't know if it's improving my dopamine, But before
I go to bed every night, I make a list
of things that I need to do the next day.
It's kind of like a brain dump because I tend
to be that person that wakes up at three in
the morning remembering that one thing I'm supposed to do
two weeks to go or something like that. So if
I dump all that stuff out before bed, it helps
(40:05):
me sleep. You know, getting good sleep is important in
terms of just like really practical things that help me.
When I'm writing, I turn off the word count on
word when I'm writing. I don't want to see how
many words I'm writing because it stresses me out. I
use the focus button on word, which not a lot
of people know about, but it told it takes it
(40:26):
makes word your complete screen, takes away all your tabs
and everything, so you can't see anything but what you're
writing in front of you. Oh, setting an alarm twenty
minute writing, I'll set an alarm for twenty minutes in
some reason that seems like a race, you know to me,
And I will even count up how many words I
wrote in that twenty minutes, and then try and beat
(40:47):
myself the next time, and I'll do twenty minutes and
then depending on how I'm doing, I'll take twenty minutes
and go do something else around the house and then
come back for twenty minutes. Also, things that writers have
to do that maybe don't involve actually writing, or maybe
some people can do this while they're writing, but I
have like a little mini stepper and if I'm watching,
(41:07):
like if I have to do emails or I have to,
you know, do social media stuff or anything like that,
if I'm moving while i'm doing it, it helps me
also to stay on track. So what I like to
do is I'm writing and then I think, oh, I
wonder what XYZ is about. I should go research that,
And then three hours later I'm learning about miniature rabbits
(41:30):
or something. So you know, I mean, so I have
to try and keep myself as focused as I can
because I don't have a lot of time to do.
To sit in a quiet house I'm write. So also
leaving your house entirely, even if it is a quiet house,
because sometimes just sitting in the house, they're the distractions.
Don't have to be noise, They're just like that pile
(41:51):
of laundry or those dishes, or those bills I need
to pay, or so just by removing yourself. So I
sit in my backyard a lot and write, which is
going to be a problem because we're about to hit
rainy seasons. But I'll sit in the backyard a lot,
and I don't take my phone or my tablet or
anything with me. It's just me and my laptop.
Speaker 1 (42:10):
So well, talking about the being busy and being distracted,
Halo said earlier, I made the whole light It made
a whole lightsaber battling movie with my sun the other day.
Feels you, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (42:24):
You were making memories there.
Speaker 1 (42:26):
I think that right, all right, I think that's quite
a good point. Was that an answer for your question that, Chris?
Because I think that was a really good detailed answer. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
I mean, obviously we've talked a lot about mental health
and stuff. You know how important though for me and
is especially people who need a lot of it. And yeah,
definitely some really good tips there, So thank you.
Speaker 1 (42:51):
Excellent. Okay, So those that are watching live right now,
we're going to ask our staple questions very shortly, and
it's a chance for you to send in any questions
you might have. If you do have them, please put
them in the link right now, in the link, in
the description, in the comments, in the chat, whatever the
case is there and we'll get them on screen. But
(43:12):
before we do that, I was going to ask you something. Oh, yes, okay,
do you have a favorite comedy romantic comedy movie?
Speaker 5 (43:22):
Ooh, I would probably say, Dear Frankie. I don't know
if anybody's seen that. It's probably from the nineties. It
has uh oh no Darar Butler in it, and he's
like a salty sea captain. It takes place, it takes
place in contemporary times, but it's this woman who has us,
(43:47):
who has a little boy who's deaf, and the father
just ran off or whatever, but she's told him his
whole life. No, no, no, he's he's just a way
he's coming back, and so she's been writing less as
the father to the son. And I can't remember, it's
been so long since I've watched it. Now I need
(44:08):
to rewatch it obviously. Anyway, she ends up talking Gerard
Butler into pretending to be his dad while he's there,
and it goes from there. So I really love that one.
And then seven Brides for Seven Brothers is my favorite
movie of all time, so and obviously it's a classic,
so brilliant.
Speaker 1 (44:29):
Yeah, Jared Butler definitely looks like he could play a
salty sea chap Chris, do you want to do you
want to talk about your favorite romantic comedy because you
always want an opinion on that film.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
It's not really a romantic comedy, see Sharon. People give
me a lot of stick for like in La La
Land on this show, and I say, it's a really
good depiction of love. And I've not seen sort of
like it'd be told in that way before in terms
of like they could have stayed together, but they didn't,
and it didn't give you a happy ending. But that
(45:04):
scene at the end, sorry if nobody's watched it, but
they sort of see each other and they're in different lives,
but they kind of got what they wanted, so they're
still happy for each other. And there's a whole montage
of that they could have had it if they stayed together,
but they didn't, And I just, yeah, I thought it
was brutal love at its best.
Speaker 1 (45:24):
Yeah, where your opinion is, I.
Speaker 5 (45:26):
Actually have not seen it, but I would call that
a love story versus a romance. But I think, yeah,
I mean, I think sometimes the biggest act of love
is letting someone go, right, is knowing that maybe you're
not the best for them, or there's something out there
that they need to do or is bigger than you.
Speaker 2 (45:47):
So yeah, I mean I think more happy, happy ending
That's what I'm after.
Speaker 4 (45:52):
I don't want love to where people let each other go.
Speaker 5 (45:57):
Yes, I like happy endings too, So now I'm might
need to stay away from Lalla Land.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
So my favorite comedy romantic comedy is The Festive, The Holiday.
I love that film.
Speaker 5 (46:12):
Oh yeah, that's a good one. I haven't seen that
forever either.
Speaker 1 (46:16):
I watch it every year.
Speaker 4 (46:19):
Sorry, they're doing a holiday too, they're not.
Speaker 1 (46:24):
Yeah, oh, that's just going to ruin things. Maybe you
never know, because they want another They probably pre built
a building in a nice cotsold area and they're gonna
they're gonna rent it out after the film has been
made and make a lot of money. That's probably what
the case is there, because that holiday of the cottage
in the Holiday is rented out all year round. Still anyway, Okay,
(46:48):
so let's move on to part through the show. Otherwise
we talking about random films all afternoon, which is fine.
Community questions, please send them in and we will get
our staple questions uh asked, and then we'll ask your
questions straight after that. So, like Chris, I would like
(47:20):
happy endings. I'm hoping this will be a happy ending
with some great questions. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (47:27):
So one of our first staple questions is if you
could take any character from fiction and make that character
your own, which character would you choose?
Speaker 5 (47:34):
Some Why make that character my own? I probably would
go with like Anna Anne Shirley from Anna green Gables.
I think she would just be super fun. She's just
full of you know, curiosity and optimism and just I
think she would be perfect in a wrong calm honestly
(47:56):
so and kind of her and Anne and Gilbert were
kind of the inspiration for Ellie and Gill in the book.
So I am a fan. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (48:08):
Nice good. If you could change the ending of anything,
whether it be a TV show, a movie, or book ending,
would you choose some way?
Speaker 5 (48:17):
Well? So many TV shows. The Thrones was awful, dexter awful.
Oh How I Met Your Mother? That was awful. I
hated the ending to that. In fact, I refuse to
watch it. There is an alternative ending on YouTube, so
I refer to that one. And also in terms of books,
(48:43):
I love this book, love it, love the love the book,
love the movies that come out within everything, Little Women,
but I kind of the ending of that was kind
of frustrating, Like who everybody ended up with just didn't
seem happy in a lot of ways. Laurie was in
love with Beth with it. Then Beth dies so that
he marries Amy because she was in love with him
(49:05):
and Joe didn't. And Laurie was in love with Joe,
but Joe gave him up. I gave him up for
Beth who died, And I'm sorry if I'm ruining the
ending for anybody. And then she ends up with a
grumpy professor. So I don't know, It's not how I
would have written it.
Speaker 1 (49:21):
Damn it, that's the wrong way. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (49:23):
Great, Nicewer, brilliant. So we've got some questions to ask.
The first one and so thank you Chris for this.
How have you always wanted to be a writer? Who
your influences when you started out?
Speaker 5 (49:39):
Uh? Definitely always secretly wanted to be a writer, But
I was always I never said it out loud to
anyone because I just again, I didn't think it was practical.
I didn't think it was something I could ever do
or accomplish. So yeah, and I think in terms of
(49:59):
of him influences, in terms of like the rom com arena,
I would say Kristin Higgins was a really big influence
for me. I kind of found her books when I
was when my boys were a little and I couldn't
do anything else but maybe read a book for ten minutes.
But I found hers and just devoured them all and thought,
(50:21):
I love these books. I want to write books like this,
And so that little seed was planted, I think with
her nice, nice cool thank you.
Speaker 1 (50:30):
For that, Chris Anie. It says, are there any and
realistic excuse me, depictions of add ADHD in the media
you find problematic? Do you find it problematic when people misrepresent.
Speaker 5 (50:43):
I mean sure, obviously I think women with ADHD er
way miss misrepresented and under missed and underrepresented in terms
of you know, media. I think that for women oftentimes,
ADHD is is very internal. It's very very much anxiety
(51:07):
and having the twelve thousand tabs open in your brain
kind of a thing. And I always say it's like
I have fifty squirrels in my head, and they're all
saying I have an idea. No, I have an idea,
and they're all really good ideas, and so I don't
know what to pick, you know. So I don't think
you see that represented very much in media. Also, as
(51:28):
a mom of two kids with autism, I find a
lot of the representation in media to be problematic at times.
You know, I have a kid who is severely autistic,
and I don't really see him represented it all in media,
you know. So I see people like Sheldon Cooper from
The Big Bang Theory. So yeah, that can be frustrating
(51:53):
at times because I feel like my kids don't get
a voice or get seen.
Speaker 1 (51:58):
Yeah. I want to follow on question to that, which is,
as a woman who found out that she had ADHD,
lege on in life with the sort of any nagging
thoughts in your brain to suggest that that's what you
thought you had, and what might you suggest for someone
in a similar situation. You know, I hasn't quite got
(52:18):
that diagnosis yet.
Speaker 5 (52:21):
I think I never really considered it for a while,
because we always see ADHD represented as that kid that's
bouncing off the walls, you know, and that was never
me I was an excellent student. I never got in trouble,
you know, I for the most part, I guess I
(52:43):
would be deemed successful. You know, I was a teacher
before this. I can write books. I can write whole books,
but then I will look at the pile of laundry
for for three weeks and things I don't want to
fold that you know it's and so yeah, I kind
of had an inkling something was up about the way
my brain worked. I think when my sister passed away,
(53:05):
it was kind of a breaking point for me, and
it really brought a lot of things out. And I
I've told my husband this, I think my brain kind
of broke, like all of that, all of those things
I've been doing to sort of keep it together, and
all the strategies that I had been using and didn't
realize I was using, they just they just were gone.
And my executive function just plummeted. So I struggled for
(53:30):
the for those seven sixty six years trying to kind
of do life and keep it together again. I have
no idea how I write books, guys, I have no idea,
no idea.
Speaker 1 (53:46):
Powered by squirrels. So did you have any advice then
for someone because I'm you know, I hope she doesn't mind.
But my wife has mentioned that she thinks that might
be the case for her, and she's perhaps, I don't know,
maybe a similar age to when you found out. I'm
not sure. I don want to suggest a major of anybody,
but so you know, what would be the next step
(54:09):
for someone like maybe in that position.
Speaker 5 (54:11):
At the time, I was working with a counselor anyway,
so I brought it up to her first. Also, I mean,
I have two kids with autism. I have another son
with dyslexi and dysgraphia, So we're a little bit of
a neurospicy family as it is, and that had to
come from somewhere, so you or spicy. So I wondered
(54:39):
for a while kind of, and then I started to
see like a little videos on on TikTok or something
like that. Someone would talk about having ADHD as a woman,
and I was like, oh, wait a minute, And then
I saw this one about highly successful women with ADHD.
Speaker 1 (54:56):
Yeah, and it just.
Speaker 5 (54:58):
Kind of like it stopped my heart for a minute
because everything she was saying sounded exactly like me. But
so I was working with a counselor and she was like,
you know, I think you should get tested. And I'm
very grateful to have a doctor that actually listens to
me and she's she's been more than willing to work
(55:18):
with me, and so we got an evaluation and she
started me on medication and it's helped a lot, a lot,
a lot. Yeah, brilliant.
Speaker 2 (55:29):
We've got another question from the audience, so thank you, Halo.
What book was the most formative to you as a kid,
A team and an apple?
Speaker 5 (55:38):
Oh oh boy. I always struggle with these questions. I
always say that, like I don't have a favorite book
because there are too many good ones, you know, and
I can't trust people that have a favorite book. But
I would say I discovered I don't know, I read
(55:59):
a lot a lot as a kid. I can't think
of a book that really pops out. I know, when
I was a teenager, I discovered A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
And that's not a made up answer, Like I really
discovered it one day in the school library and decided
to read it. And I saw myself a lot in Francis,
the main character, and just really drew me in, Like
(56:23):
I go back to that book a lot. And then
as an adult. Oh my, I don't know. There's so
many books that I don't know about formative. I don't know,
that's one I'd have to think about a lot.
Speaker 1 (56:36):
Would say, one that you've read this year, maybe that
you would recommend for someone to read.
Speaker 5 (56:42):
Oh, I read the one by is it John mar
or Mars? Yeah? I just I just read that one,
which is out of my typical genre. But yeah, that
one was good. I walked around all day asking people
if if there was DNA that told you who your
(57:03):
perfect match was and you were already married, you know,
So that that one stuck with me for a while. Yep.
Speaker 1 (57:15):
So interview. We've interviewed him plenty of times at the
Harget crimeri As Festival. He is a lovely, lovely man
and a great.
Speaker 5 (57:21):
Awesome a little twisted in the head obviously.
Speaker 1 (57:23):
But awesome. Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 5 (57:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (57:28):
Mirror novels, Yeah brilliant.
Speaker 5 (57:32):
Yeah, very very very like paid. I love when there
are books like that that make you just keep turning
the pages and keep turning the pages. So yeah, it
was very very thought provoking for sure.
Speaker 1 (57:44):
Yeah, really amazing. Okay, yeah, on yeh, I's gonna see.
We've got like two minutes left. So, Chris, if you
want to finish yourself with the Morgage question, we'll then
find out where people can find stop Sharon uh, and
then we'll wrap it all up.
Speaker 2 (58:01):
Yeah. So the morbid question is you're on your deathbed,
you're looking back at your writing career.
Speaker 4 (58:05):
What would you be happy with? What is success to you?
Speaker 5 (58:08):
If I'm looking back on my writing career, I would
just be honestly, I just be thrilled to know that
I made people smile, I made them laugh, I made
their day a little bit better because they read one
of my books. That would make me. That make me happy?
Yeah nice, I mean aside from dying and.
Speaker 1 (58:29):
Well, yeah I made someone smile, It's okay.
Speaker 5 (58:33):
Yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (58:39):
A bookish redhead just commented, I'm so disappointed. I just
saw this was happening there now almost she almost said
that in a Welsh way, But there you go. Yes,
it's there to watch back and listening back. Don't worry.
Yes it'll be a replay. You can watch the live
replay straightway and YouTube, but it will be dropped later
on as well, and the podcast will be over the weekend.
(59:01):
So just to wrap it up, then, where can people
find Sharon on social media? Where can they stalk you?
And where can they buy your books? Including The Fix Up?
Speaker 5 (59:12):
All my books are available on Amazon. They all have
audio books also, and they're all on Kindle Unlimited. If
you have that, you can stalk me. That's funny. Instagram
is where I am a lot, so it's just search
for my name and then I do have a TikTok account.
I'm sorry in advance on my website Sharon Apeterson dot com.
Speaker 1 (59:38):
Oh, just before we do finish, then, what can people
expect next?
Speaker 5 (59:43):
Oh? I'm working on the another book set in Two Hearts,
and it's about two characters that you've met in the
three books. So I think people will be excited that
they're coming.
Speaker 1 (59:55):
Back so lovely, brilliant. Yeah. For me, I want to
say thank you so much. You know, you've been a
very great person to talk to an interview, and you
know the story you told about, you know what you've
been through, and you've still managed to juggle everything and
get the words on the page and get the stories
out there, and the success you've had is amazing. So
(01:00:18):
thank you so much for sharing all that with us.
I've really enjoyed it so for me. Thank you. I'll
see you with Chris.
Speaker 2 (01:00:25):
Yeah, I was going to say, obviously five book children
and four actual children, that is a busy schedule. So yeah,
there's congratulations, and I hope more keep coming, not necessarily
children because they.
Speaker 1 (01:00:36):
Can be.
Speaker 5 (01:00:41):
Thank you all so much. It's been lovely talking to you,
and yeah, you guys made it easy, so hopefully talk.
I know I can talk too much sometimes.
Speaker 1 (01:00:51):
Not at all. Booker Shredder, just before we go, says
hoping it's the best friends away Chris.
Speaker 5 (01:00:58):
It's Irish.
Speaker 1 (01:01:00):
There you go, exclusive right there, and yes, that's great show.
Thank you for everybody tuning in, and hopefully you're gonna
have a cracking weekend and we'll see you next week.
But in the meantime, make sure you get your writing down.
If you're a writer, if you're a reader, support your authors,
get on their social media, give them a shout out,
share this stuff and all that good stuff. But go
and find the fixed up, pick that up and leave
(01:01:23):
Sharon a review even though she doesn't like to read them.
We'll send them on to her. But yeah, from us,
it's goodbye and stay safe, everybody, enjoy your weekend. Bye,
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