.png)
Book Shop Chats:
Welcome to Book Shop Chats, your go to podcast for indie authors and learning insight into what it takes to write a book (HINT: You can do it too!!)
Join authors as they share their personal journeys, successes, and challenges, providing you with unique insights into the writing process. The discussions explore into various aspects of storytelling, from character development to plot structuring, ensuring you have a well-rounded understanding of the craft.
Whether you're just starting out or have published multiple works, this podcast is your companion in the pursuit of storytelling excellence. Tune in, gather inspiration, and let your passion for writing flourish alongside a community that celebrates the art of the written word.
Book Shop Chats:
The Messy Journey to Publishing: Crafting Rom-Coms & Finding Your Voice with Lily Parker
Lily Parker shares her journey from secret writer to published author with three rom-coms releasing in rapid succession in 2024. Her insights on overcoming imposter syndrome, the importance of writing communities, and embracing vulnerability provide inspiring guidance for aspiring authors.
• Struggled with imposter syndrome before admitting her dream of becoming a published author
• Formed essential writing partnerships by sharing early chapters with trusted beta readers
• Used her background in psychology and marketing to develop authentic characters and compelling stories
• Found unexpected success when a chance meeting at a self-publishing conference led to a three-book deal
Author Bio:
Lily Parker is a full-time romance writer, former professional matchmaker, and an avid seeker of absurd adventures. After helping other authors bring their stories to life, she decided it was time to write the kinds of books she’s always wanted to read. With a knack for blending humor, heart, and unforgettable characters, Lily creates stories that pull readers in and leave them believing in love—no matter the odds. When she’s not writing, you can find her planning her next venture with her husband or daydreaming about just one more happily-ever-after.
THE BEST WRONG MOVE (book 1 in the Off-Limits series)
LINKS & BOOK DETAILS
Blurb:
Fake-dating has never been so hot.
Celebrity news anchor Olivia’s live-streamed marriage proposal ends in public humiliation — her almost-fiancé Rex says no.
Desperate to escape, Liv flees to Hawaii. Stunning sunsets and ocean views will help her plan her next move. Only to find Rex there too . . . with his new girlfriend!
And when Liv locks herself out of her rental, wearing nothing but red lacy underwear, she knows things definitely can go from bad to worse. Until she’s rescued by gorgeous and mysterious surfer, Dom, who looks like he’s walked straight out of the ocean and into Liv’s fantasies!
Their not-so-meet-cute turns out to be the perfect solution to get back at Rex — a fake date. The plan is foolproof. Dom needs a distraction. Liv needs revenge.
But the more Liv and Dom fake it, the more the kisses start to feel a little too real — and in paradise, playing pretend has never been so tempting . . .
TROPES:
❤️ Spicy Romance 🌶🌶🌶🌶
❤️ Friends-to-lovers
❤️ Fake-dating
❤️ Cinnamon roll hero
❤️ Forced proximity
❤️ Opposites attract
❤️ Holiday romance
About Victoria:
Hey there, I’m Victoria! As a writer and developmental editor, I specialize in helping busy writers bring their publishing dreams to life without the overwhelm. Editing doesn’t have to feel like pulling teeth—it's the magic that transforms your story from “meh” to masterpiece!
Here’s how I can help:
📖 FREE Manuscript Prep Workbook: Take the stress out of editing with simple steps to organize your revisions.
Grab it HERE
📝 Developmental Editing: Get expert feedback that elevates your manuscript, strengthens your story, and polishes your characters.
✍️ 1:1 monthly support Writer's Haven: Revitalize your creativity, map out your novel, and unleash your authentic voice.
Your story deserves to shine, and I’m here to make it happen.
📱 IG: @editsbyvictoria
🌐 LINKS: Victoria Jane Editorial
Oh hey, it's Victoria from Victoria Jane Editorial and your host of Bookshop Chats. This podcast is all about authors, writing and the magic that goes into storytelling. We cover all of the things that go into writing a book, from the creative process, from taking your idea to a first draft, creating and cultivating community within the author space, marketing all of the fun things. If you are a reader, a wannabe writer or an author, you will find tips and tricks that suit whatever level you are at. So I hope that you enjoy and you are unfortunately, or fortunately going to find many more books to add to your TBR, so I will invite you to sit back and listen to the episode. Welcome back to Bookshop Chats. In today's episode, I'm chatting with Lily Parker. Welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2:Hi, thank you so much.
Speaker 1:I am so excited to chat with you today and you have three books coming out in like very short span of time, so I would love to let you have the floor and kind of share all about your books that are coming out into the world very, very soon.
Speaker 2:Very soon, very back to back releases. Yeah, thank you first of all, so much for having me on here with you. I really enjoy your show and I'm really happy to be here. Yeah, so my very first debut book is coming out April 24th, so this might be released probably a little bit after that, but it's called the Best Strong Move and it's the first in a character collection series. So you don't have to read them all back to back.
Speaker 2:You can read the third one first or the second one first. But the second one is coming out July 2nd, so right after the first one, and that one's called the Best Worst Mistake. And the third book the title is going to be released soon, but that one's coming out at the end of summer, beginning of fall. So, yes, it has been a wildly, wildly busy year and I actually wrote them all last year, in 2024, just back to back. So it's been a whirlwind, for sure, but it's definitely been a lot of fun and I absolutely am on the edge of my seat waiting to introduce these to readers yes, and you are also a rom-com author, um, which I love.
Speaker 1:Um, there's something that's just so magical about like a spicy romance that is also equally hilarious, right.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Yeah, it's. I think I laugh along with these while I'm writing them and then when I go back and I'm rereading them, I'm like shaking my head, laughing all over again. It's. It's like its own special brand of just hilarious therapy to get these out on paper, I think.
Speaker 1:But yeah, they're definitely my favorite genre to write and right, I feel that and it's just something light fun and I, yeah, I feel like we need more of that in in our lives, right.
Speaker 2:I know they always satisfy. I don't think they ever disappoint they're. They're just a breath of fresh air, I think at the end of a long day, yeah, 100%.
Speaker 1:Well, I would love to hear a little bit about your writing journey. How did you get started with writing?
Speaker 2:own kind of path to writing and I think, at least for me, a lot of my path included a lot of imposter syndrome and feeling like at first I felt silly even saying it out loud. I recently told the story. Actually about almost 10 years ago I was sitting on the beach with one of my best friends, who's actually she is now a bestselling author herself, but at the time neither one of us had written a book, and we were sitting in San Diego and she asked if you could be anything in the whole world, if you could wake up tomorrow and start your life on the path that you've always dreamed of, what would you choose? And I at the time felt silly even saying it out loud. But I was like I would love to be an author, I would love to be a published author, and she was like me too, and we both kind of, like you know, set it out loud for the first time and had like a secret, like Ooh, yeah, that, but totally out of the realm of possibilities, right, and um, it was like that day that kind of set us both down a path of putting words on paper and sending them to each other and being each other's first beta readers and, um, she ended up publishing her books first um years before I did.
Speaker 2:But, um, yeah, that's kind of that's how it started. We both had this dream and it really just involved putting words on paper and going through those really tough first edits and being able to, you know, take the view of somebody else and run with it, and I think that in itself, was the biggest learning lesson that I've had on this path. Honestly, just sitting down with her after the very first beta read and like opening myself up to what a reader saw when they read my words instead of just what I saw, and learning how to take that and mold the story and go back in and do a deep dive edit and falling in love with the process too along the way and realizing I don't want to do anything else, like that dream that we had. It was as good as we thought it would be, so, yeah, yes, I love that so much.
Speaker 1:I feel feel very similar of that Like that fear of like admitting out loud that you want to be a writer. Uh, it's so. It's so relatable and I definitely, like I wrote in secret for so many years, I like ventured into fan fiction, like that was like my like beginning, but it's great. It's a great teacher and I I'm always talking about how powerful that is for writing and like building your confidence as a writer, and I think you touched on some really great things of just that, of just that.
Speaker 1:I think getting that first first draft written is such a huge like celebration because it shows you that you can do it and I think that's such a huge win, like once you do that. Like every draft is hard obviously to get it out, like it can take time, but you know that you can do it. You're like I've done it before, so I think that that's that's amazing, and you do bring up some really great um points about that, just like all of the things that go into storytelling that you don't know before. So did you have much experience writing or was it just something that you kind of like did for fun? Like that's another thing that I feel like a lot of people are like I don't have the education, like I can't write a book and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:That I feel like a lot of people are like I don't have the education, like I can't write a book and stuff like that. Yeah, no, I I was always fascinated with human behavior. Yes, and like almost like a self-study of human behavior. I my degree is actually in psychology, so like I really deeply love human motivation and what drives us and why we make the decisions that we make, and so I got my psychology degree. After that I went into marketing and public relations, so completely different but still touching on like human motivation what is going to make somebody look twice at something, what's going to make resonate with somebody. So there was a lot of writing in that. And so I got to ghostwrite for a lot of executives and ghostwrite for business owners and sit down with people and talk through what they needed me to do and then practice writing in their voice. So I got experience writing a whole lot of different things and that was the one part that you know I would get lost in for hours and it felt like 10 minutes and there's nothing like that feeling of just pure focus. I knew that's what I wanted to do. So I took that experience and I just started doing contract writing, eventually getting into just pure editing, and even when I was an editor. I just missed the writing side of things, so I always kind of did it in secret. And then, you know, over COVID, when there wasn't a whole lot to do, I wrote more in secret.
Speaker 2:And it wasn't until after, you know, the world kind of got back to normal, that that same friend that I had just mentioned invited me to a writer's group, and so we would meet once a month and everybody would just bring like a chapter and everybody would share the chapter a week before, and so we all had time to read and kind of critique everybody else's writing. And that was when I really started to take it more seriously and show. I actually took the first couple chapters of the third book in the series, as well as the first book in the series, to that writing critique group, and so it was that group of women that first put me on the path of like you know what, I think there's something here and I think I needed that confidence boost and you know that experience of just putting it out in front of somebody else's eyes, especially eyes that were not my friend they eventually became my friend but walking into a room full of women that I had never met before and all of them have already read something that I wrote. And then hearing their feedback face to face was absolutely valuable. And I don't I would be here if I hadn't joined that group. To be honest, I think I would have just dabbled in secrecy and um.
Speaker 2:The other thing that group did for me was accountability, too. Like I had to bring a chapter once a month if I wanted to show up and be accountable to this group, and so that's when I started to see these little snippets that I had in my head start to form an actual story. So, yeah, anybody who is looking for that first step to kind of push them or nudge them toward the edge of the cliff of, you know, diving into a full book, I think that's a fantastic way to kind of nudge yourself towards that edge. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I feel like that's such a great way of doing it, in a way that's not like it's scary yes, definitely, but it's not like so overwhelming, and that's a great like.
Speaker 1:The accountability is also like key, especially when you have a lot of other things going on.
Speaker 1:And then learning how to take feedback is such an important thing as an author, right, because we're like basically putting out our work into the world and with knowing that people are going to tell you that it sucks, and you're like that's great Thanks.
Speaker 1:With knowing that people are going to tell you that it sucks and you're like that's great Thanks. But but really, yeah, learning how to kind of like separate yourself and figure out, like what makes the story stronger, and I think, learning how to recognize, like what is helpful feedback and what is like opinion and what like what I actually need to take and what I can leave, and stuff like that. So I think that's such a great practice, as you kind of like move in and become more confident in your writing and stuff like that. And really, honestly, the best way to become a writer is to write, right, like it seems so simple, but it's like that writing is what makes you become like more confident and it's so cool to look back and see like where you started to where you are now and to see those like rough drafts become like an actual story in paper and that people are going to read very very soon.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, no, I think you're absolutely right. I think, and honestly, if I, if I look back before I ever did any of that, I think you're absolutely right, I think, and honestly, if I look back before I ever did any of that, I can say I didn't know how big of a deal the critique process was or the editing process was and how I would go back to my former self and encourage my former self to know that was coming and the first round appreciated so much more than I did and understand, because I think it only takes one deep round of edits on a manuscript that really turns the manuscript into something that's publishable or sendable out to an editor or an agent or something. But I didn't realize that. So I, I will, and I tell this friend that I will forever remember the first beta read and sitting down. You know it's like your child being critiqued and and you as the mother, being like, oh my gosh, like I could have done so many things different and it you really have to sit with it for a minute before you touch it again.
Speaker 2:And and now I love that process where I'm like give me like, give me the goods, give me your feedback. Give me all like the highs, the lows. Tell me exactly what you felt. Where's the plot holes? Where should I dig deeper? What did I dig too deep on? And, and, like you said, really trying to to hone in on what you own as part of your own creative process, what you can leave, what you can take to create something that still feels like you but that you know is going to resonate with your readers. And that's at this point. Oh, I love drafting, but I can honestly say that I love editing and I love the feedback process. I can honestly say that I love editing and I love the feedback process. The whole thing is like just forming this magical ball as you roll down the hill towards publishing, and it just feels so fulfilling by the time you get to the end. And having this whole team of people that helped get it there is I don't know, it's it's nothing short of magic, right?
Speaker 1:It does, I feel so. It's so wild to me to to think that these like characters are in your head and then they're on paper and then you have like a whole group of people that are all like rooting for these characters to like succeed and for people to love them and all of that kind of stuff. It's just, it's so I get.
Speaker 1:I get so excited to see all of that I know I'm like oh, look at these amazing books that are coming out into the world. I love it, I love it. Um, so obviously now your book is like going to be published, so I would love to hear a little bit about that sort of journey for you, because you are, as we were chatting before we hit record, you are with a like independent publishing house, so it's a little bit different, so I would love to hear how how that kind of experience went for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'm being published all three books. They're coming out with Jaffe books. They have a imprint called chocolate. They're out of the UK, so they are the largest independent publisher in the UK and I'm a US author. So, um, and interestingly enough, I I hadn't, I didn't really set out to be published with a publisher, um, which I know sounds just wild, I think. Um, but I had set out to publish independently, um, as in self-publish, and I only had maybe 20,000 words of this first book um done.
Speaker 2:And I went to a self-publishing conference in Las Vegas with a couple of my author friends and, um, I was head over heels for the self-publishing process. I was there to learn how to do it effectively. And I went to a mixer one night after all of the talks of the day and there was an editor who was there and I didn't know she was an editor. We just kind of struck up a conversation but a lot of these other romance authors were coming over to talk to her and I was like boosting them up because it almost sounded like they were pitching her and I was like, yeah, you should talk to her. Like, I met her earlier today. She's amazing. Um, this is so.
Speaker 2:And so I met, like I was pitching other authors to her, and, um, it wasn't until the end of the conversation where she gave me her card and was like, send me, like you know what you're, what you're working on. And I didn't really take it seriously. I was like, oh, she's just being nice. We've been talking like it's just her being nice. So then it wasn't until the very end of the week. I was walking out of the hotel and she was walking out of the hotel at the exact same time. We were both catching our Uber rides to the airport and she was like hey, I really like want you to send me what you're working on. And again, I thought she was being nice. But my author friends that were with me were like she's not being nice, like you need to actually send her what you're working on.
Speaker 2:So I went home and I had to finish the book before I sent it over to her. So I literally spent this like five, six weeks speed writing the rest of the manuscript, sent it through the round of beta readers and just edited my face off for the next couple of weeks and, um, and then I sent it to her and I didn't think too much of it. I was like again, she's just being nice, um. But she asked for a zoom call about two weeks later and then it was during the zoom call that she offered me a three book deal with them. So I signed, I signed with them, but it was. It was totally a backwards way to kind of back into it, cause I I didn't see it coming. I, you know, I was at a self-publishing conference and I think self-publishing, traditional publishing there's so many ways to climb the mountain, you know, and people do all of it so well. So I was, I was open to both and this is just where, where I landed.
Speaker 1:I love that.
Speaker 1:I feel like those are the best stories, where it's just like it is, it's going to happen, but I don't care how it happens, like it's really that sort of like we'll see, we'll see what happens, and that's such a great way of framing it and I think that's really cool of just that reminder of it's those little risks that you take, that that kind of like show that you're, you're in it and you're you're committed and and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:And I think that's such a really great reminder for people of like you gotta just it's the scary thing. And writing a book, I feel like, is such a vulnerable, scary experience and like any sort of art, right like because you're putting your heart and soul into it, with knowing that you know not everyone's gonna love it, and that's a really like wildly. I think it's a wildly brave thing to do to get you, get these words out on paper, whether it is like I feel like, whether you're writing like a super hot rom-com or like a really like heavy literary piece of fiction, right Like. I feel like it's going to hit like every every story is going to matter at certain points in time for certain people. So I think that's such a great reminder.
Speaker 2:I love. I love that. That's such a. Really I love that story. That's so cool. I hear stories about people getting pushed really far out in advance or, you know, dropped off the radar if their editor leaves or whatever. Whatever it may be, and I was a little hesitant, but the experience has been nothing short of phenomenal and I just feel incredibly lucky that original editor that I had. She ended up leaving a um a couple of months later and went to Harper Collins Avon in the UK and so I got a new editor soon after signing Um and she's been amazing. She's been absolutely amazing. I literally feel like I won the lottery and I know that it could have gone a thousand different ways and, um, I couldn't be happier with where I landed.
Speaker 1:I love that. I'd love to hear a little bit more about sort of that. I guess the journey of like working with an editor, with a publishing like house Cause I know a lot of I don't know if it's true like a myth of traditionally publishing is that you kind of lose a little bit of control. Obviously, they're doing a lot of the things for you, right, so you're not paying for things, which is amazing, but it is a business, right. So they, they want to be able to sell and market. So I'd love to hear a little bit about like that sort of process, um, like how you found that in your journey.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and especially too, because, as I've mentioned I I was looking for that self-publishing experience at the beginning. So that is one of the concerns that I had and that I had heard about. But with them with Becky is the name of my editor I think it has been such a collaborative journey and I am not just saying that it really has been. I feel like nothing is off limits to discuss or collaborate with. And um, for example, they send me the covers to talk about before they're finalized and things like that just feel they just helped me feel seen and heard and um, pleasantly surprised with that process. And um, and things like edits.
Speaker 2:She always tells me I'm open for a Zoom anytime if you want to Zoom about things, and she means it and we do. We Zoom for a very long time sometimes and I really I mean I really enjoy talking to her. I and with them being over in the UK and me here in the US last May and I'm going again this May, but last May I went over for this big garden party that they have over in London and got to meet so many of the team members and the owner of the publishing house was there himself and he was doing this big appreciative toast to everybody and it felt like being welcomed into this, like tight knit family almost, which was such a pleasant surprise. And I'm going back again next month and doing the same thing. And my editor truly is open. She has an open door to everything and every question, and I don't know if that's the industry standard, but that is what I found with mine for sure.
Speaker 1:I love that. I feel like that's such a like it makes sense to me of, like this is a, this is a book that they want to give their all to right, like they want to give it a fighting chance, because I think, like the, the amount of books that are published every year is like insane.
Speaker 1:I think, it's truly I'm like, wow, like that's great, but like you do need to stand out in the crowd, right. So I think that that's so cool to have that, yeah, collaborative approach. Uh, because, at the end of the day, like they're rooting for the story as much as you are right, which is amazing, and I think to have that communication is so key and you grow so much right, like they are going to see things in the story that maybe you didn't, because you're so close to the characters. You know this, the plot, inside and out. So to have somebody from the, you know, outside perspective, who understands the industry and like what obviously you don't necessarily want to write to market, but there is that element of like making sure that it does hit what your genre is Right.
Speaker 1:So to have somebody who can help you through that is is key. I would love to hear a little bit about, like, the marketing side of things, cause that's something that I feel like. Obviously, self-publishing authors are all on their own, but I think even with traditionally published, whether big publishing houses or smaller publishing houses, just with the nature of social media, there is still that expectation of some marketing that kind of goes into it. So I'd love to hear a little bit about that, or, and also how you make it fun, cause that's something that I feel like a lot of people are like. I hate this and I don't like that in my life.
Speaker 1:I'm like, I want to have fun, Like how can we make this fun and enjoyable and such?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I. It's funny because I feel, when I was going back, just to tell a quick funny story, yeah no, when I was going to London last year and we drove through on this tour through bath and one of the one of the houses in bath was Jane Austin's house and you like I was so happy to see it, I was stunned, I was blown away. I wanted to be living in that house, but one of the first things that caught my brain was I wish I could go back to this time where you sat in this beautiful house and you wrote your books and you handed them off and then you started on your next book. You know, and that like pulled at my heartstrings that it used to be like that, because I think myself as well as most of the authors that I talk to, they have that. You know, on the inside we're all a little bit introverted. We all just want to go in a dark closet and write our books and feel the feels and then emerge and hand it off and then go back in our cave. So I do feel that when, when you say make how do we make it fun? I'm like, is this fun? I don't know. I think I think for me and the reason why I am driven to help with the marketing side of things because, admittedly, is it my favorite part of the whole experience? No, it's not, but I do think the one thing that it gives me that I could never have gotten if I was Jane Austen living in her adorable house is the connection it gives me to the readers, and that part drives pretty much everything that I do online.
Speaker 2:Um, if it wasn't for that community and it because, as you know, the book community online is literally incredible. It's probably one of the nicest corners on the internet, right? And even with all the reviews, even with all the review words, I still think it's just this supportive, uplifting, beautiful corner of the internet and people make like art out of books and out of their bookshelves and out of their the words on pages. Like that draws me to that corner of the internet, and so everything that I put out marketing wise is like. I have that in mind and I think if I didn't, if it was just going into like this black hole where I wasn't getting adorable DMS of people live reading my books, or like hilarious, unhinged comments about things, it would feel like you know, I'm just throwing it out into this dark internet corner, but it's not like that at all. So I think that just brings me back time and time again, because once you're away from it for a little while, like you miss it. You know, you, you crave to be around those book loving people because they're just incredibly passionate.
Speaker 2:So, um, marketing wise, I think I do have a background in marketing. I have a background in PR, um, but it's a different beast when you're marketing yourself. I think it was always comfortable being the one ghostwriting and being behind the scenes and putting your own face on something that you wrote is a completely different beast. So I have to kind of like psych myself up to do that sometimes, but I I just love the connection that it brings and I think that readers do really resonate with the vulnerability that you have as an author putting yourself out there, and they appreciate it.
Speaker 2:I think from from what I see and what I hear, and I personally love seeing what the authors are doing that I admire and when they are willing to put themselves out there, it's inspirational. So, um, but also the marketing team over at Jaffe um, the, the girl over there, tia, she is constantly sending me ideas and I've just been lucky enough that they send images and lists of ideas and things for me to use. So I do feel like I have a team actually helping and collaborating on this, but again, I don't think I could do it if it wasn't for the community that you find there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I feel like that's huge of just having somebody who can kind of help with the idea aspect, cause I feel like that's sometimes the hardest part.
Speaker 1:I'm like I don't want to use my brain power to think of like things to post.
Speaker 1:I'd rather be using it for writing or for other things, right, so to have that is such a huge thing and I think you bring up such a great point of like. I feel like sometimes even like thinking a little bit smaller of like what, if you know you are putting this out there and that you know that book, your book, is what inspires somebody else to start writing, right, like that is that's the magic. Like that's so freaking cool to see people get excited or to see a character that you wrote and someone's like I've never seen a character, like something, represented like this, and I think I love that that's being a thing now of just like the representation for mental health, all of that sort of stuff, and just messy characters that feel real and relatable, and that, I think, is just so amazing, and I think that's probably why readers love it. It's so cool to see reading how popular it is becoming, especially amongst the young kids too, like my teenagers are, like, obsessed with books, which is so amazing.
Speaker 2:You're, you're raising the next generation of readers that, yes, mine, mine as well. They have Kindles that I have to like, threaten to take away to get them to do other things, which I just love that so much. But yeah, you touched on a really, really good point in that and one, the theme of imperfection and how people are kind of craving that in characters and, um, that's a huge theme in all three of my books is it's in all the titles show we're talking it's the best like worst move you ever made, or it's the best, worst mistake you ever made. It's taking something that you never saw coming in your life and turning it on its head and finding yourself in the messiest parts of your life and falling in love with your life. The messier it becomes.
Speaker 2:And I I started writing the first book um, the best wrong move actually shortly after coming out of COVID.
Speaker 2:Um, during that whole writer's group that I mentioned earlier, and it wasn't until we went. The book is set in Hawaii and it wasn't until my husband we took our family over to Hawaii for we had promised ourselves during COVID, once things got to normal, we are going to treat ourselves to like a really good vacation not here you know, anywhere but here and so we went across the ocean and I found myself completely falling in love with our life again, even though it was hard and messy, and it was such a fun trip over there. We stayed for a whole month and by the end I just felt totally transformed and the idea for the book really cemented when I was over there, and the whole premise behind it is taking a life that's been completely flipped on its head and doing something crazy and falling in love all over again, and I think that you're right. Readers are really craving that vulnerability and the perseverance that people have and have had, especially in recent years, and I love that that's been reflected in current trends.
Speaker 1:I think, yeah, it's amazing. And then just showing, I think, just like we're craving a different kind of life. I think think in general, like us as a whole society of like this, it just feels like we want, we want to create more, we want to be, be instead of like, do so. I love that that is reflecting in art, even if currently it is just escaping into a book, but I feel like you know, art it's, it's gonna come, it to come, and I think the more of us that kind of like do that and take those risks show that it is possible, which I love and it's so amazing. So I would love for you to share how people can get in touch with you and get their hands on your books, cause I feel like these are going to be necessary for the summer, obviously, like summer summaries.
Speaker 1:I need them, so yeah, they're a really great escape.
Speaker 2:I think they're, um, they're a good blend of heart, humor, um, they're, and they're spicy, um, but also of like, shockingly touching, and that's that's the thing that I keep hearing from readers that I'm loving. Um, they'll say, oh, these gave me goosebumps. Or oh, my gosh, I wasn't expecting to tear up in this, or the quotes that they're pulling out that you know that. That was like. My dream as a writer was like what are people going to resonate? What's what in the Kindle is going to be highlighted, you know, and the quotes people are pulling out are those ones about, like, falling in love with your life again and, um, just finding the beauty in the most unexpected places, and I'm loving that. That's what's resonating with readers. So it's spicy, it's funny, it's shockingly heartfelt.
Speaker 2:Um, the first one, as I said, coming out April 24th, so it'll probably probably be out by this time Um, but it's on Amazon. You can order it from Barnes and Noble and, since the publisher is over in the UK, these are widespread availability. They're also the whole series was purchased by Audible for global rights, so Audible is. I don't know what languages they're they're planning to put it out in, but I did choose the U S and UK narrators, so that is going to be out as well, hopefully by the time this. This comes out. So pretty much, if you like to read digitally paperback or listen on audio, then it's going to be out Amazing.
Speaker 1:I'm so excited Well it was so lovely chatting with you and just, yeah, hearing about your process and writing and your books and I really I really love learning about other authors and their yeah, hearing about your process and writing and your books and I really I really love learning about other authors and their yeah, their journey to having their book in their hands. So, thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you, I had the best time.
Speaker 1:Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. I would love if you would leave a review and also, if you love the author that we chatted with, go find them on social media and hype them up, comment on their stuff, share their work. Even if you can't buy the book, these kinds of things are great ways of supporting indie authors and getting their book in front of new readers. And if you are a writer or author in need of a developmental editor, please reach out. I would love to chat. Everything is linked in the show notes and it would be an absolute honor to be able to get eyes on your novel. So thanks again and listen to the next episode.
