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Welcome to the Mythic Mike Podcast, where myths, magic, and legendary stories come to life.
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Join your hosts, Bethany Amanda and Sarah Santillon, passionate authors, book collectors, and lovers of all things fantasy and romanticy, as they dive into epic worlds, enchanting tropes, and the books that leave us breathless.
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The Mythic Mic is your getaway to the magic of fantasy fiction.
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So grab your favorite bookish beverage.
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Settle in, and let's step into the extraordinary.
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Now, here are your hosts.
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Hey everyone, welcome to this episode of the Mythic Mic podcast.
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I'm so excited to be joined today by AR, who is the author of Not Another Happily Ever After.
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Welcome, AR.
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This is gonna be so fun.
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I mean, the title of your book alone is like just everything that I want to talk about in my life right now.
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So yes.
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I had a lot of fun with that one.
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Yes, it is a hundred percent brilliant.
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And we are definitely going to get into that.
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But before we do, for our listeners who might be meeting you for the first time, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
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Yes, that's like my least favorite thing to talk about.
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Anytime somebody asked me that, I'm like, who am I?
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Like, I don't I don't know anything about myself.
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I'm like, well, I've I don't have mom brains, so I'm like, oh gosh, uh, could we like reference the person that existed before I had kids?
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Because she was way cooler than I am, I promise.
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Um I grew up in Army Bratt, currently a male spouse, so that's kind of played into the nomadic life.
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I move around very, very often, and I love that.
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I don't like being in one place for too long, which honestly that kind of like correlates into my books because I I, you know, skip over genres very quickly, very easily.
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Um ADHD, which you guys will probably you'll see that, hence the neat o ball.
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I have four kids, three pets.
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Yeah, I'm pretty boring outside of you know being a writer.
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Wildlife conservationalist, turned author.
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I guess that's one cool thing if you like nature, which everyone should.
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That's just my opinion.
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But I think I think nature's pretty cool.
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And dinosaurs have a very unhealthy obsession with the dinosaurs.
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We could do a whole podcast on dinosaurs and I'd be here for it.
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So please tell me they're in some of your books.
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Yeah, actually, one of them, yes, very much so.
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And uh yeah, I think that's I think that's about it.
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That's all the interesting bits, at least.
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My goodness, our one of our co-hosts, Amara, is gonna be so mad that she missed this.
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She had to go pick up her kid, actually.
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So she couldn't join us today.
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But she is also, you know, married to a military spouse and you know, moves around a lot with that type of thing.
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So you guys have so much in common.
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Yeah, it's it's a different lifestyle for sure, but it's fun.
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I enjoy it.
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That's amazing.
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No, and I'm a huge wildlife lover.
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I actually like whenever I travel, I try to make it some type of like wildlife interactive safari type thing.
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Like um, like we went and saw polar bears um in Canada and we've like done the African safaris.
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So huge wildlife enthusiasts.
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Yes, I love that.
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I love that so much.
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There are so many pretty places in the world.
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So many.
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And and so many places where you see nature just you know, free, right?
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Like not behind bars and cages, and it's just incredible to see them in their habitat.
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Yeah, for sure.
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Yeah, I am so curious.
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What got you into writing?
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Because you, I mean, wildlife lover, right?
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Moving around a lot, all of that type of stuff.
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When did you sit down and say, Yep, I'm gonna write a book?
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Really wanted to draw people's attention to the world around them, but it's really, really hard when everyone's face is stuck in a screen all the time.
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It's like, you know, waving in a crowd and everyone's looking down.
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So no one sees you standing over here.
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And I'm like, okay, how do I get people's attention?
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So I'm like, well, I could, and I've I've always loved writing.
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You know, I've I had I used to do a lot of journalism in like high school and college.
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And I was like, well, I I know I can write.
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So I'm gonna take that over and I'm gonna start writing books.
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Because people, if they're not looking at their phones, they're looking at books.
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I was like, and then I can, you know, slide a couple save the planet, save the world into the books.
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And I was like, as I was doing that, I started to really fall in love with the world of fiction and I started to really enjoy it.
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And it helped that I enjoyed reading as well.
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And so I was able to kind of take that journalism aspect of writing and put it into these fictional worlds that people could fall into, but also see glimpses of what's around them as well.
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So it's not like it's not taking you out of the world that we're in now, but it's highlighting all of its best features.
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Love that.
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Because so many authors say that they wanted to escape, right?
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So they want to create their different new worlds.
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I think you're the first person I've talked to who's like, no, I want to highlight the awesome things we have in this world.
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Yeah, and we do.
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We have there is so much to love about this world.
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So there is.
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I love that perspective, honestly.
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That is that is refreshing.
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And, you know, I wonder too, right?
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Because publishing takes courage and something that I am working on my first book, and I have not had the courage to put this out in the world yet.
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So I want to know from you like what gave you the confidence and the leap to say, I'm actually gonna take this next step, right?
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I've written, I love being a writer, but now I'm gonna take the next step and actually publish my book.
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You know, I never doubted that I could do it.
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I always, I mean, once once I was just like, this is what I'm gonna do, I was just, you know, in that mindset of this is what I'm doing, and people are gonna like it or they're not, but this is this is what I'm doing.
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So I never, I never once doubted that I could do something.
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Okay, I need some of your confidence, please.
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Like just bottle it up and send it over.
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I need that.
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That's amazing.
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And clearly you were right because here we are with not another happily ever after, and all of all of the other things that you've written.
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So I mean, kudos to you.
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That's incredible.
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Thank you.
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And what was your publishing journey like?
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Gosh.
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Super easy question.
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Yeah, well, so with my debut, that was my that was my trial and error.
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That was my okay, so we're never doing that again.
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But I did I did these things right.
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So I really just tried to take all of my mess ups from my debut and avoid them at all cost, but pick apart what I did like, what I did do well.
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And I just kind of played those into how I'm choosing to market and um what I'm choosing to invest in as far as like publishing this book goes.
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And really, publishing is just a lot of trial and error.
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You find what works for you and what doesn't, and you just you you got your fingers crossed that this time is better than the last.
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And sometimes it is.
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Sometimes it works out.
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So yeah, it's interesting that you mentioned, right, that you learn from mistakes during your debut because behind the scenes, right?
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You know, as readers, we just we don't get that behind the scenes look.
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And so we think, oh, that debut must have gone perfectly, right?
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And that must be what's fueling their career.
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And it's so interesting, right?
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Because what you're hinting is no, right?
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Like there's a lot of trial and error here.
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Yeah, yeah.
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And I mean, for a while, at least, at least a year after I had like, you know, debuted as an author, I was very much on the promotional aspect of this is how to fail as an author.
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So don't do this.
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Don't don't don't do what I'm doing.
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Eventually we're gonna get, we're gonna get up there, but right now we're we're right here.
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So it's just about embracing where you currently are while working to where you want to get.
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And I think where so many people get lost is they get stuck here and they constantly look up there without seeing the advantages that are right in front of you.
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And there are advantages at being at rock bottom.
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You one, you're at rock bottom.
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You can't go any lower than that.
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So you have all of these like opportunities.
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If you turn around and you look around, like, well, here's a little one here, here's a little one here.
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And it just puts you in uncomfortable situations, and that is where growth happens a hundred percent of the time.
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That's so interesting.
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You know, and one of the things you allude to right there, right, is is perseverance, right?
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Because let's say the first time doesn't go well.
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That doesn't mean that you're never gonna be an author, right?
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Or you're never gonna be a successful author.
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It means you have to try something new and you have to learn and you have to grow.
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And that is such an important message.
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Absolutely.
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Yes.
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Yeah.
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If it doesn't work the first time, it might work the second or the third or the fourth or the fifth.
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But you'll never know if you don't keep going.
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Yes.
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Well, exactly.
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And we do have a lot of aspiring authors who listen to the show.
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And I think for them as well, right?
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It's it's this mentality of if my first book doesn't sell or doesn't do well, that's it.
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Right.
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Like it's it's mic drop over for me.
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And what what we're starting to, you know, see with other authors too, right?
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Is that maybe their first book did terribly, but their fourth book, right, might be like this huge bestseller.
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And so I love, I love the message even that you have, right?
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Which is like keep going, keep doing it because you're gonna learn and you're gonna grow.
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Absolutely.
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Yep.
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And, you know, having gone through that, right, and kind of seem not what to do.
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Do you have any advice or tips for our aspiring authors as they're navigating this space?
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Be careful who you trust and who you choose to work with in the publishing industry.
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Um, a lot of times, especially with, you know, agents and publishing houses and even people on your street team or when you send out arcs, you just you want to be very, very mindful that you are protecting your your literature, your work, and investing it in people that also have its best interest in mind.
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That is probably one of the biggest things that I have learned is to just really, yes, you want your book to go far and wide, but you know, at what cost?
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You wanna protect that process.
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You want to cultivate it in you want to trust good people with your book, which I know sounds silly because you're like, okay, well, who are those people?
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You'll know them when you come across them.
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I love it.
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They know it when you see it vibe.
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Yeah.
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Just like, hmm.
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Yeah.
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So just a big one is just to be mindful of of who you trust your work with, would would be my biggest advice.
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You know, it's it's interesting.
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We've never had anybody say that before when we've asked the question.
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And and I think it's so important because I have seen like on social media and threads authors talking about how they're getting scammed, right?
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Like people from quote unquote literary agencies, right, who who aren't there, right?
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Reaching out, getting scammed that way.
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And then some of their work's like getting pirated from people on their ARC or their street team.
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Yeah.
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Um, I for my debut, I had someone that I had hired as an editor and she wasn't a real editor.
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Um, and I didn't know this until after I had paid her in full.
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She's like, all right, you know, finish submitting the payment, and then I will go ahead and send the edits over to you.
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And I did.
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And I got my edits back.
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And I mean, the amount of just grammatical errors that were right there, her only comment as far as dev edits go were, you have your character drinking chocolate milk, but in chapter two, you mentioned they're lactose intolerant.
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I kid you not.
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That was the only developmental edit that they had in the whole book.
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And I'm like, no.
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Um and then the beginning of this year, I had stumbled upon a post, and I won't name any names, but um, she had she started advertising my book, but she was pitching it as her own.
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And because we had worked with someone, the same person, um, I had started to get like a really bad feeling.
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And I'm like, okay, I'm just gonna keep an eye on this.
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And, you know, hopefully it's not what I think it is.
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But as she started to post more and more about her book, I'm like, that's my book.
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Like someone gave her the idea for my book.
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And I really like that panic starts to set in, and you're like, what can I do about this?
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And a lot of the times the answer is nothing.
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Like there's, you know, unless it's a PayPal service that you can go and dispute.
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And in these cases, when it comes to ideas and it comes to, you know, the integrity of your story, there is so very little that you can do about it when someone else takes it and runs with it.
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So I gave myself 120 seconds to be very, very, very, very angry.
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Um I just remember the look on my husband's face.
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He's like, that's a lot of anger.
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And I'm just like, just let me get it out of my system right now.
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And then we're just gonna go full steam ahead.
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And I decided to take it as a compliment.
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I was just like, okay, this tells me that I have something that's good.
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This tells me that this book is going somewhere.
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If someone likes it so much that they're going to take the premise and try to make it their own, this tells me I'm doing something right.
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So I'm like, I'm gonna invest in this.
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Cause for a little while, not another happily ever after was really just gonna be my anti-tropes, my my fun, my book on vibes type deal.
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You know, like just something that I wrote to get all the antsy feelings out.
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Yeah.
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And when this happened, it kind of just shifted my perspective to this is fun, to this is something I should take seriously because other people want it.
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And I did.
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And once I changed into that mindset, this book has gone farther than I ever thought it would.
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So yeah, definitely be careful of who you trust.
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Um, but also believe in yourself.
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Even when things go wrong, or you know, you do make the mistake of trusting the wrong people, it's not the end of the world.
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Give yourself like 120 seconds to be really, really mad about it and then continue forward.
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Love that you didn't quit, right?
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Because how easy would it have been to say, somebody else stole my idea, I'm shelving it.
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I, you know, I have to go do something new.
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Yep.
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Yep.
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I love, I love that you did not give into that.
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No, no, definitely not.
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I was like, wow, now I wanted even more.
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I'm gonna go over this.
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Yeah.
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No, that that is incredible.
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And it's, you know, it's it's a scary time out there for an author, right?
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Because even if you trust the wrong people, they could be people, um, you know, even editors, right, inserting AI into your book without your knowledge.
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I mean, we've seen that happen this year and you know, other things like that.
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So I I just I love that advice because I think it's something a lot of people don't consider.
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We think, oh, hype for our book is awesome versus is this person gonna go and you know take this idea and sell it over here or their, you know, XYZ place?
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So yeah, I think that's that's amazing.
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And and I'm I'm so curious too, because um, you know, you, as you mentioned, right, you like to cross genres.
00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:20.000
And so, so what what has inspired, you know, all of the different, you know, like sci-fi versus like an enchanted, like Tim Burton-esque world?
00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:23.600
How do you how do you switch between all of those different genres so seamlessly?
00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:24.799
ADHD.
00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:27.919
Definitely ADHD.
00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:32.879
But also, I'm a mood reader and I'm like, well, I'm a mood reader, I should just be a mood writer.
00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:37.679
And you know, there are different genres that require different types of writing styles.
00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:45.039
And being that I went from being a journalist to a fiction writer, I was like, I think, I think I have what it takes to switch over styles.
00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:46.960
And even if I don't, I'm gonna try it.
00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:51.360
So I started writing, you know, the sci-fi dystopian, which was last year.
00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:53.840
And I feel like my debut held up pretty well.
00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:55.919
But I wanted to challenge myself a little bit more.
00:13:56.000 --> 00:14:02.399
I was like, okay, I'm gonna make a book full of antitropes, just all of all of the opposites of what's trending right now, just to see if I can.
00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:07.360
But I want to put like a medieval twist on it and, you know, make it more fairy tale-esque.
00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:11.200
And I started writing it and I got into a groove and I'm like, oh, okay, I can do this too.
00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:21.440
And then as I was writing that, I had this like this idea of, okay, well, now I want to pop back over to contemporary, because I was reading a book that was contemporary, and I'm like, oh, this is like this is inspiring me to do that.
00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:25.120
So I put not another happily ever doubt for like a month and started working on that one.
00:14:25.200 --> 00:14:29.840
And it's just it has been uh a series of ADHD and mood writing for sure.
00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:30.720
I love that.
00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:31.600
Oh my gosh.
00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:37.840
And you know, it's so funny because when I was a law professor, like, and even a lawyer, everyone would tell you, like, you have to stay in your lane, right?
00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:39.360
You have to pick one area of law, right?
00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:42.480
Or one subject that you're teaching, and you can't be like this jack of all trades.
00:14:42.559 --> 00:14:44.000
And I would always be like, but why?
00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:46.320
Like, if I'm good at it, why can't I?
00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:48.480
And here you are, like, same thing, right?
00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:50.799
I'm good at it, so therefore I'm gonna do it all.
00:14:51.039 --> 00:14:51.919
Yeah, yeah.
00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:55.120
Yeah, it's very much like I want to see what I can do.
00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:57.679
So the best way to do that is to just do it.
00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:06.399
So that's kind of been my mentality of I've been encouraging the ADHD, which you know, in all cases, that's not the best idea.
00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:08.240
But in this case, it's it's working out pretty well.
00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:09.759
You know, it's it's so funny too, right?
00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:11.840
Because we tell kids, right, you can be anything that you want to be.
00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:13.919
And then when we're adult, we're like, you can't be that.
00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:15.360
You have to be this one thing.
00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:25.440
And so I just when I talk to you, I just get this sense of somebody who is is just like pushing back against all of that, going back into like, I can be anything, I can do anything, and I'm going to.
00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:27.440
And I just think that's so empowering.
00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:28.720
Thank you.
00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:29.840
Oh my gosh, of course.
00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:40.000
And we also, I know we will we will dive into not another happily ever after momentarily, but we gotta talk about the cover because that is gorgeous and amazing.
00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:43.440
And I'm so curious, what did that design process look like for you?
00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:49.120
So I had I had worked with a different artist last year on a different cover, like the a cover for this book.
00:15:49.279 --> 00:15:51.200
And I just, I didn't love it.
00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:54.399
It wasn't, and there's, you know, there was nothing wrong with what the artist did.
00:15:54.559 --> 00:16:00.879
She did her interpretation of the idea that I had, but when I saw it, I was just like, this isn't, this isn't fitting the image in my head.
00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:03.440
Like, I'm, you know, it's not, it's not translating.
00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:11.759
And no matter how many times we kind of went back and forth on that process, I was like, I just don't think, I don't think that my vision is is ever going to fit in this person's head.
00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:17.039
And that's why I was just like, okay, I'll take this, put it for this, put it to the side for right now, and then I'm gonna do some shopping.
00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:21.759
And I went and it was actually Gresham Powell's cover for her books that I saw.
00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:26.159
And I was like, I I like that, but I'd want it with a more Tim Burton twist.
00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:29.519
So I reach out to her cover artist and was like, I love your style.
00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.279
I've been stalking your social media.
00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:36.399
And I was just like, I'm curious, could you do something like this, but make it Tim Burton?
00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:39.600
And as soon as I said Tim Burton, she was like full speed ahead.
00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:45.279
I she she she popped me in, um, squeezed me into her schedule and she's like, I'm so excited for this.
00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:53.120
And then I gave her, I think, three key defining sentences where I was just like, Thank Ella Enchanted meets haunting Adeline, but in a Tim Burton world.
00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:58.639
I was just like, I want this cover to be very love story-esque, but also kind of tragical.
00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:02.639
And I was like, and I want it to be vibrant and and fairy tale.
00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:10.960
I was like, I really want it to lean in like the fairy tale direction, not so much the fantasy, because you know, I was like, those are those are the fantasy is such a big genre.
00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:14.240
I was like, I don't want it to be confused for a fantasy or a romantic.
00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:23.200
I want it to be its own thing, but I want it to be in line with, you know, like the like the pretty fantasy vibes that other people are doing, if that makes sense.
00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:24.720
Makes total sense.
00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:25.039
Yeah.
00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:26.640
Sometimes my mind goes on the tangent.
00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:34.319
I'm like, I don't know if if I'm speaking too fast or if I make sense because in my head I'm like, yeah, this is this is totally, this is going smoothly.
00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:36.640
And then I'll be like, it's perfect.
00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:43.200
I'm literally staring at the cover right now as we talk, and like I can see every element that you just said in this cover.
00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:50.720
Like I can see the Ella Enchanted, I can see the Tim Burton vibes, but still in a romanticy cover that's gonna attract attention.
00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:51.839
I see all of that here.
00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:55.200
And it was there's gosh, there is so much symbolism in this story.
00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:59.039
So like you'll see the apples, you'll see the spider, and there's like all these little details.
00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:02.880
You're like, oh, this is just a pretty little, you know, addition, but it all means something.
00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:04.960
It's all very relevant to the story.
00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:09.839
And like you'll see the little ghosts, you'll see the castle in the background, and you'll see the what there's one in her dress.
00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:12.960
And then you'll see that like part of her dress is like a light.
00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:18.319
And it's just, yeah, there are so many details that people won't realize about it until after they've read the book.
00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:22.000
And then they'll, you know, they'll shut the book and they'll look at the cover and be like, that makes sense.
00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:22.640
That makes sense.
00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:24.400
Oh my gosh, it ties together now.
00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:26.799
So yeah, it was it was such a fun.
00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:28.160
Yeah, yeah.
00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:33.039
It's like an Easter egg on the cover that people don't know that they're looking at yet until after they've read it.
00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:34.319
So exactly.
00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:36.160
I love it.
00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:42.079
I just sorry, I know, I know we've gone off on the cover and we haven't even talked about the book yet, but I love it.
00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:44.319
But yeah, I promise we will talk about the book.
00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:49.279
So for our listeners just discovering not another happily ever after, can you tell us what it's about?
00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:51.839
We have all the vibes, but what is it actually about?
00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:58.400
So it takes place after the great slang of the fairy godmother, the evil fairy godmother.
00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:12.319
Uh, because in this world, she is known to be this evil person because she had sided with the Red Hoods, which are these very well-known anti-royal rebels, and she was using magic to go against the kings of ruin and riches.
00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:14.880
And she had actually been married to the king of riches.
00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:16.799
So, you know, there's a little bit of lore there.
00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:27.359
And before she was slain, she had written a curse or a spell because the people that came to her home and set it afire did so knowing that her child, like her infant child, was in the house with her.
00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:31.680
So she wrote this big, big curse over the realm of riches and ruin.
00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:35.759
And you get up to this point, and we're like in present day with Sunday.
00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:42.480
And it's told from her perspective, she is now this 20-year-old woman who has only known the realm that's, you know, been underneath this curse.
00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:43.920
She hasn't known anything differently.
00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:49.920
And her family, her dad, the king of ruin, has been trying to break the curse for years.
00:19:50.079 --> 00:20:01.359
She was she was slain, she's a very evil godmother, um, slain for working with the Red Hoods, and wrote the curse because the people that came after her did so, knowing that her infant was going to be in the house with her.
00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:07.039
And she basically called for like an eye for an eye, like a life for a life, and a daughter for the firstborn son.
00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:11.839
And they took the the the realm of riches and ruin, took this curse very literally.
00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:24.160
So that is why Sunday is this pieced apart, corpse bride-inspired character, because she has literally been sacrificed multiple times, but for whatever reason, this curse keeps protecting her.
00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:27.599
So when her, you know, when her throat was, she didn't, she didn't die.
00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:31.920
When her eye, she lost one of the eyes, as the curse called for an eye for an eye.
00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:32.880
They took one of her eyes.
00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:34.000
She survived that as well.
00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:37.920
Like there is so much that's happened to her that is uh unexplainable.
00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:44.319
And they're kind of getting to this turning point because the curse has protected her for so long, but it's starting to fade.
00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:47.200
And they don't know why it's starting to fade, like the protection that it had over her.
00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:50.000
So they're thinking we're running out of time, we've tried everything.
00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:56.079
Our last ditch effort is to go based on the last line of the curse, which is the heart of a daughter into the hands of the firstborn son.
00:20:56.240 --> 00:21:03.279
And since the curse was cast, the king of riches remarried and they had a son, Prince Charming, the not so charming prince.
00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:10.000
And he comes up with this idea that in order to break the curse, she needs to be with him.
00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:12.079
So this is where the story starts.
00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:19.839
And Sunday is called to go and marry the not-so-charming prince, but he hasn't been very kind to her, so she's very reluctant to do this.
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:26.960
She knows that in order to save, save her people, to set everything back to the way it was before she was born, this is what she needs to do.
00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:34.400
So she's accepted her fate, but she's reluctant to give over the last piece of herself that, you know, has been untouched, which is her heart.
00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:44.960
And on this journey, she is with Frog, who is the painfully shy mass knight and his band, his band of Goonie inspired knights, and they are they are quite the cast.
00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:45.759
They are so fun.
00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:52.319
And they they have been tasked with delivering her from Castle A to Castle B through this disenchanted forest.
00:21:52.480 --> 00:22:01.039
And along the way, they stumble upon all of these different places and people and creatures that have been affected by the Curse differently.
00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:06.400
And she kind of looks at the world first in wonder because she's never been outside of the castle.
00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:11.119
And where everything has been turned and twisted because of this curse, she sees beauty in it.
00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:18.880
And she is kind of showing the people around her to see the beauty in what is instead of just reminiscing on what was.
00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:28.480
And in her doing so, in her accepting places for what they are now, for what they've had to become to survive, they start to see a shift in how the world is working around them.
00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:31.920
They start to see almost, almost like a reversal.
00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:40.720
And in this process, she starts to fall for the painfully shy masked knight who may or may not be hiding more than just his face.
00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:42.400
He has his own secrets.
00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:48.559
And there is a, without you know, spoiling too much, there is a part of the story where they get very, very close.
00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:50.720
And it's, I don't want to spoil too much.
00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:54.559
I'm like, how much of this can I share without just like giving away the whole story?
00:22:54.720 --> 00:22:55.039
I do.
00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:56.240
I'm I'm so entranced.
00:22:56.480 --> 00:22:58.480
I'm like, tell me all of it.
00:22:59.359 --> 00:23:00.960
I will, I will say this.
00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:03.440
So they they stop in this this place.
00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:09.039
It's called the town of Marionette, where like every every bargain, every deal comes with strings attached.
00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:10.319
And there's a library there.
00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:14.480
And in this library, there are codex creatures, and there's only ever two at a time.
00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:15.680
They're called inklings.
00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:17.920
One tells the truth and one only tells lies.
00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:27.920
And she has a conversation with these creatures, and they tell her something or they reveal something to her that she doesn't know if it's truth or a lie because no one can tell them apart.
00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:35.680
So she's left to ponder this while the knights are gathering supplies, while they're getting things that they need to get in order to continue on the journey.
00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:41.039
She's left to ponder and wander in, you know, this disenchanted world, which is a very dangerous thing to do.
00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:42.240
And she does this.
00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:46.480
She's like, hmm, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go through, I'm gonna go through the knights things.
00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:52.079
And she starts to go through the frog's bag and she finds red ribbon.
00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:58.799
And this is very important because, as you, you know, you see on the cover in a lot of the character art, she's wearing a red ribbon.
00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:02.559
And this, without spoiling anything, it's something that is very sentimental to her.
00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:08.000
And when she finds the red ribbon in the bag, it almost solidifies something that the inklings said.
00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:10.000
So now she's like, Who is he?
00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:10.960
Who is he really?
00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:11.920
Who is he to me?
00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:19.759
And when she questions him about it, he almost like brushes it off and he doesn't, you know, he doesn't answer her directly, and that makes her mad, as it would anyone.
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:26.079
And she storms off and she sees this little girl being tricked into a deal with this older gentleman.
00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:30.400
And she steps in and she's like, Oh no no, like, and he tells her, Well, he she owes me.
00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:32.880
And he should and Sunday's like, I'll take it from here.
00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:36.160
And the knights come out, they're like, No, why would you do that?
00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:43.839
Because in this town, in this town, it's there are magical chains and magical strings that you will become attached to if you make these deals.
00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:54.240
So Frog, like in a last ditch effort to to keep her from being bound to the town of Marionette, has to like take her and run into this Griever's um the Griever's garden, which is this deadly rose maze.
00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:56.240
And I'm explaining so much.
00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:57.519
Oh sorry.
00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:00.559
I'm like, God, I'm like, where is this book right now?
00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:01.599
I need to read it.
00:25:01.759 --> 00:25:03.920
It's like, oh wait, she's she asked for a synopsis.
00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:05.759
I feel like this is way more than a synopsis.
00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:07.440
I get really excited when I talk about it.
00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:08.559
But this is gold.
00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:10.160
This is gold right here.
00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:18.960
She he pulls her into this deadly rose maze, and they there's kind of this opportunity for her to get even closer to him.
00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:24.000
And under the guise of like uh, well, I don't want the I don't want the prince to be my first kiss.
00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:24.559
Yeah.
00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:26.240
Understandably so, you know what I mean?
00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:27.440
He's not a very nice guy.
00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:32.960
And the prince, you know, being that he's adored her for years, like he is just hopelessly devoted to her.
00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:35.759
He's like, okay, but you have to promise to keep your eyes closed.
00:25:35.920 --> 00:25:36.640
Of course, she does.
00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:40.160
And then she has like one of these behind her back, um, because this is her plan.
00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:43.119
She wants to know if what she was told is the truth.
00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:46.559
And um, they like they they shared this really cute moment, but I won't spoil.
00:25:46.640 --> 00:25:51.759
Uh, but when she but then she opens her eyes, and sure enough, one of the inklings was telling the truth.
00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:55.440
So it's this, it's it's almost turning point.
00:25:55.519 --> 00:26:01.519
And then everything kind of, I don't want to say, I don't want to say goes downhill, but everything shifts after that.
00:26:01.680 --> 00:26:11.599
There are more truths revealed to Frog about Sunday's circumstances, and it kind of puts him in a position to make a choice, his heart or hers type deal.
00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:14.319
And of course, he chooses to to spare hers.
00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:19.519
And of course, yeah, it just puts them in an impossible position.
00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:21.279
And there will be a book too.
00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:47.680
So but yes, yes, there is there is a second part, but I think I gave more than the synopsis, but that's like, you know, the the gist of this story is it's it's really just about like adventure and finding the beauty in what is, and then you know, just seeing what can come of showing kindness to places, creatures, and people who otherwise may not have had it before, who've not experienced it before.
00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:49.920
My gosh, where is this board?
00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:51.200
I cannot wait for it.
00:26:51.839 --> 00:26:53.119
It's killing me.
00:26:53.440 --> 00:27:00.160
This is like everything that I want in a book, all wrapped up into one gorgeously packaged cover right there.
00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:03.119
Oh my gosh.
00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:08.319
Okay, I just need to sit with that for a moment because wow, I have all of the feelings right now.
00:27:08.640 --> 00:27:15.359
And it sounds like such such a well-rounded cast of characters, too, where everyone is like so unique, right?
00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:16.880
Everybody's got the hidden secrets.
00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:19.279
We don't have any like 2D flat characters.
00:27:19.359 --> 00:27:22.160
Like, I want to know more about everyone that you have mentioned already.
00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:22.960
Yes, yes.
00:27:23.119 --> 00:27:27.200
So there is her brother, and her brother, there may or may not be a spinoff of her brother.
00:27:27.440 --> 00:27:30.000
And he is he is her older brother.
00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:46.319
And he there are so many times where he wants to step in, where he has seen the mistreatment of Sunday and seen what they're doing, and he knows, like, he knows about the prince, but he can't because his father is holding his love interest in their prison beneath his pr his his love interest is Ella.
00:27:46.400 --> 00:27:50.559
And um, she came from the burned down castle of Cinder.
00:27:50.799 --> 00:28:00.960
Um, so you can see there's a couple different fairy tales being referenced here, which is uh a kingdom that his father destroyed, you know, hence castle, castle ruin, kingdom ruin.
00:28:01.039 --> 00:28:04.000
They have a history of just completely demolishing things.
00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:08.000
And she, Ella, actually plays a very important role in this story as well.
00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:08.880
She will pop up.
00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:13.039
You'll hear mention of her in the beginning of the book, and you'll see her at the end of the book.
00:28:13.119 --> 00:28:16.720
I won't I won't spoil anything, but she she also plays a very important role.
00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:23.839
And then you have the knights, you have the twins who are American Merton, and one of them is a b bug collecting knight.
00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:30.480
So he's very, he's very knowledgeable about all of these, you know, creatures and these plants and the bugs.
00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:32.480
And anytime Sunday's like, oh, what's this?
00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:33.759
He's like, Don't touch that.
00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:34.480
That's this.
00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:42.000
And he'll, you know, he'll go into his little tangent, or he'll be like, or she'll like be caught in wonder staring at something, and he'll kind of like buddy up next to her and be like, Oh, yeah, that's this.
00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:45.839
And you just they have this really cute dynamic of like, she's like, Oh, what's this?
00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:46.240
What's this?
00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:46.559
What's this?
00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:51.759
And he'll humor her every time because he's just so excited to have someone to share this passion with.
00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:53.839
Um, and he's the total opposite of his twin.
00:28:53.920 --> 00:28:57.440
His twin is very much like a womanizer, and you know, he gets slapped in one of the books.
00:28:57.519 --> 00:28:58.640
He's like, Oh, I think I'm in love.
00:28:58.720 --> 00:28:59.279
You know what I mean?
00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:02.720
Like, he's just, he just really wants love.
00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:08.400
He's he's very much like a lover boy, and he uh he's never like he's never like that with Sunday.
00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:18.400
He he kind of sees the way that Frog is around her, and he's you know, he's like, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna steal your woman from underneath you, even though I totally could that type of a relationship.
00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:21.599
But he's just he's so fun and he he brings Sunday out of her shell.
00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:23.039
He's like, I'm gonna teach you how to be a woman.
00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:25.200
And every all the nights are like, that's a horrible idea.
00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:25.839
Don't listen to him.
00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:26.960
And he's like, No, come here.
00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:30.720
And he's like, Well, I'll sh I'll teach you how to dance and we'll have we'll have fun.
00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:31.839
We'll have fun around the fire.
00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:36.960
And it's and then there is um there is Wolf, and he is Frog's best friend.
00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:43.119
Like that is that is his second in command, and he is more mysterious, and he's he also plays a very important role in the story, though.
00:29:43.200 --> 00:30:00.240
I won't I won't give it away because it is it is a part of like a huge twist, but he is more laid back and he's more observant and he's kind of watching and he's he knows, you know, frog's feelings because frog confides in him and you know he's watching Sunday and he's watching how Sunday's falling for Frog.
00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:09.759
And it's he he has concern on on both sides and he has, you know, not beliefs, but he just he wants things to work out a certain way.
00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:10.640
Yeah.
00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:19.599
And he he is there to ensure that Frog doesn't step out of line and doesn't step in, step in the way of how things should be.
00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:23.759
He is very much that like, I'm gonna morally direct you type character.
00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:25.279
And then you have Ridland.
00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:27.759
And Ridland, Ridland has kind of a sad arc.
00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:30.640
Like this, this book is this, there is sad parts in this book.
00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:34.720
So Rydland, I am overly attached to because my stepdad was just awesome.
00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:36.640
And Ridland is kind of like that to her.
00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:41.920
Like her parents, her mother was kind of like an alcoholic, like it that's referenced in the book.
00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:43.599
So, you know, she's kind of aloof.
00:30:43.759 --> 00:30:46.880
I mean, she's married to a man that destroys things for fun.
00:30:47.119 --> 00:30:55.119
So, you know, and she kind of she started drinking after she had Sunday because she knew that this daughter was always going to be taken from her.
00:30:55.200 --> 00:30:57.359
So she's like, you know, distanced herself from Sunday.
00:30:57.440 --> 00:31:02.240
So Sunday never, she never really had parents and she leaned very heavily into the people around her.
00:31:02.319 --> 00:31:19.359
So like her handmaiden Peenie, which is this older lady, you get to see like cute moments with her in the very beginning of the book where she's dressing Sunday and she's getting, you know, she's getting teary-eyed as she's fixing her hair and her makeup because this is a woman that's watched her grow up and and and likewise, like Sunday watched her grow old.
00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:24.559
And and then you have Ridland, who has been her guard and kind of like a father to her almost all her life.
00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:26.799
He's he's the one that stood outside her door.
00:31:26.880 --> 00:31:31.680
He is he is the one that's kept her secrets when she ran outside the castle to hang out with her ghost best friend.
00:31:31.759 --> 00:31:42.400
Um like he he has always been there for her, and he had it so that for his before he retired, he wanted to be the one to help escort her to the other castle.
00:31:42.559 --> 00:31:53.759
So he is also on this journey, and he's the one that will break out the guitar and play the music, and he's just he's very much like a fatherly figure to her, and and they have a very, very close, very close bond.
00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:54.480
I love that.
00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:56.480
I love that found family aspect here too.
00:31:56.720 --> 00:31:57.599
Yes, yeah.
00:31:57.920 --> 00:32:01.920
I I think that's just like that always gives me the warm and fuzzy vibes for it.
00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:07.920
Yeah, but it's there are so many fun characters in this book, and there's like a pocket-sized dragon.
00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:08.880
Oh my god.
00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:13.920
Yeah, and he like he'll he cla they named him buttons because he'll he'll steal you, he'll steal your buttons.
00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:17.200
Whereas most dragons are like, you know, they're attracted to stuff that's shiny.
00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:22.400
This one just likes buttons, which is why Frog ended up keeping him because he's just a quirky little dragon.
00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:23.680
So yeah.
00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:25.200
I need character art of that.
00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:25.839
That's adorable.
00:32:26.160 --> 00:32:28.559
I know I was like, I don't have any buttons.
00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:29.680
I'm gonna need to do that.
00:32:29.920 --> 00:32:30.880
You're gonna need to do that.
00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:31.519
Absolutely.
00:32:31.680 --> 00:32:33.119
We are all gonna want to see buttons.
00:32:33.440 --> 00:32:34.240
Oh my gosh.
00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:35.200
I love that.
00:32:35.440 --> 00:32:39.359
I'm curious for you, what was the hardest scene to write for this book?
00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:44.960
Because it sounds like there's so many like heavy hitter scenes here, but also like all the emotions through every scene.
00:32:45.119 --> 00:32:46.079
What was hardest for you?
00:32:46.319 --> 00:33:01.359
Gosh, probably in the in the beginning of the book, one of the scenes that was a little bit harder, and it's not as heavy hitting as some of the other ones, but like it's it's personal to me where she has to like say goodbye to Xander, which is her older brother, you know, that he wants to be there, but he can't.
00:33:01.440 --> 00:33:01.680
Yeah.
00:33:01.839 --> 00:33:08.160
And so she has to, you know, she has to say goodbye to him and she has to say goodbye to the only family that, you know, that she's ever had.
00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:11.920
And that was kind of hard, just with, you know, with my personal experience.
00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:18.720
And then later in the book, with Ridland, there is a scene that's very heartbreaking that just it like I cried, I sob the whole time I'm writing.
00:33:18.799 --> 00:33:21.119
I'm like, why am I doing this to myself?
00:33:21.359 --> 00:33:27.440
But, you know, it's just some scenes like the devastation on almost makes the story more beautiful, you know.
00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:28.559
Like it's yeah.
00:33:28.720 --> 00:33:35.359
I I think that in order to really appreciate the beauty of life, you have to accept that it comes with tragedy.
00:33:35.440 --> 00:33:40.960
And you you will see that theme reoccurring a lot in this story, hence the title, not another happily ever after.
00:33:41.039 --> 00:33:57.119
So that and and probably the this one wasn't like heavy in the way that it was sad, but Sunday goes to Dyer Shire, which is the the village outside of her castle, like down the mountain of her castle, and she sees her people for the first time.
00:33:57.279 --> 00:34:01.599
And where her knights are like, you know, they're pushing, they're pushing them back, they're trying to keep her away.
00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:04.640
She she is going, she's willingly going into the crowd.
00:34:04.799 --> 00:34:10.159
She is, she is letting them like pull at her and stuff because she she's like, I can't give these people anything, but I can see them.
00:34:10.320 --> 00:34:12.800
Like I can choose to see, see what they've been through.
00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:23.599
And like as they're doing that, there's this moment where one of them rips away the ribbon from her neck and they see the scar on her neck and they realize that she, she like they haven't been left to suffer alone, that she's been suffering with them.
00:34:23.760 --> 00:34:29.119
And there's almost like this, it kind of puts them on an equal playing field of I am you, you are me.
00:34:29.360 --> 00:34:30.000
Yeah.
00:34:30.239 --> 00:34:36.719
And that you will see Sunday has that kind of effect everywhere she goes, is she's like, I'm not, I'm not better than you.
00:34:36.960 --> 00:34:37.679
I am you.
00:34:37.840 --> 00:34:44.639
And that is kind of what connects her to every place and every creature and just even the environments she goes into.
00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:47.679
They have a way of just swaying in her direction.
00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:48.559
I love that.
00:34:48.639 --> 00:34:48.960
Yeah.
00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:51.840
My gosh, I could talk to you forever about this book.
00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:54.320
I'm literally dying to get my hands on it.
00:34:54.480 --> 00:34:57.840
I'm gonna be a corpse bride myself and like sell body parts for it.
00:34:58.079 --> 00:34:58.480
Oh my gosh.
00:34:58.559 --> 00:35:02.239
But um, AR, tell us like when we can find this book and where we can find it.
00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:04.559
So it's in uh a couple different bookshops right now.
00:35:04.639 --> 00:35:07.679
It's in the Crafty Bookstore, The Enchanted Raven.
00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:10.159
Uh, ebooks are available on Amazon.
00:35:10.239 --> 00:35:11.360
All this is pre-orders.
00:35:11.519 --> 00:35:15.519
And then I have an Etsy for my own version of signed paperbacks.
00:35:15.599 --> 00:35:19.599
And I'm hoping to have paperbacks on Amazon closer to release.
00:35:19.679 --> 00:35:23.440
Amazon's kind of finicky on when they'll let you post paperbacks and pre-orders.
00:35:23.599 --> 00:35:32.960
And I think, I think for the moment, there may be, there may be a possibility of it going a bit wider, but I won't say, I won't say too much about that just yet.
00:35:33.199 --> 00:35:36.159
So as of right now, those those are the places people can get it.
00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:36.960
Yeah.
00:35:37.840 --> 00:35:38.559
I love it.
00:35:38.719 --> 00:35:42.239
Well, thank you so much for coming on the show with me today.
00:35:42.400 --> 00:35:43.599
This has been so exciting.
00:35:43.760 --> 00:35:45.119
I'm in love with your book.
00:35:45.360 --> 00:35:46.880
I cannot wait to pick it up.
00:35:47.039 --> 00:35:48.400
So just thank you so much.
00:35:48.559 --> 00:35:49.280
Yeah, absolutely.
00:35:49.440 --> 00:35:50.239
I've had so much fun.
00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:50.960
I have too.
00:35:51.039 --> 00:35:54.480
And to all of our listeners out there, thank you so much for tuning in.
00:35:54.639 --> 00:35:58.000
We know that you're gonna want to pick up this book, so go and pre-order now.
00:35:58.159 --> 00:35:59.360
You don't want to miss it.
00:35:59.599 --> 00:36:03.599
So just thank you all for tuning in, and we hope to see you at the next episode.
00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:04.159
Bye.
00:36:05.760 --> 00:36:08.800
That's it for this chapter of the Mythic Mike Podcast.
00:36:08.880 --> 00:36:10.719
But the adventure doesn't end here.
00:36:10.960 --> 00:36:18.800
Subscribe, leave a review, and follow us on social media at Mythic Mike Pod for updates, giveaways, and all the bookish and writing fun.
00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:19.679
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00:36:19.920 --> 00:36:26.400
Join our newsletter at mythicmike.com for bonus tips, other insights, and behind the scenes magic.
00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:29.280
Until next time, stay mythical.
00:00:01.760 --> 00:00:07.919
Welcome to the Mythic Mike Podcast, where myths, magic, and legendary stories come to life.
00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:21.519
Join your hosts, Bethany Amanda and Sarah Santillon, passionate authors, book collectors, and lovers of all things fantasy and romanticy, as they dive into epic worlds, enchanting tropes, and the books that leave us breathless.
00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:25.280
The Mythic Mic is your getaway to the magic of fantasy fiction.
00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:27.519
So grab your favorite bookish beverage.
00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:30.800
Settle in, and let's step into the extraordinary.
00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:32.399
Now, here are your hosts.
00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:36.240
Hey everyone, welcome to this episode of the Mythic Mic podcast.
00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:41.840
I'm so excited to be joined today by AR, who is the author of Not Another Happily Ever After.
00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:42.960
Welcome, AR.
00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:44.640
This is gonna be so fun.
00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:49.520
I mean, the title of your book alone is like just everything that I want to talk about in my life right now.
00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:51.280
So yes.
00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:52.640
I had a lot of fun with that one.
00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:55.600
Yes, it is a hundred percent brilliant.
00:00:56.640 --> 00:00:58.880
And we are definitely going to get into that.
00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:04.159
But before we do, for our listeners who might be meeting you for the first time, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:06.799
Yes, that's like my least favorite thing to talk about.
00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:10.480
Anytime somebody asked me that, I'm like, who am I?
00:01:10.640 --> 00:01:12.079
Like, I don't I don't know anything about myself.
00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:18.480
I'm like, well, I've I don't have mom brains, so I'm like, oh gosh, uh, could we like reference the person that existed before I had kids?
00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:20.799
Because she was way cooler than I am, I promise.
00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:26.480
Um I grew up in Army Bratt, currently a male spouse, so that's kind of played into the nomadic life.
00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:29.599
I move around very, very often, and I love that.
00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:38.640
I don't like being in one place for too long, which honestly that kind of like correlates into my books because I I, you know, skip over genres very quickly, very easily.
00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:44.400
Um ADHD, which you guys will probably you'll see that, hence the neat o ball.
00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:48.879
I have four kids, three pets.
00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:52.560
Yeah, I'm pretty boring outside of you know being a writer.
00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:56.319
Wildlife conservationalist, turned author.
00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:59.599
I guess that's one cool thing if you like nature, which everyone should.
00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:00.640
That's just my opinion.
00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:02.400
But I think I think nature's pretty cool.
00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:05.599
And dinosaurs have a very unhealthy obsession with the dinosaurs.
00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:09.120
We could do a whole podcast on dinosaurs and I'd be here for it.
00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:12.000
So please tell me they're in some of your books.
00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:15.520
Yeah, actually, one of them, yes, very much so.
00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:18.240
And uh yeah, I think that's I think that's about it.
00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:19.759
That's all the interesting bits, at least.
00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:23.840
My goodness, our one of our co-hosts, Amara, is gonna be so mad that she missed this.
00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:25.360
She had to go pick up her kid, actually.
00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:26.719
So she couldn't join us today.
00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:32.479
But she is also, you know, married to a military spouse and you know, moves around a lot with that type of thing.
00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:34.479
So you guys have so much in common.
00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:37.280
Yeah, it's it's a different lifestyle for sure, but it's fun.
00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:37.840
I enjoy it.
00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:38.719
That's amazing.
00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:41.039
No, and I'm a huge wildlife lover.
00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:47.280
I actually like whenever I travel, I try to make it some type of like wildlife interactive safari type thing.
00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:52.080
Like um, like we went and saw polar bears um in Canada and we've like done the African safaris.
00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:54.000
So huge wildlife enthusiasts.
00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:55.199
Yes, I love that.
00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:56.159
I love that so much.
00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:58.080
There are so many pretty places in the world.
00:02:58.240 --> 00:02:58.879
So many.
00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:03.120
And and so many places where you see nature just you know, free, right?
00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:08.080
Like not behind bars and cages, and it's just incredible to see them in their habitat.
00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:09.280
Yeah, for sure.
00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:10.719
Yeah, I am so curious.
00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:12.319
What got you into writing?
00:03:12.479 --> 00:03:14.479
Because you, I mean, wildlife lover, right?
00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:16.319
Moving around a lot, all of that type of stuff.
00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:18.319
When did you sit down and say, Yep, I'm gonna write a book?
00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:25.919
Really wanted to draw people's attention to the world around them, but it's really, really hard when everyone's face is stuck in a screen all the time.
00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:29.120
It's like, you know, waving in a crowd and everyone's looking down.
00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:30.800
So no one sees you standing over here.
00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:33.520
And I'm like, okay, how do I get people's attention?
00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:36.479
So I'm like, well, I could, and I've I've always loved writing.
00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:40.960
You know, I've I had I used to do a lot of journalism in like high school and college.
00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:42.960
And I was like, well, I I know I can write.
00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:45.759
So I'm gonna take that over and I'm gonna start writing books.
00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:48.319
Because people, if they're not looking at their phones, they're looking at books.
00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:53.439
I was like, and then I can, you know, slide a couple save the planet, save the world into the books.
00:03:53.599 --> 00:04:00.080
And I was like, as I was doing that, I started to really fall in love with the world of fiction and I started to really enjoy it.
00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:02.319
And it helped that I enjoyed reading as well.
00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:13.759
And so I was able to kind of take that journalism aspect of writing and put it into these fictional worlds that people could fall into, but also see glimpses of what's around them as well.
00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:18.800
So it's not like it's not taking you out of the world that we're in now, but it's highlighting all of its best features.
00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:19.360
Love that.
00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:22.160
Because so many authors say that they wanted to escape, right?
00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:24.560
So they want to create their different new worlds.
00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:28.879
I think you're the first person I've talked to who's like, no, I want to highlight the awesome things we have in this world.
00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:29.839
Yeah, and we do.
00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:31.920
We have there is so much to love about this world.
00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:32.720
So there is.
00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:34.079
I love that perspective, honestly.
00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:35.600
That is that is refreshing.
00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:37.680
And, you know, I wonder too, right?
00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:46.079
Because publishing takes courage and something that I am working on my first book, and I have not had the courage to put this out in the world yet.
00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:52.319
So I want to know from you like what gave you the confidence and the leap to say, I'm actually gonna take this next step, right?
00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:56.240
I've written, I love being a writer, but now I'm gonna take the next step and actually publish my book.
00:04:56.399 --> 00:04:58.319
You know, I never doubted that I could do it.
00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:09.439
I always, I mean, once once I was just like, this is what I'm gonna do, I was just, you know, in that mindset of this is what I'm doing, and people are gonna like it or they're not, but this is this is what I'm doing.
00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:14.480
So I never, I never once doubted that I could do something.
00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:16.480
Okay, I need some of your confidence, please.
00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:18.720
Like just bottle it up and send it over.
00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:19.680
I need that.
00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:21.759
That's amazing.
00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:29.680
And clearly you were right because here we are with not another happily ever after, and all of all of the other things that you've written.
00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:31.439
So I mean, kudos to you.
00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:32.079
That's incredible.
00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:33.759
Thank you.
00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:36.160
And what was your publishing journey like?
00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:37.120
Gosh.
00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:38.639
Super easy question.
00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:43.360
Yeah, well, so with my debut, that was my that was my trial and error.
00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:46.160
That was my okay, so we're never doing that again.
00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:48.560
But I did I did these things right.
00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:58.160
So I really just tried to take all of my mess ups from my debut and avoid them at all cost, but pick apart what I did like, what I did do well.
00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:07.839
And I just kind of played those into how I'm choosing to market and um what I'm choosing to invest in as far as like publishing this book goes.
00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:10.560
And really, publishing is just a lot of trial and error.
00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:18.079
You find what works for you and what doesn't, and you just you you got your fingers crossed that this time is better than the last.
00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:19.600
And sometimes it is.
00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:20.720
Sometimes it works out.
00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:26.959
So yeah, it's interesting that you mentioned, right, that you learn from mistakes during your debut because behind the scenes, right?
00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:29.360
You know, as readers, we just we don't get that behind the scenes look.
00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:31.920
And so we think, oh, that debut must have gone perfectly, right?
00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:33.920
And that must be what's fueling their career.
00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:35.120
And it's so interesting, right?
00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:36.879
Because what you're hinting is no, right?
00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:38.800
Like there's a lot of trial and error here.
00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:39.759
Yeah, yeah.
00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:51.040
And I mean, for a while, at least, at least a year after I had like, you know, debuted as an author, I was very much on the promotional aspect of this is how to fail as an author.
00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:51.920
So don't do this.
00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:53.759
Don't don't don't do what I'm doing.
00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:57.519
Eventually we're gonna get, we're gonna get up there, but right now we're we're right here.
00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:01.920
So it's just about embracing where you currently are while working to where you want to get.
00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:10.000
And I think where so many people get lost is they get stuck here and they constantly look up there without seeing the advantages that are right in front of you.
00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:12.399
And there are advantages at being at rock bottom.
00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:13.759
You one, you're at rock bottom.
00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:14.959
You can't go any lower than that.
00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:17.120
So you have all of these like opportunities.
00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:21.519
If you turn around and you look around, like, well, here's a little one here, here's a little one here.
00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:26.480
And it just puts you in uncomfortable situations, and that is where growth happens a hundred percent of the time.
00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:27.439
That's so interesting.
00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:30.720
You know, and one of the things you allude to right there, right, is is perseverance, right?
00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:32.639
Because let's say the first time doesn't go well.
00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:35.040
That doesn't mean that you're never gonna be an author, right?
00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:36.800
Or you're never gonna be a successful author.
00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:40.079
It means you have to try something new and you have to learn and you have to grow.
00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:42.000
And that is such an important message.
00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:42.639
Absolutely.
00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:43.040
Yes.
00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:43.439
Yeah.
00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:47.519
If it doesn't work the first time, it might work the second or the third or the fourth or the fifth.
00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:49.279
But you'll never know if you don't keep going.
00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:49.759
Yes.
00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:50.639
Well, exactly.
00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:53.600
And we do have a lot of aspiring authors who listen to the show.
00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:55.199
And I think for them as well, right?
00:07:55.279 --> 00:08:00.240
It's it's this mentality of if my first book doesn't sell or doesn't do well, that's it.
00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:00.639
Right.
00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:02.720
Like it's it's mic drop over for me.
00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:06.160
And what what we're starting to, you know, see with other authors too, right?
00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:11.600
Is that maybe their first book did terribly, but their fourth book, right, might be like this huge bestseller.
00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:14.720
And so I love, I love the message even that you have, right?
00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:18.000
Which is like keep going, keep doing it because you're gonna learn and you're gonna grow.
00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:18.480
Absolutely.
00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:18.879
Yep.
00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:23.600
And, you know, having gone through that, right, and kind of seem not what to do.
00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:28.879
Do you have any advice or tips for our aspiring authors as they're navigating this space?
00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:34.720
Be careful who you trust and who you choose to work with in the publishing industry.
00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:51.840
Um, a lot of times, especially with, you know, agents and publishing houses and even people on your street team or when you send out arcs, you just you want to be very, very mindful that you are protecting your your literature, your work, and investing it in people that also have its best interest in mind.
00:08:51.919 --> 00:09:00.240
That is probably one of the biggest things that I have learned is to just really, yes, you want your book to go far and wide, but you know, at what cost?
00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:02.320
You wanna protect that process.
00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:09.759
You want to cultivate it in you want to trust good people with your book, which I know sounds silly because you're like, okay, well, who are those people?
00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:12.399
You'll know them when you come across them.
00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:13.840
I love it.
00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:15.120
They know it when you see it vibe.
00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:15.679
Yeah.
00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:17.279
Just like, hmm.
00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:17.919
Yeah.
00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:23.600
So just a big one is just to be mindful of of who you trust your work with, would would be my biggest advice.
00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:24.720
You know, it's it's interesting.
00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:27.519
We've never had anybody say that before when we've asked the question.
00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:35.120
And and I think it's so important because I have seen like on social media and threads authors talking about how they're getting scammed, right?
00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:38.639
Like people from quote unquote literary agencies, right, who who aren't there, right?
00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:40.480
Reaching out, getting scammed that way.
00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:44.639
And then some of their work's like getting pirated from people on their ARC or their street team.
00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:45.120
Yeah.
00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:51.600
Um, I for my debut, I had someone that I had hired as an editor and she wasn't a real editor.
00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:54.720
Um, and I didn't know this until after I had paid her in full.
00:09:54.879 --> 00:10:00.320
She's like, all right, you know, finish submitting the payment, and then I will go ahead and send the edits over to you.
00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:01.279
And I did.
00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:02.879
And I got my edits back.
00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:14.639
And I mean, the amount of just grammatical errors that were right there, her only comment as far as dev edits go were, you have your character drinking chocolate milk, but in chapter two, you mentioned they're lactose intolerant.
00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:15.360
I kid you not.
00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:19.039
That was the only developmental edit that they had in the whole book.
00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:20.399
And I'm like, no.
00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:32.480
Um and then the beginning of this year, I had stumbled upon a post, and I won't name any names, but um, she had she started advertising my book, but she was pitching it as her own.
00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:37.759
And because we had worked with someone, the same person, um, I had started to get like a really bad feeling.
00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:39.840
And I'm like, okay, I'm just gonna keep an eye on this.
00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:42.320
And, you know, hopefully it's not what I think it is.
00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:45.919
But as she started to post more and more about her book, I'm like, that's my book.
00:10:46.080 --> 00:10:48.240
Like someone gave her the idea for my book.
00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:52.320
And I really like that panic starts to set in, and you're like, what can I do about this?
00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:54.159
And a lot of the times the answer is nothing.
00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:57.600
Like there's, you know, unless it's a PayPal service that you can go and dispute.
00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:08.320
And in these cases, when it comes to ideas and it comes to, you know, the integrity of your story, there is so very little that you can do about it when someone else takes it and runs with it.
00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:12.799
So I gave myself 120 seconds to be very, very, very, very angry.
00:11:12.960 --> 00:11:14.720
Um I just remember the look on my husband's face.
00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:15.840
He's like, that's a lot of anger.
00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:18.879
And I'm just like, just let me get it out of my system right now.
00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:21.200
And then we're just gonna go full steam ahead.
00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:23.519
And I decided to take it as a compliment.
00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:27.039
I was just like, okay, this tells me that I have something that's good.
00:11:27.200 --> 00:11:29.600
This tells me that this book is going somewhere.
00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:35.679
If someone likes it so much that they're going to take the premise and try to make it their own, this tells me I'm doing something right.
00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:37.919
So I'm like, I'm gonna invest in this.
00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:46.480
Cause for a little while, not another happily ever after was really just gonna be my anti-tropes, my my fun, my book on vibes type deal.
00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:50.720
You know, like just something that I wrote to get all the antsy feelings out.
00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:51.440
Yeah.
00:11:51.679 --> 00:12:00.000
And when this happened, it kind of just shifted my perspective to this is fun, to this is something I should take seriously because other people want it.
00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:00.559
And I did.
00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:04.960
And once I changed into that mindset, this book has gone farther than I ever thought it would.
00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:07.519
So yeah, definitely be careful of who you trust.
00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:09.279
Um, but also believe in yourself.
00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:15.440
Even when things go wrong, or you know, you do make the mistake of trusting the wrong people, it's not the end of the world.
00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:20.000
Give yourself like 120 seconds to be really, really mad about it and then continue forward.
00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:21.360
Love that you didn't quit, right?
00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:26.000
Because how easy would it have been to say, somebody else stole my idea, I'm shelving it.
00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:27.679
I, you know, I have to go do something new.
00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:28.639
Yep.
00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:28.960
Yep.
00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:31.679
I love, I love that you did not give into that.
00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:32.879
No, no, definitely not.
00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:35.200
I was like, wow, now I wanted even more.
00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:36.639
I'm gonna go over this.
00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:37.440
Yeah.
00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:39.279
No, that that is incredible.
00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:42.320
And it's, you know, it's it's a scary time out there for an author, right?
00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:48.159
Because even if you trust the wrong people, they could be people, um, you know, even editors, right, inserting AI into your book without your knowledge.
00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:50.879
I mean, we've seen that happen this year and you know, other things like that.
00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:55.759
So I I just I love that advice because I think it's something a lot of people don't consider.
00:12:55.919 --> 00:13:03.200
We think, oh, hype for our book is awesome versus is this person gonna go and you know take this idea and sell it over here or their, you know, XYZ place?
00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:05.679
So yeah, I think that's that's amazing.
00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:11.279
And and I'm I'm so curious too, because um, you know, you, as you mentioned, right, you like to cross genres.
00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:20.000
And so, so what what has inspired, you know, all of the different, you know, like sci-fi versus like an enchanted, like Tim Burton-esque world?
00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:23.600
How do you how do you switch between all of those different genres so seamlessly?
00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:24.799
ADHD.
00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:27.919
Definitely ADHD.
00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:32.879
But also, I'm a mood reader and I'm like, well, I'm a mood reader, I should just be a mood writer.
00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:37.679
And you know, there are different genres that require different types of writing styles.
00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:45.039
And being that I went from being a journalist to a fiction writer, I was like, I think, I think I have what it takes to switch over styles.
00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:46.960
And even if I don't, I'm gonna try it.
00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:51.360
So I started writing, you know, the sci-fi dystopian, which was last year.
00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:53.840
And I feel like my debut held up pretty well.
00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:55.919
But I wanted to challenge myself a little bit more.
00:13:56.000 --> 00:14:02.399
I was like, okay, I'm gonna make a book full of antitropes, just all of all of the opposites of what's trending right now, just to see if I can.
00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:07.360
But I want to put like a medieval twist on it and, you know, make it more fairy tale-esque.
00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:11.200
And I started writing it and I got into a groove and I'm like, oh, okay, I can do this too.
00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:21.440
And then as I was writing that, I had this like this idea of, okay, well, now I want to pop back over to contemporary, because I was reading a book that was contemporary, and I'm like, oh, this is like this is inspiring me to do that.
00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:25.120
So I put not another happily ever doubt for like a month and started working on that one.
00:14:25.200 --> 00:14:29.840
And it's just it has been uh a series of ADHD and mood writing for sure.
00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:30.720
I love that.
00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:31.600
Oh my gosh.
00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:37.840
And you know, it's so funny because when I was a law professor, like, and even a lawyer, everyone would tell you, like, you have to stay in your lane, right?
00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:39.360
You have to pick one area of law, right?
00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:42.480
Or one subject that you're teaching, and you can't be like this jack of all trades.
00:14:42.559 --> 00:14:44.000
And I would always be like, but why?
00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:46.320
Like, if I'm good at it, why can't I?
00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:48.480
And here you are, like, same thing, right?
00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:50.799
I'm good at it, so therefore I'm gonna do it all.
00:14:51.039 --> 00:14:51.919
Yeah, yeah.
00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:55.120
Yeah, it's very much like I want to see what I can do.
00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:57.679
So the best way to do that is to just do it.
00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:06.399
So that's kind of been my mentality of I've been encouraging the ADHD, which you know, in all cases, that's not the best idea.
00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:08.240
But in this case, it's it's working out pretty well.
00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:09.759
You know, it's it's so funny too, right?
00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:11.840
Because we tell kids, right, you can be anything that you want to be.
00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:13.919
And then when we're adult, we're like, you can't be that.
00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:15.360
You have to be this one thing.
00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:25.440
And so I just when I talk to you, I just get this sense of somebody who is is just like pushing back against all of that, going back into like, I can be anything, I can do anything, and I'm going to.
00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:27.440
And I just think that's so empowering.
00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:28.720
Thank you.
00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:29.840
Oh my gosh, of course.
00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:40.000
And we also, I know we will we will dive into not another happily ever after momentarily, but we gotta talk about the cover because that is gorgeous and amazing.
00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:43.440
And I'm so curious, what did that design process look like for you?
00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:49.120
So I had I had worked with a different artist last year on a different cover, like the a cover for this book.
00:15:49.279 --> 00:15:51.200
And I just, I didn't love it.
00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:54.399
It wasn't, and there's, you know, there was nothing wrong with what the artist did.
00:15:54.559 --> 00:16:00.879
She did her interpretation of the idea that I had, but when I saw it, I was just like, this isn't, this isn't fitting the image in my head.
00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:03.440
Like, I'm, you know, it's not, it's not translating.
00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:11.759
And no matter how many times we kind of went back and forth on that process, I was like, I just don't think, I don't think that my vision is is ever going to fit in this person's head.
00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:17.039
And that's why I was just like, okay, I'll take this, put it for this, put it to the side for right now, and then I'm gonna do some shopping.
00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:21.759
And I went and it was actually Gresham Powell's cover for her books that I saw.
00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:26.159
And I was like, I I like that, but I'd want it with a more Tim Burton twist.
00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:29.519
So I reach out to her cover artist and was like, I love your style.
00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.279
I've been stalking your social media.
00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:36.399
And I was just like, I'm curious, could you do something like this, but make it Tim Burton?
00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:39.600
And as soon as I said Tim Burton, she was like full speed ahead.
00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:45.279
I she she she popped me in, um, squeezed me into her schedule and she's like, I'm so excited for this.
00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:53.120
And then I gave her, I think, three key defining sentences where I was just like, Thank Ella Enchanted meets haunting Adeline, but in a Tim Burton world.
00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:58.639
I was just like, I want this cover to be very love story-esque, but also kind of tragical.
00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:02.639
And I was like, and I want it to be vibrant and and fairy tale.
00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:10.960
I was like, I really want it to lean in like the fairy tale direction, not so much the fantasy, because you know, I was like, those are those are the fantasy is such a big genre.
00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:14.240
I was like, I don't want it to be confused for a fantasy or a romantic.
00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:23.200
I want it to be its own thing, but I want it to be in line with, you know, like the like the pretty fantasy vibes that other people are doing, if that makes sense.
00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:24.720
Makes total sense.
00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:25.039
Yeah.
00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:26.640
Sometimes my mind goes on the tangent.
00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:34.319
I'm like, I don't know if if I'm speaking too fast or if I make sense because in my head I'm like, yeah, this is this is totally, this is going smoothly.
00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:36.640
And then I'll be like, it's perfect.
00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:43.200
I'm literally staring at the cover right now as we talk, and like I can see every element that you just said in this cover.
00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:50.720
Like I can see the Ella Enchanted, I can see the Tim Burton vibes, but still in a romanticy cover that's gonna attract attention.
00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:51.839
I see all of that here.
00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:55.200
And it was there's gosh, there is so much symbolism in this story.
00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:59.039
So like you'll see the apples, you'll see the spider, and there's like all these little details.
00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:02.880
You're like, oh, this is just a pretty little, you know, addition, but it all means something.
00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:04.960
It's all very relevant to the story.
00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:09.839
And like you'll see the little ghosts, you'll see the castle in the background, and you'll see the what there's one in her dress.
00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:12.960
And then you'll see that like part of her dress is like a light.
00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:18.319
And it's just, yeah, there are so many details that people won't realize about it until after they've read the book.
00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:22.000
And then they'll, you know, they'll shut the book and they'll look at the cover and be like, that makes sense.
00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:22.640
That makes sense.
00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:24.400
Oh my gosh, it ties together now.
00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:26.799
So yeah, it was it was such a fun.
00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:28.160
Yeah, yeah.
00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:33.039
It's like an Easter egg on the cover that people don't know that they're looking at yet until after they've read it.
00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:34.319
So exactly.
00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:36.160
I love it.
00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:42.079
I just sorry, I know, I know we've gone off on the cover and we haven't even talked about the book yet, but I love it.
00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:44.319
But yeah, I promise we will talk about the book.
00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:49.279
So for our listeners just discovering not another happily ever after, can you tell us what it's about?
00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:51.839
We have all the vibes, but what is it actually about?
00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:58.400
So it takes place after the great slang of the fairy godmother, the evil fairy godmother.
00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:12.319
Uh, because in this world, she is known to be this evil person because she had sided with the Red Hoods, which are these very well-known anti-royal rebels, and she was using magic to go against the kings of ruin and riches.
00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:14.880
And she had actually been married to the king of riches.
00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:16.799
So, you know, there's a little bit of lore there.
00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:27.359
And before she was slain, she had written a curse or a spell because the people that came to her home and set it afire did so knowing that her child, like her infant child, was in the house with her.
00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:31.680
So she wrote this big, big curse over the realm of riches and ruin.
00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:35.759
And you get up to this point, and we're like in present day with Sunday.
00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:42.480
And it's told from her perspective, she is now this 20-year-old woman who has only known the realm that's, you know, been underneath this curse.
00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:43.920
She hasn't known anything differently.
00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:49.920
And her family, her dad, the king of ruin, has been trying to break the curse for years.
00:19:50.079 --> 00:20:01.359
She was she was slain, she's a very evil godmother, um, slain for working with the Red Hoods, and wrote the curse because the people that came after her did so, knowing that her infant was going to be in the house with her.
00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:07.039
And she basically called for like an eye for an eye, like a life for a life, and a daughter for the firstborn son.
00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:11.839
And they took the the the realm of riches and ruin, took this curse very literally.
00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:24.160
So that is why Sunday is this pieced apart, corpse bride-inspired character, because she has literally been sacrificed multiple times, but for whatever reason, this curse keeps protecting her.
00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:27.599
So when her, you know, when her throat was, she didn't, she didn't die.
00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:31.920
When her eye, she lost one of the eyes, as the curse called for an eye for an eye.
00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:32.880
They took one of her eyes.
00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:34.000
She survived that as well.
00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:37.920
Like there is so much that's happened to her that is uh unexplainable.
00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:44.319
And they're kind of getting to this turning point because the curse has protected her for so long, but it's starting to fade.
00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:47.200
And they don't know why it's starting to fade, like the protection that it had over her.
00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:50.000
So they're thinking we're running out of time, we've tried everything.
00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:56.079
Our last ditch effort is to go based on the last line of the curse, which is the heart of a daughter into the hands of the firstborn son.
00:20:56.240 --> 00:21:03.279
And since the curse was cast, the king of riches remarried and they had a son, Prince Charming, the not so charming prince.
00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:10.000
And he comes up with this idea that in order to break the curse, she needs to be with him.
00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:12.079
So this is where the story starts.
00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:19.839
And Sunday is called to go and marry the not-so-charming prince, but he hasn't been very kind to her, so she's very reluctant to do this.
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:26.960
She knows that in order to save, save her people, to set everything back to the way it was before she was born, this is what she needs to do.
00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:34.400
So she's accepted her fate, but she's reluctant to give over the last piece of herself that, you know, has been untouched, which is her heart.
00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:44.960
And on this journey, she is with Frog, who is the painfully shy mass knight and his band, his band of Goonie inspired knights, and they are they are quite the cast.
00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:45.759
They are so fun.
00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:52.319
And they they have been tasked with delivering her from Castle A to Castle B through this disenchanted forest.
00:21:52.480 --> 00:22:01.039
And along the way, they stumble upon all of these different places and people and creatures that have been affected by the Curse differently.
00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:06.400
And she kind of looks at the world first in wonder because she's never been outside of the castle.
00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:11.119
And where everything has been turned and twisted because of this curse, she sees beauty in it.
00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:18.880
And she is kind of showing the people around her to see the beauty in what is instead of just reminiscing on what was.
00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:28.480
And in her doing so, in her accepting places for what they are now, for what they've had to become to survive, they start to see a shift in how the world is working around them.
00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:31.920
They start to see almost, almost like a reversal.
00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:40.720
And in this process, she starts to fall for the painfully shy masked knight who may or may not be hiding more than just his face.
00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:42.400
He has his own secrets.
00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:48.559
And there is a, without you know, spoiling too much, there is a part of the story where they get very, very close.
00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:50.720
And it's, I don't want to spoil too much.
00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:54.559
I'm like, how much of this can I share without just like giving away the whole story?
00:22:54.720 --> 00:22:55.039
I do.
00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:56.240
I'm I'm so entranced.
00:22:56.480 --> 00:22:58.480
I'm like, tell me all of it.
00:22:59.359 --> 00:23:00.960
I will, I will say this.
00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:03.440
So they they stop in this this place.
00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:09.039
It's called the town of Marionette, where like every every bargain, every deal comes with strings attached.
00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:10.319
And there's a library there.
00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:14.480
And in this library, there are codex creatures, and there's only ever two at a time.
00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:15.680
They're called inklings.
00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:17.920
One tells the truth and one only tells lies.
00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:27.920
And she has a conversation with these creatures, and they tell her something or they reveal something to her that she doesn't know if it's truth or a lie because no one can tell them apart.
00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:35.680
So she's left to ponder this while the knights are gathering supplies, while they're getting things that they need to get in order to continue on the journey.
00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:41.039
She's left to ponder and wander in, you know, this disenchanted world, which is a very dangerous thing to do.
00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:42.240
And she does this.
00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:46.480
She's like, hmm, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go through, I'm gonna go through the knights things.
00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:52.079
And she starts to go through the frog's bag and she finds red ribbon.
00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:58.799
And this is very important because, as you, you know, you see on the cover in a lot of the character art, she's wearing a red ribbon.
00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:02.559
And this, without spoiling anything, it's something that is very sentimental to her.
00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:08.000
And when she finds the red ribbon in the bag, it almost solidifies something that the inklings said.
00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:10.000
So now she's like, Who is he?
00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:10.960
Who is he really?
00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:11.920
Who is he to me?
00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:19.759
And when she questions him about it, he almost like brushes it off and he doesn't, you know, he doesn't answer her directly, and that makes her mad, as it would anyone.
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:26.079
And she storms off and she sees this little girl being tricked into a deal with this older gentleman.
00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:30.400
And she steps in and she's like, Oh no no, like, and he tells her, Well, he she owes me.
00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:32.880
And he should and Sunday's like, I'll take it from here.
00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:36.160
And the knights come out, they're like, No, why would you do that?
00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:43.839
Because in this town, in this town, it's there are magical chains and magical strings that you will become attached to if you make these deals.
00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:54.240
So Frog, like in a last ditch effort to to keep her from being bound to the town of Marionette, has to like take her and run into this Griever's um the Griever's garden, which is this deadly rose maze.
00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:56.240
And I'm explaining so much.
00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:57.519
Oh sorry.
00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:00.559
I'm like, God, I'm like, where is this book right now?
00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:01.599
I need to read it.
00:25:01.759 --> 00:25:03.920
It's like, oh wait, she's she asked for a synopsis.
00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:05.759
I feel like this is way more than a synopsis.
00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:07.440
I get really excited when I talk about it.
00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:08.559
But this is gold.
00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:10.160
This is gold right here.
00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:18.960
She he pulls her into this deadly rose maze, and they there's kind of this opportunity for her to get even closer to him.
00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:24.000
And under the guise of like uh, well, I don't want the I don't want the prince to be my first kiss.
00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:24.559
Yeah.
00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:26.240
Understandably so, you know what I mean?
00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:27.440
He's not a very nice guy.
00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:32.960
And the prince, you know, being that he's adored her for years, like he is just hopelessly devoted to her.
00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:35.759
He's like, okay, but you have to promise to keep your eyes closed.
00:25:35.920 --> 00:25:36.640
Of course, she does.
00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:40.160
And then she has like one of these behind her back, um, because this is her plan.
00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:43.119
She wants to know if what she was told is the truth.
00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:46.559
And um, they like they they shared this really cute moment, but I won't spoil.
00:25:46.640 --> 00:25:51.759
Uh, but when she but then she opens her eyes, and sure enough, one of the inklings was telling the truth.
00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:55.440
So it's this, it's it's almost turning point.
00:25:55.519 --> 00:26:01.519
And then everything kind of, I don't want to say, I don't want to say goes downhill, but everything shifts after that.
00:26:01.680 --> 00:26:11.599
There are more truths revealed to Frog about Sunday's circumstances, and it kind of puts him in a position to make a choice, his heart or hers type deal.
00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:14.319
And of course, he chooses to to spare hers.
00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:19.519
And of course, yeah, it just puts them in an impossible position.
00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:21.279
And there will be a book too.
00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:47.680
So but yes, yes, there is there is a second part, but I think I gave more than the synopsis, but that's like, you know, the the gist of this story is it's it's really just about like adventure and finding the beauty in what is, and then you know, just seeing what can come of showing kindness to places, creatures, and people who otherwise may not have had it before, who've not experienced it before.
00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:49.920
My gosh, where is this board?
00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:51.200
I cannot wait for it.
00:26:51.839 --> 00:26:53.119
It's killing me.
00:26:53.440 --> 00:27:00.160
This is like everything that I want in a book, all wrapped up into one gorgeously packaged cover right there.
00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:03.119
Oh my gosh.
00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:08.319
Okay, I just need to sit with that for a moment because wow, I have all of the feelings right now.
00:27:08.640 --> 00:27:15.359
And it sounds like such such a well-rounded cast of characters, too, where everyone is like so unique, right?
00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:16.880
Everybody's got the hidden secrets.
00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:19.279
We don't have any like 2D flat characters.
00:27:19.359 --> 00:27:22.160
Like, I want to know more about everyone that you have mentioned already.
00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:22.960
Yes, yes.
00:27:23.119 --> 00:27:27.200
So there is her brother, and her brother, there may or may not be a spinoff of her brother.
00:27:27.440 --> 00:27:30.000
And he is he is her older brother.
00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:46.319
And he there are so many times where he wants to step in, where he has seen the mistreatment of Sunday and seen what they're doing, and he knows, like, he knows about the prince, but he can't because his father is holding his love interest in their prison beneath his pr his his love interest is Ella.
00:27:46.400 --> 00:27:50.559
And um, she came from the burned down castle of Cinder.
00:27:50.799 --> 00:28:00.960
Um, so you can see there's a couple different fairy tales being referenced here, which is uh a kingdom that his father destroyed, you know, hence castle, castle ruin, kingdom ruin.
00:28:01.039 --> 00:28:04.000
They have a history of just completely demolishing things.
00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:08.000
And she, Ella, actually plays a very important role in this story as well.
00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:08.880
She will pop up.
00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:13.039
You'll hear mention of her in the beginning of the book, and you'll see her at the end of the book.
00:28:13.119 --> 00:28:16.720
I won't I won't spoil anything, but she she also plays a very important role.
00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:23.839
And then you have the knights, you have the twins who are American Merton, and one of them is a b bug collecting knight.
00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:30.480
So he's very, he's very knowledgeable about all of these, you know, creatures and these plants and the bugs.
00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:32.480
And anytime Sunday's like, oh, what's this?
00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:33.759
He's like, Don't touch that.
00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:34.480
That's this.
00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:42.000
And he'll, you know, he'll go into his little tangent, or he'll be like, or she'll like be caught in wonder staring at something, and he'll kind of like buddy up next to her and be like, Oh, yeah, that's this.
00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:45.839
And you just they have this really cute dynamic of like, she's like, Oh, what's this?
00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:46.240
What's this?
00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:46.559
What's this?
00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:51.759
And he'll humor her every time because he's just so excited to have someone to share this passion with.
00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:53.839
Um, and he's the total opposite of his twin.
00:28:53.920 --> 00:28:57.440
His twin is very much like a womanizer, and you know, he gets slapped in one of the books.
00:28:57.519 --> 00:28:58.640
He's like, Oh, I think I'm in love.
00:28:58.720 --> 00:28:59.279
You know what I mean?
00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:02.720
Like, he's just, he just really wants love.
00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:08.400
He's he's very much like a lover boy, and he uh he's never like he's never like that with Sunday.
00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:18.400
He he kind of sees the way that Frog is around her, and he's you know, he's like, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna steal your woman from underneath you, even though I totally could that type of a relationship.
00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:21.599
But he's just he's so fun and he he brings Sunday out of her shell.
00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:23.039
He's like, I'm gonna teach you how to be a woman.
00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:25.200
And every all the nights are like, that's a horrible idea.
00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:25.839
Don't listen to him.
00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:26.960
And he's like, No, come here.
00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:30.720
And he's like, Well, I'll sh I'll teach you how to dance and we'll have we'll have fun.
00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:31.839
We'll have fun around the fire.
00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:36.960
And it's and then there is um there is Wolf, and he is Frog's best friend.
00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:43.119
Like that is that is his second in command, and he is more mysterious, and he's he also plays a very important role in the story, though.
00:29:43.200 --> 00:30:00.240
I won't I won't give it away because it is it is a part of like a huge twist, but he is more laid back and he's more observant and he's kind of watching and he's he knows, you know, frog's feelings because frog confides in him and you know he's watching Sunday and he's watching how Sunday's falling for Frog.
00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:09.759
And it's he he has concern on on both sides and he has, you know, not beliefs, but he just he wants things to work out a certain way.
00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:10.640
Yeah.
00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:19.599
And he he is there to ensure that Frog doesn't step out of line and doesn't step in, step in the way of how things should be.
00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:23.759
He is very much that like, I'm gonna morally direct you type character.
00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:25.279
And then you have Ridland.
00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:27.759
And Ridland, Ridland has kind of a sad arc.
00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:30.640
Like this, this book is this, there is sad parts in this book.
00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:34.720
So Rydland, I am overly attached to because my stepdad was just awesome.
00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:36.640
And Ridland is kind of like that to her.
00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:41.920
Like her parents, her mother was kind of like an alcoholic, like it that's referenced in the book.
00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:43.599
So, you know, she's kind of aloof.
00:30:43.759 --> 00:30:46.880
I mean, she's married to a man that destroys things for fun.
00:30:47.119 --> 00:30:55.119
So, you know, and she kind of she started drinking after she had Sunday because she knew that this daughter was always going to be taken from her.
00:30:55.200 --> 00:30:57.359
So she's like, you know, distanced herself from Sunday.
00:30:57.440 --> 00:31:02.240
So Sunday never, she never really had parents and she leaned very heavily into the people around her.
00:31:02.319 --> 00:31:19.359
So like her handmaiden Peenie, which is this older lady, you get to see like cute moments with her in the very beginning of the book where she's dressing Sunday and she's getting, you know, she's getting teary-eyed as she's fixing her hair and her makeup because this is a woman that's watched her grow up and and and likewise, like Sunday watched her grow old.
00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:24.559
And and then you have Ridland, who has been her guard and kind of like a father to her almost all her life.
00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:26.799
He's he's the one that stood outside her door.
00:31:26.880 --> 00:31:31.680
He is he is the one that's kept her secrets when she ran outside the castle to hang out with her ghost best friend.
00:31:31.759 --> 00:31:42.400
Um like he he has always been there for her, and he had it so that for his before he retired, he wanted to be the one to help escort her to the other castle.
00:31:42.559 --> 00:31:53.759
So he is also on this journey, and he's the one that will break out the guitar and play the music, and he's just he's very much like a fatherly figure to her, and and they have a very, very close, very close bond.
00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:54.480
I love that.
00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:56.480
I love that found family aspect here too.
00:31:56.720 --> 00:31:57.599
Yes, yeah.
00:31:57.920 --> 00:32:01.920
I I think that's just like that always gives me the warm and fuzzy vibes for it.
00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:07.920
Yeah, but it's there are so many fun characters in this book, and there's like a pocket-sized dragon.
00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:08.880
Oh my god.
00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:13.920
Yeah, and he like he'll he cla they named him buttons because he'll he'll steal you, he'll steal your buttons.
00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:17.200
Whereas most dragons are like, you know, they're attracted to stuff that's shiny.
00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:22.400
This one just likes buttons, which is why Frog ended up keeping him because he's just a quirky little dragon.
00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:23.680
So yeah.
00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:25.200
I need character art of that.
00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:25.839
That's adorable.
00:32:26.160 --> 00:32:28.559
I know I was like, I don't have any buttons.
00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:29.680
I'm gonna need to do that.
00:32:29.920 --> 00:32:30.880
You're gonna need to do that.
00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:31.519
Absolutely.
00:32:31.680 --> 00:32:33.119
We are all gonna want to see buttons.
00:32:33.440 --> 00:32:34.240
Oh my gosh.
00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:35.200
I love that.
00:32:35.440 --> 00:32:39.359
I'm curious for you, what was the hardest scene to write for this book?
00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:44.960
Because it sounds like there's so many like heavy hitter scenes here, but also like all the emotions through every scene.
00:32:45.119 --> 00:32:46.079
What was hardest for you?
00:32:46.319 --> 00:33:01.359
Gosh, probably in the in the beginning of the book, one of the scenes that was a little bit harder, and it's not as heavy hitting as some of the other ones, but like it's it's personal to me where she has to like say goodbye to Xander, which is her older brother, you know, that he wants to be there, but he can't.
00:33:01.440 --> 00:33:01.680
Yeah.
00:33:01.839 --> 00:33:08.160
And so she has to, you know, she has to say goodbye to him and she has to say goodbye to the only family that, you know, that she's ever had.
00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:11.920
And that was kind of hard, just with, you know, with my personal experience.
00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:18.720
And then later in the book, with Ridland, there is a scene that's very heartbreaking that just it like I cried, I sob the whole time I'm writing.
00:33:18.799 --> 00:33:21.119
I'm like, why am I doing this to myself?
00:33:21.359 --> 00:33:27.440
But, you know, it's just some scenes like the devastation on almost makes the story more beautiful, you know.
00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:28.559
Like it's yeah.
00:33:28.720 --> 00:33:35.359
I I think that in order to really appreciate the beauty of life, you have to accept that it comes with tragedy.
00:33:35.440 --> 00:33:40.960
And you you will see that theme reoccurring a lot in this story, hence the title, not another happily ever after.
00:33:41.039 --> 00:33:57.119
So that and and probably the this one wasn't like heavy in the way that it was sad, but Sunday goes to Dyer Shire, which is the the village outside of her castle, like down the mountain of her castle, and she sees her people for the first time.
00:33:57.279 --> 00:34:01.599
And where her knights are like, you know, they're pushing, they're pushing them back, they're trying to keep her away.
00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:04.640
She she is going, she's willingly going into the crowd.
00:34:04.799 --> 00:34:10.159
She is, she is letting them like pull at her and stuff because she she's like, I can't give these people anything, but I can see them.
00:34:10.320 --> 00:34:12.800
Like I can choose to see, see what they've been through.
00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:23.599
And like as they're doing that, there's this moment where one of them rips away the ribbon from her neck and they see the scar on her neck and they realize that she, she like they haven't been left to suffer alone, that she's been suffering with them.
00:34:23.760 --> 00:34:29.119
And there's almost like this, it kind of puts them on an equal playing field of I am you, you are me.
00:34:29.360 --> 00:34:30.000
Yeah.
00:34:30.239 --> 00:34:36.719
And that you will see Sunday has that kind of effect everywhere she goes, is she's like, I'm not, I'm not better than you.
00:34:36.960 --> 00:34:37.679
I am you.
00:34:37.840 --> 00:34:44.639
And that is kind of what connects her to every place and every creature and just even the environments she goes into.
00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:47.679
They have a way of just swaying in her direction.
00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:48.559
I love that.
00:34:48.639 --> 00:34:48.960
Yeah.
00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:51.840
My gosh, I could talk to you forever about this book.
00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:54.320
I'm literally dying to get my hands on it.
00:34:54.480 --> 00:34:57.840
I'm gonna be a corpse bride myself and like sell body parts for it.
00:34:58.079 --> 00:34:58.480
Oh my gosh.
00:34:58.559 --> 00:35:02.239
But um, AR, tell us like when we can find this book and where we can find it.
00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:04.559
So it's in uh a couple different bookshops right now.
00:35:04.639 --> 00:35:07.679
It's in the Crafty Bookstore, The Enchanted Raven.
00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:10.159
Uh, ebooks are available on Amazon.
00:35:10.239 --> 00:35:11.360
All this is pre-orders.
00:35:11.519 --> 00:35:15.519
And then I have an Etsy for my own version of signed paperbacks.
00:35:15.599 --> 00:35:19.599
And I'm hoping to have paperbacks on Amazon closer to release.
00:35:19.679 --> 00:35:23.440
Amazon's kind of finicky on when they'll let you post paperbacks and pre-orders.
00:35:23.599 --> 00:35:32.960
And I think, I think for the moment, there may be, there may be a possibility of it going a bit wider, but I won't say, I won't say too much about that just yet.
00:35:33.199 --> 00:35:36.159
So as of right now, those those are the places people can get it.
00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:36.960
Yeah.
00:35:37.840 --> 00:35:38.559
I love it.
00:35:38.719 --> 00:35:42.239
Well, thank you so much for coming on the show with me today.
00:35:42.400 --> 00:35:43.599
This has been so exciting.
00:35:43.760 --> 00:35:45.119
I'm in love with your book.
00:35:45.360 --> 00:35:46.880
I cannot wait to pick it up.
00:35:47.039 --> 00:35:48.400
So just thank you so much.
00:35:48.559 --> 00:35:49.280
Yeah, absolutely.
00:35:49.440 --> 00:35:50.239
I've had so much fun.
00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:50.960
I have too.
00:35:51.039 --> 00:35:54.480
And to all of our listeners out there, thank you so much for tuning in.
00:35:54.639 --> 00:35:58.000
We know that you're gonna want to pick up this book, so go and pre-order now.
00:35:58.159 --> 00:35:59.360
You don't want to miss it.
00:35:59.599 --> 00:36:03.599
So just thank you all for tuning in, and we hope to see you at the next episode.
00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:04.159
Bye.
00:36:05.760 --> 00:36:08.800
That's it for this chapter of the Mythic Mike Podcast.
00:36:08.880 --> 00:36:10.719
But the adventure doesn't end here.
00:36:10.960 --> 00:36:18.800
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00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:19.679
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00:36:19.920 --> 00:36:26.400
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00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:29.280
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