Illicit Liaisons

Illicit Liaisons: Paranormal Romance with Author Annabella Lowe

• Jenna Harte • Season 2 • Episode 24

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This week, our guest host is author Annabella Lowe, and we're talking about bookish overconsumption, paranormal romance, Summerween, and more!

About Annabella Lowe:
Books have always been a passion for Annabella, who was raised on The Vampire Diaries, Shadowhunters, and Twilight, so it was no surprise that she started writing books that contained vampires—her first love! She published her first book, Find Me in the Shadows, in late 2024. She loves to blend genres to create something unique and add new and sinister twists to the paranormal mythology in her books. She has a talent for writing despicable villains, and she always aims, no matter the genre, to reveal the complexities of being human. Book Two of her series is coming out in 2027. She lives in a small town in the UK with her husband, teenage son, two spaniels, and a devious cat. She also has a photography business, and naturally she spends time writing, reading, and, more recently, learning to draw.

Annabella Website https://annabella-lowe.com/
Amazon Author Page https://amzn.to/4hoKufp
Annabella on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@annabella.lowe.author
Annabella on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/annabella.lowe.author/

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TENDER & TEMPTING TALES

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ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY

Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/

Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/

Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman
Editing: Jenna Harte

SPEAKER_02

Hello, romance readers. Welcome to Elicit Liaisons with Tender and Tempting Tales, where each week we discuss the good, the bad, and the naughty of romance fiction. I am Jenna Hart, one of your hosts and the author of the Southern Heat Contemporary Romance series, as well as the Sexy Valentine Mysteries. And I'm also the managing editor of Tender and Tempting Tales, a steamy romance anthology for readers who like quickies.

SPEAKER_00

Hi, I'm Tara Lederman, social media manager here at Tender and Tempting Tales, and Laura Maven, a main fiction writer for Starship Valkyrie, a science fiction game and story universe. I write science fiction stories, including romance, and you can often find me in our anthologies and on Substack.

SPEAKER_02

And we're very excited today that we have Annabelle Lowe. Books have always been a passion for her, who was raised on the Vampire Diaries, Shadow Hunters, and Twilight. Woo! So it's no surprise that when she started writing books that contained vampires, her first love, she produced her first book, Find Me in the Shadows, in late 2024. She loves to blend genres to create something unique and adds new and sinister twists to the paranormal mythology in her books. She has a talent for writing despicable villains, and she always aims, no matter the genre, to reveal the complexities of being human. Book two of her series is coming out in 2027. She lives in a small town in the UK with her husband, a teenage son, two Spaniels, and a devious cat. Is there any other kind of cat? Okay. She also has a photography business and naturally spends time writing, reading, and more recently learned to draw. Welcome, welcome, uh Annabelle, with us on the show. And I just also want to remind everybody that we will have links to Annabelle and books and all that kind of stuff in our show notes so that you'll be able to check all this cool vampire stuff out. So thank you for being with us. Thank you for having me. Yeah, we always like to start the show talking about gossip or news or you know, hot takes that is going on in the bookish side of the world. And one hot button issue that's been making the rounds lately is bookish overconsumption, particularly among the book talkers and the booktubers and the bookstogrammers doing book hauls and getting all the special editions. There's book boxes, swag, sprayed edges, uh, Barnes and Noble exclusives, all that kind of stuff. And we are just thinking about how that works, particularly for indie authors. Um you want to put out one book, but now you have to put out six versions of it, it seems like. So what what are all your guys' thoughts about this? Oh, this is a good one.

SPEAKER_04

Um I I think that I'm I'm gonna take it a little bit outside of the box here with this one. I have two have thoughts. I think that it's actually kind of quite a standard business model for a lot of things. Um just thinking with my son particularly, he's a Pokemon card collector, and from about four or five, he used to play on the Pokemon Go game, and they would be constant special edition events, etc. And I kind of think if they if there hadn't been all of that stuff, he probably would have just got bored and just it would have like the passion for it would have just fizzled out. Um and I think it's the same across kind of a lot of areas where there's you know collectible stuff or just things that people are passionate about, there's always got to be like something new, hasn't there, to keep it kind of going. So I I'm kind of of the opinion that uh it's a it's a bit of a chore, but it's it's kind of a necessary evil for the in terms of business.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, yeah, I I agree. I mean I make a lot of swag and merch for Starship Valkyrie, and one thing that we do is collectible challenge coins that we bring to con. So whenever we for every con we have a different ship that's running. So like one con they might be on the ERS Hydra and we'll have the challenge coin for the Hydra. Um, and another one they might be playing on the ERS Kraken, and so I'll bring the Kraken coin, that kind of thing. And and that's pretty exciting, you know. It's kind of fun in this day and age because people who make indie games, which we are, and indie books, which we also are, can get access to all these different ways of making swag, making merch. There's lots of different people making things, uh, you know, we have there's also a lot of machines you can get. We have a 3D printer, our friends have an etcher, and our uh we also have a resin printer that we want to play with to make little minis for our games and stuff, and that's all really fun. I think that indie folks are probably not contributing a huge amount to the overconsumption problem. I I do watch a lot of overconsumption YouTubers who do talk about this issue on the on the big side. And I, you know, lots of special editions at Barnes and Noble, all the different exclusives and stuff like that. I think that that's probably a little bit extra. And I do think it's hard for indie authors to keep up, you know. I remember when I put a book out with Tendered Details, and people immediately asked when we were gonna have an audiobook. And I had to remind people like the cost to access that is especially you want to do it ethically, is high. We need support on the book end first. And once we get really popular, we could do things like that. So it's kind of there's a little bit of like cart before the horse going on. I do see people doing really successful Kickstarters for book boxes, and those are really lovely, and they can access that manufacturing. That's really cool. I do find sprayed edges a little worrisome for myself because I'm hard on books. Elizabeth Wheatley talked about this, where she was like, Man, I'm really hard on books. The sprayed edges are the first thing to go, and I have the same problem. Like, I couldn't read a book with sprayed edges, but I know other people are really gentle with their books, and that's a lovely thing for them. So it just really depends on how you are with your books, if a sprayed edge is for you. How about you, Jenna?

SPEAKER_02

Well, I at first I'm thinking of all the booktubers and book talkers, and they need content to talk about, and so they have books, but then okay, are they just gonna talk about books? Well, you know, I gotta go get books. Why don't I film myself getting books? So and then somebody else sees it. Oh, that's cool. I'm gonna do that online, and and then after a while it's a thing, right? And and the bookish world wouldn't be the only one that has that. And so now somebody who might want to be a booktuber or book talker or whatever now is like, holy crap, I gotta go out and buy all these books, right? Like, how do I compete with people? Um, and I've seen plenty. Bee is one of them. We had B on our show who uh goes into used bookstores and does a haul on all the old books and stuff. I I think it's just a matter of the world we live in and the content and stuff like that. In terms of the special overconsumption on the book by by the book influencers, you know, they have to have content so and they have to find ways to do it to keep it fresh and interesting. So the book calls, the special editions. I also have seen people where they do love that stuff, like your son. It's like, I'm gonna buy this version out of the UK because it's different than the version I can buy here in the US. Oh, the author has this special thing and they're gonna have all these little cool doodads. I'm gonna get that too because I love this. I love this. And I don't want to say every person in the world has something like this, but it just seems like all of us might have something in their lives where we would be like, yeah, I want that extra version of it. Whatever it is, right? Whatever your hobby is. I don't think it's unreasonable if people love something that they would want to have all the specials that go with it. So my only concern is when we when we see other booktubers or other YouTubers or whoever saying these book people are overconsuming, they're overconsuming books, right? Like books! You know, I mean the other side of that are people are saying people aren't reading enough, and but here are people, and I I am the first person to say that I collect books more than I read them. I I have so many books that have yet to be read, and I I will buy more, and I'm not gonna be sorry for it.

SPEAKER_00

I don't think that books massively contribute to the overconsumption problem. I think if we want to talk about overconsumption, we should go after Shein. You know, I think that's the main source of a lot of overconsumption, like from what I can see, is people with huge Shein hauls. Like that is that's a that's deeply problematic. I could totally see that. Or decorating the Stanley's, I could see that being a problem eventually. I mean, it's a lot of Etsy stuff, so I don't know how much of a problem is. I can see why people are like very activated by it, though, to be honest.

SPEAKER_02

The thing that I find interesting is I am from a generation that was was materialistic. We were encouraged to have a bunch of stuff. My my children are not that. My son lives in Brooklyn, so he lives in a place that's this big. So he doesn't have room for stuff. But my daughter has room for stuff, and a lot of times she'll say, I don't want more stuff in my house, except books. But even then, she listens to a lot of audio and she does read on devices, so she only owns very specific books. They seem to, when they when we're like, What do you want for your birthday or whatever? They want something that would give them an experience, which isn't usually stuff.

SPEAKER_00

That's very common for millennials, yeah. Yeah, scary birthdays, like escape rooms and stuff, really common.

SPEAKER_02

So it's sort of the this whole overconsumption thing. I'm sort of like, yeah, my kids aren't that. So I don't know if it's a Z thing or I don't know. It's it's I or is it just something because people need to talk about something on the internet?

SPEAKER_00

Like, is it really influencing like like de-influencing, decluttering, and talking about overconsumption is I think really popular and an important topic amongst millennials in Shen Z, which is I watch a lot of overconsumption YouTube myself, you know, like my sister recommended the gentle art of Swedish death cleaning, or family Swedish, to me recently. And you know, I have the book and I have been spending an hour every day decluttering and just trying to declutter my mind. Uh and it's it is a good practice and stuff. I do think that folks like with a lot of things over-target people who really like books, especially romance, because they're easy punching bags. Like they're girls, they really like girly books and romance, and look at all the keychains that they're buying, and they're the reasons why global warming, be mad at them, and not the fact that like companies are obviously like the main source of global warming, and like we need to go after this in policy, not yell at people who like sprayed edges.

SPEAKER_02

I agree, I'm all on that. Yeah, no, Barcelona isn't the only one that gets special editions. I think Target gets their own editions. They do.

SPEAKER_00

I do want to talk about this actually. I really love getting special editions of games, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. And I remember back in the day when GameStop would have a special exclusive edition, and then Amazon would have one, and they would have different DLC. I don't like that. That is my one thing. I do not like that. That is maddening. Where everything has like a little something special extra, and in order to get all the different you have to buy the game multiple times. I don't like that. I'm glad that that has gone the way of the dodo.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, because that does feel like a money grab by the companies and readers who want all the things.

SPEAKER_04

That did annoy me actually when I can't remember which which one it was that came out, but one of the the last Sarah Jamas books, where depending on which copy you bought, you got a different POV perspective.

SPEAKER_01

Oh no, no, don't do that. I hate that. I can't stand that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's like games. Like, don't do different content.

SPEAKER_02

I could see that working is if you also through that purchase had access to a digital version that had all the others. Like you're a way to have all of them without having to buy all the books, because that sucks.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yeah, I think that's gross. I don't like it when there's different content. A different cover, you can choose your favorite, go get your favorite cover. That's fine. Different content is gross. I'd like to in order to get the whole story or to get everything, you have to get multiple editions. Mm-mm. That's that's no good. That's been a conversation for like 15 years in game communities, and it's so interesting to see it come to books.

SPEAKER_02

Especially if these books are $25 a pot or well for games, it was 70 pounds, 30 pounds. Well, yeah, you have pounds, right? It was not euros, it's pounds there. Yeah. I don't know what it is, but you know, these dishes are expensive, right?

SPEAKER_00

So it will be cheaper in pounds, pounds strong to the dollar. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_04

I I I don't mind it. So on our high street, we have, I don't know if you guys have it, it's I don't know, maybe a bit like Target. We have a store called The Works, and it's kind of like it's a mix of craft and kind of games and kiddie stuff, but it also has books, and they do a lot of special editions. But you can pick up a special edition like with sprayed edges for like three pounds in that store.

SPEAKER_03

Wow.

SPEAKER_04

Which actually that's like that's really good value for money. Um and gallery. Yeah, like for a brand special edition. Amazing. We got one in England. Well, I I actually I have a friend who lives in Sweden and there's a particular book series. It's it's well technic technically it's a a duo. Um, but we're both absolutely obsessed with it. And so when those special editions come out in the works, she'll be like, Can you buy me that copy and ship it to me, please? Because I can't get it any other way. Three pounds?

SPEAKER_00

Three pounds for a special edition. Yeah, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_04

I can you you can buy like more expensive ebooks than that. So yeah, it's a no-brainer. Yeah, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_00

That's amazing. Oh, all right, all right. So hot takes. I did really want to do a hot take this week. So I'm in my endless captivity on social media. I cannot help but notice a particular trend of like bookish overconsumption when it comes to summer ween. This is the one thing that has been very activating to me because there's so much summer ween stuff. I'm already seeing fall vibes, books, and TBRs and special editions. And like my hot take is I absolutely hate summer ween. I cannot stand summer ween. It's making me so mad. I feel like it's such a theft of time. I can't believe people are already talking about autumn books right now. I like feel like summer didn't happen, but it's so hot outside. I completely understand why people want to feel like it's fall because it's so hot in the United States right now. But I'm just I'm sad that like summer, it's just like people are already like, nope, it's fall now. It makes me so like going into Michaels and seeing Halloween stuff. I've seen Halloween stuff everywhere already. It's like broken, broken the August barrier down, and now it's in July, and it's making me so sad. Not even like I'm not even angry, like I'm actually very, very sad about it. And I was wondering what you guys thought.

SPEAKER_04

I I am the same. I find that like Tesco's is our local store, and just that feeling of going in there and seeing all the stuff stacked up for the next holiday when you're still like months off is just oh it it does. It's uh I'm with you. It does make me feel kind of like just no, stop, please. The time is just so it goes so quickly as as it is. I can't believe we're already halfway through July. Um yeah, I I don't want to be seen too far ahead.

SPEAKER_00

I used to be able to go in and just see summer stuff when it was summer, and then back to school stuff when it was back to school. It's like, all right, yeah, we're all celebrating it together. And like now they're like, no, it's October. It's like it's not, it's it's July. I promise it's July.

SPEAKER_02

And when I see it, some you sent this, I had to go look it up. I'm sorry. Um I suppose this started when uh Christmas stuff started coming out before Halloween or whatever, and people were and I didn't care because I love Christmas, I love the smells, I love the lights, I will celebrate it all year. When I was a kid, we went to Yellowstone Park and they had a Christmas in July there because apparently, sometime historically, it snowed in like in July. It was bizarre. They were like snowed in, and so they had Christmas in July. That was the first time I heard that, and so I I do now sometimes see people doing that. I matter of fact, recently I saw people pushing let's you know their their their romances that are holiday set or whatever.

SPEAKER_00

I'm seeing those two.

SPEAKER_02

And I'm like, okay, like that's a cute little marketing thing. And to me, this is a cute little marketing thing, and I could do it or not do it. If you want to do it, do it. If you don't like it, Tara, you need to do an anti something so that it doesn't come up on your algorithms.

SPEAKER_00

Well, no, like I'm I'm our social media manager, I have to see this stuff, you know. Like I can't just be like, no, don't show it to me.

SPEAKER_02

But in terms of a marketing thing, I I guess I'm I'm not really bothered by by it. If I felt left out, like, oh, I should do a summer ween, but I don't even feel that. I'm just like, so yeah, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00

The marketing pressure is very like wait, wait, we have Starlit and Stebelbong coming out. And when I see fall stuff already in July, I'm like, should I be marketing skillet already? Like, should I be getting arcs out to people now? Like, is that where we're at? And it starts to make me feel like really stressed as the marketing person. If you're an indie author, you're responsible for your own marketing. So it makes your head spin. You're like, wait, should I be doing autumn stuff? But like I resist it because no, like, I want to be marketing margaritas right now. I want to be marketing like fireworks, which came out in May. Like, we should be able to do that, but it feels like people are impatient. There's a lot of impatience for like, no, we need it to be fall now. I wanna, I want a pumpkin spice latte in July.

SPEAKER_02

Because it's not just the bookish world. I mean, I was surprised to see back to school stuff. Oh, yeah. Oh, god, the other day when I went in because it it just felt a little bit early. But at the same time, school starts where I live in August. So it wasn't, but it still felt early, you know.

SPEAKER_00

I feel like the kids just started summer, like let them enjoy their summer. They shouldn't be seeing pencils and backpacks already. Yeah, we I don't know, like let's talk about the beach.

SPEAKER_02

We get out in May where I live. So wow, yeah, and they go back in August, so it really wasn't that early. But I do remember being like, Oh, is it that time already? Because it's a million degrees outside. But yeah, I you know, I I don't think just books do this, right? A lot of things drive it, and what drives it is money. No, it's everything, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Starbucks started doing this with putting their pumpkin spice latte in August, yeah, really early.

SPEAKER_02

All year long. You can get the peppermint mocha all year. It's always after the pumpkin spice that it's officially on the board. And I'm like, why do I have to wait till after Halloween?

SPEAKER_00

You don't. The only thing that they get that's special to the pot to the peppermint mocha. And I used to work at Starbucks, so I know this, is the the sprinkle on top. That's the only thing that's special to it for the Christmas season. They always have peppermint syrup.

SPEAKER_02

Everybody does, every business will do this, right? If it's gonna drive sales, they will do it. So we could come up with our own, maybe, you know.

SPEAKER_00

Our own summer week, please don't make me do it.

SPEAKER_02

Or something else. Come up with something else. We could have Valentine's Day in December or you know, let's do summer all year long.

SPEAKER_00

It's always margarita season at tender and yeah. I mean, some part of it is that I don't I used to love fall. I used to love it, and the more that brands market to it, the more I just like it. Which I I don't know if I'm just a contrarian or what, but I'm like sick of it. I'm sick of fall. I'm I'm it's it's fall, it's it's summer, and I should be looking forward to it, and I'm already sick of it. Is that nuts?

SPEAKER_04

A little bit. Like I get that. I'm a I'm a bit like that. I'm a bit of a contrarian myself. I I am the worst though. Like, oh, I feel like I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to marketing because you know, all these things that are there and all these dates and all these things that is like you should be putting a post out for this, this, and this. And my brain goes, Yeah, that's not. And or even if I have every good intention, like there's a special day that I could actually use to my advantage. It's like my brain just goes, No, we're not doing that. Uh, I don't, I don't even know why. I just completely forget, or make your marketing, I think it looks good.

SPEAKER_02

I remember these big companies, they have no emotional attachment to anything, they just are looking at the bottom line. Is this gonna sell? But us, us little authors with our little baby books that we love and want the world, you know, we're we want the world to get them. And so we're trying to look at what what is working in terms of finding readers and stuff. And sometimes there's things where you're just like, oh, really? I have to do that. Like this, this, this is not what I want to do. But if I want to sell books, maybe I should.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I see people using negativity to get attention. I see a lot of people doing things to get attention, and I do think they get attention, but I I often wondered myself, like, does that translate into book sales and does it translate into lasting book sales? Because if they're billing themselves as something that they're not, but with a brand that doesn't really align with what they're writing, people who find them aren't their natural readers. So there's a danger there to me as well, you know. Like I there's an author I I I follow on on Facebook who I like 50% of the time. And then 50% of the time, I feel like she's Really negative, and I'm just sort of like perplexed, you know. And I know her books are very sweetness and light, clean romance and stuff. And I feel like 50% of her marketing is not portraying that very well. And I'd be like, I don't know her, so I can't be like, hey, I don't feel like you're selling yourself wrong. You're getting attention, but like you might be creating a brand that doesn't really align with what you're writing. But like I don't know her, you know, but it does seem like a danger to me, right? That attention isn't always a good thing.

SPEAKER_02

Well, um, you are writing currently working on the second book in your series coming out in 2027, and the first one came out in 2024, right?

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. Um, so uh what I'm and it's is it vampires? Because you love vampires. Um can you tell us a little bit about both the books? So the first book and then what people can look forward to in the next book?

SPEAKER_04

Yes. So Find Me in the Shadows, as I kind of said at the beginning, it's a bit of a genre mashup. Um it crosses a lot of different things, which doesn't always or it's it's more difficult to market, I think, but I'll find I'll find my way. But yeah, so the the premise of the books is that vampires are kind of a secretive part of our world, not something that is known. It is set in the UK, and my my FNC Olivia, she discovers in the most horrifying way at the age of 14 that, and I'll spare all the g gory details, but she discovers that obviously they are something that is part of a world, and her scent and her blood kind of attract vampires but also turn them kind of rabbit, and then if they bite her, they die. So the poor girl, she is living life really hard. I kind of wanted, I I just wanted to veer away from you know the the kind of powerful FMCs that are just kicking butt, and I I just wanted to go a different way, to be honest, and so I just made her life incredibly hard. And so I I I think book one is kind of character-driven, it's her finding her crew, I say crew, like her found family, as it were, and you know, just her kind of dealing with that. And obviously, she meets Callahan, who is the MC, and he is he's well, when they meet, she's expecting him to bite her and die, and that doesn't happen, and you'll have to find out why if you read the book. So that's that's where I'll leave that. But yeah, that's that's kind of book one is dealing with all of the the kind of character, found family element, and book two is really where you're getting um they're getting it hard. It's it's it's devastating to write, and which is why it's taken me so long, if I'm honest. Um so it's it's the workings out and them kind of taking down the antagonist, and yeah, all of all of the the heartbreak in between.

SPEAKER_00

Is it a duology or a trilogy, or what are you planning on?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, it's gonna be it's two books, and then I think one of the characters I may well do like a tiny novella add-on at some point because he's he's a character that everybody seems to love. Um just one of those little side characters that ends up being way, way, way bigger than you ever expect. Oh yes, absolutely. But he's such an interesting character. So, yeah, so I think I think I kind of owe it to him for him to get his little, you know, spot in the in the limelight.

SPEAKER_00

I love it, yes. I have a short, I have a novella with a character like that who got voted up by the art creators and beta readers to have his own romance. So he took a lot of life of his own. I wasn't expecting it. He's just brother. But I love that you made your vampires have more of a sinister origin. I've read a lot of urban fantasy and paranormal romance where like there's vampires in the world, but like they're they're fine. Yeah, they drink people's blood, but it's it's cool. Like and but I always like it when there's like a darker, like a sinister origin in there, like really tackling, I don't know, kind of the heart of that myth, you know? And like even if you have vampires who are morally good, they are still fighting their inner darkness. I think that that's always really, really good. Yeah. I find that satisfying. And I know that you said that you're struggling with this book, and that leads us to think about like rapid release schedules. I know that you're and a half, three years between these books, and there are a lot of expectations on authors, whether they're Trad or indie published, and there's like some of the difficulties of writing like really heavy material, like what you're dealing with. And I was wondering how the project was going, how you're going feeling about it, and how like you're you're doing what you're doing to help unlock those worlds those words whenever possible.

SPEAKER_04

So I I kind of took it into being really super organized to to try and keep on track. But uh part of my issue was I wrote um back in just after I released book one, I wrote kind of like the the first 50k of this book, and then I I I took a break because it was so heavy going, and I wrote like a little romance standalone in between and published that last year. And then when I came back to it, I was just like, mmm, I'm I'm not I don't like the way that these particular arcs have come together, and so I I basically had to rewrite that 50k that I re that I'd already written. So um like um I I was kind of like looking at deadlines and originally I really I really wanted to get it out this year, and I was just like, I'm not gonna do it justice if I try and rush it. But I I kind of worked out I every chapter is outlined all the way to the end, and based on kind of my averages for chapters, I know roughly how many words that is you know gonna take to get to that end. And I have a spreadsheet and I literally kind of referenced my schedule with what I could physically like sensibly write in a day and worked out like when that meant I would finish if I stayed on track. Um and yeah, but even so, just like life, life just gets in the way, doesn't it? Like you have things that crop up and you're just like, oh no, I didn't meet my quota for today.

SPEAKER_00

Oh my goodness. Oh, I know, I I get it. I'm trying to help my sister find a pediatric dentist right now, and it's just like, well, hard right when I'm trying to find a pediatric dentist.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I have yeah, I I've been at it long enough that I've have a pretty good routine, but that doesn't mean that stuff doesn't get in the way. The last few years all sorts of difficult things have been getting in the way. But I have found dictation sometimes is helpful because I can do it fast and a little bit of time. And I know people are like, I can't do that. And I was that person until I actually couldn't type. There was a point where I had a repetitive strain and it was my only choice. And I do a mix of both now, which is sometimes crazy because it it is different. So sometimes when I'm reading through, I'm like, okay, this is this is interesting. The brain works a little bit differently, but it is fast, and I do like it for that. Because there is only so many words you can type in a day. I know Nora Nora Roberts has said she works like an eight-hour day. That is a lot. So whenever I've done an eight-hour type day, my brain is mush. But a lot of the other people talk about they're only doing maybe 2500, you know, the Stephen Kings of the world. A couple hours, 2500 words or something. So I I think a lot of people don't realize that, you know, people who write are writing books, they're except for Nora Roberts. It's not an all-day thing, it's something that you're doing for a little bit around nap time or early in the morning before work or late at night when everybody's in bed or when or me dictating on a walk.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. I I do I do I do dictate notes when I'm out in the forest with the dogs. Um yeah, I have I have a lot of notes. But oh when I when I'm when I'm in the forest and I'm dictating, I find that I'm just because I know I'm just you know just getting some thoughts out of my brain at the point where I can't I physically can't write them. But then if I was to sit down and actually try and dictate to write, like to actually write, you know, the book as opposed to it just being random thoughts, I just really struggle. I can't, I can't seem to get my brain to like go, yeah, this is a this isn't a thing to to, you know, even now, as you can see, my brain is.

SPEAKER_02

When I dictate writing, I am on a walk when I do it. And and the reason I like that is because I'm doing a kind of a mindless activity, putting one foot in front of the other, so you can just sort of let the brain go. You know, at one point, you know how sometimes when you're writing and you're in flow, it's like that, except for your talking. I can't sit and watch look at my computer and dictate to it because I'm too busy watching the words come on the page. That's hell on earth. That's hell on earth. I can't take that. And I can't have that. So I dictate into a recorder and then I have something transcribe it for me just for that reason. And it's weird, it might be weird the first minute or two, but then pretty soon you're just in the story. That's what I found anyway. So, but like I said, it can be pretty fast because you can get 4,000 words in an hour.

SPEAKER_04

So maybe I need to try this down again.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

I I think that's where I'm going wrong. When I think of people like dictating, I think of I don't know, you like pacing around your living room or or in front of your laptop, or whereas yeah, going out when you're out on a walk is a lot less scary for sure.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I've done it driving, which somebody got upset about that because they were like, You should be paying attention. And I'm like, what's the difference if I'm talking, if I'm singing to the music in the car or talking to my passenger, or I'm telling a story.

SPEAKER_00

Chris has dictated stories while she's driven, and I thought that that was pretty great. Although this isn't this in LA traffic, that might actually be dangerous.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I have missed an exit.

SPEAKER_00

And then he removed her panties. Oh crap, my exit. Yep.

SPEAKER_02

Yep, I cracked even myself.

SPEAKER_00

I live in a highly, uh highly populated area, and I don't even know where I would dictate without looking like a certifiable crazy person. Yeah. That's the only problem. And I write sci-fi romance, so it's like, you know, like an on the alien planet is here, you know, like while I'm walking around. People like thinking I'm legit think that I'm out of my mind, you know, talking about all these I have all these strange words. I have conlangs, I have to go look things up. Like I do need to be near my stuff, like my I have to be near my notes for like the words and stuff. Like, I have like this free rate that I've been using. I should get it on there on screen. Yeah. Um I've been flashing this thing everywhere, everywhere. I love it. But every I I have to be like, I do little brackets of like that word that I don't have right now because I can't remember what that word was, and I'll come back and edit it later because I don't have my freaking notes open when I'm doing it. But walking around, that would be even crazier. Like editing would take me forever. I think it would just look like like just absolutely gobbledygook nonsense.

SPEAKER_02

You know, one of the tips I've heard other authors who dictate who have might be doing fantasy or something, is they will use a different name when they're dictating. Do a search and replace for the obscure name. So if they have an oddball name that the dictation might have some dictation, you can tell it, you can train it. But I think a lot of times they're gonna be like, I'm just gonna call this person Joe.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I'm imagining the draft of like Game of Thrones with Danielle Stormball. Um, to to help with that. I I've never had that, but I have had it where you know the name might be spelled different, you know, the name might be Kelly and it's spelled K-E-L-L-I-E, and the dictation is gonna spell it K-E-L-L-Y. But yeah, it's it's fast. I you know, and when I'm on deadline, I I tend to use it in particular, but you kind of have to know what you're writing. If you're a pantster, it can be a little bit tougher. I don't know how you write, but it from a plot, I find it easier to do it that way.

SPEAKER_00

So Annabelle sounds very, very organized, chapter by chapter.

SPEAKER_02

All right. You are also learning to draw with the hopes of someday creating digital art. That's so cool. Are you planning to make your own character art? And how's it going?

SPEAKER_04

And I would really like to. I'd really like to create some of my own characters. Um it's it's it's tricky though. I don't I don't at the minute have like access to a program that I could use. Like all of our all of our devices that you know we we have are are kind of like they've they're just at that point where they're too old. So I've I've kind of been sketching like in a in a you know old school just pencil and paper and seeing how that goes. And at the minute it's kind of uh we we play like a celebrity guess who at the minute, me and my family. So I'll I'll do like a practice sketch in a day and see if my husband can guess who it is. And he's absolutely rubbish at it. Like if I ask other people, they'll be like, oh yeah, that's so and so. And he's oh I did Henry, the legendary Henry, and he looked at it and was like, Is that John Travolta?

SPEAKER_01

I was like, I hate you, I actually hate you. Nothing like John Travolta.

SPEAKER_00

You gotta do Val Kilmer and see if he thinks it's Brad Pitt. That one's hard.

SPEAKER_04

But yeah, I I haven't actually in the last week, I haven't actually picked up a pencil. Uh no, is it a week? Maybe a week.

SPEAKER_02

So I've just things have been busy, but you know, speaking of that overconsumption, the fan art is the art of your thing. That's another one of those things. And I know a lot of authors are, you know, they have subscriptions or they they have a Patreon or something. Their readers get an advanced view of what's being written, but maybe they also get the special art and everything. And I'm like, who, you know, you got a commission though. Oh, I have to commission it because I'm not very artistic, right? So I'm like, oh, another thing to pay money for.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, that's it adds up quickly. The commissions add up real fast. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Have you commissioned art for your material? I think I've seen some commission art for your your stuff.

SPEAKER_04

Yes, quite a lot. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I wasn't sure if you had drawn it or if you had commissioned it because I wasn't sure where you were in your drawing life.

SPEAKER_04

It's all of all of what's on there at the minute, I I have commissioned. I've I haven't even I've not even attempted to draw my characters properly yet. But I will do. I will do soon. Um but I do I I love I love getting the commissions. They are they are amazing. I would spend way too much money on them if I if I had an abundant cash flow.

SPEAKER_02

That would be where my cash is. I would ask someone like you, like, you know, who's good? And because there's so many services out there for authors, but sometimes it's hard to know. Who's it's definitely getting tricky? Who's been around, who's I mean, we did talk about an editor last week who was like, don't go to them. And you know, that's why I was like asking people for anything like that cover design or I haven't done artwork. I I do have a series that would probably be good for commissioned art, but haven't even gotten there yet.

SPEAKER_04

So in your in your marketing, do you use more stock photos and things like that when you're I do I you know, my covers, I have photos from deposit photos that I send to my cover designer.

SPEAKER_02

And then graphic Tara does most of my graphics, so and you know, she's pretty good at finding stuff that's um you know, stock or you know, that she can I alter a lot of stock material in Canvas so it doesn't look the same, you know.

SPEAKER_00

So, you know, sometimes I'll just create like a silhouette, like I'll remove background from a figure and then I'll create a silhouette with them, and then I'll put that on top of a background and I'll do filters on the background and I'll flip things around and add other aspects to make it look different. So and it's just photoreel stuff that I'm layering essentially, you know, that's just gonna be a good thing.

SPEAKER_02

But it's not really like character stuff, it's a door concept. And I mean, there might be people in it, but it's not like here's my like I've seen and I've thought this would be fun, and I'm going to events, somebody will be there, so I'm gonna take some people have bookmarks and they'll have a bookmark for each character. Okay, yeah, yeah. And I I was like, I have a series, I'm getting ready to do a series that that would work for, right? That you know, I have these four warrior four warriors, they'll be five eventually. That would be good for, but it's just like I haven't gotten to the point where I'm reaching out and like, can you draw a picture of my my and it's hard, I do find it hard because I do like to try and find people who look similar to how I see them in my head, at least the coloring or something, right? And so you're going, I'm going through deposit photos. I'm like, I want a guy who's got tattoos and they all look like bruisers. And I'm like, well, Mathis isn't really that. So trying to find what in and then I find one, I'm like, oh, that's the that's a good one. And then trying to find them in a position. I don't want them half naked. There's just all this stuff where you're just trying to find the right photo. That's that's tough. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I got a drawing tablet for Christmas, and that might be a thing that you want to do at some point when you're feeling ready, and but then they also use drawing tablets on Amazon that already have they come preloaded with drawing software and stuff like that. I mean, it's not procreate, but it's still really useful. And when you're used to sketching, you know, you could bring something in and then you could sketch on top of it using the software, and then you could start to do colorizing and stuff, and then you could move that into another piece of software like Canva and do full further alterations and add background. And that's a process I'm currently working on getting good at because I am sick of people offering me art commissions and not matching what I see in my head. Yeah, well, I'm in the community and stratcon and stuff like that. And I always people have people come and play Starship Alkyry and they're like, Can I do art for this? And I'm like, send me your work and I see it, and I'm like, that's that's not what I imagine, you know. And it's just because I'm too particular, because I'm a I'm an artist myself, so it doesn't match what I see in my head. Immediately I'm like, no, and I just know I'm too way too particular for this, and it's not their fault, it's me.

SPEAKER_02

Now, this would not work for Summer Ween, but if for Christmas in July you could ask for one for Christmas in July. I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna put up a tree right now. It's Christmas.

SPEAKER_04

I do, I it's what's frustrating is I do actually have I have like a drawing pad because in my photography stuff I use I'm in Photoshop like for hours editing. You know Photoshop, you're way ahead. Yeah, so I I know all of that stuff. I can use Photoshop. I've tried to kind of because my tablet is one where I'm I'm adjusting a lot of tone and adjusting like colours within the skin and and correcting skin, all that that's that's what I'm doing. And so I'm used to kind of staring at my screen and using my my pen on the tablet, which is like on my desk.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I have one on the next pen.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, but like but to draw an outline of something and not be looking at it at the same time, like looking at it, my brain just can't do that. Oh no, I don't use that for that either.

SPEAKER_00

I have like I have a one where you draw on the screen itself. That is that works with my brain because I'm used to drawing on paper because I'm a 2D artist and I did painting and stuff like that, and I could not handle the I couldn't handle the pad. That made me crazy. You could skip you could trace over something potentially. Uh I I have managed to.

SPEAKER_04

I've I have kind of done that. I've liked I've I've taken an image of a sketch into Photoshop and then gone over it and then tried to do stuff with it and still looking very questionable right now. But I think like some of the the drawing pads that I've seen that are amazing are probably a similar kind of price point to like you know, like a secondhand iPad or whatever.

SPEAKER_02

So it's it's just um, you know, in this in in this current economy, it's it's having to prioritize the the things and but yeah, a lot of people don't recognize how much money you have to. Well, I don't want to say they don't recognize, maybe they do, but I mean, you know, to be an author today is you know, if you want to do all this stuff, it's really hard. You can't, and a new author, I don't you can't really do it out the gate unless they're you know already rich or something and and can invest in all the you know, in all the stuff. It's something you have to build up to. And hopefully you're selling enough books that you can then turn around and say, Okay, I want to invest in this. I want to invest in character artwork or you know, I want to invest in multicast audio or you know, whatever it happens to be. Yeah, it's it's it's tough. It's one of the difficulties is because like Tara said, people will say, Well, when are you gonna have this, that, or the other? It would be so cool if you had this. Well, yeah, you want to help me fund it? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yeah, and people asking about audiobook versions for things very early on. My first short story that I put up, people were like, Where's the audiobook for this? I was like, I don't have an audiobook for it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it was a mic, you read.

SPEAKER_04

I I don't have an audiobook yet either. But honestly, I think I think I was so naive when when I was like, Yeah, I'm gonna write a book, and I've started writing this book, and then it was like, now I've written it, and now I need to, you know, get an editor and and I need to get a cover artist. And it's just the things stack up so quickly, and you're like, oh my gosh, what did I sign up for? But but at the same time, it's it's it's strangely addictive. Like I've I've I've just the thought of walking away from it now, it's like really hard.

SPEAKER_02

I think once you've done one story, it's like a floodgate opens and there's just more story. I have a vampire idea. I've even started writing it. Um I started writing it years ago. Like it's not nothing new. I've brought chapters of it to my critique group, and then I'm on to the next or whatever. I mean, I have I have a lot of first act stories, and one of and I was I'm I now that I'm thinking about it, I was like, I gotta get back to that one because that'd be a good new pen name story. I I had I had used to be an adoption worker and I remember helping place children out of Romania when Czecheski, so you know, long, long time ago. Matter of fact, at this point, I'm thinking my idea won't work because those kids are old now.

SPEAKER_01

Like unless they're vampires.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, and I I did too think I had a unique spin on terms of the origin and terms of how it worked, and but you know, on to the next because there's all of a sudden you see or hear something and you're like, oh, that looks like a good idea. I'm gonna do that one, you know. Uh yeah, the minute you start writing, all of a sudden it's like that part of your brain just cracks open, and yeah, now there's nothing you can do but write.

SPEAKER_04

Well, this is kind of how like the this the book I published last year. I I went on holiday. I was I was just like sitting in Egypt and I'd read a finished reading a book and I was just like, Will I ever be the kind of writer that can just sit down and just be like, okay, well, I'm just gonna do this character and this is what's gonna happen, and just like pull it straight from my brain. Because kind of part of the concept for Find Me in the Shadows, I it it kind of stemmed from a dream that I had. And so I was, you know, when you're just like questioning yourself and you're like, could I could I actually just just decide I'm gonna write something about this? And and then I just kind of was like, What what do I what what am I passionate about that I can pull from? And so I I wrote Breaking Ruby and it's it's kind of horses, UK-based, like equestrian sports romance. Um and I just did it, and and it came so easily, I think because it was just such a nice break from from like the harder story topics from the other series, but but I think that that was also a big floodgate moment for me because it was like, oh, I can do this, and now I do have a stack, like you say, you have a stack of ideas, and when you're trying to finish one and you're like, oh, but that one I I'm being very disciplined. I'm like, I will not allow myself.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I'm not that I flip around, and then every now and then Terrace says, You need to write some, you know, okay, I'll go write that then.

SPEAKER_00

We've gotta hit quorum.

unknown

Very important.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it was funny. You said that was a dream though, and then because earlier it said that you had been a Twilight reader or that, you know, just thinking of Stephanie Meyer. I was always a nice back to the dream. She that the meadow was her dream. And and back when that happened, I was a baby writer back then. I just remember thinking how amazing to take a dream and do what she did, whether you like Twilight or not. She got up and started writing this dream, which takes place in the middle of the book, and somehow was able to put the front end and the back end, and then it became a series, and then it became a movie. And then oh, in my mind, like from a dream. You know, like I want to have a billion-dollar dreams.

SPEAKER_04

I I hope that one day it might be, but yeah, my mine mine was kind of the same. My my dream was the the kind of the meeting between the two characters, and so that's it's not it's not quite halfway through, but obviously then it was building up before and after. But yeah, it was good fun. But I I had that dream years ago, and I I kind of didn't really believe that I had it in me to to kind of do it, and then I was just like, you know what, why not? Why not?

SPEAKER_02

So yeah, yeah, that's the thing you have to remember. Stephanie Myers wasn't Stephanie Myers the morning she woke up and had that dream, right? Yeah. She was with the mom. She was some house mommy, right? So it's hard, it's hard to do that sometimes, you know, to remember everybody was just a regular person. Yeah. Outlander's the same way. She was just working in science and thought, oh, I'm gonna write this thing. I'm gonna write a throwaway book. That's what she said.

SPEAKER_00

She had to do a lot of research for that throwaway book. She had to like learn Gaelic.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, but still, she, you know, is just I'm gonna practice and yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So I love that first book. It's uh you know, outlander, right? It's got like such a it's got so much passion to it and has such a meandering quality that I actually really enjoy, you know, like she just sort of just kind of enjoys this the scenery. Like you really feel her enjoying the idea of being 200 years in the past in Scotland and you're there with her. I I like that. Yeah, none of weird things in the world, you know. Yeah, she's not writing to market, she's just writing something she likes, and you can tell that she just likes it. But it was different in the 90s, right? That's true. Yeah, so Annabelle, we like to treat our guests like hosts, and one thing we like to do is to ask us it ask you if you have any questions for us.

SPEAKER_04

Okay. So I I kind of I did want to know, circling back to our first topic, actually, um, how you guys um how you deal with the whole kind of special edition thing? Is that something that you guys specifically plan for? Do you search out kind of the because there are a lot of companies that you know that do the like the book boxes that do all their editions? Are you kind of um utilizing those? How how do you manage that the the special edition side of things?

SPEAKER_00

Oh, let's start with Jenna.

SPEAKER_02

I think about it. I you know, I try to think about the books I have. Would it even be a fit? Like, would the market want to have a special edition of the Valentine's or the Southern Heat and how I could do, you know, I could do a Kickstarter or something. Sierra did one and I could put them together. And I'm not so sure that that's the case. Like I I might put them in a book box, combine all the ebooks into a, you know, and sell it kind of like that as a single thing. Uh this new series I'm doing might be more geared toward that. It is something because it is sort of a paranormal, whatever. So I could see people wanting the special sprayed edges and stuff. So I have gone to look at Book Vault, I think does it. I think Viventi now does it. But it's just another one of those things that feels like a lot of work. Um and and a lot of moving parts. So I really have have not delved very much deeper into it. Um but but my first thought is is this something my readers would even really want? And that's where a Kickstarter comes in, right? Like you could see in advance, is this something that they would want? Um they didn't. But uh but yeah, so I haven't. I don't know, Tara, what do you think?

SPEAKER_00

I have two streams of answers, right? Because I I think of this in terms of Tender and Tempting Tales on one side and then Starship Valkyrie on the other. For Tender and Tempting Tales, because we do a year-long contract with the authors, it would be difficult to do special editions. Yeah. Because by the time they were out, they might be outside of contract, or we would have to re-up contracts and things like that. And so, like, I could imagine at some point a special edition of Moonlight and Margaritas, but to reprint it, we would need to re-up everybody, you know? Or I think we would to do a reprint, like a special edition reprint, but I'm not sure. Like it would be tricky. I could see uh like a uh within the year, like not particularly necessarily for this year because we only did three this year, but I could see a box set for the zines at some point, like a special edition box set with some kind of special features or bookmarks or something like that for a collected year. So let's say we did a 2027 one, it would be a box set with everything that we did in 2027 and some swag or something like that. And like I could imagine that being fun if the zines took off and being a good thing for the reader. So, you know, lift folks listening. If you like that idea, let us know. The zines are fairly new. We just put out our second one, so we don't have to really see how people are liking them as we amass a stack. For for Starship Valkyrie, I know that our community likes collecting stuff. They love stickers. They're always like, make more stickers, make more patches, make more collectors' coins. All that is stuff that people folks really like. So I could imagine a collector's edition for the Valkyrie community and the Strategicon, my local communities being good, like a limited runs. I would think in terms of limited runs, small collections of things or book boxes, and then uh sell any overage on my fourth wall shop for Starship Valkyrie and send those out myself to people. I always think of myself as like a local writer, as a strategicon writer, as a the Starship Valkyrie Los Angeles writer, with a community here of people who like my books. And that's why I always think about physical editions of things. So absolutely, I I could imagine a special edition hardback with commissioned art from someone in the community, like the artist for LFG Con, for instance, um, with lots of features from people in the area being popular. But I always think in terms of community.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, special edition books are, you know, they're gonna be a little bit more expensive. So is it is your reader, is that something your reader would want? Um and I I haven't figured I've never even asked my readers if they wanted one. I suppose I could. That would be the first step, I suppose. Do you want a special? But I would have to have a sense of what it would look like so I could tell them, you know, it's gonna have a new paper or whatever. You know, they might just as easily come back and say, I'm, you know, stop trying to take my money. Just write, just write another book.

SPEAKER_00

We would probably offer it with the game. So Starship Valkyrie Fleet Battle with limited edition minis of the different ships and challenge coins and like a full experience. Like right now, we have a fleet battle set that comes with all hands, the short story that I wrote, and a scenario for a fleet battle that's the Battle of Ross, which is depicted in all hands. So this is like the special, like there's an atmosphere around it. And I could imagine having a box set of that with like the little ships, you know, the Femorian and Almocadle and challenge coins, and you know, something fun, you know, if people really enjoy it. That's uh that's where my brain goes. It's like a sense of occasion, a sense of event, and also like having local artists or people in the community involved doing art of some kind, you know, so that there's more folks to promote and all rise together and having it at StratCon and offering it there for people to play. So all community type stuff. Yeah. I don't know if that helps you at all.

SPEAKER_04

It's it's it's just really interesting to see how other people kind of tackle it because I'm I kind of see a lot within my within the kind of the group of writers that we we collab a lot and there's there's a lot of kind of special editions and and and I I just I just find it interesting to know how people go about doing these things and and or you know how that works for them. And you know, like you say, I suppose for certain genres it probably works better than others. Um and it's all stuff to think about. But yeah, I I I'd like to plan one, and I I in my head I'm just trying to, I guess, work out the best way to do that.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, well, you have a duology coming. I could see a duology box set with some swag, for instance, you know, like a celebration of it, the duology being complete. Like that's where my head goes. Like we're having a party, and this duology is in this box set, and there's some cool limited edition stickers and swag and type things in there, and like have limited edition for that party, essentially, so that people have FOMO, I suppose, want to get in now and get it now. There's only 50, you know, that kind of thing. So that people feel special and like you know, it's exclusive to them. Yeah, I agree with that.

SPEAKER_02

Well, we're going into our book recommendations or maybe current romance TV shows, or what you've been reading, what you've been watching, what you recommend, what you don't recommend. We haven't done that before. Yeah, what are you reading, watching, recommending?

SPEAKER_04

Oh, um, I I'm actually, oh gosh, this is where I'm failing. I I'm actually reading right now something that my son has been desperate for me to read for ages, and it's it's called Ascendant, and it's the Songs of Chaos series. So I don't yet at this point know if there's gonna be a heavy romance plot within it, possibly not because it's my son um who recommended it to me. Um, but he's so excited that I'm reading it. But and um yeah, so I I feel like I'm letting the side down. No, no, and the last like I the last show that I really probably watched was off campus actually, um and wholeheartedly recommend. I I loved it. Um did you read the book? I haven't, no. I just I got I did get FOMO. So what the the show came out when I was like this looks like something that I will probably enjoy. And uh I didn't at the time I I had a lot on with beta reads and things like that, so I was just like, you know what, I'm just gonna wade in and just just go for the show. And yeah, loved it. Wasn't you know, wasn't disappointed at all. I I I have I I'm sure one of you guys doesn't like it though, right?

SPEAKER_02

Well, no, well, I haven't seen it yet. Um my daughter loved the book. Matter of fact, she lent it to me, and then before the show came out, she took it back to read it again before the show, and she was disappointed in the show, but I can't remember why. There was something about it that just didn't uh jibe with her and I guess how she So I I haven't seen it yet, and I you know I started to listen on audio and I haven't finished it, so I I would have no I mean, you know, it's one of those things. It's like uh maybe I don't read the book and I just watch the show and take it for what it is, you know. Like, but I I frequently do read the books of the shows I've watched, you know. So I don't know, I'll have to see what I'm gonna do. She hasn't given me the book back, but I do have it on audio, so I guess I can finish it that way. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I I'm I'm back on the horse for uh reading some things that I stopped reading because I had double vision for a while. Uh and my my vision is finally settled. So I'm back to reading Olava, uh Sold into Bondage by Ernest Semper and reading With This Ring I the Kill by Jenna Hart. Some friends. And I also have a book called Gate to Kagoshima, which is I think I've mentioned in a previous podcast, Outlander but Japanese. Outlander with Samurai, which is pretty good. And I need to finish reading all of those things so that I can read um X Planet Barbarians in preparation for Sapphics of Saturn opening so that I can write an article about sci-fi romance, including some thoughts about Ruby Dixon. How about you, Jenna?

SPEAKER_02

You know, now that you've said that, I I do have a book. I don't think I've read it. I it seems to be a why choose where somebody crash lands on a planet. Um I'll have to look that up for you because you might want to. And then the other one I read, uh That time I got drunk and saved a demon. Yes. I wonder if would that be considered sci-fi?

SPEAKER_00

Uh I don't think so. It sounds like paranormal romance.

SPEAKER_02

It's not I mean, it's a different world, but I don't know if it's a different planet. Rom-com romanticy. Yeah, it's hilarious though. Okay, so what am I reading? I'm reading my own book right now because I'm reading the galley, because I it needs little change. It's funny how you don't see anything and you don't see anything. You've read your book a million times, and then when it's it's you're either reading it on your e-reader or you're reading it in print, and then it all flies out at you. Agony. Uh so I'm finishing that up because I am between books. I I did have a list of books that I pulled out last week that I might start, but all of a sudden I'm like, well, maybe not that one. So we'll see. I've decided I'm just gonna wait until I pick up a book again. Um, and in terms of TV, I heard the new there's gonna be a sequel to Red, White, and Royal Blue. I'm pretty excited about that because I did enjoy that movie. We have been watching Outlander again because my I watched it, my husband didn't watch it, and I'm like, you like Game of Thrones. There's a lot of blood and guts and killing and vengeance and you know, all that stuff that men like. And so we started watching that again. I but I sometimes I'm af season one near the end, I'm like, why am I watching this again? This is like those last episodes are the most difficult things I've seen on TV, I think ever.

SPEAKER_00

Um I was like, why am I watching this again? I've rewatched those first few seasons a lot, and I do skip those episodes. I just skip them. Yeah, like I know what happens. I've read the book a million times. I was like, you know what? I'm good. They go searching for Jamie, and then I'm like, whoop, France death. Time for France.

SPEAKER_02

But there is a part of me that is enjoying watching it, knowing what I know now, right? Like knowing what's coming.

SPEAKER_00

Have you ever read Jude Devereaux's Night in Shining Armor?

SPEAKER_02

I don't read Jude Devereux. Never? I've never read a Jude Devereaux. I think that was the one where Rachel read one, and she's like, Nothing good happens in this book.

SPEAKER_00

So it's like Night in Shining Armor is quite charming, but in that one, the night does come from the past. Like she goes back in time, spends some time with him. And then he comes to her time, and it's really charming. It's very cute. He's sort of like, Oh, what is this strange white box? She's like, That's a shower. He's like, There's water falling from the sky, and it's just it's really cute. So that's that's a Jude Devereau you might enjoy if you like that.

SPEAKER_02

I'll check it out.

SPEAKER_00

And he is a cutie, like he's kind of a sweetheart as a character. Okay. We are Tender and Tempting Tales. You can find us on Instagram talking about all of our new releases, and you can find our news, you can find out about all of our authors there, and also on our Substack at Tender and Tempting Tales on the Substack. We post delicious romantic articles every week and information about our publications, our anthologies, and zines. We currently have the homework up for Sapphics of Saturn that is edited by me. That is Sapphic Science Fiction. Zine coming out in November. We've got the call opening up in August. I would love to see your Sapphic science fiction stories. Needs to be chill, three chili peppers are higher, so bring me the delicious sapphic feels. Let's see what else we've got. We just had our release of Fantastical Foes. That is our second zine, the romanticy Enemies to Lovers with a spice level of three chili peppers. It's got me in it, it's got Lynn Solis, and it's got Marissa Marinello, and it was uh edited by Ernest Semper. It is a delightful time, full of games, features, articles. Please do pick it up. We would love to see a review. Remember, we are a small press and we are showcasing new and emerging indie authors. So if you love indie authors and you love indie presses and indie books and you would like to support us, a great thing to do is to pick up a copy of The Zine and to leave a review. Jenna?

SPEAKER_02

Thank you, Annabelle. And everybody who's listening, please check out her website, her books. We'll have links to everything so you can read. It sounds fascinating. I do love a good paranormal romance. So, and again, we'll have links to all that. And until next time, peace, love, and happily ever after.