And They Were Roommates…

[00:00:00] Oh, but you said I could tell you guys secrets, right? You could tell us secrets. I'll tell you. That's fine. Welcome to The Incoherent Fangirl. Where we both did our notes very last minute, but we're here and we're kind of prepared. We got this. We got this. It's like we didn't know we were recording today. I'm Karin from Maevonna. I'm Mandy of the Wildflower Inn. Aw. Love. All right. Welcome back to the podcast, episode two. Woo!

[00:00:30] We're moving along. It's still weird to like try and get back into the swing of things. I know. That's what it is. That's why it took me so long to do my notes because last week I was like done days in advance. I was like, I am ready. This week I'm like, oh yeah. This week, yeah. We're recording in like an hour. Everything's like so thrown out. I think part of it is because I'm not like out here scrambling to get things done last minute. So something had to give. Yeah. Something had to fall through the cracks. I was like, I got all our social media posts are scheduled.

[00:00:59] The podcast went out early, early. Like everything's good. So something had to get. Yeah. Fucked up. Yeah. Something had to slow down a little bit. It's fine. It's fine. Time to make Mandy mad at me again. Look, I was thinking about this today. It doesn't make me mad in January because January feels like it's been seven months. So you can tell me how we're trucking along through January and I'm not going to be offended until February.

[00:01:30] Well, in that case, in our timeline, it is January 16th. And in y'all's timeline, it is January 24th. And I'm at Disney World. I'm so jealous. I'm just so excited for this long weekend. My God. Yeah. I keep forgetting it's a long weekend. So yeah, I'm so excited. My daughter gets two days off and I just get the one and I'm so upset about this. Why did she get two days off? They have a teacher in service day on the Tuesday. I'm sure they planned it that way.

[00:01:59] But like rude for those of us who, you know, still have to work. Yeah. It's okay. I took a half day and I telework. So it's not the end of the world, but it still sucks. It's still frustrating. Yeah. Yeah. I'm with you. Yeah. This week in fangirling, Mandy, what'd you do? So I have a minor living in the dead update.

[00:02:25] I've done some light editing based on feedback from some alpha reader feedback. Alpha. From some alpha reader. From alpha reader feedback. I wrote a little bit of book two and I started a completely new unrelated project. Because why focus? Yes. Well, I mean, I'm kind of stalled until, you know, everybody gets done with their feedback. I still have two that are still working on it, which is fine. But so I wanted to do something.

[00:02:55] I wanted to be creative. For sure. So, and my, I don't want to say quite yet what it is. It is a retelling historical fiction kind of thing that my grandmother was telling me about. Like someone's life story. And I was like, this is absolutely fascinating. And I want to read this book. And she was like, I've looked. Nobody's like written a book about this. And I was like, fine.

[00:03:18] A friend of mine sent me, a friend, actually Grace from Linden Tree sent me this thread the other day. And it was something about like, somebody needs to write the book where the Chinese spy, your Chinese spy and your FBI agent. Yeah. And your FBI agent fall in love. They fall in love or you guys become a throuple. Something like that. Yeah. And she was like, you need to make that a whole series with a straight couple. That's the go around TikTok. And I'm just like, I love this.

[00:03:45] Also, if anybody is going to write that book, why not the Chinese American daughter of immigrants? Yeah. Yeah. She was telling me this and she was like, I just, I was like, I want to read that book. And she's like, I want to too. I went looking for one. And it was like, I'll do it myself. So I haven't gotten very far, but I started. Always fun. Always fun starting a new project. I finished Iron Flame by Rebecca Jaros and I am fully a Dane Atos apologist.

[00:04:12] Without too many spoilers because someone is taking forever and nobody bullied her yet. Dane Atos is Kale Westfall. I said what I said. And as we've established here, I love Kale and I'm going to love Kale. I always will. I'm seeing lots of similarities between these little Boy Scouts. That's what they are. They're Boy Scouts. I think we're going to love Dane in the end. And this is not related. This is not a Throne of Glass spoiler. It doesn't have anything to do with Kale.

[00:04:38] But I fear that Dane is not going to survive the series. I fear he's going to find a love interest. I fear he and Violet will be friends again. And she'll be like, that is my best friend. Him and Rhiannon are my best friends. And I fear something abrupt and upsetting is going to happen today. I am worried. I'm very worried. Once again, I don't trust y'all fantasy writers about anything.

[00:05:06] Not a single damn thing. Nope. I'm nervous. I'm real nervous. So then I read Yin Yang Love Song by Lauren Kung Jessen. So we have Chrissy, who is a Chinese herbalist, who is a victim of her family's curse. All the women in her family are doomed to never actually find love, only heartbreak. And then Chrissy now runs a retreat for the brokenhearted with her aunties, the wildflower inn, which my heart is fine and I still want to go there.

[00:05:36] Like I'm not heartbroken, but I'm heartbroken that I can't go there because it's not real. Yeah. But it sounds like this place that's not real, but just because it's like magical, like a little haven paradise. Like I just picture butterflies just lying around the trees. I just want to hang out and be there. Like the most peaceful place. Then we have Vin, who is half of the Chow Brothers, a world famous rock and roll cellist duo, which is so funny to me.

[00:06:04] But we have Lindsay Sterling, like she sells out stadiums. So cellists could be rock and roll. Yes. They're also pretty well-known heartbreakers. So Chrissy and Vin have a little meet cute at a child's birthday party that they're both working at. And honestly, it's rude that I can't go to that party either. Oh my God. Right. It's magical and absolutely ridiculous and over the top. And these are all things I love. So it's like the four seasons. It's like a celebrity family has their kid. And so they're like, we're going to do a four seasons party.

[00:06:34] So there's like spring. And then there's, they brought in like sand from the nearby beach for summer and then fall. And then winter has like snow and they need jackets. And it's like, it's the most immersive, crazy. So it's the most like rich people thing ever. Yes. Yes. So I'm like, I want to go to that party. Yeah. So they have their little meet cute. They're both at this party.

[00:06:59] She's a professional in the world of heartbreak immediately clocks it all over his brother, Leo. She's like, that's a heartbroken human being. He has gone through a private breakup, even though he and his brother are like mega famous. He had a private relationship and it ended and it's, he's very sad about it. So she gives Vin her card and it's like, call me. He needs some traditional Chinese medicine. He needs our services. So they leave the party convinced that they're never going to see each other again.

[00:07:28] And then Vin shows up with Leo to ask Chrissy for a huge favor. Basically, they were photographed just talking at this birthday party and the internet is abuzz with these rumors of a budding romance. And you know, Vin is a heartbreaker. So they're like, Ooh, what's he going to do to her? So Vin needs to promote his upcoming tour and Chrissy needs to promote in full bloom, which is her and her auntie's new tea line.

[00:07:56] So they agree to go to events with each other and they're going to hype up, you know, she's going to build buzz for him with his tour. He's going to promote her brand and it's going to be great. Oh, and Leo wants to check into the end because he actually is heartbroken and he's in for a heartbreak. And so Vin is like, okay, I'll stay here. But the only room for Vin is in the same converted shed that Chrissy lives in. So we're in, we're fake dating and there's only one shed. Obviously we all know where this is going to go.

[00:08:25] I'm about maybe not quite halfway through, but it's the Lauren Congestan book. I'm loving it. This is one of my favorite things to do at Steamy Lit Con this past year was to pitch this book to people because it's, it's a traditional Chinese herbalist chef meets a bad boy yo-yo ma. Yeah. That's the story. And they make date and it's amazing. And I love it. It's so good. It's so cute. Yeah. I'm loving it.

[00:08:51] I read the proposal by Sonora Reyes, which more on that later. And then today, like while I was cooking dinner before we recorded, I started a book that my best friend Brandy recommended. She texted me today and was like, you have to listen to this book. So it's called Shardless by Stephanie Fisher. Have you heard of this? Okay. I am going to read you the story graph page because I am so short into it and so new in that I don't really even have a story yet. Yeah. So it says magic marked her for suffering. Magic will save her.

[00:09:21] Magic will leave her home, lead her home. On Tempris, time magic is outlawed and suspected time mages are hunted. Humans are second class citizens shunned by the immortal fae that live on the island. They even have a name for their kind, the Shardless. Tali is one of the lucky humans taken in by a fae noble and his family. She's lived a good life surrounded by people she loves. But when an accidental brush with magic causes her to see things, ghostly apparitions that give her small glimpses into the future, it has deadly consequences.

[00:09:49] The Sanctorum has returned to the island and if they find her, they'll kill her. And anyone that tries to protect her too. This includes her best friend Sky. He was the boy that saved her, the man she knew she could never have. And when he refuses to let her go, their actions might hold the power to reshape the world. An ancient evil is rising and in order to protect those she cares for, Tali will have to sacrifice everything, including her heart. So Storygraph says it's perfect for fans of Sarah J Maas and Holly Black. Okay. Say less to me.

[00:10:18] Like I said, I listened to it while I was cooking. So I'm just maybe half an hour into it. But I feel like it's going to get me through this last stretch before Onyx Storm. So I'm not mad. That's fair. Yeah, it's good so far. And she was like having to hype me up because the first section, this is not a spoiler because it's literally what's happening is the book intros. I don't, I can't believe she read this because she's a mom. I can't believe she kept going because it's a mother erasing her child's memories because

[00:10:48] the bad guys are coming. And if she doesn't know that any of them exist, they won't, they'll spare her. So she's erasing her child's memories and leaving her because she knows if I don't, she's going to die. And I was like, she said, oh, I ugly cried. And I'm like, I'm about to. And like, I don't understand how she was like, I'm going to keep going. But she's like, no, it's so worth the pain. She said, I cried a lot, but it's so good. My soul hurts. I know. Oh, I know. And it's from the mother's point of view too. I can't.

[00:11:19] And she's like, I need you to hear me. You're, you're going to go to sleep and you're not going to remember this, but I need to say it anyways. And I was like, Jesus Christ, I'm trying to cook my white people tacos and it's going to be extra salty because I'm crying in them. Yeah. It was white people. I need you to explain to me what white, what, what is white people tacos? Oh, tacos out the box. Okay. Like old El Paso box tacos. I was like, listen, I, I, what?

[00:11:49] I am not a white people. We and the twins joke that it's like, if you cook tacos out of the old El Paso box, it's white people taco night. That's fair. I have to cook quick things on Thursdays because we record at six 30 my time, which is dinner time. Right. So I cook something really quick and, you know, work it down and. Fair. Fair. And it's going to be extra salty because I'm trying not to cry. Anyways, that's shardless. She said there's two.

[00:12:19] She said that this author looks like she takes a while to write, but the book two doesn't leave off on a cliffhanger. That's got you like ready to punch her in the face, but that there will be more books coming. Okay. So I will keep you guys posted next week with more info. And that was my week. Okay. What did you do this week? This week, I read The Queen's Rising by Rebecca Ross, which is book one of a duology. This was her debut. I found out.

[00:12:46] So you've got Brianna, who is sent to Magnalia House as a child to train to master a passion and get chosen by a patron. Some are born with a talent for one of the five passions, which are art, music, dramatics, wit, and knowledge. But Brianna really struggles to find what her passion is until she finally lands on knowledge. And this program at Magnalia House to become a passion is, I think, seven years.

[00:13:13] And she doesn't figure out that she is a passion of knowledge until there's about three years left. So she has to learn everything in that three years. And so all she wants is to get through these three years, become a passion, find a patron, and continue on with her life. Unfortunately, when the time comes to graduate from Magnalia House, she is left without a patron. Now, they live in, I want to say it's Villenia.

[00:13:42] There's a neighboring country, Maivana, which is a matriarchal society. It's always to be ruled by a queen, specifically a woman from the Kavanaugh family line, as they possess magic. That's just kind of how it's been. So now, in the present, months after Brianna has failed to secure a patron, a new opportunity arises when she begins having these strange visions that turn out to be ancestral visions of the fall of the Kavanaugh line. Ooh.

[00:14:12] So these visions that she's having are from her ancestor, who was responsible for dethroning the Kavanaugh queen and also removing all of the magic from their line so that Maivana is left in chaos. And a king is appointed to rule over Maivana, which again, is a matriarchal society. So this is a big, weird-ass fucking deal. Ew.

[00:14:39] But she tells this to the head of Magnalia House, who is like, hold on, I know somebody who can help you with these visions. She calls up her friend, who is like a disgraced lord, who offers Brianna patronage. But it's part of a larger plot to overthrow the reigning king of Maivana by finding the missing stone that restores the Kavanaugh magic and will restore the rightful queen to the throne.

[00:15:06] And war is brewing, obviously, and Brianna will have to choose between passion or blood. And it's excellent. It's Rebecca Ross. It's very good. And it actually, even though it's book one of a duology, it doesn't really leave off on a cliffhanger. Everything in that book is pretty self-contained. So I will be reading book two, obviously. But I'm not mad that I have to, that I'm like, oh my god. So I love that.

[00:15:36] That's really cool. Hey, just for patrons, when you started, I was making a face. It wasn't at you. It sounded like there was a helicopter flying over my house. I saw that and I was like, maybe I'll just let her explain it later. Because I'm going to lose my spot. I don't know why a helicopter would have been going over the house, but it was like, it was like hovering for a minute. It was strange. So I wasn't making a weird face that you were Rebecca Ross. It was that maybe there was somebody in the air here. Something's going on. Something brewing.

[00:16:05] But yeah, after the cliffhanger of Divine Rivals, it was nice to not have that. You know, it almost came out of my mouth that sometimes she doesn't do that because I forgot about Divine Rivals because of her other, I can't remember the name of her. A Fire Endless. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know if that's a book. A River Enchanted and A Fire Endless. Yeah. I don't remember there being a major cliffhanger, but I could be really wrong about that because it's been like a year. Who knows? I remember they were great. Yes.

[00:16:34] She knows how to write. She'll leave you on a cliffhanger too. Yeah. She's not opposed to them. Multi-talented. Yes, exactly. Next, I read The Hurricane Warns by Taya Guanzan. I feel like I'm saying it wrong. I'm so sorry. So growing up as an orphan in a nation ravaged by the Night Emperor, all Taliesin has ever known is the Hurricane Wars. She finds her family in the fight against the Night Emperor, but she holds a secret that may or may not turn the tide of the war.

[00:17:03] However, she has light magic that she can't really control, and it's also believed to have been eliminated years ago by the Night Emperor himself. On the other side of the war, you've got Prince Alaric, who is the Emperor's only son and heir, and he is tasked with eliminating all threats to the Empire's rule, and he does it pretty efficiently with his, drumroll, shadow magic. Oh, daddy.

[00:17:28] He has never been bested until he sees Taliesin's light magic unleashed during battle and is inexplicably drawn to it. Uh-oh. The pair are on opposite sides of the war, but their magic combined could be the only thing that prevents a greater threat from ravaging the entire realm. This book is basically, I'm pretty sure it started as Rilo fanfic.

[00:17:52] I've never seen that Star Wars, so I can't confirm or deny, but I did picture Adam Driver as Prince Alaric. So... It also gives kind of Shadow and Bone vibes because you've got the Sun Summoner and the Darkling. Yeah. So it is book one. I believe it's a trilogy. So I will... I just got... My whole... Just became available for book two, so I will be following up on that soon.

[00:18:21] Next, I read The Proposal by Sonora Reyes, which we will talk about later. Make My Wish Come True by the awesome couple Rachel Lippincott and Allison Derrick. I love that they write together. They are so cute. I'm obsessed with them both. You've got Arden James, who is Hollywood's hottest teen actor, but the bad reputation that she cultivated from her younger years threatens to take her out of the running for her absolute dream role. This is the role that she has been working for for the past four years, and it could be

[00:18:51] taken away from her because they don't think she's reliable based on her reputation. That is until, on the fly, her and her publicist make up a lie that she has a long-term girlfriend from back home in their little small town that is basically Christmas magic. And so, of course, Arden has to go back to her small hometown for the first time in four

[00:19:14] years to convince her former best friend, Caroline Beckett, to fake date her for this cosmopolitan article that's gonna put her reputation in a new light so that she can get this dream role. Now, Caroline, after being abandoned by her best friend and first crush, Arden, I would like to note that I accidentally wrote Best Fiend instead of Best Friend, and I think that's hilarious. Caroline has spent the last four years working really hard to build up an amazing portfolio

[00:19:44] so that she can get into the top journalism program. So when Arden shows up with this crazy request for Caroline to fake date her for the holidays, Caroline boxed at the suggestion, first of all, because you left me, you abandoned me, you broke my heart, essentially. Until Arden offers her the byline for the cosmopolitan article that's gonna be written up about Arden and Caroline's relationship during this holiday season. And Caroline's like, I'm getting a byline in cosmopolitan.

[00:20:13] That's gonna push my portfolio over the top. I can't say no to this. So they fake date feelings, you know, they're childhood friends. It's fake dating. It's during the holiday season. I mean, it's lovely. It's very sapphic yearning written by a very beautiful sapphic couple. And I loved it. Love. Knives Seasoning and a Dash of Love by Katrina Kwan.

[00:20:41] You have Alexander Chen, who is one of the most talented chefs in the culinary world of French haute cuisine. He has a lot to prove and a massive chip on his shoulder if he wants to stay at the top of his game. And so he rules his kitchen with an iron fist. Think of what's Gordon Ramsay and how like he can be very like high strength and is yelling at people. That's Alexander Chen.

[00:21:07] Until the moment that Eden Monroe shows up as his newly hired sous chef. So Eden may or may not have embellished on her resume. She may or may not have said that she graduated from culinary school when actually she had to drop out of culinary school for reasons that we find out later. Girl. On top of that, she knows Alexander from culinary school back when he was still going by his real name, Shang.

[00:21:33] But he doesn't seem to remember her, even though he feels some sort of like pull towards her and he can't quite figure out why. But she's hoping she's like, he doesn't remember me. So I'm just going to not say anything so that, you know, he won't find out and I can keep my job because she's trying to raise money to hire this like super expensive best in the business private investigator to find her parents.

[00:22:00] They when she was younger, she was at school for many hours and nobody came and picked her up. And so she ended up in the system. So now as an adult, she wants to find her parents. Yeah. And so she really wants to keep this job. So she's not telling Alexander anything. And she's hoping that her culinary instincts, which are fantastic, by the way, can keep her in this position, even though she never finished culinary school. But they butt heads more often than not.

[00:22:30] He's super grumpy. She's pure sunshine. And it's a tenuous situation, to say the least. But what happens when things boil over, pun fully intended, and they discover the feelings between them are a bit spicier than they thought? Okay. I don't know. I don't know. Fae Bound by Sara El-Arifi. I'm probably saying that wrong, but I tried my best.

[00:22:58] So in this world, there are humans, there are Fae, and there are elves. Now, we follow two elven sisters who believe that the Fae no longer exists because that's what they've been taught. You have Yiren, who was basically born on the battlefield. I think literally born on the battlefield, actually, because her mom was fighting and then kept battling.

[00:23:22] She has lived on the battlefield, and she knows that one day she's going to die on this battlefield. She is a warrior through and through. Until one day, she takes her unit, and they go and investigate something. And I think all but her and one other person are killed because there's some weird magic that was protecting their enemies, and they were not able to hurt them in any way.

[00:23:51] And so when she comes back, they're like, hey, you fucked up. The penalty is death. But the ruler of their nation is her lover. So she's like, actually, JK, you're just exiled. So she has been exiled from the elven lands. And her sister, her younger sister, Lettle, is like, nah, I'm gonna go get my sister and I'm gonna bring her home because I'm not about that.

[00:24:16] So Lettle goes off to find Yiren and bring her back with Yiren's, I think, second in command, Ryan, who seems to maybe have a view of Lettle that is very grown up, let's say. So there are tensions there, but she's so focused on getting her sister. And he's like, I'll help you because first of all, that's my commander. And second of all, you're hot. Obviously, he doesn't say that.

[00:24:44] But anyways, so then they find each other out in the wild. Yiren kills this, I forget what they're called, but it's like a magical beast. And then dun, dun, dun, the Fae arrive and they're like, you've killed a prince. We're taking you prisoner. And they are now prisoners in the Fae realm. And that magical beast kind of, they like bond with the Fae and that's when they like get their magic.

[00:25:12] That's when they learn the Fae language and all of that. Oh, sad. It's their dogs. It basically, and so if the magical beast dies, the human dies. Oh, I would love that. Let me pair my life with George Bailey real quick. And so, so when she killed the beast, that also killed the prince. And so they're about to execute her. Lettle is really upset because damn it, that's my sister. Rianne's upset because he was like, damn it, I was supposed to protect her. She's my commander.

[00:25:41] But as they're about to chop her head off, she bonds with one of the magical beasts. Never happened before. It only happens with Fae. Everybody's very confused. Like, wait a minute, are you part Fae? Nobody knows for sure. So now chaos ensues. Lots of things happen. It's very intense. There is the romance and I loved it. I have two more. There was a lot of audiobook like reading this week.

[00:26:10] Fathom Folk by Eliza Chan. You have, what is her name? Mira, who is half siren, half human. And she has been promoted to captain of the border guard, which means she is able to, in theory, help the downtrodden people of the land. So the Fathom Folk are kind of like sirens and mermaids and like the mythical beings in this world. And then you have the humans. The humans are in power.

[00:26:38] They are biased against the Fathom Folk. She's half human, half siren. So she has a foot in both worlds. But she was born in the human world. So she's like, I don't know anything else. And they're like, no, you're somebody other. And it's a whole thing. And so her partner is like Prince of the Dragons, Kai. And his sister back in like the Fathom Folk land does something to piss off their mom.

[00:27:04] And their mom is like, no, no, we need to keep our reputation. So she exiles his sister Nami to the human lands. And so now she's with Kai and Mira. And she joins like a resistance that is like, we're going to rise up against the humans. But it's not quite what it seems when things start going bad. And she's having to do things that she does not want to do. And it has ripple effects for everybody involved.

[00:27:34] And there was a very sad ending and also a cliffhanger. And I need book two, please. Thanks. And last of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen. This is Mulan meets Iron Widow. And it makes me so happy. So you've got this 18-year-old girl who dreams of becoming this world-class engineer like her father. But then her father is murdered. And her entire world falls apart.

[00:28:01] And she finds evidence of who the murderer is. And she wants to investigate. And her brother is like, no, we're going to leave this alone. I already did my best. And she's like, no, I refuse. So she leaves home and goes to try and enroll in. She goes and pretends to be a boy so that she can try and get to the Engineers Guild trial so that she can become an engineer. And she is stopped along the way by one of the princes. And he's like, you're not a boy. And she's like, please forgive me for lying.

[00:28:31] And he's like, hey, how about I sponsor you into the trials because you're never going to make it in time to register. And she's like, why would you do that? You know I'm a girl. And he's like, eh, because. Why not? Because reasons. And so she is having to go through these trials to become an engineer. And at the same time is still trying to investigate the murder of her father because she's convinced that somebody in the guild is the one who either murdered him or put out a hit for somebody to murder him.

[00:29:01] And it's going to test everybody's relationship. And it ends a bit bloody, but also very satisfying, but also cliffhanger-y. And I did it, guys. I did it. Those last three, I did not have notes for. Do you have a fictional boyfriend this week? I have a pair of fictional besties. Okay. Fictional found family. Han and Kenny from The Proposal.

[00:29:31] I'm obsessed with them. They are like, they're so different. And yet they work together as friends as maybe more. And the friends that they surround themselves with, fuck Jackie, first of all. Yeah, no. But, you know, like I love their little group dynamic. I love, is it Tatiana and is it Letty? Yeah. Letty is my fictional bestie this week. Yeah.

[00:29:58] And I'm just like, they are just, their little group is so cute and I love them. Yeah. And, you know, Kenny's family. I mean, his mom. I want to go to his parents' house. Yeah. Just so his dad will make me snacks. I want his mom to plan all of my events. That too. I want them to adopt me. Yeah. I want the Uncle Nacho to come over with the mariachi band. Oh, yes, please. To every event. Like, why are you acting like you're embarrassed? I also want to play with baby Mateo. Yeah.

[00:30:28] I just, all of them. All of them. Yeah. So that's my fictional people this week. I just did fictional bestie of the week with Letty. They're such a freaking badass. They're such a loyal friend. They don't give a fuck. Not one fuck. They don't give a fuck. And it's the best. And I'm just like, I would kill to have somebody like that in my corner. Yeah. Like, yeah. Yeah. I'll square up. Right. Like, the thing is. I'll do your makeup. I'll square up with somebody.

[00:30:58] I'm versatile. Right. Exactly. And that's the thing. They're just so, like, they are so versatile. And it's like, I can sit here and say I'm going to throw hands all day. But at the end of the day, I'm a baby. I'm just a girl. I love you. But I'm just a girl. Look, I'm usually pretty non-confrontational. But I have had moments where I'm like, I could. I've been there. I could. Yes. I've been there. That man at that book sale. I still want to. When you started yelling.

[00:31:28] Punch that man in the face, dude. Ugh. Are you. Who are you talking to? Mm-hmm. Who are you. Who are you looking at with that look on your face? Mm-hmm. I know it's not any of us. Right. I know it's not. Ugh. God. I'm going to die mad. Oh, yeah. A hundred percent. I didn't get to go to the book sale this year. But next year, I'm going to go. And I'm going to be like, even my eyes peeled. Because I'm always spoiling for a fight with a man.

[00:32:11] Mm-hmm. So freaking excited. We have Sonora Reyes. I'm so sorry. I can't say it the proper way. I have a really hard time, like, doing anything accented in my mouth. But we're here to talk with them about their latest. I think this is your debut adult romance, right? Yes, it is. Oh, I love that you both have it. It's. I'm obsessed with this cover. Everything about it is amazing.

[00:32:41] I love that Thornelius is right there. I'm sorry. We're going to just. Oh, we're going to erase Luna. Oh, I haven't gotten to Luna yet. I wanted to start with Thornelius. The erasure. We both deserve the credit. I know. I'm glad they both made it. I'm a crazy dog person. So I go to Luna first. I'm glad they both made it onto the cover. Like, it's so perfect. Yeah, I'm so glad that they, like, let. So I kind of suggested to put the original, like, the original cover sketch that I got.

[00:33:09] It was, like, them and, like, kind of just, like, a plain room. And I was, like, I feel like they're. They wouldn't have just, like, a plain room. So, like, gave them all these, like, ideas of, like, background stuff. And a controller. And they used their ideas. There are so many. They're baby angels. But they're also two dudes living in an apartment in their early 20s. There's a gaming controller on a pizza. Yeah. On the couch. Yes. I love it. The little Easter eggs for the story on the cover. It's perfection. Yeah.

[00:33:38] So we would love to start out with you just kind of asking for the elevator pitch for the book for anybody who hasn't heard about it. Yes. Okay. So the proposal follows two best friends since childhood who are now roommates and coworkers. And basically one of them had just lost his previous job that sponsored his work visa. And so now he's in a tough spot.

[00:34:03] And the other one just gets out of an abusive relationship and decides we should get married so that you can get your green card. And they decide to pretend to be in love until they maybe fall in love for real. I don't know. Read the book to find out. I have to tell you, I wasn't complaining about having to read your book. That was not it at all. But I was telling Karen, I'm not really in the mood for a rom-com right now. I'm a mood reader. I know I need to start it, but I'm just not really in the mood.

[00:34:33] The second I opened this book, I read it in two sittings only because I worked during the day. And so I had to go to bed because I was going to have to get up for work. But I loved it so much. I could not put it down. So you cured my I don't want a rom-com right now. I love that. Wow. That is great because if I'm not in the mood for a specific genre, it's very difficult to get me to. Yeah. So wow. Thank you. Yeah, no. Thank you.

[00:35:03] Oh my gosh. So this is like equal kind of equal measure of like light and fun rom-com. But then there's so many hard topics. I mean, we've got domestic abuse and homophobia and undocumented persons like fear and trauma around the possibility of deportation, parental neglect and abuse and addiction and abandonment. What was it like to juggle like such big contrast in feelings between like when writing this story? Yeah.

[00:35:32] So that is a really good question. And I feel like I really like talking about this because while it is a romance and there's like a really cute love story and all of that at the forefront, it is a love story. But I feel like for me personally, when I write books, I have a really hard time writing a, you know, fluffy, happy ending without any kind of how to put this.

[00:35:55] It's like if I can't relate to the struggles of the character that they go through, then I don't feel like that's a happy ending I can relate to, if that makes sense. It's real conflict. Yeah. Yeah. And even if it's like, because of course, like most books have some kind of conflict. But for me, I usually have a hard time writing books where the conflict is only in the like romance or the conflict is only in, you know, like some kind of misunderstanding.

[00:36:23] Of course, we can have those in there and we do. But for me, it's like what goes into a person's life and everything, their identity and all those things, it makes up so much of like how they view the world and how they walk around and how they're treated and all these things. And so for me writing like a cute, fluffy romance, that happy ending is something that I feel like I can relate to more if it's like all the other stuff in there is something that I could see myself experiencing.

[00:36:52] So that's not to say that there's like not merit in those like purely fluffy, happy books. Like I think we need all of them. I think we need such a big variety of representation, not just trauma books and not just fluffy, happy books, but like books on every angle of the spectrum.

[00:37:11] And so I kind of try to like put my little drop of book stuff in the part of it that for me is like the happy ending, the romance, the sweet, joyful stuff. But also with characters that I relate to that I feel like their struggles I relate to and their mindset is something that I could get into.

[00:37:33] So for me, that's where how I try to strike the balance so that it feels like a more like for me, cathartic, happy ending. Just like for me personally, that's like where I got my catharsis is like seeing myself in a character who gets a happy ending, if that makes sense. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And especially in this day and age when like they're trying to kind of eliminate us, like make us more invisible.

[00:38:01] It's nice to be able to have ourselves more represented in media. So I love that you put that in there to kind of show like real life shit happens. Yeah, thank you. It's not all just romance. Yeah, because it's it's also like, how do you it's like there's kind of a line between something being like overwhelmingly traumatic to read, right?

[00:38:29] And something feeling like it has like real everyday like struggles. And that line is different for everybody, right? Like one read that one person might find super fluffy with just like a little bit of conflict. Someone else might be super triggered by, you know, like but I try my best to kind of walk the line. As well as I can with what works for me. And hopefully there are people out there who also it works for them.

[00:38:54] So yeah, because I feel like, yeah, I just I feel like where there is conflict, there's like also like, you know, joy and love and happiness and resistance and all of these beautiful things that I feel like they they aren't like fully separate. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, for sure. For sure. And you did such an incredible job of like putting the reader in especially Han shoes. I'm like a blonde girl from Georgia.

[00:39:22] I'm never gonna know what it feels like to fear deportation. Right. I mean, I was I was born here. My parents were born here. But I could like feel my throat closing in there. I don't think that this is too much of a spoiler, but someone gets pulled over by the police for speeding. And there's that throat closing fear of is this like is is this about to happen to me? Yeah. And I could feel his fear, even though it's something that I would never experience in my own life. So you did an exceptional job at like opening eyes.

[00:39:51] I always try to be have my eyes open anyways. But like, I've never felt something like that where it was like, oh, God, I felt like I was in the backseat with them. I'm watching it play out. I think it's really interesting when they're because obviously not everyone is going to relate to that specific experience if you haven't been there.

[00:40:11] But there are a lot of things that you can relate to, like without having without being an immigrant or without being necessarily, you know, Mexican or autistic or queer or whatever the intersections of their identities are.

[00:40:26] Or like there's something that I feel like everyone can kind of relate to, whether it's like, you know, Kenny's inability to make decisions or like, you know, emotional constipation and like all these things when you I feel like when you relate to like certain aspects of a character, it makes those parts that you don't necessarily relate to. They can still feel like something. Yeah. You know what I mean? You're still a human being and you have emotions with empathy.

[00:40:53] It gives you empathy for what other people with different lived experiences have gone through or will go through or are going through right now. Yes. That was really special to read. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. So I'd love to know where kind of this idea came from. I know we always joke. I mean, I don't know about you, but me and my friends are always joking kind of like, and they were roommates like about lesbians in history. You know, so this is kind of that. Achilles and Patroclus were roommates.

[00:41:23] These are boys. And so like, where did this story come from? Did they come out fully fledged or where did the inspiration come from? Yeah. Funny story. It actually originally was called and they were roommates. And my agent was like, maybe we should come up with like a, you know, more serious title. And then my more serious title was the bro-posal. I mean, it just hit me that like through the whole book, Han says, bro, bro, bro. I was literally just thinking that. I'm like, yeah, yeah.

[00:41:52] Like it's like a defense mechanism. It's called the bro-posal. Yeah.

[00:42:26] Oh my gosh. To avoid that consequence. Who would face that consequence most of the time would not be, you know, Canadian. Sandra Bullock. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So I remember just like thinking about that. How come, like, especially with like this country we live in, when you think of, you know, an undocumented person, you think of a specific person.

[00:42:53] So why isn't that something that's represented in these green card romances that we see all the time? You know what I mean? Yeah. Good point. So I was just like, oh, I'll probably do that. And then I saw like a, I saw like a, I think it was like a Reddit post or something of, there's actually a few different Reddit Easter eggs in this book.

[00:43:13] But the first one was essentially like the thing that like clicked it for me was like someone was like saying something about like, oh, like how come now that like gay marriage is legal, how come like two best friends can't just like get married? You know, like, you know, like they, to stay or whatever. And I was like, oh, that sounds like a really good story. Like if they're quote unquote, just best friends. Yeah. Yeah. And it kind of went from there.

[00:43:39] And it's changed a lot since the initial idea, like a lot, a lot, a lot. But yeah, I'm like pretty happy with what it ended up becoming. For sure. Absolutely. It's so lovely. It really is. I have like a soft spot for this book. Even though it's like, I don't, I don't like compare my books in the way, oh, I think this one is better than this one or whatever. So it's not that I think the proposal is like my best work or whatever. I just like it.

[00:44:09] Like it's, I like it. You know what I mean? It's so like, even though it's so heavy, it's still, it's like. Yeah. You just want to like. You just want to hang out with all of them and spend time with them. I think this is the only book I've read that I felt that with of the like, because it's my first romance. Right. And I think that's like what a romance does is like gives you the, you know, like. And like, I love my other books.

[00:44:35] But this is the first book that I wrote that I felt that specific thing with. So it's, it's, it's special for me. I like it. It is special. Like I, we're fantasy readers a lot here. And I normally like reserve, like gushing to my husband about books when it's like, it's this epic fantasy where this happens. And there were dragons. I like gushed about this book my whole drive home from getting allergy shots on the phone with my husband today. And I was telling him all about it. Oh my gosh. I love that.

[00:45:06] Yeah. And he was like, that's so, like, it sounds so scary, but so good. Like, yeah. So I was telling him about Han's experience and how like Kenny is doing this. What he thinks at the time is this selfless thing, even though like, spoiler alert, they were roommates. Like, but like the journey of finding those feelings. Oh, I loved it. Yeah. Yeah. So I know that like most stories, like we were saying, always have a conflict. And we know most stories that we love have a villain or the outside source of conflict.

[00:45:34] But rarely do I have such a visceral reaction to a villain as I did with Jackie. Fuck Jackie. What goes into writing a character that fosters so much loathing from the reader? I want to jerk her by her hair. Unfortunately, it's knowing people like that. Oh no. That's the, that's the key to it is if you know someone who like makes you feel like that. Yeah. So unfortunately I have had multiple Jackies.

[00:46:04] Oh, I'm so sorry. In different ways. And yeah. So it's, it's interesting to me too, because like most people have a similar reaction of like, wow, fuck Jackie. Obviously. Right. We all hate Jackie. Yeah. But it is interesting to see there are like polar opposite reactions sometimes of like people who are like feel, you know, represented by the fact that there is like someone who, who treats the main character this way.

[00:46:30] And then there are people who are like, oh, this feels like not realistic. Like nobody's actually like that evil. And like, I've had people tell me that quite a few times, which like I get and I'm happy for them. I'm happy for them that that is their experience. You don't know somebody capable of being so hateful. Yeah. Yeah. Because I, to be honest, I did have to, I actually toned her down a lot, which is like wild. Oh, God. Wow.

[00:46:54] Because the original Jackie was like, you know, more two dimensional, but like more like to me felt more realistic because, you know, I'm biased and I hate Jackie. Yeah. And so I wrote Jackie how I felt about Jackie, not how maybe somebody coming in reading would be. Yeah.

[00:47:15] So I had to like go in and try to give her like try to like make people see like, you know, not to justify anything she does, but like why she does it. And to be like, this is how, what is happening in her brain right now kind of thing, which I hated, but I, I, I think it is important to do that sometimes like with villains.

[00:47:38] Like I, it did make me understand a little bit more certain people, even if I don't think that absolves anyone or I don't think it should. Um, and I had never like, she is not supposed to be like redeemed in this story at all. Like she's just like a person that needs that they need to like move on from. Right. Yeah. Right. So, yeah. I don't even know if I answered your question. I went on a tangent. I was so sorry. No, that was.

[00:48:02] That just kind of wanted to talk about Jackie and how like what writing that was like, because. Ooh. Yeah. And how, how annoying is this? She's an abusive character. And I was like, I want to drag her by her hair. Like that's what I literally was so tempted to kill her off. Oh, I was like, can she get hit by this? I literally wanted to pull like a Regina George and just like hover get in my bus, but except actually die.

[00:48:30] Like that's what I, I had to like, my agent had to like, cause I was like, I know this would change the genre. I know it would, but can I do that? That's a different book. You're right. Right. But, um, yeah. So it just. Write like a book, like a spinoff book in the same world where she like, it's not a romance. Or do it. Do it under some, like do it under a fake name and put it on Wattpad and call it fanfic. Like put it on like.

[00:49:00] So that we get to experience her death. My God. She's so awful. Yeah. And that's not the first time I wanted to like kill off a character in a contemporary type of story that is not supposed to be that type of genre. Um, I wanted to do it with the Luis Ortega Survival Club too, but I, unfortunately that would have also changed the genre. So I didn't do it, but you know. Eventually you gotta write in the genre where you can. Yeah. Oh, I, I am.

[00:49:27] Um, but it's gonna be a while before anyone sees those. I love that. Eventually. Well, speaking of future projects, we'd love to know like what, what I know you just had, um, I think an announcement for a book. But what else, what else can we expect from you? So I'm actually so relieved to finally have an, have announced that other book.

[00:49:52] So for anyone who doesn't know, if you have heard of my first book, The Lesbianist Guide to Catholic School, I don't even know if this is the English version. It is the English version. Okay. So if you know of The Lesbianist Guide to Catholic School or if you've read it, there is a character in that book. Her, the main character, Yami's brother, Cesar, who is going to have his own book and it comes out in September. It's called The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar and it's, you know, his, it takes place after the events of the first book. So it's not like a same time.

[00:50:20] Um, it's after the first book and it's his journey of, you know, figuring himself out after a new diagnosis and, you know, mental health things. It is probably my favorite book I've written so far just because it's like very close to me and, you know, I struggle with that. And so it, it felt really nice to like have like bipolar in the title and they just like did not push back on that at all.

[00:50:48] And so that made me really happy. Um, so, uh, that is going to be the next thing after The Real Posal comes out. I don't know that I can say too much about the next thing. So I do have two other contracted projects that will hopefully be 2026. Hopefully we'll see. But one of them at least will be 2026. And all I can say is that I am doing something new. So there's going to be another, a different kind of like a different genre that you haven't seen from me before.

[00:51:18] And there's going to be one adult and one young adult. So there, so there's going to be one, another adult following The Real Posal. Not a spinoff though. It's not in the same world. And then another young adult after The Golden Boy. And that will also not be in the same world. So two new things. I don't know like how much I can talk about. Publishing is so weird because it's like you've got all of this ready to go, but you're like, wait, but it's, it's a secret. Okay.

[00:51:45] So we have a few questions that we always ask our authors. And this is where every media that you've ever consumed, every book, every movie goes out of your brain. So we have a segment that we call fictional boyfriend of the week. It doesn't have to be a boyfriend. Karen's had a fictional granny. I had a, Letty was my fictional bestie this week. I picked everybody. I was like the little fictional family. Yeah. She picked everybody. Everybody. I'm like the whole book, just except for Jackie. Everybody. Right.

[00:52:15] Jackie and like the, the manager at the restaurant. Daniel. Yeah. I don't even remember his name. He doesn't matter. It's just because it's, that's the middle name of someone I dated. So I was already. Yeah. So do you have any like fictional characters that you were like, that's my bestie. That's my boo thing. That's my grandma. It doesn't have to be anybody you wrote. Just like in. Oh, not in the proposal. Just like any. No, it could be.

[00:52:45] Okay. Ooh. Okay. That's a good question. Ooh. Okay. Wow. People typically fall into either. I have it like I'm a locked and loaded. I always know. Like I always have that answer ready. Karen. I have to tell her. I have her. I have to remind her. I have her because she'll tell me. Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to think of like fandoms. I've been really, really like into. I love young justice. So my like fictional son is Jaime Reyes. Like literally I birthed him. Um, we have the same last name.

[00:53:15] So obviously. That's Jaime. He's mine. That's Jaime. Um, yeah. He's my son. Um, so yeah, I, him and not just from young justice, like in all iterations of like DC comics, but the Jaime Reyes blue beetle is my favorite blue beetle, obviously. Cause he's my son. Um, yes. So yeah, I love him. Oh my gosh. It's so hard not to just info dump about him right now because I love him so much. Hi.

[00:53:45] You're like me. Anytime Aaron Warner comes up, I'm like, I need to tell you everything. You just, you even just hint at it. She's like, uh, let me tell you. Yeah. No, he's like such a cinnamon roll. Oh my gosh. Like, my goodness. Um, I will resist. I will resist. You know, I love that answer, especially because. I, it never occurred to me that I could have fictional children. Yeah. This is. Yeah. Is it life changing? It is. I'm a mom. I should have thought of this.

[00:54:16] This changes everything. Yeah. And they don't even have to be younger than you. No. To be your children. Yeah. Like, because I have, okay. Hmm. Who's a child? Well, maybe they weren't. It's like, like, I read a lot of YA and I'm like, oh my God, I love them. But in my mind, they're actually like in their thirties. Like, I know it's YA and they're teens, but they're actually. Yeah. So I get that. I agree. That's fair. Yeah. Their, their canon age is not relevant because.

[00:54:44] Or it's like another backstory of like who they are now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like I have in most things, there's like a character that I really gravitate towards. But yeah, the ones that I've really, really, really enjoyed. Jaime Reyes, Blue Beetle is a big one. And then, um, I don't know if anyone has seen The Untamed.

[00:55:08] It's a sea drama based on a like queer Chinese novel that turned into a bunch of different adaptations. But The Untamed is the one that is like a live action on Netflix. So, so good. But the character that is my son is Wen Ning. And he is just my son. He's adorable. And I love him dearly. I love him. Not even one of the main characters. This always happens to me. But it's like not a main character.

[00:55:38] She always, it's funny because like she'll be like, oh my god, this is my fictional boyfriend. And I'm like, but, but the side character. With Shatter Me. I'm like, I'm an Aaron Warner girl. And I'm like, I'm King Ishimoto all day. It's Kenji. Like what are you talking about? It's all I need. Yeah. I don't think I've ever had like a fictional boyfriend or like baby or whatever. Like I feel nothing romantic. Like I don't feel that. Yeah. Like, but I do feel like I am in no way a maternal person at all.

[00:56:08] Except when it comes to fictional characters. I will like take them and. They're my babies. Yes. I will cradle them in my arms. I will collect them. Yes. I love that. So that's how I, any maternal energy that I have ever possessed goes to fictional characters. That's fair. Yeah. But I. I will just, yeah, that's how you, that's how you get it out. It's fine. Yeah. I'm here for that. I wanted to mother Kenny and Han actually. Cause it was like, what do you mean you have cleaning day? I'm so proud.

[00:56:39] So cute. You have a cleaning day to clean your apartment. So cute. And I love that they made it. It's like, so like quote unquote manly because it's a competition too. Yeah. It's so funny. I love it. Yeah. I got that from some of my friends, like growing up, like I had, well, I was like a little younger than them, but I had like a, like older brother who like his, his apartment, his friends, they had like a cleaning race thing. So like put that in there. Cause I thought it was like really funny. That's so cool.

[00:57:10] Okay. So the other question that we always asked our guests, we know that we love your book. We'll be recommending it nonstop, but we'd love to know what are you reading or watching and recommending? So I recommend, there are actually a lot of good books that are like about to come out. Oh yeah. So, oh, the same day that my book comes out, there's another, and I'm going to, I think I'm just going to like stick to like queer BIPOC romance right now because otherwise

[00:57:37] there'll be too many options, but queer BIPOC romance in the same day as mine comes out a book from Carmen Lee. I think the last name is, I'm so bad at remembering names, but first name is definitely Carmen. And it's called, I think it's called The Relationship Mechanic. It's the same author who wrote The 7-10 Split. You've heard of that one? Yeah. I'm. Yes. Carmen Lee. I was correct. I was like, it sounds correct in my mind. Yeah. So The Relationship Mechanic. But my mind is untruth for me. Yeah.

[00:58:06] And that one comes out the same day as The Broposal, which is this coming Tuesday, January 21st. I don't know if it's this coming Tuesday by the time this will come out, but it'll. It'll be. It's Friday. It's Friday. Yeah. So it's already out. It's out. It's out. It's out now. Go get it. But The Relationship Mechanic. There's also coming out a week after mine is Julian Winter's adult debut as well. Adult romance debut. And it's called I Think They Love You.

[00:58:33] Me and Julian have been doing a couple of Instagram lives together lately. And they've been so fun because I feel like when it comes to, you know, marginalized authors, a lot of the time we're like all pitted against each other of like, oh, well, there can only be one successful one. Or like they're like the publishers just kind of like act like it's there can only be one, especially since me and Julian are both both of our books have like fake dating. They're both, you know, two men of color.

[00:59:04] And it's yeah. So we thought it would be cool to kind of like team up and like competitions over Instagram live because it's like, oh, they want us to like compete. We'll just do it. Instead of. Um, so I'm really excited to get that one. There's also I think this I think there's in April, there's a couple and one of them might be later than April, but definitely one of them in April.

[00:59:32] Johnny Garzavia also making their adult romance debut. There's a lot of YA authors moving into adult romance right now. You are. Now that you're saying it, I'm like, oh, yeah. Yeah. Um, and that's with a book called Futbolista, which if you've read Johnny's debut, it's 1500 Miles from the Sun. Futbolista is actually kind of a spinoff of that book following like a side character. So it's not really like technically related at all.

[00:59:58] But there's like a character in there that this one is about now that he's in college. So there's that one. And then Lila Lee also has an adult romance coming out this year. I love Lila. Um, you too. I love and focus. Yes. Yes. I've been waiting. The moment she's first like announced, I'm like, why is it not in my inbox? I would like it right now. Oh my gosh. I love it. Yes.

[01:00:24] So those are the ones that are coming out soon, like in the near future. There's so many, there's so many. So one that came out recently, Adeeb Karam's I'll Have What He's Having. That one is also, you know, queer adult romance from a YA author. I feel like you guys had a club at this point. Yeah. Like, listen, it's like we were YA. Yeah. Let's jump into it. Yeah.

[01:00:51] I mean, when your demographic continues to get banned, you move into an area where they have less, you know, authority to, you know. I think the other thing too is like you've, you've built this, this readership and that readership is growing up. So you're kind of growing with them too. Yeah, exactly. That's a good point. Yeah. I think that's really sweet too. Cause there's like people like with my first book, it came out in 2022.

[01:01:16] And so there'll be people like, you know, coming of age, getting older. And then as the bro pulso comes out, they're like adults now and they can read that one. And I think it's really cool that like people can grow with the author. It's very fun. Just 2025 is just like feeding us. Yeah. It really is. I'm so excited for 2025 and all the stories that are coming. It's so exciting. We are winning this year.

[01:01:46] Oh, we kind of had to. Yeah, please. Yeah, seriously. Keep winning. Oh, Adriana Herrera. I'm just going to say a bunch of authors. Yes. Adriana Herrera, Rebecca Weatherspoon, Dominic Lim, Alexis Daria, Alyssa Cole. Those are all the ones that I didn't already mention that are on here. So yeah. I'm very proud that I recognized every single one of those names. Yay.

[01:02:12] It makes me so happy because I'm like, I'm even with a podcast bestie. Yes. We love Dominic here. He, oh, he's been with us twice. He's been with us twice. Yeah, for both sex. And he's actually like local-ish to me. So my daughter, every now and then, she'll be like, can we go have dinner with Dom? Oh, that's really sweet. Oh, let me. Yeah, we, yeah. I love, I feel like I'm always like in my little niche.

[01:02:40] And so like when people throw names out there, I don't always know them. But I like recognize all of those names. So I'm like, I did it. I did it, guys. Yeah, I feel like it's, it's also like, I feel like when you're in that niche, like, because it's not that big of a niche. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like there's like, if you're talking about, you know, like adult fantasy or whatever, it's, it's, there's so many options. Right. Like limiting it down to like this, you know, queer BIPOC romance. Yeah, that's true. That's true.

[01:03:10] I'm not saying there's like not more. There are obviously a ton more. Yeah. We did focus on that list. We focused on like traditionally published, like decent sized publishers because we wanted to emphasize that there should be more, like publishing should really give more support towards that. So that's kind of like where we're coming from of like, come on, publishers. Like, let's go. My goal is to be, my goal is to be on that list. One of these days. We're getting there. It's not a goal. It's your future.

[01:03:39] Oh my gosh. Sorry. We have touched you so long. So we, no, no, no. I, I just yawn sometimes. I guess that has nothing to do with anything. No, I just, I looked at the clock and I was like, okay. We've gone like way over what we told you we would be keeping you for. I'm, it's the last thing I'm doing today. So it's fine. We do have a little bit of bad news. Yeah, we do. Just a little bit. So now that you've been on the podcast, you're actually legally obligated to come back for our future book releases. We're so sorry.

[01:04:09] We don't make the rules. We just enforce them. Oh, you don't. Okay. It's just, it wasn't us. It was some magical mystical. It was the universe. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Well, I have one in September. So yes, yes, yes, yes. Thank you so much for hanging out everybody. When this episode is airing, it's in the world. Go get it. The bro portal. It exists in the world. You need to, you need to read this book.

[01:04:36] I'm telling you, I'm like, it cured my mood read. She was truly like, I'm not in the mood for a rom-com. And I was not complaining. It was not that I didn't want to read it. No, yeah. It was just. She was like, I want to read it. But I'm like, my brain is not like me. My brain is in like fantasy mode. But I was like, I'm going to start. And it was like, I couldn't. Yeah. Everybody needs to read this book. Go pick it up. Oh, I love that. It's out now. I'm so excited. Thank you so much for hanging out with us.

[01:05:05] We can't wait for everybody to read this book. And if you want guys, come in my DMs because I want to talk to more people about it. It's so good. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you guys so much for having me. This was really fun. Oh my gosh. We've had a blast. We'll talk to you soon. We'll talk to you soon. Okay. See you in September, baby. Yes. September. Bye. Bye.

[01:05:35] I'm obsessed. I'm obsessed. I truly, truly never occurred to me I could have fictional children. No. What the hell is wrong with us? I don't know. Why wasn't one of the kids in Infinity Kings our children? We're dumb. Honestly, I feel like Kenji Kishimoto could be my fictional child. Claimed. Okay, mother-in-law. It's fine. He's my son. My son.

[01:06:05] Oh my gosh. That was so much fun. Like truly my cheeks hurt. My non-existent abs hurt from the laughing. Yeah. I'll get abs from the laughing. This is, we're manifesting that now. I love that. So much fun. I love that. I love them. That was so much fun. And I'm not like blowing smoke up anybody's ass. I truly could not put this book down. And I gushed about it to Josh. I love that. That is one of my favorite things is that you gushed about it to Josh.

[01:06:31] Because like in my brain, I'm just like, Josh only cares about the dragons and the fantasy. He doesn't even care about that. I know. I mean, he listened to Fourth Wing and liked it. Then he's trying to get through Throne of Glass, but he hasn't listened in a while. Like, so he'll get engaged in some of it. He just watched all of Shadow and Bone and now he's mad. No more season anymore. He's like, I'm mad at you for showing me this now. Oh, man.

[01:07:00] But I love it. But yeah, like, I mean, he'll listen if I talk about him, obviously. Right. He loves me. But yeah, I normally would not tell him much about a rom-com. Right. Just because like, he was like, okay. Okay, cool. But the whole, near about the whole drive home. I was like, I'm done. I'm done. Yeah. Ugh. So good. Go get a copy. Now. Okay. Can we do an announcement? I do want to do an announcement.

[01:07:24] You guys, our second ever three-peat offender is coming to the podcast next week. And of course, it is Lauren Cajassen. I don't have my physical copy yet. So I have. I'm just so excited. We're going to talk about Yin-Yang Love Song. I'm so, so excited to have her back and to talk about this book. It's so exciting. Also, she just revealed her new seals for this book. And they're so pretty.

[01:07:53] They're so cool. I'm like, I want a Chinese seal with my name on it and pretty pictures. Also, Karen, who, Karen's saying thing, who carves her seals for her is actually local to me. And I'm like, let's be besties. Yeah. I want to be friends with you. This is so cool. So yeah, I'm very excited to talk to Lauren again. I just need everyone to compliment me for the fact that I read it a week early. Like that doesn't happen, besties.

[01:08:22] That does not happen. But here I am. We we're we're getting shit done. This this is the year that we are actually like productive. I don't know who we are. You're saying that really early into the year. Let me knock on some. I know it's going pretty well, though. It's going pretty well. I mean, I know I've only done one episode so far, but like I knocked that thing out on a Sunday. And I gave our patrons early access on Tuesday. It used to be Thursday. And now it's two whole days earlier.

[01:08:51] You guys, who am I? We're going to keep it up. We got this. I'm so proud of us. OK. Time for a spiel. Yay. If you enjoyed this episode and why wouldn't you? It was excellent. We're a delight. We are. And so is Sonora. Yeah. Amazing. Like, follow and subscribe wherever you're listening to us. Follow us on social media. We are at the incoherent fangirl on all the things. I did say last week we weren't on Blue Sky.

[01:09:18] We are this week, but it's only at incoherent fangirl because apparently our handle is too long, which is very neat. I hate that it's your handle dot bluesky dot whatever. Like, let's get rid of all of that. Yeah. That's dumb. That tail matter. We don't need all of that. Whatever, dude. Eventually that's coming, I'm sure. But. It has to. I'm sure. For now I hate it. People are being like, what the fuck is this? Yeah. Visit our website, the incoherent fangirl dot com, where you can also stream all of our episodes as well as read our blog.

[01:09:46] Subscribe to our Patreon for early access to podcast episodes. Full, like, three days early, guys. Look at you. I'm so proud of me. As well as full video episodes and exclusive bonus content. And speaking of fun stuff, we have our merch shop. You can go to the incoherent fangirl dot com slash shop. I was supposed to remind you of something today and I totally forgot about it. We'll talk about it afterwards. I thought about it while I was at work and I was like, I got to do that when I get off and then I'll do it when we. When we log off. Yeah.

[01:10:17] Um, and if you have any comments, questions, concerns, suggestions, design ideas you want to tell us that we're pretty, we will accept all of that in our inbox, the incoherent fangirl at gmail dot com. We love hearing from y'all. We especially love when people take the time to tell us that we're pretty because it, we really, really love the little ego boost. Yeah. Um, and of course, one last way to support the podcast is to rate and review wherever you are listening to us. Give us those words.

[01:10:46] You know, we love the words here, guys. Yes, yes, yes, yes. She is at Mandy Perv on all the things. She's at Miss Made in China on all the things. And once you've followed us on social media and you followed the podcast on social media, you can head on over and do some more self care. You know, we love that here. Head over to herecomesthenerd.com. Use code fangirl to get 20% off your first order.

[01:11:09] Then once you've got all your art and your pins, you're going to go to wantsthepuntabookclub.com and get a subscription, get a box that's in their shop, get some goodies. We have two codes for you to choose from. We don't care which one you choose. They do not stack, but we love you no matter which one you choose. You can use either code Karen10 or Mandy10 for 10% off, but you just have to make sure you spell Karen right or you get no percent off. And Sonora is going to kill you off in their next book. Yes. Yeah.

[01:11:38] We definitely agreed on that. They're in the know. Yeah. We just cut it out of the episode, but they are fully on board with killing your name off in their next book. 100%. And speaking of people who like to kill characters off in books, you want to head over to emberdlewis.com and add like 10 of everything to your cart and use code fangirl10 and you'll get 10% off the 10 of everything, which means you've got things for free.

[01:12:08] That is how math works. Hello. We are mathematicians. Wizards of the magical kind. Hello. Mathematical kind. I don't know how to use words anymore. Freudian slip. Yep. That's what I'm here for. So then, last but not least, we're going to go support the show husband because he listened to me talk about a rom-com and actually had some like thoughtful insight and was very interested in asking questions about it and all of that. I love that.

[01:12:37] So you're going to go follow at Searchers Believe on all the things and at the Paranormal Mind on all of the things. That's his like paranormal investigation group and podcast. And if you'd like some Searchers merch, you can go to searchersbelieve.com slash shop and use code fangirl10 for 10% off. But more importantly, we have Beacon TV, which is a new streaming platform focusing on all. You're going to make me self-conscious now. I won't look.

[01:13:06] Paranormal, true crime, and horror. Say it your way. Horror content. So yeah, all of the spooky stuff. I know it's not spooky season anymore, but it's spooky season all of the time here. So if you go to streambeacontv.com, you can use code fangirl10 to get 10% off of your subscription. Subscriptions start at like $5 a month. So like a cup of coffee.

[01:13:33] And you can have access to all kinds of spooky, creepy stuff. They're in the middle of filming a reboot of like, it's not a reboot because it's not associated or affiliated, but with the cast of the Holzer Files. They're out on a brand new adventure, which was a pretty popular ghost hunting show. He's filming an urban exploration show this weekend that's going to be really fun, really cool. Don't urban explore without permission because that's trespassing and we don't want you to break the law.

[01:14:03] There's a lot of exciting things coming. So yeah, go follow at streambeacon.tv on all the things. Yay! Support the show husband. I would also like to say that while you were doing that, for some reason, Zoom decided to ask me if I was playing music. So apparently your voice is very musical. I'm, oh. Congratulations. I'm a fairy. She was a fairy. And that was... That's the musical incoherent fan girl.

[01:14:32] Thanks for listening. We love you. Bye. We are sponsored by our friends at Here Comes the Nerd. Pins, stickers, magnets, and more. Here Comes the Nerd has happy art for all fandom loving hearts. New customers can use coupon code FANGIRL during checkout for 20% off their first order at herecomesthenerd.com. Coupon applies to ready-to-ship items only. Coupon applies to ready-to-ship items. Coupon applies to ready-to-ship items. Can I get a free-trip? You're a free-trip.