I’m 100% a Vibes Reader

[00:00:00] Hi, my name is Ashley Bennett and you're listening to the Incoherent Fangirl podcast. Welcome to the Incoherent Fangirl. Where we're actually going to tell you about our weeks this week. For the first time in a while. I know. Very exciting. Look at us go. I am Karin from The Sunset. I'm Mandy of Richmond Football Club. Hey, welcome back to the podcast. Yay!

[00:00:28] We have no spoons, so. We're so tired. We're so tired. We got this though. We're gonna get through this together. It's fiscal year end for me. And I'm just- Karin's injured. I'm just dying, becoming best friends with all the doctors in the area. It's great. Okay, in our timeline it is August 26th and in y'all's timeline it is September 4th.

[00:00:58] Look at that. My parents wedding anniversary. Wow. They're not together. I was like, I don't know if I should say anything. Just a day. Just a day. This week in fangirling, what did you do? I did a little bit.

[00:01:24] I went to the Museum of Illusions with the show husband, which is really freaking cool. So I think it's a chain. Because people are like, I went to the one in so and so. But you go in and experience illusions. Yeah. Um, so there's like a room where one corner makes you look giant and the other makes you look tiny. So like, I looked like I was like four times the size of the show husband. So that was fun.

[00:01:49] Um, there's a series of like posts and like a pallet on the floor that if you sit on the pallet and someone else stands on a circle and someone else takes your photo, you look like you're sitting at your tiny and sitting in a giant chair. Mm hmm. This is so cool. Um, and then like tubes that make you look like you're in a kaleidoscope. Um, like a bunch of different puzzles. There was one where you like lay on the floor and you can make it look like you're Spider-Man, like hanging off at the building.

[00:02:18] Um, it was pretty neat. It was a, it was a worth the hour and 20 minute drive to get there. Um, we had dinner and sweet treats and all of the things. Um, it was, it was cool. I would do it again. I'd probably take big kids, but not little kids. Mm hmm. Little, littles could get kind of bored. Yeah. Um, the, the teens would like it though.

[00:02:43] Um, then the next day I went to the Atlanta United and fourth wing night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. I went with my friend Shella. It was chaotic. Um, the line for sweatshirts was insanely long. Um, and then once you get like, we're talking like 30, 40 minutes just to get to the sweatshirt table. And that was the entry into everything else.

[00:03:08] Um, they filtered everyone into the same like tiny area of the stadium. Um, so like they had bookshop pop-ups for local bookstores. Their lines were insane because like everything was right. We were all on top of each other. Um, I got to meet Gabriel, Michael and Kaya Freitz, the narrators of Zayden and Violet. Um, so we got a selfie or I guess it wasn't a selfie. Somebody else took it, but we got photos with them.

[00:03:38] Um, they had arts and crafts. So I made a, my house, my chair, my woman bracelet and a, my house, my chair, my woman poster and on the back, it said football is life. Um, and then Shella's were well the fuck aware and it's been my honor. Um, for listeners who haven't been to or heard of Mercedes Benz, it's the most beautiful stadium in the world.

[00:04:07] Um, there's so much food, so many different food options. Um, I want to say Jack Daniels had their own like bar, like a bunch of different alcohol companies had their own bars. We had Cuban food that was freaking delicious. Um, it was quality time with my girl. So I loved that. That was a lot of fun. Um, and Atlanta United won. So, I mean, what more could you ask for? Go sports.

[00:04:36] Um, I did joke that the only thing I knew about soccer was the, like one of the twins plays. So learning from her games and everything I've learned from Ted Lasso. I just wanted to jump up and like start singing Jamie Tart. Yeah. Or like, he's here. Who's there? Who's there? We're a rocket. Um, speaking of, we've been watching the new season of Ted Lasso. It's perfection. I hate that we have to wait a week to get new episodes.

[00:05:06] I got rid of cable because of that. So like, let me binge it, please. Um, without too many spoilers, Ted and Beard are now coaching a women's team. Yay. Um, I did, I did have to like tell him that fun fact in book two, a man that we love pulls out. I think it's Chelsea.

[00:05:28] I, I purposefully went and found a London women's football soccer team that he's a big fan of. Okay. Boom and sports. Um, okay. I listened to Tempest by Victoria Aveyard. So we have a dual timeline. Um, cat Rose has had to stare at the body of this famed pirate for far too long.

[00:05:57] He's right outside her door. He's been hanged, drawn and quartered. I think ripped apart and then left like there to rot in the sun in her door until there's nothing left. Like they've made him an example and he was supposed to be like this fearsome, wonderful, like everybody knows Jack Sparrow. Um, in her past, in her past life, she was Lady Katrine Rose married to the worst kind

[00:06:25] of man, the sallow, lazy, blubbering Lord. Sounds kind of like a politician that we know. Um, sounds kind of like that. Now she's the widow Rose, the queen of a pirate tavern who is never going to be a victim of a sniveling man like that again. Valid. Um, unfortunately she's approached by a member of the Royal Navy that she thought she could trust and she's offered a bargain.

[00:06:52] Valerian Kane, another famed pirate captain, um, they want his head in exchange for hers and he has the governor's orders of execution for her to prove it. Like you bring me to him or you meet the gallows in the same fate as this guy that you're staring at. Fun. Whose body is in pieces. Um, one small snag though. Oh, she's kind of in love with Valerian Kane. They've had a fling. Um, so this is a true enemies to lovers to enemies story.

[00:07:22] Um, it's a freaking adventure. I definitely heard the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack the whole time. Reading. Um, maybe you want to watch the movies. Uh, that ending is an ending that happened. Uh, so I'm glad we have the rest of it coming. Um, and I'm glad it wasn't one book. It would have been too long. Um, so it was good. I enjoyed it.

[00:07:47] Um, I've also started re-listening to ACOTAR by Sarah J Maas. Um, I've only read ACOTAR once. So I figured I should probably at least, I'm not going to do Throne of Glass. I've done that five times. I don't, I've, I've got them up here. I don't need that. But we got a whole lot of books before the end of October. Two months from now. Two months in a, two months from tomorrow. Um, so I'm trying to go through all of this. Uh, I feel like you should know the premise of this one by now.

[00:08:15] If you're listening to a bookish podcast, you know what ACOTAR is about. Um, but I do think that the show husband should have a drinking game, a shot every time Tamlin makes me audibly gag. It's like, well, I was like, that's kind of calling for like alcohol poisoning or something. Yeah. Cause like I was doing, I was like, we ended up door dashing last night, but I had taken chicken out that I had to cook.

[00:08:43] So I just like cooked it for like tomorrow night or like, you know, we'll eat it. Um, and I was listening obviously while I'm doing all that. And every few minutes it was lit. So I need to tell him like, start paying attention and just take a shot every time you hear me go. Cause it means Tamlin has said something. I love you thorns and all get out of here. Resend has showed up. She's just gotten under the mountain.

[00:09:13] Um, so the good stuff is finally happening and I'm excited to do ACOTAR again, even though like if new books weren't coming out, I don't think I would have reread it. Like I do a throne of glass, but I'm dreading getting to Crescent city. Cause I mean, Rundan is there, I guess that's okay, but exhausting. I just found out it's a completed trilogy. Really? That's what somebody was saying.

[00:09:41] They were saying that it, that it's just three books and I'm like, listen, I don't know. I've never read them. I thought she was doing all of the houses. That doesn't sound right to me. Let's Google this. Let's put this to bed. Hold on. Who knows? The internet knows. I don't know. But somebody told me that it was a completed trilogy and I'm like, that doesn't sound right. No, it was initially planned as a trilogy, but it's no longer a trilogy. It's a five.

[00:10:06] Fourth book, widely anticipated to focus on other characters like house of many waters is planned and it's tied into the other books. Okay. No. Yeah. I was like, that does not sound correct to me. No. But again, never read them. Yes. No. And you're not selling them well. It would be crazy. It would. Look. Okay.

[00:10:30] It's because I have a hard time with high fantasy in a modern, like in a city setting. Like fey and magic and like shifters. I don't want to give too much away, but like, I think it's pretty widely known. There's werewolves and like mer people in a city that's like New York. And so there's guns and mermaids. Ah. Yeah.

[00:11:00] What am I supposed to do with that? I don't know. I don't. For somebody who isn't such a fan of contemporary fantasy and writes it. High fantasy. I very specifically said high fantasy. I don't, I'm not writing mermaids, just ghosts. So anyways, you'll have to read it and see like it's. Yeah. Some people love it. I would rather we just went back to Terrace than.

[00:11:29] If I'm real. So. And then yesterday, Josh surprised me with the live production of Hadestown. We saw it in Atlanta a few years ago. So we had to watch it last night. He is not at all impressed with Reeve Carney. And like, I would love to see Jack Wolf as Orpheus. But he had me like dying. Because he was like, what a weirdo. Like, why is he such a weirdo? But what a story. I always cry.

[00:12:00] Because what is love if not to look back? So Orpheus is the goat. Whether it's Reeve Carney or not. And then I've been picking through the Leviathan Fitness series. I don't want to name them all off. Because we'll get into them later. But Leviathan Fitness by Ashley Bennett. And that's been my week. It's been a really hard work week. Yeah. Trying. Too much focus on that. You're lucky I didn't tell you about contracts and mods and decommits.

[00:12:30] So I'm going to go to bed now. Yeah. Good night. What did you do this week? I also went to a sports ball fourth wing night. But I got to go to a Giants game. And I haven't been to a Giants game in years. And it was so exciting. And all of my friends that were sitting with me didn't know baseball. So I got to like explain everything that was happening. And it was the best day ever. I was like, this is healing a part of me.

[00:12:58] And it also helped that we won 5-0. It was so good. Yay! But because I've been to Giants games before. And I know how their special events work. I made sure that we got there earlier. Gates opened 90 minutes before first pitch. Which was at 645. So we got there around 515-ish.

[00:13:24] And I made sure that I knew they had a redemption area that was outside of the park. That was open before Gates opened. So I made sure that we went to that one. Because I knew first, one of the first things first was that the other location was like on the third floor. And I was like, I don't want to think about that. And this one I knew.

[00:13:54] It was like right outside the gate. So we got in line. And it was 10, 15 minutes to get our sweatshirts. And I had friends who had come later. And like one of my friends said that they didn't get to sit down until like the fifth inning. And I was like, yeah, people were saying that the lines were ridiculous.

[00:14:14] And I'm like, this is what happens when you get non-sports girlies to go to sports games for bookish stuff. They don't know. I mean, okay, disclaimer, mine was not that. Mine was like the staff was like, we were not told to get here early. So like they didn't even like, they were behind because of poor planning. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because we were there early too because I was like, I want to beat the crowd. Yeah.

[00:14:42] And I think for the most part, it was like a lot of people were just there to grab and go. So they probably didn't care so much that they missed most of the game. I would have been sad. I had a blast. The game was great. And I got to explain so many things. I had to explain twice why there were two people on first base. I'm like, guys, that's a coach and a player. They're not two people. You can't have two players on one base.

[00:15:11] It's a coach. There's a coach. And they're like, what are you talking about? And so, yeah. So I got to explain a lot about baseball and it was really fun for me because I love baseball. It's probably of the big sports. It's probably my favorite one. Sorry, I keep finding like ants. Like American football. So that was really nice. We got sweatshirts.

[00:15:38] My daughter wants me to tell you that you owe her for your sweatshirt. And I told her, that's silly. Did you pay for the ticket? Did you pay for the ticket? She's like, I stood in line for the ticket. Did you? Did you though? Did you? Anyways. So you can do with that what you will. Yeah. I'll figure something out. But that was fun. Again, baseball. And it worked out.

[00:16:07] We didn't end up getting it. We didn't do the VIP tickets, which was like a separate experience. But we did do like the special event tickets so that we could get the sweatshirts. And we ended up, we got a, it was a group sale. So we ended up in this. It was kind of cool because it was built as a patio, but it wasn't really a patio. It was just like there was a little section behind one of like the main seating, the stadium seating,

[00:16:32] where there were like three tables and like four chairs, four little rolly chairs by each table. And it was closed off on this side. So you could only come in from this side. And we had, there was like a, I guess you would call them an usher who was standing there checking people's tickets as they were going through the seats. And she would stop anybody who would try to come into our section. So we had our own little like personal bodyguard type kind of thing. And she was so fun. She was so fun. It was a good time.

[00:17:00] And then there was near the end of the game, this, these guys came and sat down and she's like, actually, you don't have a ticket for this section. So you can't sit here. You have to move. And they tried to give her like grief. And we were all like ready to like throw hands. We're like, not her, not our bodyguard. It's not the one. No. So, but it was really fun. So I did that. I read a whole lot because I have been bedridden.

[00:17:30] I read Heir of Prophecy by Annalisa Brana. So you have Audra who's grown up as a mortal. But when she's basically kidnapped by fey priestesses, she finds out that she's part fey. And she ends up in a magical war academy. As she's learning how to harness magic and preparing to like go into battle and learning all of this stuff. She also learns that she's the center of not one but two prophecies. She is struggling to kind of hide this truth from everyone at the academy because she's not quite sure what that means for her.

[00:17:59] But she's not so lucky to be able to hide it from the prince of the underworld who is doing everything in his power to convince her to join him in order to, by his words, save the underworld as well as her own life. Because the academy is prophecy. prophecy, she might not survive that. And so she's got to figure out what she's going to do.

[00:18:27] And of course, we know how Annalie does. Yeah. It's so good. You read that last week. I read it. I finished it after we recorded. Your pants are on fire. I finished it after we recorded last week's episode. So therefore, it was after. She said, well, actually. Well, actually. No. I read The Missing Baroness by Bianca M. Schwarz.

[00:18:55] You have Georgina Bly, who is the rightful Baroness of Elmswood. But nobody outside of her, like, most trusted friends and family actually knows she's alive and that she is the Baroness. After her uncle murdered her father and attempted to murder her, she has been in hiding for, like, 10 years. She's waiting until she turns 21 to, like, kind of reveal herself. Because then he, she's age of maturity, right?

[00:19:23] So then he's no longer her guardian and he can't, like, take her money or any of that stuff or force her to do X, Y, Z. And then she can, like, claim what is rightfully hers and her title and all of this. Unfortunately, it is, like, six months away and her uncle has now petitioned the courts to declare her dead because nobody's seen her in, like, 10 years.

[00:19:46] And so now she's like, okay, well, I got to find my father's missing will because she's told by his solicitor that her father had changed it to name her best friend's dad as her guardian, not her uncle.

[00:20:06] And so if they find the will and they can prove that, then she can, you know, be revealed into society and not have to worry about her uncle stealing any of her shit or forcing her to, like, marry X, Y, Z or do any of this stuff. Right.

[00:20:24] So in order to find this will, she reveals her true identity to Lord Bertram Redwick, who is a friend of her best friend's, like, husband and who she's kind of, like, on the down low had a crush on for many years now because they've interacted, but she's, like, revealed her true identity now.

[00:20:45] And so they have to work together in order to find this will before the hearing to declare her dead happens so that she can keep her inheritance away from her father's murderer because, obviously, he should not get anything. No, not a thing. Not a thing. And, of course, forced proximity. We love it. The Business Trip by Rebecca Kincaid.

[00:21:11] It's like a short story novella type thing. You have Natalie and Wyatt who hate each other, but they have been forced to work together for the past three years on the same, like, project in their company. So, of course, because they hate each other, they are sent on a business trip together alone to Sweden.

[00:21:34] And, unfortunately, or fortunately for us readers, Wyatt accidentally sees a private photo of Natalie right before they go on this trip, and he can't stop thinking about it. And clearly the most logical thing for him to do is to even the score is to let her see a private photo of him, right? And that definitely couldn't go wrong in any way, shape, or form. Is it solicited?

[00:22:04] Because if not, you're a creep. She was like, hey, you've been acting, like, really fucking weird. Like, I know we hate each other, but you've been acting really weird for, like, a minute now. And he's like, okay, here's the truth. When I was working on that thing, and I had to, you gave me your phone because I was working on that thing for you on your phone, a private photo of you showed up. And she's like, oh, my God, what the fuck? And he's like, I'm sorry.

[00:22:30] I didn't, technically I didn't do anything wrong because I didn't do it. And she's, like, embarrassed. And he's like, hey, if it makes you feel any better, you can see one of mine. And so she's like, okay, yeah, that'll definitely work. And it works in unexpected ways. Of course it does. Unexpected to them. Not to us. Not to us at all. Julia Song is Undateable by Susan Lee.

[00:23:00] Julia is the CEO of Starlight Cosmetics and at the height of her career. Unfortunately for her family, she is also 30, single, and Korean. So she's a failure in their eyes. Oh, no, honey. Except for her beloved grandmother who she's never done a wrong thing in her life, according to her grandmother. And she's never put any pressure on her until this moment when her grandmother has revealed that she is having some health issues.

[00:23:29] And all she wants is for Julia to find somebody before she dies. And Julia panics because this is her grandmother. I love my grandmother. And so she panics and she agrees to let her family set her up on three dates. However, she believes that she is undateable because of all the previous dates that she's had. And so she's freaking out. Meanwhile, we have Tay, who is Julia's childhood neighbor friend.

[00:23:56] And he absolutely understands the weight of familial obligation because he, too, is feeling it. Not so much like the pressure from his family, but more so the pressure that he puts on himself for his family.

[00:24:10] He he's not, you know, 30 and single quite yet, but he is unemployed living in his parents' basement while he is helping take care of his ill father and also helping out literally everyone in their local Korean community who has a problem. So, of course, when his childhood crush asked him to be her dating coach so that she can go on these three dates and fulfill this like wish for her grandmother.

[00:24:39] How could he say no? How could he say no? He's not going to say no. And of course, you know, things happen and it's a good time. See you at the sunset by Susan Lee. So when Gia gets an email from HR, she thinks that she's going to be promoted. So she goes out with her best friend to celebrate and ends up having a one night stand. And it's great. It's amazing. Doesn't think she's ever going to see him again. Right. As one thinks with one night stands.

[00:25:10] Alas, she's actually being fired, not being promoted. No. And so now she has no job, no direction, no idea what to do with her life. And she decides, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to go to I'm going to go to Palm Springs to spend time with Mimi, my grandmother, who I love so much. Mimi's are the best. Mimi's are the best. Mimi's are the best. Mimi's are the best.

[00:25:35] And once she gets there, she runs into none other but Henry, her one night stand, who also happens to be the corporate lawyer that signed the papers that got her fired. Henry is in town to help his aging grandfather move into the Sunset Hills senior living community where Mimi lives. And now Gia lives temporarily while she's figuring out her life.

[00:26:03] And Gia is like super upbeat, super like despite everything that's going on. She's like positive. She's she's trying to like build this community where her grandmother lives and creating all these activities for all the senior citizens so they can participate things and live independently as elderly people. But still doing it safely. And unfortunately for Henry, it's making him it's making him loosen up a little bit.

[00:26:30] It's making him be a little less of a, you know, no, a terrible uptight person. And, you know, the chemistry between them may or may not ignite again. Who knows? I don't. Yes, I do. We all do. The Brightest Night by Tui T. Sutherland is book five in the Wings of Fire series. Again, I can't say much about the plot, but this one is Sunny's book.

[00:26:57] And this was, I believe, the original end of the series. So the Dragonettes are, you know, struggling to fulfill the prophecy, struggling to end the war without like losing any more lives. And it's a really great conclusion to this storyline and this prophecy.

[00:27:16] And it also sets up what I think is going to be like the continuation of the series, but with a new storyline that I think is going to follow like a group, different group of Dragonettes and a different prophecy. We just started the next book, so I'm not 100% sure. But we've definitely got a long way to go because I think there's something like 16 books in this series. So we're doing great.

[00:27:41] And then, of course, I have also been making my way through the Leviathan Fitness series. And so we'll talk about that shortly. Okay. Whew. That was it, I think. What a week. Yeah. Do you have a fictional boyfriend for the week? I have to say it's Taehyung Kim from Julia's Song is Undateable.

[00:28:09] He is like everyone's go-to person when something has gone wrong, whether that's a I think I'm undateable and I need a dating coach situation. Or it's like, oh, my faucet is leaking. Can you fix that situation? Like he is just ready and willing to hop in and help his community wherever they need him.

[00:28:30] Even when he's like feeling sad or feeling down or feeling like a failure, he always shows up for people and he always is like being positive for them. He like, especially for Julia, of course, when she is feeling like a failure, he is talking her up. Like after she goes on her dates and they like, they like debrief after like she goes on dates with other guys. Right. And she's telling him everything that happens and he's like talking her up.

[00:28:57] He's like, no, like stop talking bad about yourself. That wasn't your fault. That was that guy. That guy was a douchebag kind of thing. You know, and I mean, he's right. But like he he's not willing to like let her look poorly on herself. And it's so sweet and it's so cute. And the way that Susan wrote their love story was very like it felt really real in the sense that.

[00:29:25] It wasn't necessarily third act breakup, but not in the way that you think of a third act breakup. And like it's really more about them figuring themselves out and then coming together again rather than like external things being like you guys are breaking up. And it's so, so good. And he's so sweet. And I love him. So cute. That's what I'm going to choose. What about you? I'm going to go with Orpheus. It's so like sad, but romantic. Like.

[00:29:56] He loved her. He had to look back. Yeah. Yeah. Like. Yeah. Is it love if you don't? That's hard. I know. It hurts. It hurts. Josh fell asleep. Like right before. Wait for me. Like. What is wrong with you, man? Oh, man. So I'm just laying on the couch just weeping.

[00:30:21] It was funny, though, because he like I leaned over him to like to turn off the Xbox once it ended. Yeah. And I just like turned on the controller and I like moved it so it wasn't going to be playing the credits. And it came back and it was playing. It started playing like a Mumford and Son song. And it was like the Ted Lasso preview for the next episode. He woke right up. He was like, wait, it's time to watch Ted Lasso. Hold on. It's Ted Lasso. I'm up. I'm up. I'm here. I'm here. That's funny. Yeah. Love it.

[00:30:50] That's a good choice. That sound means we have an intruder alert. Oh, this is such an exciting intruder. We're talking about a whole series today. I'm so excited. We've got Ashley Bennett. We've got. Oh, no. The book cover went away. Oh, that's so cute. I didn't hold up my Kindle. I knew I would mess it up. It's still there. They're too pretty to not hold all of them. Okay. This is true. We are talking to Ashley Bennett.

[00:31:19] We're talking about the Leviathan Fitness Series. Thank you so much, Ashley, for being here. Thank you both for having me. We're so excited. All right. So the first thing we always ask, it feels like usually is like the hardest question, is can you give us the elevator pitch? Let's do for the whole series. Sure. Sure. It is a series of cozy monster romances, low stakes, low angst about humans and monsters finding love.

[00:31:47] I think it's a good entry to monster romance. Yeah. Yes. It's super fun. Like monster romance light, right? Yeah. Ease them in. Take your toes in. So in a monster romance, for those who haven't ever read one, the love interest in these books are not your typical boy next door humans. What made you want to write monster romances? Where did these stories come from?

[00:32:15] So I think that this was like Morning Glory Milking Farm. Like, have you read that? I haven't, but I've heard a lot about it. Yeah. Probably like, I would say the first more mainstream monster romance. It did so well on TikTok. CM Neskasta, the author is great. So that series had just, well, the first book had just started to get popular. And I, at the time, was obsessed with this anime called Beastars, where the characters

[00:32:43] are like not human. They're like, I don't know, anthropomorphic. I don't want to say animals because that sounds weird. But not human love interests. And I just thought that, you know, it was so interesting to kind of write something that was a little more, I don't know, just out there. Just explore, you know, non-human characteristics in a romance setting. So fun. I love it. And how'd you land in Leviathan Fitness?

[00:33:12] So at the time, when I was writing the first book, I was working as a vet tech. I worked at a veterinary radiation oncologist. And I had a conversation with my then boss about her going to the gym. And she would kind of make up scenarios between people at the gym, like that they were in relationships or like this was going on between them. And I just thought that that was such a good idea and such a good setting. I know. So I thought that that was a great setting.

[00:33:41] And then I wrote the first book and it did well. And then I quit my job. So I'm glad that she gave me the idea. But at the same time, I feel bad. I'm glad. Okay, so this feels like... I'll give you two this to you. So this feels like kind of a silly question to ask because of like what we're talking about. But like, is there any kind of research that you do? Like when you're writing? Like, do you dig into like mythology or things like that to kind of make the monsters feel as real as possible?

[00:34:10] So I wish that I was someone who was like deeply intellectual and into mythology and really dug into it. But I kind of just go by, oh, these are popular monsters in media. Like if you asked me to create something, I think 100% on my own, like outside of like, you know, a kraken or a wolfman, I would have a really hard time. So I try to go with stuff that I guess is somewhat familiar. But I mean, from that, I guess I kind of make it up as I go.

[00:34:39] Like Cyrus in the second book, like some of the stuff with his tentacles, I just kind of made up as I went. You know, I was like, oh, he can survive out of water because that would be so limiting for my plot. So it's nice to kind of have that to play with, I guess, without going, you know, full mythology or realistic characteristics, I guess. Well, I mean, yeah, you have to make them your own. And they have to fit in the rules of your plot. Exactly. So that's really cool. Make them my own monsters.

[00:35:08] I feel like Atlas was a kind of easy one, but Cyrus was very fun. Okay, so these started out shorter. And then when Berkeley saw your talent and was like, hey, hey girl, hey, you have the opportunity to go back and expand them into like full length novels. What's that experience like? That's so wild. So I think that that's the hardest thing I've ever done.

[00:35:33] The biggest challenge that I've had as an author, taking something that was very well loved and then changing it and hoping that my original readers were going to love it as much as they did the first time. That was an immense amount of pressure on me, I guess, as you know, as a creative. So I struggled initially, but I think that I kind of started to have a system after the

[00:35:59] first book to where I just kind of worked things in where I could and where I thought it made sense to expand. Obviously, since the initial publications, my storytelling skills have gotten much better too. So there's certain parts where I'm going back and editing it and I'm like, what was I thinking? Like there's a part that just, you know, a scene that just totally didn't make sense or like there's a continuity error that nobody said anything about, but like I caught it that second time.

[00:36:29] So it was difficult, but I've heard from readers that they couldn't tell, you know, like, you know, that I had added or what I had added, that there was a good flow. So that was a very, that's awesome. Yeah. That was a high praise from them. But yeah, I was very overwhelmed initially. I mean, you have to give yourself some grace. A lot of, a lot of readers, I know I am that way, unless it's like glaringly obvious, I'm a vibes reader.

[00:36:57] So like, I'm not taking notes for like, this was the wall color and now it's that I have no idea. I have no idea that the address changed. Yeah. They're so thorough in their reviews and like good for them, but I'm a hundred percent vibes reader. If it's not problematic, it's fine. Right. Exactly. If they say something awful, I'm like, this was great. Yeah. Right. If they say something awful, then I'm like, no. If I finished it, five stars. You can't ask me, like, never ask me how I write things because I'm like, did I enjoy it?

[00:37:26] Would I read it again? It's perfect. Five. Like, I can't answer anything. I used to be a five star snob and that kind of went out the window a long time ago. I always tell people take my ratings with like a grain of salt because it's really, it really is vibes. Like, I could hate this and this and this, but it'd still be a five star read because of the vibes. Right. Well, I think too, after writing a book and knowing how hard it is to write a book, I'm good for you. Like, you wrote it, you finished it, you published it. Yeah. That's so hard.

[00:37:56] Big deal. Yes. Yeah. Glad that we're all based on vibes. Yeah. Can you, can you give us a little bit of insight into like your writing process? Are you like a plotter or a planter? Does it change with each story? Has, has it changed since, you know, going traditional publishing? So when I first published these, you know, indie, I had no idea what I was doing. Like it's, you know, they were novella length.

[00:38:23] Well, the first and second book were, and then the third book was like more full length, but that's not here or there, but I just kind of went on vibes. So again, had no idea what I was doing. And then second book, I, you know, knew a little bit more. Third book, I kind of understood, you know, acts and plot structure and, you know, this is where this beat needs to happen. And, you know, these are where the character started and this is where we're going at the end.

[00:38:50] So initially, no, I had no idea what I was doing. Was definitely a pantser, just kind of going with the flow. But now I'm someone who has to have, like, you can't see it, but there's a big plotting board for my next book over there that has like post-its. Oh, I love that. Yes. So originally, no, I had no idea what I was doing with regards to writing. But now my process is a little more in depth.

[00:39:17] I put everything on note cards, work it out as far as scenes. And then, yeah, I just kind of sit down and force myself through my ADHD and just commit to getting it done. I'm like, that sounds so hard. Is it harder? I imagine like with trad publishing, there's like stricter timelines in terms of things. Like, is that harder writing on a deadline? It is.

[00:39:41] And that's another thing that's been quite the transition for me as someone who have, like, do either of you have ADHD? Or maybe you're undiagnosed? I did ADHD testing and they were like, so it's not ADHD. You just have so much anxiety that it manifests exactly like ADHD. So I feel ADHD. Yeah. I feel like I'm probably undiagnosed ADHD. Yeah.

[00:40:11] So I'm definitely one of those people that's like, oh my gosh, I know I have to do this. I have to do this. I have to do this. And then in the final hour is when I'm actually doing it and I'm like committed to getting it done. So that's been hard with deadlines. I have been known to have some breakdowns towards the end. I feel bad for my poor husband, but there's been, you know, kind of working that out. Luckily, my editor is so wonderful with Berkeley and has been so patient with me, especially

[00:40:40] for the rewrites, because it's like I said, it was hard. It was a lot. But she's been very flexible and great. And but it is hard to go from before I had only worked with like my friend who does editing for, you know, government contracts and stuff like that. So it's not the same as like book editing, but she's an added leader. But there's no hard and fast deadlines for that. Right. And with TradPub, we have to get it to the copy editor.

[00:41:08] It has to be, you know, going to the formatter at this point. Like I have to have your past pages done. Like everything has to happen at the set time for us to make it to that release date. So I've had to kind of be better. How do you choose which kind of monsters your main characters are going to find and fall for? And do you like have a running list for future books?

[00:41:35] I so when I'm writing in side characters, I guess that's kind of where I have a plan for who's going to be introduced for future books. But I think it's just mainly I'm just going off of the vibes like I knew initially when I wrote the indie books, I didn't mention Cyrus at all in the first book and then just kind of like made him up for the second book. But yeah, I guess I don't really go into it knowing, you know, I want to have these monsters

[00:42:04] in it. It's just kind of like, oh, I have this side character idea that I kind of like need to think of a monster for, but like something that could work for their plot down the line. Like Atlas's best friend Fallon, like I immediately knew that I wanted him to be a griffin because I wanted to write a character that had a beak because I thought that that would be really interesting for a romance book and like working around that. But yeah, I wish that, you know, I had like a running list.

[00:42:33] But yeah, it's totally vibes. You're just like so valid. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. Okay, so we have some fun questions for you. We don't want to keep you forever because I mean, we do want to keep you forever. But we promised we wouldn't keep you forever. So we're going to ask you some fun questions. Um, we have a segment that we call fictional boyfriend of the week on the podcast. And it's basically where we pick a character that we really vibe with that week.

[00:43:02] It doesn't necessarily have to be like a boyfriend or anything. I've had a fictional granny. Mandy's had a fictional son, anything kind of like that. Are there any fictional characters that like you're just you really love? You think everybody needs to meet them. And it doesn't necessarily have to be like books. This is where everybody's like, I've never seen a movie. Like, this is hard. I wish that I could have prepared. I'm the only one that's always like 100% of the time. I know my answer. It's like the weirdest phenomenon. Yeah.

[00:43:31] Everything just leaves your brain in the moment. Somebody could ask me that like on the street and I'd have an answer. But like, you'd be dead. Yeah, but I'm sitting here and trying to think. Hmm. Who do I want to like have? And that can be like any sort of media. So like books, movies, television, video games. Celebrity crush. Yeah. Celebrity crush is easy. Paul Rudd, 100%.

[00:44:00] It's my all time. That's a good one. That's a good one. Yeah. I love you, man. I love that movie. He just is amazing. And I think that he would make me laugh and he doesn't age. So that's amazing. He really does. That's what happens when you're not problematic. I mean. Exactly. Yep. So that would be my pick. I would love to write a character based off of him at some point. So. Ooh. Yes. Yes.

[00:44:28] He would make such a great romance character. Yes. Like very golden retriever. And then he'd have to play them in the movie. Yeah. Oh, I love it. Okay. So we're going to look out for that. Okay. We know we've loved, we love your books. We're going to recommend your books. When you're not writing, what are you reading? What are you recommending? Favorite books? So I read completely outside of the genre.

[00:44:55] I mean, I guess outside of, you know, the genre of romance that I write in. I love dark romance. I can't get enough of it. I don't know why it's my favorite. I think it's just such a stark contrast from what I enjoy writing. That it's that nice break where I can kind of lose myself in it without worrying, like without worry that I'm comparing myself or like, you know, taking things. Yeah.

[00:45:24] So I mean, you're impacted by all media. Yes, exactly. But you don't want it to be too close to where it's like, oh, she was impacted by this. People are always like, oh, you know, who's your favorite monster romance author? And I'm like, I don't really read monster romance. Like I write it. I don't read it. But so Saffron Kent, one of my favorite dark romance and I guess kind of taboo romance because one is like student professor. One is psychiatrist patient.

[00:45:57] So that's really taboo. I love it. I love a taboo though. I don't know what it is. I read a while back. This is probably a couple of years ago, but I read a Katie Robert, a touch of taboo series that little, those. It's a good time. It's a good time. I don't know what it is about it. I'm like, this is not anything that I want in my regular everyday life. But you're like, I'm calling the police in real life. But in a book, you're like, okay.

[00:46:27] In the book, it's great. It's everything. Yeah. I don't know. Student professor is, I don't know. That one's not a challenge. I was thinking more like psychiatrist and patient. Yeah. That one. That's a violation. I mean, the book is really good, but that is totally inappropriate. It's not something that I would encourage. That one if it's your friend, you're like, no. Yes, I would be very concerned. Okay. So we've got, we're three books in. I just saw on Storygraph that there's a fourth one coming.

[00:46:58] There is that potentially announced. There's a whole cover and everything. And I'm like, I haven't heard anything about this. I mean, I do have Fallon's book. Like it's written into my, that's like a whole big thing with like contracts and how that works. But yes, I would love to write Fallon's book because I think that he's probably one of the most popular characters from the series that every, like everybody asks about. When are we getting Fallon's book or when are you going to write it?

[00:47:27] But it's hard because like my contracted stuff, you know, that has to come first. I'm a really slow writer. But I would love to have that out. And Berkeley has me contracted for a fourth monster book. But that, you know, we'll kind of see what happens with that, I guess. And first cross because that would be. He is so funny. Yeah. He's so funny. I mean, I feel like, of course he's a fan favorite. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's a good one.

[00:47:56] Just like let him be so unhinged. Oh my God. Fallon like falling in love just feels like it would just lean into unhinged so hard. Yeah. In the best way. In the best, most chaotic way. Yes. Well, and I think that Fallon kind of needs someone who's like a little bit mean to him too. So someone needs to give him that like touch of like reality. So. I love it. Yes. So what, I mean, what comes next for you?

[00:48:24] Is it, I know you said, hopefully it's that one, but is there anything else that you're working on that you can talk about? Oh, so I have a vampire romance that releases with Berkeley next year in April. Um, that's actually what started my traditional publishing career, I guess was that book. Um, but it finally releases after three years. Um, and then that is also going to have a second in series. So we'll kind of see what happens after that, but it's called rugged blood.

[00:48:54] It's vampire romance. It's a little bit, I think more, um, I don't want to say darker, but it's definitely more typical paranormal romance than my cute monster romance. But I'm really excited. That's so exciting. And we have bad news for you now. Yeah. It's terrible news. Um, now that you've been on the podcast, you're actually legally obligated to come back for all future book releases. Oh, yay. That's great. We'll see you in April. I'm so honored.

[00:49:24] So we'll see you and we'll talk about vampires. Yeah. I think that you'll really like it. It's, I think it's my best book so far. Oh, that's always fun. I love that. Yeah. Yay. We love that. Okay. Well, this has been a blast. I love these books. They're so much fun. And it just feels like, honestly, they kind of feel like a warm hug. They're so cozy. So cozy. It's so nice. It doesn't like your anxiety going. Yeah. Like I read a lot of high fantasy.

[00:49:53] So I'm like, oh, it's all right. And like, these are just like, these are like, oh, hey, I can't see him because he's across the country. Like that's as bad as it gets. Okay. I'm okay with that. I think that that's kind of what we need in the world right now. Yeah. Some call hugs. Escape. It's so nice. It's very nice to have that. So we appreciate it. Yeah, for sure.

[00:50:19] So when this episode releases, all three of these books will be out in the world. So you can go, you can pick them all up. You can binge them. Please do because they're a lot of fun. And they're such like fun, quick reads. Like I feel just like I sit down and I read and I'm in a happy place. And then I'm like, okay, the world's a little bit better for a minute. So thank you so much, Ashley. Yes. And I think they get to read them all at once, which is great.

[00:50:48] Thank you so much for being here, Ashley. This has been so much fun. We really appreciate it. Yeah. Thank you both for having me. This was great. And hopefully we'll talk to you soon. Yes. All right. Bye. Bye. Oh, she's so freaking cute. I love her. She's so cute. I adore her. That was so much fun. I know. I'll have her back in April because I love a vampire. And I love, I love a vibey girl. Like, yeah, I'm sorry.

[00:51:18] It was all vibes and that was everything. I loved it. When she said it's just kind of vibes. I'm like, yes, you understand. You get it. You get it. I feel so good. That feels so good. Yay. Okay. I believe it is time for announcements. Yay. I have an announcement. You don't. I have a Kindle. I have a Kindle. Okay. So next week we're talking to Geneva Lee about Harbinger.

[00:51:48] I swear I have a copy. It's just over there and I can't walk. So I love this cover. It's so spooky. It's so like, it's so simple, but it's, it's, I feel like it says. I love it so much. No, it's so metal. Metal AF. I'm obsessed with it. It's so good. Yeah. So I'm so excited. That's going to be a fun time to talk to her about it. Yay. Can't wait. Okay. Okay. Now it's time for a spiel. Woo.

[00:52:18] We did it. We did it. If you enjoyed this episode, please like, follow and subscribe wherever you're listening to us. Follow us on social media. We are at the Incoherent Fangirl on all things. Visit our website, theincoherentfangirl.com, where you can also stream all of our episodes as well as read our blog. Head over and subscribe to Patreon for early access to podcast episodes, full video episodes, bonus content, and the opportunity to ask questions of our guests. If you're a merch girly, you can head over to our shop, theincoherentfangirl.com slash shop

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[00:54:15] And there's always a dude there like moaning because he's lifting weights. Ew. Ew. Gross. Gross. Spoke Karen right and get 10% off instead. Yeah. Do that. Do that. Next up, you're going to head over to emberdlewis.com and add like 10 of everything to your cart. Then you'll use code fangirl10 and you'll get 10% off the 10 of everything, which means I'm pretty sure one of everything is free. I think that's good math.

[00:54:45] Yeah. And you've saved so much money. You're welcome. And last but not least, you can support my family. You can follow the show Husband. He's at Born at Josh on all the things. You can follow at Searchers Believe on all the things. That's the paranormal investigation group. But the big one is Beacon TV. So go subscribe to Beacon TV. You can use code fangirl10 and get 10% off of your subscription. And you can go follow at Streaming Beacon TV on all the things.

[00:55:15] I am their social media girl. So you'd be talking to me when you engage with Beacon socials. So go do that. And last but not least, I did a little something. I wrote a little book. It's called The Living and the Dead. It's about a girl who was born a ghost, but ages like the living and the reaper who would die to get her to look at him. Just one little glance. He's a yearner. He's a yearner, my boy. And I'm on all the major retailers' websites.

[00:55:44] But if you would like it signed and a little bit of a discount, go to aepervis.com and get your copy and use code Erin Warner to get 10% off because it would not be me if I did not make something about Erin Warner. Always. Otherwise, you'd be body snatched. Yes. Would not trust that person. No. Who's she? Not me. Not Mandy. That was the incorrect thing, girl. Thanks for listening.

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