I’m Here and I Have a Story to Tell

[00:00:00] Hi friends, Karin here. This interview was recorded on October 17th, about two weeks prior to Election Day in the US.

[00:00:07] I am recording this message on November 10th, just under a week after Election Day.

[00:00:12] Mandy and I wanted to state irrevocably and undeniably that we are not a safe space for anyone who votes against human rights.

[00:00:19] Film, television, books, any art form, and the very act of the consumption of art is political.

[00:00:25] There has been a lot of discourse over the past few days and there will continue to be much discourse in the next several years,

[00:00:32] but we want to make it abundantly clear where we stand.

[00:00:35] For those of you on the margins of society who are afraid for what's to come, we see you, we hear you, and we stand with you.

[00:00:42] Please take care of yourself during this time, find your community, and above all else, survive. We need you.

[00:00:48] Our existence has been politicized, but that just means that our continued existence is resistance.

[00:00:54] So continue existing and continue resisting. We love you.

[00:01:02] Welcome to the Incoherent Fangirl.

[00:01:04] Where we have a very special episode this week.

[00:01:07] We haven't had many episodes recently, but it's a very special episode.

[00:01:11] Surprise! Surprise!

[00:01:12] I'm Mandy of the Sea of Devour.

[00:01:15] And I'm Karin from Mount Devour.

[00:01:17] Dun, dun, dun.

[00:01:18] Hey.

[00:01:19] Sounds so sinister. I love it.

[00:01:20] I know. I love it. That's why I picked it.

[00:01:23] That's why I picked the Sea of Devour.

[00:01:26] Can you imagine just the sea opening up and devouring you?

[00:01:29] I love it.

[00:01:29] No, I like to sleep at night.

[00:01:31] No, it's so sinister.

[00:01:33] But in like a fantasy world, not in real life.

[00:01:35] True.

[00:01:35] I feel like that would be very, very excellent.

[00:01:44] That sound means we have an intruder alert!

[00:01:47] This is an exciting intruder.

[00:01:50] So exciting.

[00:01:50] Today we have Rachel Hauzel Hall, the author of The Last One, among other things, here to talk about her latest book.

[00:01:58] How are you?

[00:01:59] Yes.

[00:01:59] Thank you for being here.

[00:02:01] I am fine.

[00:02:01] Thank you for inviting me.

[00:02:02] It's so wonderful to see you hold that.

[00:02:06] It's wonderful to hold it.

[00:02:07] It's really lovely to be able to hold it in my hand.

[00:02:10] I do love it.

[00:02:11] And just, ugh.

[00:02:12] Okay.

[00:02:13] So what we normally do is we ask our authors if you can give us an elevator pitch of the book for anybody who hasn't heard about it.

[00:02:20] Okay.

[00:02:21] So a woman wakes up in a forest, almost naked, and doesn't know where she is, how she got there, but she knows that she has to get to this big ass mountain way over there to save the world.

[00:02:32] And that is the last one.

[00:02:34] Oh, did I mention that there's like, you know, of course the hot blacksmith and a little thief and weird creatures that want to kill her?

[00:02:44] Other than that, you know, it's a straight forward deal.

[00:02:45] You just go to the mountain.

[00:02:46] Yeah.

[00:02:47] Just the mountain.

[00:02:48] It's not a big deal.

[00:02:50] She's an every woman.

[00:02:52] So, hilariously, you said she has to go up to the mountain and I've just recently rewatched Frozen and so I just got that image of Anna trying to climb up the mountain.

[00:03:04] Oh, yeah.

[00:03:05] The universe is trying to tell me something.

[00:03:07] I need more women climbing mountains.

[00:03:09] Yeah.

[00:03:10] Let it go.

[00:03:10] Let it go.

[00:03:12] Okay.

[00:03:12] So if I'm not mistaken, is this your first foray into fantasy?

[00:03:16] It is.

[00:03:17] It is.

[00:03:18] You know, I play, I'm a gamer and I'm actually playing Eternum right now.

[00:03:21] So I'm familiar with that kind of fantasy world and I like sci-fi and I like some romance, but I am a crime writer.

[00:03:31] That is my bread and butter.

[00:03:33] And that's my first love.

[00:03:34] And this was an opportunity that was presented to me by Liz Pletier from Red Tower because she knows I've written 13 books and she knows that I like doing new things, telling new stories.

[00:03:49] And she said, do you want to write a romantic series?

[00:03:53] And I don't ever say no.

[00:03:55] And especially I don't say no to Liz.

[00:03:57] And I said, yeah, I'd like to, I'd like to do that.

[00:04:01] It's hard.

[00:04:01] And I come with this with great respect and admiration for those writers who do it all the time.

[00:04:08] I'm learning and it's, but it's so fun.

[00:04:10] And just like every other story I, I've told before, it's just another way of me trying to figure out what my life is about, what I believe, what makes me angry, you know, just one more cipher for me to be pissed off.

[00:04:25] But now in a world with creatures that don't exist, it's a totally different, it was a totally different kind of writing for, for me.

[00:04:32] And that's what I'm curious about, like how much of your thriller and crime background like went into the writing of this and what's it like switching up?

[00:04:41] Yeah, no.

[00:04:43] So crime, of course, is hard and fast.

[00:04:45] We have laws.

[00:04:46] You kill someone, there are laws down to like the code and the type of penalty you'll receive.

[00:04:51] For this, I had to create this whole new world and I thought I'd done it until Liz is like, yeah, we need like maybe 70,000 more words because, you know, it wasn't as big as I thought it was.

[00:05:07] And that's fine.

[00:05:08] I mean, I have, I am very political and I have big thoughts about things.

[00:05:14] And so it was kind of easy for me to say, oh, I believe this, this, this and this, but how to make that into an entire world.

[00:05:21] I had to fall back on my, you know, my classical education as an English American lit major and then reading a lot of fantasy again, but this time forensically, as opposed to like for pleasure.

[00:05:34] And it took a moment.

[00:05:36] It took a moment.

[00:05:37] I was still also writing my crime novel that came out this past summer at the same time.

[00:05:42] And I have a job.

[00:05:45] It was, it was, it was crazy.

[00:05:47] But fortunately, you know, I love this.

[00:05:49] I love writing.

[00:05:50] I love telling stories.

[00:05:52] I love learning.

[00:05:53] And all of it just kind of conspired to, to help me figure out again, what it was that I believe.

[00:05:59] And I fell back on what most of my crime stories are.

[00:06:03] And it's about women who wake up and go into a space where people believe that she should not exist, where she's kind of like the tippy hedrin in the birds, where she comes into this space and all hell kind of breaks loose all around her.

[00:06:19] And she has to figure out how to calm it all down and how to like survive so that she can actually do her job.

[00:06:25] So Kai, our heroine and lost one, is me in a way.

[00:06:31] And it's funny because I am also going into this space, this new space of, you know, romancy, trying to figure it all out.

[00:06:39] And knowing that, you know, I may face some hurdles and some people who don't want me here.

[00:06:45] But you know what, I'm here.

[00:06:47] And I have a story to tell.

[00:06:49] And I'm going to use that newness to launch into this new realm that, you know, I want to inhabit.

[00:06:56] Yeah.

[00:06:58] Fantastic.

[00:06:59] That's yes.

[00:06:59] Take up space.

[00:07:01] You deserve to take up space.

[00:07:02] I am going to woman spread all over this.

[00:07:05] Hell yeah.

[00:07:06] We are here for it.

[00:07:08] Yes.

[00:07:09] Yes.

[00:07:09] Let's do it.

[00:07:10] So I'm curious, are you, especially with something like fantasy?

[00:07:15] Where you kind of have to build out a world that is generally different than ours?

[00:07:21] Are you, when you're writing, are you more of a plotter or a pantser?

[00:07:24] Did you have to like, do you have like, I know we interviewed an author that they had like an encyclopedia for like their fantasy world.

[00:07:32] Do you have like something like that?

[00:07:34] Oh my gosh.

[00:07:35] Yes.

[00:07:35] I actually, because I'm working on the second one now, I actually created a template and printed them out of sheets that track.

[00:07:44] That name, belief, outfits, all this just because it's so big.

[00:07:49] But I am an outliner.

[00:07:50] I am a control freak.

[00:07:52] Part of that is just me just genetically being that kind of person where I do something that's not on the list.

[00:07:58] I'll write it down on the list and cross it off.

[00:08:00] I'm that kind of person.

[00:08:02] But you know, I have so much going on, especially with the day job.

[00:08:07] My daughter's in college now, but you know, for all of her life, I was, you know, I'm a working mom.

[00:08:13] And having an outline makes me feel like I'm moving forward because, you know, I get four hours.

[00:08:18] I wake up at four o'clock in the morning to write every day.

[00:08:21] And that's pretty much it from four to seven.

[00:08:25] And that's pretty much it.

[00:08:27] I do some little things at the end of the day, but my mind is fried.

[00:08:31] So I need outlines.

[00:08:33] And that gives me also kind of the permission to wander off track because I have, you know, that outline.

[00:08:40] And I let my mind wander as much as it wants, but I do come back.

[00:08:44] And with this fantasy, this romancy, I relied on, I use save the cat method.

[00:08:50] I use index cards, post-it notes, my new template.

[00:08:55] I am like organized and I have, oh, and I have comp books with mortal stuff, God stuff, map environment stuff.

[00:09:03] So my work desk is just like towers and towers dedicated to organization and, you know, rubrics.

[00:09:11] I really like what you said about like how you're able to kind of let your mind wander because you have that outline.

[00:09:17] I never like thought about it that way because if you have an outline, I think the general thought may be like, well, we got to stick to this outline.

[00:09:26] But like, I like that where you're like, I can wander, but then you know where to come back.

[00:09:30] I know how to get home.

[00:09:31] Yeah.

[00:09:32] Right.

[00:09:32] Oh, oh, this changes everything.

[00:09:37] But think about it.

[00:09:38] It's like, you know, you have your earphones on and if they're wireless, you know, you can go over there.

[00:09:43] But, you know, if it starts like freaking out some, you can come back and you can be, you know, powered again by this unseen force.

[00:09:51] And that's what I see it as.

[00:09:52] I see it as help and not a hindrance.

[00:09:55] I love that.

[00:09:56] That's really smart.

[00:09:57] Yeah.

[00:09:58] Yeah.

[00:09:58] So I read a little bit of feedback on the last one that kind of compared it to The Witcher meets N.K.

[00:10:07] Jemisin.

[00:10:07] Uh-huh.

[00:10:08] How does it feel to get such high praise and high comparisons in a new to you genre?

[00:10:15] Like, that is crazy.

[00:10:16] It is crazy and wonderful.

[00:10:18] But, you know, I'm like most writers and it's like I'm neurotic and are they just being nice to me?

[00:10:24] You know, it's kind of that I don't believe anything and I'm a skeptic and I'm scared and I don't want to, like, look at it because, you know.

[00:10:32] And as a crime writer, I'm very much aware of people waiting for your fall.

[00:10:38] And again, that's just the kind of fatalist I am because of what I write.

[00:10:44] But in those moments of feeling good about my writing and myself, I feel wonderful.

[00:10:51] It makes me, I can breathe, you know.

[00:10:53] I do respect this so much because I've read a negative review here and there and someone used the word tries her hand at.

[00:11:04] And to me, I was offended at that because I am a career writer.

[00:11:09] My first book was published on the first anniversary of 9-11.

[00:11:12] So I've been at this for a very long time.

[00:11:16] You're like, I'm not new here.

[00:11:17] Right.

[00:11:17] I don't try my hand at anything.

[00:11:19] I don't wake up at 4 o'clock every morning to try my hand at anything.

[00:11:24] I am a serious writer.

[00:11:26] My day job is writing.

[00:11:27] And so that more, because of what we are as human, I burn more at that than enjoy the praise.

[00:11:37] It's that 8,000 great reviews, one negative review.

[00:11:41] And you kind of like just lean into that one.

[00:11:43] And it's like, boom.

[00:11:44] I think that's just who we are as humans.

[00:11:46] Yeah.

[00:11:46] Like everybody, you could be praised by God himself.

[00:11:50] Yeah.

[00:11:50] And you're not going to believe that.

[00:11:52] Yeah.

[00:11:52] You're going to believe that one negative person.

[00:11:54] Right.

[00:11:54] And you're aware of that.

[00:11:56] Bob from the middle of nowhere.

[00:11:57] I just had an interview recently where they quoted the mentality that, you know, you could

[00:12:03] be the brightest, juiciest peach on the tree.

[00:12:06] And there's still going to be somebody who would rather you were an orange.

[00:12:10] I like that.

[00:12:11] I like that.

[00:12:12] It's just going to be somebody that doesn't like peach.

[00:12:14] Yeah.

[00:12:14] And you wake up that morning.

[00:12:16] It's like, I'm so juicy and peachy.

[00:12:17] Look at me.

[00:12:18] I'm great.

[00:12:19] And then they're like, you're not that great.

[00:12:21] Oh.

[00:12:21] You're wrong.

[00:12:22] So that's okay.

[00:12:23] Yeah.

[00:12:23] Yeah.

[00:12:24] You're wrong and move on.

[00:12:25] Yeah.

[00:12:25] No.

[00:12:26] And that's why, you know, I'm very much aware of that.

[00:12:28] And I keep actually a wind jar on my desk so that when I'm feeling that way and like

[00:12:35] I haven't achieved anything, I look at my mason jar, my pink mason jar and say, okay,

[00:12:42] I don't suck as bad as I think I do.

[00:12:44] Whereas that person and my cat right now, Gus Gus, he is purring and scratching his face

[00:12:52] against my wall.

[00:12:54] Like, I guess my phone.

[00:12:55] I guess, Gus.

[00:12:57] Yeah.

[00:12:57] Gus Gus.

[00:12:58] So yeah, I'm aware and I try to figure out ways to combat that because, you know, I'm

[00:13:05] 54.

[00:13:06] I don't need as much stress in my life as I, you know, used to be able to tolerate maybe

[00:13:11] 10 years ago.

[00:13:12] So yeah.

[00:13:13] But I'm glad that 98% of the people who've read it love it.

[00:13:17] You know, it makes me feel good.

[00:13:18] It makes me feel like, okay, this was a good decision to take time away from my family and

[00:13:25] my cats to write, you know, one of four books that will, you know, that will soon be somewhere

[00:13:32] behind you guys.

[00:13:32] Absolutely.

[00:13:33] Oh, absolutely.

[00:13:34] It will.

[00:13:35] Okay.

[00:13:36] Wait, is this something that I, we knew because I, I thought this was a standalone.

[00:13:42] It's a duology.

[00:13:44] Ooh.

[00:13:44] Ooh.

[00:13:45] Yeah.

[00:13:46] So it'll be two from one point of view and then another two from another point of view.

[00:13:50] I love that.

[00:13:52] Yeah.

[00:13:52] It's the mountains of information I am compiling at this very moment.

[00:13:56] Makes sense.

[00:13:57] Well, we, we did say, we did start this by saying we want more women climbing mountains.

[00:14:02] Yeah.

[00:14:03] So, I mean, mountains of information is still a mountain.

[00:14:07] I am the, I am Everest then.

[00:14:10] I am.

[00:14:12] It's growing.

[00:14:13] It's growing.

[00:14:13] It's growing.

[00:14:14] So I'm curious where the, the idea for the story kind of came, came into it.

[00:14:20] Was it something that like you kind of niggled in the back of your mind or did something specific

[00:14:25] inspire you to write this story?

[00:14:27] Right.

[00:14:28] So when Liz and I first started talking about this, she had an idea about, you know, a woman

[00:14:33] in a brand new land.

[00:14:35] And after that, it's like, well, what could that be?

[00:14:39] And so with all the thoughts in my head and knowing that I wanted her to be me in some

[00:14:44] ways, I just, and knowing that it had to be romance, which was the hardest part actually

[00:14:48] kind of for me.

[00:14:50] I kind of just wrote an outline about what that would mean.

[00:14:54] If this were a crime story, how would I introduce her to the world?

[00:14:58] And in some ways I looked to my first mystery, Land of Shadows as kind of a jumpstart from

[00:15:07] that, where there's this PI, no, she's a LAPD homicide detective and she gets a case and

[00:15:13] she has to figure it out.

[00:15:13] So I did that with this book, with the last one.

[00:15:17] She is this, you know, empty vessel.

[00:15:20] So she thinks who is in a place that bad things are happening everywhere and she has to stop

[00:15:26] it and she's the one to stop it.

[00:15:28] So I went from there and just grew the story more and more and more, and then had to go

[00:15:33] back and add more romance to the story where I'm like, well, they kissed on page 30.

[00:15:38] Isn't that enough?

[00:15:40] There was something, it happened, right?

[00:15:42] It happened, but it took a moment because, you know, I write crime scenes, not sex scenes.

[00:15:48] And so I actually, I'm a Gen X kid.

[00:15:51] So I went back and thought about all the great romances that I loved.

[00:15:56] And the first that popped in my mind was David and Maddie from Moonlighting,

[00:16:01] Sybil Shepard and Bruce Willis.

[00:16:02] They're like peak goals where they're annoyed at each other, attracted to each other.

[00:16:08] And then I thought, okay, Sam and Diane from Cheers.

[00:16:13] So those were my North stars in terms of romance.

[00:16:18] And then I broke out, you know, from my bookcase, all that erotica that I bought back in 1993

[00:16:24] or something like that.

[00:16:26] It's like, how does one do this again?

[00:16:30] And I also love your research.

[00:16:33] I research sex.

[00:16:35] And I've been married for 28 years.

[00:16:37] And I actually, you know, I turned to that because I wanted a very authentic relationship

[00:16:42] between my two leads.

[00:16:45] I wanted it to be respectful and authentic.

[00:16:48] Sexy, of course.

[00:16:49] But, you know, grown.

[00:16:51] Grown people kind of thing.

[00:16:53] And, you know, it's like, now that part is like, oh, my mom's going to read some of this.

[00:16:59] And that's kind of like, oh, I can drop the F-bomb all day.

[00:17:03] But now it's like, oh, they kissed.

[00:17:04] Oh, my God.

[00:17:05] It's like you have a kid and you're going to be like, my mom's going to know I know about

[00:17:09] the birds and the bees.

[00:17:10] Even though you have a child, you're like, oh, right.

[00:17:13] Oh, no.

[00:17:13] Yeah.

[00:17:14] And it's funny because I have a 20-year-old.

[00:17:15] And I'm not, you know, she's read some of it and everything.

[00:17:19] And I'm not blushing with her.

[00:17:22] But with my mom, it's like, oh, my God.

[00:17:24] Yeah.

[00:17:27] Oh, I get it.

[00:17:28] I feel that.

[00:17:29] Yeah.

[00:17:29] So was your writing process different going from crime to fantasy?

[00:17:34] Did you have to change your process a little bit the way that you draft the story?

[00:17:40] Yeah.

[00:17:41] I had to slow down.

[00:17:42] Like I said, when I turned in my draft that I thought, I'm done, it was 120,000 words.

[00:17:49] For me, my crime stories tend to be about 110,000, which is a big crime story.

[00:17:55] And here I'm like, 120?

[00:17:57] And they're like, yeah, it needs to be like 150,000.

[00:18:00] And so it's like, oh, oh, I need to go back.

[00:18:04] And so I had, I like page turners.

[00:18:07] I like getting people to flip, flip, flip.

[00:18:10] That's my second cat major.

[00:18:12] Who is now saying.

[00:18:13] We love you.

[00:18:14] So major and Gus Gus.

[00:18:16] My daughter named them after Cinderella's The Mice.

[00:18:19] Yeah.

[00:18:20] Love, yes.

[00:18:21] So yeah, I had to go back and add to this world things that I don't have to explain in crime novels because they exist and we know they exist.

[00:18:32] And you know what a president does and, you know, why crime happens in some areas.

[00:18:37] We all know that.

[00:18:38] Now I had to actually take a moment and say, well, why are we taking land?

[00:18:46] Why do we believe what we believe?

[00:18:48] All those things that are so basic in my other writing.

[00:18:52] I actually had to stop and pay attention to that and figure out, well, how does this fit with this region and that region and races and all the rest of it?

[00:19:00] So that was the major difference.

[00:19:03] And of course, that made my book 200,000 words.

[00:19:07] And that's too many words.

[00:19:09] And so I had to go back and scale back and land at that lovely 150,000.

[00:19:14] But, you know, it's like, well, now I know.

[00:19:17] I know how much to do, how much to write and where for this next book where I need to spend more time.

[00:19:23] I know what my weakness is.

[00:19:24] I'm very interested in knowing what my weaknesses are as a writer because I'm always trying to do better and tell better stories.

[00:19:31] And I like the process, too.

[00:19:33] It's hard for me sometimes because I do have so many commitments.

[00:19:36] But every book, I want to make sure that I incorporate what I've learned, you know, over the past and to put it in the future.

[00:19:45] There's one thing that Walter Mosley, who wrote Devil in the Blue Dress, he has said that he writes every day.

[00:19:51] And I believe that.

[00:19:52] And I'm not saying everybody should do this, but he writes every day because every day new things happen to us.

[00:19:58] And as writers, we're very much, you know, we're supposed to put things that we've learned in our books.

[00:20:04] And if you don't write that next day after learning something new, then sometimes that new thing flips away and you've lost it.

[00:20:12] And so I write every day because I read a new story.

[00:20:16] People amaze me and horrify me every day.

[00:20:18] And I want to make sure that whatever I've learned from that is somehow reflected in the story I'm telling.

[00:20:24] So that remains even with my romances that I will write every day to make sure that even if it's this brand new weird world,

[00:20:33] that whatever I learned is somehow reflected in the story that I'm sharing.

[00:20:39] Do you find that now that you've done one, that the next one is a little bit easier for you to write?

[00:20:47] Oh my gosh, yes.

[00:20:48] I am loving it right now because it's like I know, especially with my organization, which, you know,

[00:20:55] I have to do before I even write one word.

[00:20:57] It's a better process.

[00:20:59] I know, you know, I need to be able to track Kai's amulet all throughout this story and her powers or lack of powers and what kind of everything.

[00:21:11] So I'm going into this with great knowledge.

[00:21:15] And when I first started it, it's kind of like, you know, I look back on my very first story and it is definitely not, you know,

[00:21:22] the same Rachel who wrote her 10th story because I'm growing as a crime writer and now I'll be growing as a romances writer.

[00:21:30] And that makes I'm so excited with that.

[00:21:33] And I like talking about it.

[00:21:34] This really is my first true conversation about the last one.

[00:21:39] So really?

[00:21:40] Yeah.

[00:21:41] Yeah.

[00:21:41] Yeah.

[00:21:42] So exciting.

[00:21:43] It is because it's like, what am I about to say?

[00:21:47] What am I going to ask?

[00:21:48] I don't have that answer yet.

[00:21:50] Well, we have some fun ones to throw at you that we always ask our guests.

[00:21:55] So the first question, we have a segment on our podcast that we call fictional boyfriend of the week,

[00:22:01] where we just pick a fictional character that we loved that week.

[00:22:04] It doesn't have to be a boyfriend.

[00:22:06] Karen's had a fictional granny.

[00:22:07] We've had fictional pets.

[00:22:09] Do you have any fictional characters that you were like, oh, my gosh,

[00:22:12] I just think everybody should know this person.

[00:22:14] And it could be TV, movies, books.

[00:22:16] Anything.

[00:22:17] Just any fictional characters that you really vibe with.

[00:22:20] And truly, this is the moment everything you've ever consumed flies out of the week.

[00:22:23] It's like, have I ever seen a movie?

[00:22:25] What is a book?

[00:22:25] I don't know what a book is.

[00:22:29] You know, I am playing.

[00:22:30] I just finished playing on the second go around Baldur's Gate 3.

[00:22:36] And I like love it.

[00:22:37] I like, oh, what's her face?

[00:22:39] She's the one with the horns.

[00:22:41] Whatever that character name is.

[00:22:43] Her.

[00:22:43] She's kind of badass and big.

[00:22:45] And I would follow her around and just fight with her.

[00:22:48] I don't.

[00:22:48] I can't remember her name right now.

[00:22:50] I love that.

[00:22:51] Yeah.

[00:22:51] I love that, though.

[00:22:52] Yeah.

[00:22:53] We've had a few guests say Astarion.

[00:22:55] Astarion.

[00:22:55] I was thinking him, but he kind of creeps me out.

[00:23:00] It's like, yeah, the teeth thing.

[00:23:02] I like teeth and eyes.

[00:23:05] And his teeth really.

[00:23:07] I mean, he's a vampire.

[00:23:08] Yeah.

[00:23:09] So I can't really relax around that.

[00:23:11] And I don't like horns either.

[00:23:13] But she is.

[00:23:15] Karloff?

[00:23:15] What is it?

[00:23:16] It starts with a K.

[00:23:17] But she's funny.

[00:23:18] I like funny.

[00:23:19] I like entertaining.

[00:23:20] I like kind of like badass.

[00:23:23] As you can tell.

[00:23:23] I mean, K.

[00:23:24] Yeah.

[00:23:26] Yes.

[00:23:27] Yes.

[00:23:27] So another question that we always ask is we know, like, we're enjoying your book.

[00:23:32] We'll be recommending your book.

[00:23:33] But what are you reading and recommending right now?

[00:23:37] And it doesn't have to be something like you're reading right now.

[00:23:39] Like, do you have an all-time favorite or anything like that?

[00:23:41] One of my all-time favorite books is, and I've read it maybe six times.

[00:23:47] And it's a safe book for me because when I'm writing crime stories or even now this, I don't

[00:23:54] read anybody in that genre.

[00:23:55] So I go to either books I've kind of read before or brand new books.

[00:24:00] And sometimes I don't read brand new books because if someone's really, really good,

[00:24:04] then I compare my writing and I feel awful because I'm in draft stage and it's like, I

[00:24:08] can never write like this, right?

[00:24:10] So I am reading right now, again, Devil in the White City, Eric Larson, because one,

[00:24:18] yeah, I can't write.

[00:24:20] There's no way I can write creative nonfiction like that, man.

[00:24:23] And it's entertaining.

[00:24:24] And, you know, it's safe for me.

[00:24:28] So I'm reading, I'm reading that book again.

[00:24:30] Love it.

[00:24:31] Yeah.

[00:24:32] Very nice.

[00:24:33] Yeah.

[00:24:33] All right.

[00:24:34] We don't want to keep you too much longer, but what comes next?

[00:24:37] Well, of course, the last one is coming out December 3rd.

[00:24:42] Yay.

[00:24:44] And then my next mystery, I'm starting a new procedural series called Fog and Fury, which

[00:24:53] takes place in a city kind of like Mendocino Coast, which is very murder-she-wrote-ish little

[00:25:00] kind of town.

[00:25:01] And it's, she is a former LAPD homicide detective who moves to Northern California to her first

[00:25:09] case is finding a missing golden doodle.

[00:25:12] And as my editor calls it, I do this thing called like Cozy Gone Crazy, where it starts

[00:25:17] out with this really cute kind of idea.

[00:25:19] She's looking for a golden doodle.

[00:25:21] And it gets really dark, really fast.

[00:25:23] And their bodies and blood.

[00:25:24] And so that comes out in May.

[00:25:26] Fog and Fury.

[00:25:27] I love that.

[00:25:28] I want Cozy Gone Crazy.

[00:25:30] That is epic.

[00:25:32] I love that.

[00:25:33] You heard it here, folks.

[00:25:35] That's the next big genre.

[00:25:36] Cozy Gone Crazy.

[00:25:37] Love it.

[00:25:39] Well, speaking of what comes next, we do have to give you a little bit of bad news.

[00:25:44] Yeah.

[00:25:45] Now that you have been on the podcast, you're actually legally obligated to come back for our

[00:25:49] future book releases.

[00:25:50] No.

[00:25:51] We don't make the rules.

[00:25:53] So sorry.

[00:25:54] We just have to enforce them.

[00:25:56] I guess if I have to, I would love to.

[00:26:01] Yay.

[00:26:02] Yay.

[00:26:03] So this episode, we're recording a bit early, but this episode will be coming out after the

[00:26:08] book comes out.

[00:26:09] So anybody who's listening, you can go and pick up a copy of the last one right now.

[00:26:15] Let me read you the very first line of this because I feel like it sells it on its own.

[00:26:20] I'm sorry.

[00:26:21] Thank you.

[00:26:22] I open my eyes and choose violence.

[00:26:25] I'm sorry.

[00:26:26] Like.

[00:26:26] Say less.

[00:26:27] Say less.

[00:26:29] What, us this morning?

[00:26:31] Yeah.

[00:26:32] So walk into your bookstore, pick up the last one.

[00:26:35] We don't have it because it's not out yet, but the edges are really pretty.

[00:26:40] Just like, you know, you know how Red Tower does it.

[00:26:44] So head over and pick this up.

[00:26:46] Thank you so much, Rachel, for hanging out with us.

[00:26:49] Thank you.

[00:26:50] I had such a wonderful time.

[00:26:52] Thank you for inviting me.

[00:26:53] This has been wonderful.

[00:26:54] This has been a blast.

[00:26:55] Thank you.

[00:26:55] Thank you.

[00:26:56] Thank you.

[00:26:57] We'll talk to you soon.

[00:26:59] Okie dokie.

[00:26:59] Bye.

[00:27:00] Bye.

[00:27:01] Bye, Gus.

[00:27:02] Gus.

[00:27:02] Bye, Major.

[00:27:04] Oh, I love her.

[00:27:05] Oh, my gosh.

[00:27:06] I want to go back and read her entire backlist right now.

[00:27:09] Yes.

[00:27:10] Because that just sounds like.

[00:27:11] I love Cozy Gone.

[00:27:11] I feel like Hans.

[00:27:13] I love Cozy Gone Crazy.

[00:27:15] I just.

[00:27:16] We're just frozen today.

[00:27:18] It really is.

[00:27:20] Oh, my gosh.

[00:27:21] I love it.

[00:27:22] Yay.

[00:27:24] Yeah.

[00:27:24] Rachel, how's that whole, everybody?

[00:27:26] Hell yeah.

[00:27:27] Okay, friends.

[00:27:28] That was a very special episode of The Incoherent Fangirl.

[00:27:32] If you enjoyed it, please like, follow, and subscribe wherever you are listening to us.

[00:27:36] Follow us on social media.

[00:27:38] We are at The Incoherent Fangirl on all the things.

[00:27:40] You can also stream all of our episodes as well as read our blog on TheIncoherentFangirl.com.

[00:27:45] And if you're interested in early access to podcast episodes, full video episodes, and bonus content, you can head over to TheIncoherentFangirl.com to subscribe.

[00:27:54] And if you're still somehow, for some reason, not ready for commitment, there is the option to purchase.

[00:28:00] You need help.

[00:28:01] I mean, first of all, therapy is a thing.

[00:28:04] So, just saying.

[00:28:05] But there is the option to purchase individual bonus content posts as well as a collection of bonus content if you want to check it out before you make the commitment.

[00:28:14] I guess, I guess that's okay.

[00:28:17] I think you should commit to us.

[00:28:19] I'm going to choose violence about this.

[00:28:21] Well, we did, you did open your eyes and choose violence, right?

[00:28:24] I did.

[00:28:25] Every day.

[00:28:26] Every day.

[00:28:26] Every day.

[00:28:28] Oh my goodness.

[00:28:29] We are still in the midst of these seasonal depression months.

[00:28:33] So, you do need to do some self-care.

[00:28:35] Head over to our merch shop, TheIncoherentFangirl.com slash shop to do that.

[00:28:40] If you have any comments, questions, concerns, suggestions, design ideas, or you want to tell us we're pretty, or that Georgie looks freaking adorable.

[00:28:47] I know, I'm trying to secretly take a picture of him because this is so precious.

[00:28:52] So cute.

[00:28:53] I can't handle how cute he is.

[00:28:55] He's so cozy.

[00:28:57] If you joined our Patreon, you'd be able to see how adorable he is.

[00:29:00] Just saying.

[00:29:01] But anyways, if you want to send any of that stuff along, you can send it to our inbox, TheIncoherentFangirl at gmail.com.

[00:29:08] We love hearing from y'all.

[00:29:09] Yes.

[00:29:09] And you can tell Georgie how wonderful and precious he is and what a good boy he is.

[00:29:14] He's being the goodest boy.

[00:29:16] Look at him.

[00:29:17] And one last way to support the podcast is to rate and review wherever you are listening to us.

[00:29:22] Please give us your words.

[00:29:24] Give us your words.

[00:29:25] You know we love words.

[00:29:26] She is at MandyPerv on all the things.

[00:29:29] She's at Ms. Made in China on all the things.

[00:29:31] And once you've followed us on social media and the podcast on social media, you are ready to continue your self-care spree by heading over and visiting our internet besties.

[00:29:39] First stop is HereComesTheNerd.com where you're going to get lots of cute, artsy goodies.

[00:29:44] Add code FANGIRL at checkout to get 20% off your first order.

[00:29:48] Then you're going to head over to OnceUponABookClub.com.

[00:29:51] Get some bookish goodies.

[00:29:52] And we have two codes you can choose from.

[00:29:54] We don't care which one you pick.

[00:29:56] We love you no matter what.

[00:29:57] But you can use either code KAREN10 or MANDY10 for 10% off.

[00:30:01] You just have to remember to spell Karen right or you're going to get no percent off.

[00:30:05] And George Bailey is going to judge you for the rest of time.

[00:30:08] And he's very good at that.

[00:30:10] That's true.

[00:30:11] And honestly, he's such the goodest boy.

[00:30:14] You don't want him to judge you.

[00:30:15] That is just, that would be fate worse than death.

[00:30:19] Agreed.

[00:30:21] And then once you've done that, you're going to get over and visit our friend Amber D. Lewis at AmberDLewis.com.

[00:30:28] Still in the holiday season, you can get some goodies and gifts for Christmas.

[00:30:35] So you're going to add 10 of everything to your cart.

[00:30:37] You're going to add code FANGIRL10 to your cart.

[00:30:40] And then you'll get 10% off of your order, which means you get one of the 10 of everything for free.

[00:30:46] Mathematics.

[00:30:46] It's very math.

[00:30:47] We are professors.

[00:30:48] Just trust us.

[00:30:52] And last but not least, you're going to go support his dad, the show husband.

[00:30:57] Go follow at Searchers Believe on Everything, which is the show husband's paranormal group.

[00:31:03] Follow the paranormal mind on everything.

[00:31:06] That's his podcast.

[00:31:07] They've been on a bit of a hiatus, but I hope by now they have gotten back into the group because they've been wanting to get back to podcasting.

[00:31:15] But we've been kind of all hands on deck for Stream Beacon TV.

[00:31:19] So you're going to go follow Stream Beacon TV on everything.

[00:31:22] It's our new streaming platform, bringing you the terror, the terror, horror and true crime.

[00:31:30] A little bit of terror.

[00:31:31] Bringing you horror, true crime and paranormal content that you've been missing.

[00:31:35] So if you head to streambeacontv.com and use code fangirl10, you'll get 10% off of your subscription.

[00:31:42] And if you head to searchersbelieve.com slash shop, there's merch there designed by this one, yours truly.

[00:31:51] And if you use code fangirl10, you'll get 10% off there too.

[00:31:55] And you'll support the show husband, which in turn supports this little sleeping baby.

[00:32:03] Oh my God, he's too cute.

[00:32:06] I could eat him.

[00:32:06] He's like snoring.

[00:32:07] Oh my goodness.

[00:32:09] I love, I love.

[00:32:10] Oh, I love him so much.

[00:32:11] I could die of it.

[00:32:12] All right, friends.

[00:32:13] That was a very special episode of the Incohate Fangirl.

[00:32:16] Yay.

[00:32:17] Merry Christmas.

[00:32:18] Happy New Year.

[00:32:19] Happy Hanukkah.

[00:32:19] Happy Kwanzaa.

[00:32:20] Happy all the things.

[00:32:22] Happy holidays.

[00:32:23] We will see you in 2025.

[00:32:25] Next year.

[00:32:27] The year of the snake.

[00:32:29] Just saying.

[00:32:30] Yep.

[00:32:30] We're going to, we're going to kill it.

[00:32:32] It's going to be great.

[00:32:33] I'm manifesting it right now.

[00:32:35] Yep.

[00:32:36] We love you.

[00:32:37] Thank you so much.

[00:32:38] Bye.

[00:32:39] Bye.

[00:32:40] We are sponsored by our friends at Here Comes the Nerd.

[00:32:43] Pins, stickers, magnets, and more.

[00:32:45] Here Comes the Nerd has happy art for all fandom loving hearts.

[00:32:49] New customers can use coupon code fangirl during checkout for 20% off their first order at herecomesthenerd.com.

[00:32:57] Coupon applies to ready to ship items only.

[00:33:00] This is going to be helpful.

[00:33:00] Do have a great day.

[00:33:00] We'll see you next week.