The Weirdest Things in this Book are True

[00:00:00] Welcome everybody we are on The Incoherent Fangirl. My name is Andi Pliego and I have the pleasure of talking to our hosts Karin and Mandy. Welcome to The Incoherent Fangirl. Where it's our last episode of the first half of this season. I love you so much. I don't want to walk in and look at your face next week. I'm so happy. I'm so sleepy. I love your beautiful face. I love you so much.

[00:00:28] But I cannot even tell you like literally every day this week I've been driving home from work and came home and took a nap at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and did not wake up until I had to see the dog. Oh, you're such a bitch. I, every day, it was like frantically getting off work to go do something. I am so sleepy. I lie. I took off Monday because I didn't feel good. I took Monday off too. But we still had a lot to do. We still had a lot to do. I wasn't feeling good either.

[00:00:57] We got home, Karin, we got home at like 4.30am from Michigan. Mmm. I was like, there's no way I'm going to be useful. And then I was like, I had some bad food. It was, it was a whole thing. Yeah. Yeah. But it was still a very busy day. Ugh. Anyways, I'm Karin from the Daedalus Library. I forgot where I'm from. Hold on. Jupiter music because my thing is stuck. Oh no.

[00:01:26] Oh, I didn't forget where I'm from. I'm Mandy of Cleveland Street. You're so funny. In our timeline, it is April 30th and in y'alls it's May 8th and we are sleeping, resting, catching up on rest because we're tired. I'm writing, I'm writing.

[00:01:53] My ad character is screaming at me and I'm like, I don't have any time, please. Please. I'm so sleepy. I'm probably sleeping. I'm so sleepy. I'm such a sleepy girl. I like, I need to go to hibernation. I need to be a bear. You mean? In hibern. I'm so sleepy. You're like me. Yeah. So sleepy. This week in fangirling, what'd you do, Mandy?

[00:02:22] I had a very long drive in an RV to Michigan and back. It was 14 hours each way. Saturday, on the way back. So Sunday we took a detour. So it was about 16, 17 hours of driving. We were attending the Pottographs Parafest in Houghton Lake, Michigan.

[00:02:43] It is in honor of a dog named Murray, who was his owner's best friend, his owner Tim's Georgie. So every year on his birthday weekend in his honor, his parents, Tim and Lauren, do Pottographs Parafest where they raise money to support the Ross Common County Animal Shelter. This weekend they raised over $8,000.

[00:03:11] Collectively they've raised over $150,000 over the course of, I think it's, this was the seventh one. We sat in on a gallery reading and the twins both had messages from beyond. I'm not going to get into those because they're like personal, but it was really cool that they got like called out and things were spot on. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Um, they did a tribute to Georgie for a minute where I just, I lost it. Mm hmm. And I haven't gotten it back.

[00:03:42] I cried all the time now. I've always cried. Like I haven't stopped missing my best friend, but yeah. Yeah. That was rough, even though it was so special. And I'm so glad they did it because like more people got to learn about him. Oh, seeing his little face on the screen. And they were like, oh, we met him at Gettysburg last year. And it was like, oh. Oh.

[00:04:05] Um, on the way home, we went to the Christmas story house, which is Cleveland Street. My husband was just like, you know, we are, we're kind of passing Cleveland. It's like a 45 minute to an hour drive out of the way. But you love a Christmas story. It's one of your top three favorite movies of all time. So we made the detour. Um, they have the house, they have the bumpest house, which you can't go in.

[00:04:34] It's like an Airbnb, but you can take photos of it. And then they have a museum. And so, and then a store. So we went in the store to get our tickets for the tour. And they were like, for $10, you can do the tour as a pink nightmare, which is the bunny suit. When in Rome, dress as a pink nightmare. So of course I did it. Of course, as one does.

[00:05:00] Um, it was insanely hot inside the houses because it was kind of cool up there. And so they had the heat on blast. And I had on a sweatshirt and a t shirt. And like, I took my sweatshirt off, but I had leggings like I had packed to be like thick clothes. Yeah, it was cold up there. Um, so that was a lot. Um, I made Josh and the girls recreate some scenes with me. Like, because in the house, it's not actually memorabilia.

[00:05:30] Like it's whatever placeable stuff. So like they have stuff where they're like, pick things up. Yeah. Move them around. Do whatever you want. Like, have fun with this. Um, so that was fun. Um, then we went over to the museum where they have memorabilia, including Mrs. Shields chalkboard where she writes like a plus plus plus. And one of the few, I think he said there was like six or seven. Seven.

[00:06:03] I did that to my, my seven year old niece. And she was like, she put her hand over mine. She was like, me, me. Oh my God. Um, they had like, I think there are six or seven Red Ryder BB guns from filming still in existence. And so there was a one there, which was really cool. So, and then there's a restaurant right across the street that had Buffalo pierogies, which are my favorite thing in the world. Yeah. Um, so we stopped over there and got really good food before Josh and our friend Angus

[00:06:34] literally like, I don't know how they're upright. Still drove us straight through back to Georgia. It was brutal. I feel like we were in Ohio for 150 years. I really feel like we were in Ohio for 150 years. Um, but it was a fun trip. Even if it was quick. Um, I'm still working through the audio book of Dawn bringer by Stephanie Fisher. It's the third book in the temperate series.

[00:07:00] Obviously still can't tell you anything because it's the third book. Yep. I said last week that I was getting everything I wanted and I still am, but the bad thing has been foretold. Oh, and there's like nine hours left. Like, wait, there is still a lot of time.

[00:07:24] It's not, it's not a bad time yet, but knowing like I just found out the bad time is coming. Oh boy. Where I just left off. Oof. And it's like, and it's going to hurt my boy the worst. And I can't handle it. I cannot handle it. I can't do it. Oh no. I'm really scared. I'm so scared. I'm sorry.

[00:07:53] You're like, everybody has to read it and then DM me because you're going to be terrified too. Like, this is so scary. Um, and then I've been reading the library after dark by Andy Pliego. More on that later. What did you do this week? I went to y'all west. And I am, I'm so proud of us because we drove. Normally we stop a whole bunch on our drive, but we made zero stops.

[00:08:23] Oh my God. That's like a hundred year drive. Isn't it? I was, it ended, well, it ended up being like five and a half hours because we just went and it was glorious. I was like, so shocked when we, when we pulled in and got to the hotel, I was like, wait, we didn't stop once. Did we? She's like, no. I'm like, huh. Same thing going home. Uh, no, that's a lie. Okay. So we did stop.

[00:08:51] Like we always stop in Gilroy because that's where the Dutch Bros is. We don't have one. We don't have one in San Jose yet. And so we always stopped there to get Dutch Bros. And I went to the bathroom to go. And then on our way home, we, I couldn't find one on our route home that wouldn't take us like out of the way. So I was like, you know what? We're going to get home early. We'll stop in Gilroy on the way home as well.

[00:09:21] So that was our one stop. Do you guys have seven brew out there yet? I don't think so. So we got seven brew and we have Dutch Bros, Red Owl, and then obviously Starbucks. I learned very quickly how ass Starbucks is. Mm hmm. But I think the hierarchy goes seven brew Dutch Bros, Red Owl. Okay. Starbucks. And then we don't ever discuss Dunkin'. No offense to Dunkin' drinkers.

[00:09:51] But that's. Yeah. Um, so I want you guys to get a seven brew so you can try it. I think. But I like Dutch Bros. I think that we've been. I feel like we have gone cause that sounds really familiar. I just don't think we have one here. Like when we were, maybe in Oklahoma. Maybe. With Beth. Yeah. We might have gone with Beth. That sounds really familiar. Yeah. Um, so yeah. But yeah. So that was super fun. So we went to Y'all West.

[00:10:20] Um, fierce Friday, the Friday before, um, went into the lines of Petra Lord, Stephanie Garber, and Aiden Thomas, and all three of them remembered me, which was very cool. Aw. Um, and then, um, on Saturday we're going around. Angela listed me as her plus one. So I got a VIB badge. So I was able to go in early, which was very cool. And just kind of like watch things get set up.

[00:10:50] And also just be a little bit more chill than we were last year because we were like freaking out. Last year was brutal. It was. It was. Run! Run! I've got the child! It truly was. So no, it was so chill. It was really nice. Um, for us. My friend Cindy, however, had a day. Um, but that's, that's a whole other thing.

[00:11:18] But so we were standing, we were going, we were standing in line to go into an event that Underlined was putting on and we went in and it's the, the room that. That, um, was in was right outside of where the green room is. And like the VIP area is. And so I was like walking in, I think. And Chloe was walking out. Chloe Long. For anybody who doesn't know, we're on first name basis. Um, but she was walking out of the green room and she was like, Oh my God. Hi.

[00:11:48] I was like, Oh, hi. Wait, are you in a rush right now? Can I give you something? And she's like, I have to be at a panel in three minutes. I'm like, okay, fine. Well, you know, I'll see, I'll see what you're signing. And she was like, wait, whips out a copy of eyes of Kings and hands it to me. And I'm like, what is happening right now? Is this for me for realsies? And it was so lovely. I was like, I love her.

[00:12:14] This might be my favorite one simply because you physically handed it to me. I know. Like, how cool is that? That was so crazy. And then better than I got one because I would have never told you I'd put it right back in the mailer. And instead, like, I'm not having a copy of this and she doesn't. Are you kidding me? Yeah, that I like my life. That was crazy. I was like, I love it.

[00:12:43] That was very cool. And then I finally was able to be in Victoria Aveyard signing line. I've seen Victoria Aveyard like three times and I've never once been able to get into her signing line. For Y'all West one year, she was signing and she didn't have she wasn't ticketed, but her line was capped at something like 200 because she had a panel right after. And I was number 202. It was very upsetting.

[00:13:13] And so I'm talking to her and she bless her. I love her so much. She was like, I would have bought you an ark if I'd known you'd be here. How was I supposed to tell you that, Victoria? I know. I would have happily told you that because I wouldn't. It's fine. I'm fine. Everything's fine. But that basically means we're best friends, right? Yeah. If she was gonna bring me, if she knew I was coming, it was gonna bring me what we're best friends. We're best friends. I don't make the rules. That's how that works.

[00:13:41] I also think it's very, very cool that like so many of these authors I have known for like so many years now, like Chloe was like, I was talking to her at her signing and she was asking me about my daughter and I was like, oh, she's like a bedazzling thing right now. And she's like, oh, that makes sense. Wait, she's old enough to like walk around by herself. And I was like, yeah, that's kind of crazy, isn't it?

[00:14:08] I think the first time you met her, she was this big and now she's like my size. Yeah. I don't like it. I don't understand it. But yeah, it's just kind of cool. Like my favorite authors know me and like know my family and like inquire after like that's just so cool. Yeah. What life are we living right now? Like it's crazy. But yeah, it was really fun. And then about right about the four o'clock hour, it starts raining.

[00:14:39] And I was like, oh, Mandy's here to see next year if that's normal. I know. Right. I was like, wait. Okay. Can we talk about how it was raining there and firing here? Yeah. What? Our wildfires are have surpassed like the size of the Palisades fires. I think they said 55k acres the last time I checked. Insane. That's wild.

[00:15:02] Also, funnily enough, coincidentally, it's the same place where they were asking to build a big data center. Hmm. Hmm. I love it here. Anyways, sorry. Interesting fact. I just thought it was weird that we switched weather. Interesting. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. So that was Y'all West. I did read quite a bit.

[00:15:31] I finished up Fairies Never Lie, which is an anthology that is edited by Zerata Cordova and Natalie C. Parker. It's the third in their series of untold legends anthologies. This one is obviously an anthology of YA short stories about fairies. Hey. What? So surprising. I read House of Elephants and Scepter of Memories, both by Clarabelle A. Ortega. They're books three and four of the Witching series. So, of course, I really can't say much about them.

[00:15:58] But I will say that if you have been missing that middle grade witchy story that you want to make your entire personality, if you know, you know, then this is a great series to dive into. Especially for kids. I feel like kids growing like at the same age, like 11-ish, would really enjoy growing up with these girls.

[00:16:24] I think it's really fun and there's lots of peril because, of course, of course there is. But it's also like they're going to win in the end. You know it. They have to. I will say you have to go into it knowing that there's going to be a lot of parallels to things happening in real life, specifically racism and bigotry. Ugh. Just go in knowing that they are fighting this shit. Yeah.

[00:16:53] But it's so good. As long as you aren't afraid of small green animals. That's a caveat. Done. Because the main character has a pet one. I reread The Scorpion and the Night Blossom by Amelie Wen Zhao because I need to read book two and I couldn't remember what happened in book one. It's been over a year.

[00:17:22] My brain does not work that well, okay? I don't either. I just raw dog and start remembering things as I'm in the second book. I, I, listen, I tried that this week. I tried to read Rites of the Starling and I, I gotta do that. Yeah. I, I, I don't even remember these people's names. I don't know who anybody is. I remember a name because I hate it. I remember The Guardian. I hate his name. I remember The Guardian. His real name. Ransom. I remembered The Guardian.

[00:17:51] That's what I remembered. Yeah. I don't remember. And they're talking and there's all this. I'm like, I don't, who are these people? What happened? So yeah, that's why I have to read. Anyways. I feel like there were tree houses. I don't know. Something. So I don't know if I talked about this book on the podcast. So real quick, nine years ago, we have Anyang who watched a demon kill her father and steal half of her mother's soul because she was interrupted. Basically leaving her mother as like the living dead.

[00:18:21] She's alive, but she's not really there because half her soul is missing. So Anyang enters the immortality trials in order to try to win a pearl of immortality, which will help her save her mother. This sounds vaguely familiar. Yeah. Death is very common in these trials, but she finds that someone is helping her stay alive. Perhaps another contestant, strangely enough. She's very handsome, very powerful. Yuchen, he has his own reasons for entering the trials and she's not quite sure what they are, but you know what? She'll take what she can get.

[00:18:51] However, the longer she stays in the trials, the more it seems like there's something wrong in the immortal realm. And she maybe needs to figure out what is going on in order to make sure, you know, the world doesn't end. And she has to figure out if she can trust Yuchen or if he's the danger. Dun, dun, dun. Dun, dun, dun. It's so good. I can't wait. I have the second one queued up and ready to go. I'm so excited.

[00:19:20] I read The Guardian Test by Christina Suntourvat. This was one of the books that we picked up. I have to pick up middle grade books so that I can listen to them while I'm driving with my daughter. Okay. Sometimes I can do YA, but it depends on what YA, but middle grade, I definitely can. So The Guardian Test. This is book one in, I think it's the Lotus Island, Legends of Lotus Island series. So they're very, very quick reads.

[00:19:48] This was like less than three hours on one X speed. So they're very quick reads. But you have a plum who has been accepted into the Guardian Academy on Lotus Island. And this is where kids go. It's this elite school where they are trained to become guardians. They are able to turn into like guardian animals and become guardians of the natural world and keep the natural order of things and make sure, you know, like, basically they're Robert Irwin. But with magic. Yeah. Okay. Okay.

[00:20:17] So she gets there. She feels very out of place. She finds that she's struggling with all of her, her coursework while all of her classmates seem to be really excelling and she's got to kind of figure out like what is holding her back from doing this because she knows she can do it. But how she can't quite figure out how and she has to overcome that kind of mindset of like, I'm not good enough in order for her to figure it out. And it's it's super cute.

[00:20:46] I finished release me by Tata Mafi. How'd you feel about that Costco scene? Listen, listen. Upsetting. I, I'm, I, I know. I know. I know. I'm not okay. I'm not okay. I'm, I'm not okay. The imagery that I had in my head. I'm not okay. I'm not well. I know. But I need you to remember. We don't know where. I'm not well. Where is Aaron?

[00:21:16] I don't like it. I don't like it. I don't like it. I don't like it. I don't like it. Where's Aaron? Where is he? This is so rude. This is so rude. At least escape me is coming soon. I know. Two in one year. Being fed. Amazing. I reread Foulheart Huntsman because I am on a binge of rereading all of Chloe's stuff.

[00:21:45] Um, gah! I loved it. It's so fun. I forget how much I love these characters. It was so fun. There were so many moments where I just like laughed out loud. And it's like truly like we, when we talk about Shakespeare, we talk about a comedy or a tragedy, right? So Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy as you like it clearly a comedy because it was hilarious.

[00:22:11] This was the one, this was the Shakespeare play that was the second duology was based on, like inspired by. And so it's like, you can tell, you can tell that she really played into that. And it's so fun because they're so funny and I love them so much. Ah! Yes. Amazing. Hmm. Completely shifting gears. I finished reading In a Maratha by Ava Reed, which is so dark. Is it? So dark.

[00:22:41] I mean, respectfully, Ava Reed's mind is so twisty. I'm terrified of it. Respectfully, so twisty. I don't know how, what's going on in there, but how she comes up with this stuff is crazy. I would recommend you specifically Mandy do not read it. Okay. Thank you. I won't.

[00:23:04] I really enjoyed, I liked it, but I did feel like it was, there was a lot of just nothing happening. Oh no. It was like, like, it was a lot of just build up. And I, at some point I was like, is there a storyline? Like there's some, there's things happening, right? There's a plot. There's. Yeah.

[00:23:31] It's progressing to this thing that happens at the end, but it's just like, there's so much backstory to it, which is great. I love that for you. And the way that she writes is wonderful. But it was just a lot. This, this, the audio book was 22 hours. Oh my gosh. Yeah. And so, yeah, it was, I enjoyed it, but it was a lot.

[00:24:01] And again, it is dark and twisty and there are some things in there that I never needed to read, but you know what? I did it. I did it. I did it. But I don't recommend that you Mandy specifically to do it. Okay. I will. So yeah. Sold. Still love Ava Reed. I think they're wonderful. They're a great writer. Their mind is crazy. Yeah.

[00:24:31] And I love it. I love it. It's crazy because it's like, it's so different from a study and drowning. Right. Yeah. Like how both of these stories have come from her are, it's magic. Yeah. It's magic. Truly magical. But yeah. And I read the library after dark by Andy Pliego. Everybody be proud of me. I read the whole thing.

[00:25:00] I physically read it. I read a whole physical book. That makes me want to cry and throw up. I'm so proud of these days. Me. Yeah. Like I'm so proud of me. I was looking at my little like spreadsheet tracker thing and like how much of it is audio books and how little of it is anything else. A whole physical book. So yes, that was my week.

[00:25:36] Do you have a fictional boyfriend from this week? Oh, Ryan Hong. What? The man that he is. Okay. So for reasons that are, I don't know how to explain this without giving spoilers. Okay. It's been several years though, but if you haven't read, just skip ahead for like 30 seconds. But for reasons that are spoiler, he loses his memory.

[00:26:03] And so he is now with Rosalind and redacted and redacted because again, spoilers. And they're talking about X, Y, Z, and they're like, we have to go do this. And Rosalind's like, you can't come. Like, you don't know. You might be on the wrong. Like, you don't know what side you're on. So you might like, once you get your memories back, you might not like agree with what you're deciding to do right now because you don't know what you don't know.

[00:26:33] And he looks at her and he's like, but you're my side. He doesn't know who she is. And he still is like, no, you're, you're my side. It doesn't matter any of that other stuff. It's you. Like whatever you doing, wherever you're going, I'm with you. Like right through my heart. I love him so much. I'm so much. And he's so fucking funny.

[00:27:00] And he's like the epitome of chaotic bisexual. And it's the best thing ever. I love him so much. So much. So yeah, that's, that's Orion. My love. I love him. How about you? It's still Sky Emerus. My baby angel. He's just been delivered. Some like devastating prophecy, basically.

[00:27:28] And he's in the middle of like even trying to process it. It's feeling very. End game. Infinity war. Oh, Vibes with like. Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, That's so scary. This is a, That's so scary. Oh, Oh, Yeah. Oh, I'm terrified.

[00:27:56] And it's going to hurt him a lot, which is going to hurt me a lot. I'm not loving this. Is it, Is it, Is it the last book? Like, Is it a trilogy? Is this it? Or is there, I hope not. I think there's more. Well, Cause I'm like, You're, you still have like nine hours. So I'm like, I feel like it has to be a continuing series. Okay. I'm scared. I'm really scared.

[00:28:27] It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. I hope. I hope so too. Fingers crossed. Oh, I just hit my finger on my desk, which is wood. So that counts, right? That was like fingers crossed and knocking on wood at the same time. That kind of hurt, but it's fine. Sometimes you need pain to make things better. To wake you up. Yes, exactly.

[00:28:53] That sound means we have an intruder alert. I'm so excited. It's a repeat offender. It's a repeat offender. We're so excited. We're talking to Andy Pliego about the library after dark. Oh, I'm so obsessed. I also, wait, I also feel like we need to hold up. Yeah, that's pretty cool. Thank you. It is pretty cool. Hair drawings, illustrations. I know.

[00:29:21] So many fun surprises just going through the book. I loved it. Welcome back Andy. Oh my gosh. We're so excited. Thank you. I've been looking forward to this. Yay. Okay. So as you know, we start off with the hardest question, which is, can you give us the elevator pitch of the book?

[00:30:08] Yes. If you ever walked into a library and they had like an amazing display that was like, oh, there's a little lighthouse in the children's section or you know, like there's like something really special. Like that is this book in a T to a T. It was pretty much me putting together the library of my dreams and like how cool and dramatic can we make it? So yeah, I wanted to live in it without the murder. Right. Minus the murder. Yeah, minus the murder. Yeah. That's fair. Yeah.

[00:30:40] Okay. Where did this story come from? Other than wanting to build the library of your dreams. Yeah. So funny enough, it actually didn't start out in the library originally the idea. So the first thing that I had thought was I loved the idea of these two families in some sort of industry that were basically like rivals.

[00:31:05] And kind of like watching through the generations of their kids and kind of like how they interact with the family business and whatnot and each other. And that ended up being like kind of like the backdrop a little bit for this book. And so in what it became in this book is like, oh, there's these two families. One of them is the Riordan family who they started this massive library or rather Evangeline did.

[00:31:36] And she's filled it with the creepiest thing things that she can find possibly out there in the book world. And they're all true, actually, like pretty much every book named in this book and like every little random fact about like, oh, a thief. Who did this or books bound with human skin or like books that are have arsenic covers. And all of that is true. So like the weirdest things in this book are true. I'll just say that. They exist.

[00:32:04] That's a very long-winded answer to that. Was that stuff that you like just knew or did you have to go like deep diving into like book lore to find like all of that? I fell down a rabbit hole. I just kept going and I bought so many research books and I've done more research for this book than anything else. And I research my books like I do a lot of research usually.

[00:32:31] And this one was just I was learning about all sorts of architecture and how libraries work like just even on a like how do librarians and archivists and you know manuscript restoration people. How do they get through the library because you don't really see them. They're just there's an army constantly moving and you don't see them. So like where are the passageways where are the you know book delivery systems. How does this all work.

[00:32:58] So I research so much on that and that's not even the history aspect which really I man I tried to I tried to squeeze as many fascinating facts things that I was like that's so weird. It has to go in a book. I just squeeze as many as possible into this book. So there were fun there. It's like a reader's dream. Okay, we've talked before about how much goes into like a good murder mystery.

[00:33:28] How do I don't know that we ever really went into how do you choose who the murderer is like do you know no going in or do you just start writing and it comes to you as you're like building the stage for them all to play on. It always it changes with each book. I will. When I start writing a book I have an idea of who I think it is. And I'll write towards that person. But sometimes it's wrong.

[00:33:54] So then when it's when it's wrong and when I figure it out I leave all those breadcrumbs that have led to this person because we built in red herring. Yeah, yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, yeah. And so I've just learned to like just let it be part of the process and I might be wrong and it's okay if I am I'll figure it out. But that whenever it's kind of like, oh, it's not this person is this person. That's how I really know that the story is doing what it's supposed to be doing.

[00:34:23] It's taking on a life of its own and I'm on the right track. So, yeah. That is so cool that like they they trick even you. Yes. Yes. And it makes me so happy when I'm successfully tricked because then I'm like, okay, that should trick readers because I didn't know it. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Oh, man. Yeah, you definitely tricked me girl. Oh, God. I'm not gonna.

[00:34:51] We're obviously we're not gonna say anything about it. But oh boy, did I not see that coming. I'm so glad. Which is so fun. Like it's it's always so fun because like I anytime I read a thriller or like a mystery or things like that. I'm always looking for you know that because you know that there's gonna be some big twist. And I'm always trying to find it and I was like, I got it. And then nope, no, I never got it. I never got it. Good.

[00:35:21] I'm so glad. I worked very hard to try to make that happen. It was good. It was good. And it was and I feel like you also were able to like, even though it's very clearly like life and death, like there's a murder on the loose. But they're so funny. Like you infuse like bits of comedy into that. How do you balance like the the kind of darkness of like this murder story with that that comedy?

[00:35:50] Yeah, that's honestly that that part I would say is more natural to me. Um, so like very few things in my books are very natural. Usually it's me like button chair, like dragging this thing out of me trying to figure out how to make it work. But the comedy bits, um, are just very those just kind of come and I'm kind of like, okay, we'll roll with it. And with this book, it was actually interesting because with you are fatally invited.

[00:36:19] The comedy is a lot more prominent because it's more of a satire. And so originally when I started writing this book, I was trying to also make it a satire. And it wasn't working. And I was just like, but I don't want to like disappoint readers who like really liked that aspect in book one. And so and it really was my UK editor, um, who's fantastic. And I was like telling her like, I don't really know. Like I'm trying to make it funny.

[00:36:45] It's not funny, you know, like, and she was like, just let it be what it needs to be. It doesn't have to be funny. Your voice is naturally funny in places. Like it's going to carry through that way. But like the premise doesn't need to be funny. And that was very freeing. Um, so then the little natural bits that came out, you know, those are more to balance. And like, I love giving like contrast.

[00:37:08] And I think that that's really important for letting emotions land really hard is like, you know, if something's too relentless and it's too one way or the other, then it just kind of dulls after a while. But if you can keep giving a little bit of like ups and downs and comedy and, you know, moments of lightness, then that really shows the full range of emotions a lot stronger. I think. Yeah, for sure. That's a really good point. Mm hmm.

[00:37:37] Okay, we're not talking about a debut anymore. We're talking to a seasoned pro. Oh, so seasoned. How has the publishing process changed though from you are fatally invited to now? Like what was different? Yeah. Um, pretty much everything actually. Um, and I feel like I ended up on like two extremes. And so I'm like, I have yet to have a normal book experience.

[00:38:04] And so I'm like, hopefully, fingers crossed, Thriller 3 will be normal. But with Fatally, it was, everything was very fast. So like, even me writing it was fast. Revising it, selling it, like all of that was just like, it went from idea to revised and polished and sold within nine months. And it's like, that's like dramatically fast. It's never going to happen again. It was nice while it lasted.

[00:38:30] Um, and then book two, by contrast, it took me two years and five complete rewrites to get a first draft that I liked. Oh, wow. So it was like, extremely different. And there are so many reasons for that. Um, but the pressure of like, you're on, you're contracted now. And you know, like your, your publisher is like promoting your first book. And so like, there's all these shiny new things happening there.

[00:38:59] And then it's also like, oh boy, I hope book two is as good or better. You know, like it's, it's a lot of pressure and a lot of being a lot of like mental battles. Um, and so I think that it definitely messed with my head for a while. Um, and I mean, when you're, when you're a debut, everything's so shiny new. And you know, like there are debut lists and like lots of amazing opportunities.

[00:39:25] But when it's your second book, um, like there's not, you know, you're not on like a sophomore novel list or, you know. Um, so like the opportunities just change, which is just the industry. Um, and so you feel like you're like, again, the, you're only comparing it to the book one experience, but the book one experience was its own special thing. And so I'm really interested. I'm really excited to see how the next books go.

[00:39:51] Um, and hopefully I will become seasoned and actually know kind of what is actually normal here. So yeah, I do have to tell you, I bought, I don't know if it, I don't remember what holiday, but my mom and my grandmother each got a copy of fatally. They are like, they are, um, mystery thriller readers too. Oh my gosh. And so I got to be like, I interviewed her and I love this book and you guys are going to love it too.

[00:40:21] And they did obviously. Mandy, that was amazing to hear. Thank you so much. I just did that too. A friend of mine just had surgery and she was like, I'm just going to chill and read. And I'm like, you need to read this one. Cause I know you're going to love it. Like I've talked to her, I've read the book. It's amazing. And she read the description. She's like, yeah, this is definitely up my alley. So she's like in the midst of it. I'm like, I'm so excited. That's amazing.

[00:40:44] Like you guys, you guys, it's, it's people like you that lets us do that lets any writer, any creative, you know, be able to do their job. It's like the people who like are passionate about it and to spread the word. And like, that's just huge, huge. Thank you guys. That's really amazing. Sure. I'll be getting them. Yeah. They like it a little darker at least.

[00:41:10] Was there something, so I know that you like in your acknowledgements, you were talking about how book two was a little bit harder for you to write. And you just talked about it now, like, was there anything that you kind of learned while you were writing book two, whether about like your writing process or who you are as a writer or anything like that? Yeah, absolutely. I learned probably two major things. One of them I kind of already knew, but you guys were writing with the soul.

[00:41:38] So you'd kind of know this, like, you know, the school or like you, I write best when I'm very emotionally connected to the book. And like when I, when I'm writing about something that I'm wrestling with or thinking about, or, you know, just a conversation I want to open. Um, I have to be able to do that with a book or otherwise what comes out is just, it's not good.

[00:42:01] Um, and so it took me a long time to figure out what this book was about and like what part I guess of my, um, journey I was kind of writing about and trying to figure out. Um, and then once I figured that out, it came a lot easier, but it took a long time. And the second thing is, um, something else different about a book too, is that with book one, it's usually just, you know, you and your page for however long.

[00:42:30] And then, you know, you get an agent at some point and whatnot, but you've already, you know what the book is when you're, when you're working with someone with this book, it was like, I mean, I would give one line pitch and we'd all discuss it, you know, as a team. And like, you know, there's, there's a lot, there was so much more, um, opinions in the room, like from the very concept. And that was very different to work with. Cause I don't usually work that way.

[00:42:58] And, um, I love, absolutely loved getting to see my team in action and like how their brains work. And they had fantastic suggestions, which I, I loved the book. The book takes place in the library because of one of my editors who was like, why not just set this story in a library? And it was like, yes, duh.

[00:43:22] But I've learned that personally, I need to sit with an idea first and I need to figure out what it is that I'm trying to say first through it before I let other people in the room. Um, and so, cause I mean, what was tricky was like, I didn't know what this book wanted to be. And so my wonderful team was like, well, is it about this theme or what about this theme? Or you touch on this, what about this?

[00:43:49] And so like each time I would rewrite it, I'd be trying to aim for one of those things, but I don't know. And so then it was just like, this isn't, I need, I needed to sit with it first and figure out, okay, this is what I'm trying to do with it. This is what I want to say. And then, and then be able to be like, okay. And now everyone's right in, you know? Yeah. I have never once thought about that.

[00:44:11] And an author has never once brought that up about how crazy it is to go from you and your idea and your characters and your story to having more people in the room who are invested in it and want it to be the best version, but who also aren't you and aren't inside your brain. That has to be so trippy. It is. It really is. And every author works differently. Every experience is different. Every editor is different.

[00:44:41] I'm really, I'm really blessed to have, I was working with two editors, my UK and my US editor. And they were kind of like doing everything as a team, which was amazing. And they are just top of the game for what they do. Like they know the industry, they know books, they know story.

[00:44:57] And I felt like I was the one who more of was like, I needed to have to accomplish steps A through B first before bringing in the rest for my own process. But it wasn't just a, like, I'm lucky because they're very editorial. And I really love that and really appreciate it. But just learning, like, it's like, it's like any new business relationship. You're learning how you work together.

[00:45:27] And like, how is this going to go? And especially when you're creative and sometimes the muse isn't speaking when she needs to speak. You know, like it's a whole thing. And so it was just a lot of factors to juggle and try to figure out. So, yeah, it's really cool though. Yeah. I don't know if we talked about this last time, but I peeped your website and it says you were born in Florida, but raised in France. Yeah.

[00:45:54] Can you, how did that impact, how did your upbringing impact like the stories you write or like your style of writing? Yeah. Yeah. So growing up overseas, I was just constantly surrounded by amazing architecture and like vibes, you know. So like for lack of a better term, just like, you know, places that are just, you know, washed with the shades of history and architecture and just wars and battles and just like so many different things.

[00:46:24] And so I always try to carry those kinds of layers into the books that I write where I want it to feel like a world. I want it to feel like it was here before, even though it's, you know, fiction or fiction, even though it's grounded in our world. It's our world books. But I really want things to feel like there's lots of layers to it. There's lots of time. Like this, this, this building's been here for a long time.

[00:46:49] It's gone through so many different, you know, different ages and weird things and whatnot. And so that's kind of always been important to me with my books and also just writing. I love writing international characters because that's very much like what I grew up with and what I know.

[00:47:07] And so like, it's always fun for me to kind of be like, like, I feel like this character bringing in a fun Scottish character would be really neat, you know, for this one particular character or whatnot. So, yeah, it's kind of, it peeps in there in different places. That's really cool. I'm jealous. I grew up in a baby country where we don't have real history. Baby stuff. Yeah.

[00:47:36] In the grand scheme of history. But we don't have what yet. We don't have that. Yeah. We don't have buildings from the 1400s. Right. Alas. Can we talk a little bit about the, like, art of the book? Like, the art direction. There's a map of the library. You have some of the folk tales. Yes. Some art in there.

[00:48:01] Was that something that you, like, pitched as you were writing or, like, when you submitted it? Did you pitch, like, let's have this in the book? Or was that something that was pitched to you from your team? Actually, the fairy tales didn't come into the book until maybe draft four. Really? Like, it was, yes. It was very different.

[00:48:27] And I actually, what I was trying to share with my team is, like, oh, what if there's this book? And it was actually going to be a real book. That's a precursor to Alice in Wonderland. And so I was, like, I was telling them. And I could tell I was losing them. I was, like, trying to explain, like, and then they're trying to see this German book. And then one of my editors was, like, why don't you just write the tales? And just have it be, like, why don't you just write a fairy tale? Like, a collection of fairy tales.

[00:48:57] And my other editor was, like, I was thinking the same thing. And I was, like, oh, yeah, I am a writer. I can't do that. It's allowed. It's allowed. I could actually make something up. And so actually it was, that was something that came a lot later. And then a lot of things clicked into place kind of around it. And for the illustrations, I actually pitched to them. And I was so nervous to do it because I'm such an extra person, if you can't tell.

[00:49:27] Like, I'm just, I'm so extra. I get really to stop. We love it. And so I was, like, what would it be like if we had illustrations in the book? Do you do that? I don't know if that's something publishing does, you know. And thankfully they were, like, we love the idea. Send them over whenever they're ready. And I was, like, cool. I'm doing them. Great. Okay. And I'm really glad that they were so excited about it.

[00:49:55] Because, like, I mean, I was an artist. But this is a different kind of art than I usually do. And so I was really nervous. It felt like queering all over again where I'm, like, here's my work. I hope you like it. You know, like, oh, dear. And thankfully they were so excited. And they were, like, this is going to be perfect in the book. And so a very long-winded way to say I pitched it. I love it. It's so fun. It was, like, such a special. Yeah.

[00:50:24] It was such a fun surprise because I wasn't expecting it. And then the first one I'm like, oh, yay. I'm so glad. I love that. Yeah. Okay. We want to keep you forever. But we always promise that we won't. So we have a few questions that we ask all of our guests. You've been asked these before. But this is the moment where any media leaves your brain. I don't. Have I ever seen a movie? Or read a book? What is a book? I don't know. Okay.

[00:50:52] So the first question is we have a segment on the podcast that we call Fictional Boyfriend of the Week where we choose a fictional character that we're vibing with. We've had fictional sons. Karen's had a fictional granny. It doesn't have to be a boyfriend. Yeah. Do you have any fictional characters in any media that you are like, everyone should know this character? What is media? I don't know.

[00:51:20] I'm the only one who's like locked and loaded. If anybody asked me that, I would know immediately. Yeah. And I could tell you Karen's, but I'm always like a deer in the headlights. I already told you guys. I'm pretty sure I told you guys last time my always Dean Winchester. But anyways. Fair. That's fair. That's fair. That's fair. But like a literary book. Oh, okay. Okay. Okay. Here we go. Olivia Worley's Man of My Dreams. That is her upcoming book.

[00:51:48] It comes out maybe this month. It comes out very soon. Fantastic rom-com that slips into a thriller. And it's absolutely fantastic. But the love interest in that book is like, that is, that is how you date an author. Like this, men take notes from this man. He's fantastic. So, yeah. Oh, I love that. The British architect too. Sold. That doesn't hurt.

[00:52:19] That's amazing. I love Olivia Worley's writing. So that's very exciting. Okay. Yes. So kind of along the same lines, you've kind of touched upon it, but obviously, you know, we love your books and we're obsessed with them and we're constantly recommending them. But we would love to know, like, what are you reading? What are you recommending? Do you have any all-time favorites that you want to share with people? Yes. Yes. So I've had the immense pleasure of reading a lot of amazing books coming out soon.

[00:52:45] And so I have to shout out The House Built on Alligator Bones by Sophie Honeycutt. It's coming out this summer, I'm trying to say, or maybe it's October, somewhere in that range. We'll put it in our notes. Don't worry. Okay. It is a Southern Gothic ghost mystery that takes place in the Florida Everglades on an alligator farm.

[00:53:14] And it's got, like, complex family, like this wealthy family with their very bizarre alligator farm. And, you know, the girl who finds out that she's related to them and so she's going to meet her family for the first time. And they are hella weird, you know, like all these things. There's a lot of people. It's so good. So I love it. I love it. Put it on your. That sounds like a fun time. Yes. Oh, man. Yay. Okay.

[00:53:44] We have to know what comes next. Now that we, you know, the world doesn't have this book yet, but we have the library. So now we're chomping at the bit for what's next. Yes. I am so excited about book three. Y'all. It's going to be so good. I'm about halfway through drafting it. And it's not sold yet. So if anyone wants to read it, please order one of my other books. So that's for me.

[00:54:14] But I really strive to have every book I write be the best thing I've written to that date. And this one is like. It's going to be really good, guys. I think so. Like it's still got the like locked room vibe. It's the atmosphere is a huge part of it. It is different than some things I've written before in some ways. And I'm really interested to see how you guys all.

[00:54:42] How you guys like it compared to the others. But yeah, I'm stretching some new wings, trying some new things. I'm trying to think if there's like a spoiler that I can give you guys. And I remember last time you had like a word for each of your book that kind of like summed up like the theme or like what you were trying to do with that book. Like, do you do you remember what those words were for your book? Because I don't remember. I have a terrible memory.

[00:55:13] But if you wanted, maybe there's a word for book three as well. That's a good way to put it. Yes. So the first one. So fatally was want, I think. I wrote about like messy feeling of wanting and all that. Book two. So library after dark is fear and like how you handle fear and face it or run from it or, you know, all those things. Book three is.

[00:55:39] It's a little bit longer, but I need to I need to like distill it down. But essentially the heart of book three is the. The flags that we ignore because we want to be liked. And because we love someone else. I need to figure out like a one word for that. Okay. Okay. I discernment. Yeah. I feel the vibe. Like abandoning yourself.

[00:56:09] Like. Yeah. Like how people do that and that kind of thing. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I'm excited. I will say. It looks like because there's there are multiple like big shows and movies that are coming out now that make me go like, oh, this is going to be this is going to be this is in demand right now. People want this thing. So I'm very excited for it. Oh, I'm so excited. I can't wait.

[00:56:36] Well, I mean, just just so you know, our inbox is always open. We're we're happy. We're happy to. We're happy to. To take it. Provide some feedback. Read some words. You know. I'll keep it in mind. I'll keep it in mind. We're we're happy to be part of any part of the process. Here's the best. Thank you so much. Yes, we are so excited for this book to come out. When this episode airs, Library After Dark will be out.

[00:57:06] You can walk into a bookstore and pick up a copy, you guys. It's green and pretty. We also have bad news. We do. We do. Unfortunately, you know this, but we have to remind you like you are legally obligated to come back for all future book releases. Oh, fantastic. Those are the rules. The locked room of the incoherent panel. You cannot get out. No. But there's no murder here. So.

[00:57:36] You guys are the ones who are going to have to keep reading stuff I'm writing. So. No. Who's really getting better than you are. This is terrible. I hate that. Oh, my gosh. This has been so much fun as always. Everybody go to your bookstore and pick up a copy. I'm telling you. It's so good. It's so good. Pick up a copy of the Library After Dark. While you're there, you could get You Are Fatally Invited too. They're both wonderful.

[00:58:04] You should do it because then we get more books from Andy. And if I don't get more books from Andy, I will cry. So everybody help me. Help me not cry. People want to cry. No. Don't care. Not everyone. Team together. I'm a really ugly crier. We don't. Nobody needs to see that. Okay. So let's sell some more books. You guys are the best. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for doing this. We love having you. Aw.

[00:58:34] This has been so great. All right. And we will hopefully we'll talk to you soon. Talk to you for book three. Sounds good. I know. Book three. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed. All right. Bye. All right. Thank you guys. Thank you. Bye. Why is she so freaking pretty and I love her so much. I know. I'm obsessed with her. I love her so much. Me too. Everybody. Seriously. Like. Seriously. My mom and grandma also loved You Were Fatally Invited and I know they're going to love

[00:59:03] I literally was like. I could not put it down. I was literally just sitting there. I got home yesterday and I was just reading and reading and my kid comes in and she's trying to talk to me and I just look. I just like hold up the book and I'm like leave me alone. I'm trying to read. Things are happening now. Oh good. So good. Everybody go pick up a copy please. I need more. I need more. All right.

[00:59:32] We don't have anything to announce. Other than we're going on break guys. We'll see you. So I can go take a nap. We'll see you in July. Okay. So I can go to bed. It's night night time for me. I still have to go pick up my kid. It's early for us. Time zones are rude. Time zones are rude. Anyways. All right. It is time for a spiel. So friends if you enjoyed this episode please like while and subscribe wherever you are listening to us.

[01:00:02] Follow us on social media. We are at the incoherent fangirl on all the things. Visit our website the incoherent fangirl.com where you can also stream all of our episodes as well as read our blog. Head over to Patreon to subscribe for early access to podcast episodes, full video episodes, bonus content, and the opportunity to ask questions of our guests because that's fun. I love asking questions. It's so much fun. Head over to our merch store the incoherent fangirl.com slash shop to get some cute stuff because Mandy gets bored with an iPad and she makes us goodies.

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[01:01:00] She's at Ms. Made in China on all the things. And once you follow us on social media and you follow the podcast on social media, you're going to head over and visit our internet besties and do some self-care because we love you and we want you to stick around forever. Okay? Yeah. Self-care is important. So do that. Okay? So first off, you're going to go to herecomesthenerd.com and get you some pins and artsy goodies, some stationery, lots of cute stuff there. Use code fangirl and you'll get 20% off your first order. Then you're going to head to onceuponabookclub.com. You can subscribe.

[01:01:30] You can get some existing boxes that they still have in stock. You can get random goodies. And you're going to use code karen10 at checkout to get 10% off. But you have to spell Karen right or we're going to lock you in the murder library. Oh no! Oh! After dark. Oh. Creepy. Scary. R-I-P-U. So maybe spell Karen's name right. Yes, please. I'd appreciate it. Next up, you're going to visit our friend Amber D. Lewis at amberdlewis.com.

[01:01:58] Add 10 of everything to your cart. Maybe more. Who knows? Because then you're going to add code fangirl10. You'll get 10% off of everything, which means you've gotten at least one of everything for free. That is mathematically accurate. Okay? I definitely know that. I started talking about numbers and I'm scared. Number's worth it. And last but not least, you can support my family. You can go follow the show husband.

[01:02:28] He's at Born to Josh on all the things. You can follow his paranormal investigation group at Searchers Believe on all the things. And if you go to searchersbelieve.com. There's spooky merch designed by yours truly because they benefit from my iPad usage as well. You'll follow at Searchers Podcast. That's our spooky podcast that hopefully we're reviving soon. And the big one is Beacon TV. It's our newish couple years old now.

[01:02:57] It's toddler streaming platform. Oh, toddler! Which is horror, true crime, paranormal related content. There are some really exciting things happening literally next week. Really cool things coming out every day. You can follow at StreamBeaconTV on all the things. I'm their social media girl. And the more engagement they get, the more they see that girl needs a raise.

[01:03:26] That girl deserves a raise. Yeah! And then she can come visit us. Yes. So go engage with at StreamBeaconTV on all the things. And if you'd like to subscribe, you can go to StreamBeaconTV.com and use code FANGIRL10 for 10% off your subscription. I mean, there's lots of cool things coming. So I'd say do it. And last but not least, I wrote a book. It's called The Living and the Dead.

[01:03:54] It's about a girl who was born a ghost, but ages like living. And the yearning reaper who would die to get her to look at him. Just a glance. Baby girl just care about me. I'm on all the major retailers' websites. And if you'd like a signed copy, you can go to AEPervis.com and use code ErinWarner to get 10% off. Because it would not be me if I didn't have to make something about Erin Warner.

[01:04:24] Would have been body snatched. It's not me without Erin. And my Erin tattoo. And that. I told. Wait. When we listened to Shatter Me recently with my husband and it was like she finally sees he has the hell is empty and all the devils are here tattoo like on his groin. I was like, I just want to know who gave Erin Warner that slutty little tattoo. Who did he like get that close?

[01:04:53] I gotta give him that slutty little tattoo. I'm curious. Josh is like, I don't want to talk about the dude's crotch tattoo. Who cares? Can we get back to the back tattoo? That one's fine. Oh, your husband does not want to hear about your boyfriend. Okay. No, he does. He's not threatened by Erin Warner. But he wants to hear more about Kenji. Kishimoto. Because he and you are the same person.

[01:05:23] As we all should. I joke all the time that my two of my best friends married the male version of me. Yeah. And I'm just here. I'm just Steve. Ken. You're not Ken. Anyways. That was the incoherent pain girl. Thank you for listening. We will see you in July, friends. We love you. Bye nerds. Bye.

[01:05:52] Bye. Bye.