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Game Night with Hannah Bonam-Young | S3Ep3
492 Plays2 years ago
Author Hannah Bonam-Young(@authorhannahby) is back for an epic bookish game night! We play three mini games while Hannah walks us through what life has been like re-releasing her Next Series with a traditional publisher.
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Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books
Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz
Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf
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Transcript
Welcome and Introduction
00:00:05
Speaker
Hello. Hello. Welcome to Bring Your Own, a catch-all bookish most of the time podcast. I'm Brandi. I'm Kendra. And I'm Kayla. And today we have a very special guest who is our first returner ever in Bring Your Own History. We have Hannah Bonham Young here with us. Everyone clap. Please, please, please, please clap.
00:00:29
Speaker
Hey everybody, thanks for having me back. Oh my god, we're so excited. I love favorite child privileges. Yes, absolutely. So we're so excited you're here. Thank you so much for coming back and hanging out with us again. But before we get started though, and talking with Hannah more in depth, what are we reading? What are we drinking?
Current Reads and Drinks Discussion
00:00:50
Speaker
Hannah, do you want to go first as our guest of honor? Oh my gosh, yeah, thank you. I am drinking water.
00:00:58
Speaker
Um, because I think I have a UTI. Thank you so much. And I, what am I reading? I am rereading my own draft right now, which is super fun. But I haven't been able to read for fun in a while. So it's been a while since I have a book. But you've been in the throes of writing, right? Yeah, I'm in the thick of it right now.
00:01:24
Speaker
Oh, we're gonna talk about that later. I'm so excited. Editing one book and writing a different one. So it's almost it. Oh my god. Okay, damn. Yeah, my brain hurts. Every time I think of UTI, I think of Jersey Shore because like Snicky would get UTI. And there's a clip of her like going to the fridge in the house and like sitting in it because it was like the only thing that would like bring her company.
00:01:47
Speaker
So if you feel that way, maybe that will help. I saw a tweet once about Snooki's UTI. I've never watched her see Shore, but I did see a tweet once and now I'm piecing it together because I was like, what does this mean? But they were like, she gets UTI so much because she's so close to the ground.
00:02:03
Speaker
I laughed about that for like three weeks and I never understood it, but now I feel like, okay, it wasn't just a random- Very short, yeah. Yeah, okay. This is so funny, oh my god.
Book Recommendations and TikTok Influence
00:02:16
Speaker
Kayla Ann, what are you reading? Okay. Tonight I have a delicious white wine. I wanted to switch it up from my usual water, but I am currently listening to a YA fantasy called
00:02:32
Speaker
It's called The Crimson Moth in the UK, but Heartless Hunter in the United States. I was really confused when I first learned that there were two different titles, but it's like how it is. And like, you know, with people being on vacation, it's a different title in the UK, you know? Um, by Kristin, like Hatcher Pelly. I really don't know how to say her last name. I apologize.
00:02:55
Speaker
but you can look it up. It's called Heartless Adventure by Kristin. I'm so sorry, but I'm listening to it. And so far it's really good. I'm really enjoying it. It's kind of like a little cat and mouse type of book. So it's like super fun. Yeah, that's currently what I'm reading.
00:03:14
Speaker
Her last name is Sicarelli. Okay. Thank you. Love that. And I'm also reading that right now. I'm listening to that at the same time as Kayla. I texted her yesterday and I said, Kayla, what should I listen to next? And she said, I don't know. I think I'm going to start this. I said, okay, so I'm also listening to that one. And I am physically reading a shadow.
00:03:32
Speaker
Reaper in the Shadow or Shadow in the Reaper, Brynn Weaver's debut novel because I just re-listened to Butcher and Blackbird and I love that book. So I was like, let me read this other series. I'm having fun so far. I'm not very far into it. I'm currently drinking a white rascal, white ale beer. Yeah, I am drinking a Miggle of Ultra, my beer of choice. And I'm reading
00:04:00
Speaker
I'm listening to, what's it called? Unrealistic Expectations by Andy J. Christopher or something like that. I started it yesterday, I have not listened to any of it today, but it's a very quick listen. It'll be three hours in total, so I'll probably finish that tonight or tomorrow. And then physically with my eyeballs, I've been reading this fantasy book for the past week.
00:04:20
Speaker
It's called House of Bane and Blood by Alexis L. Minard. It's all because I saw I rarely guys get recommendations from TikTok anymore just because like I'm not on book talk like my algorithm like it's just not that but I saw a random book talk video the other day and this girl was just like raving about it and it's good so far. I don't know why it's been taking me a week but I've liked what I've read so
00:04:43
Speaker
Yeah, you're a mother now. You have a dog now, so you're a bit sad. I know. You're so right. That's my favorite thing to do, though, is, like, he'll curl up on the couch and he'll fall asleep and then, like, I'll have, like, kindle. Then I'll get distracted and I'll just, like, start taking photos of him. So then, like, I stop.
00:04:56
Speaker
You guys know what's crazy is when Kendra told me that she was starting that I was like she told me that she was starting it based off of recommendation on TikTok. I was like, oh, my God. I had never thought I'd see the day where Kendra starts a fantasy book based off one TikTok video like that would have never happened last year, but she's come a long way. She's had a Disney adult talk now. Oh, yeah, that's what we're talking about today.
Podcast Episode Plan and Hannah's Writing Journey
00:05:21
Speaker
Yeah, I'm on Disney adult talk.
00:05:23
Speaker
Love that. That's what we're reading and that's what we're drinking. So our set up for today, our plan for today is to chat with Hannah and then play some games as well. So, yeah, Kayla, take a right.
Elevator Pitch for 'Next' Series
00:05:36
Speaker
Yeah. So for those who haven't listened to our first episode with Hannah, we really encourage you to go back and listen to learn a little bit more in depth about how Hannah kind of like began her writing journey and why those stories were so important for her.
00:05:51
Speaker
to put out. We wanted to have Hannah on here again to talk about her re-releases though that have recently been happening. So since we're between releases, can you give us an elevator pitch of the next series? And when we say, sorry, when we say next series, we're talking about her series actually called the next series,
Book Re-releases and Signing Experiences
00:06:11
Speaker
not yet her next series that she's writing. I want to make that clear. Okay.
00:06:16
Speaker
Yeah, I really inconveniently named it. So it's next of kin and next to you, which is why it's called the next series. It's just the two of them though. Next of kin came out in February. It was re-released in February and next to you is out April 9th.
00:06:34
Speaker
And yeah, Nextivekin is about Chloe and Warren, and they are both older siblings looking to get custody guardianship of younger siblings that are in the foster care system. They don't qualify on their own, so they decide to team up and live together and kind of split everything financially in order to qualify. And yeah, so it's kind of the story of two strangers moving into the same home and trying to
00:07:04
Speaker
kind of parent for the first time and navigate all of that as young adults. It's really a story of like found family in forced proximity and all that good stuff. Warren's co-worker Matt, they are both mechanics and Chloe's best friend Lane. So Matt and Lane are the second book
00:07:22
Speaker
which is still my favorite book I've ever written and I really love Next to You. It's always going to be my, I think, my favorite child. So Next to You is about, yeah, like Matt and Lane and Lane is kind of having this like identity crisis. She turned 27 and in the style of Pride and Prejudice, she becomes 27 and afraid and a burden on her parents.
00:07:47
Speaker
and decides that what she really needs to do with her life is buy a school bus and renovate it into a tiny home that she can live in and work from and travel in.
00:08:01
Speaker
And Matt being a mechanic and handyman and a friend of hers offers to help her. And while working on this project and road tripping in this bus to get it back to the yard to fix it up and all of these things, they kind of strike this deal where they're going to become friends with benefits.
00:08:20
Speaker
mostly around Blaine getting over her commitment issues, processing some past trauma and grief and Matt just being the best boyfriend of all time in my opinion and really supporting her on that journey and kind of
00:08:36
Speaker
stepping into his own as well. So that's the next series. And yeah, and then my third re-release isn't until June. We don't have to talk about that guy. We'll talk about it a little bit. But next up, Ken you just mentioned was re-released in February. And what does a re-release day look like as compared to your like initial release date? Because next to Ken was your debut. So I imagine it looks very different just because the people who have picked it up since then, but also as like a re-release.
00:09:04
Speaker
Yeah, it's such a unique experience for sure. Because when I first released Next of Kin, it was my very first book. I had like a bookstagram that was like maybe three weeks old. I didn't really know anyone. And it was a very different experience for sure this time around. I think for me, the biggest thing was kind of the weekend before because most releases, re-releases or releases happen on a Tuesday.
00:09:31
Speaker
And, um, but sometimes books, you know, start peering in stores. Yeah. So, um, the weekend before I started seeing like on Instagram, people saying like, it's at my Barnes and Noble, it's at this store, it's wherever. And so my best friend and I went on a very, very spontaneous impromptu, um, road trip. Yeah, I saw that. That's so fun. And so I live in Niagara Falls on the Canadian side of the border.
00:09:59
Speaker
And so she and I drove to Buffalo, New York, and then we drove around Lake Erie. So we went through a little bit of Pennsylvania and Ohio and then back around to Michigan. And so we did four states and like eight different stores, I think, in the end. And I got to sign a bunch of copies and take pictures of them and meet some people. And it was
00:10:22
Speaker
Just like the most wild, like surreal, dream come true, pinch me moment I've ever had. Like that first store in
Quote and Superlative Games
00:10:31
Speaker
Buffalo, New York, I walked in and I was like, it might not be here. I don't know. It might not be here.
00:10:38
Speaker
And I walked in and I was, I knew where the romance section was because I'd been to the store before, so I started beelining it. And I didn't know my best friend behind me was filming me, but I looked over just thinking, Ooh, there's a book talk table. Like I wonder if thinking of my other friend, I was like, Ooh, I wonder if Beck is on there. And I looked over and then I saw Next of Kin and I was like, I literally stopped walking. Like my body took a screenshot. Like I was just like,
00:11:06
Speaker
I just froze. And it was like, it felt like a dream. It was like, I was like, Oh, this, this is nice. I'm gonna wake up in my bed in a few minutes. And I just stared at it lovingly and like petted it and like, pick it over to the customer service desk. I was like, Hi, could I please sign these?
00:11:26
Speaker
Were you like tempted to buy it? I feel like I'd be tempted to buy it. I did buy one! I bought it because I thought, when am I ever gonna see my first book? You did buy it. I must have heard you. Yeah, I'm glad you did! That was like my initial thought. I was like, I'm tempted to buy it. And like, me and my friend both like, we wrote messages in it, like, this is how it felt, and like, this is the first story we saw in it, and like,
00:11:52
Speaker
So that was just like, it's like more like a keepsake. Yeah, that's so special. And then so I got back on the Monday, and we kind of just like rolled into the next thing because we had already had this plan where they had sent me so many copies of it. And I was like, well, I don't have this many friends. So let me go figure out what to do with them. So
00:12:14
Speaker
We went to, we drove around, we did like a local road trip through kind of southern Ontario where we dropped next to Kinoff and like little free libraries all around and made it like kind of a scavenger hunt.
00:12:26
Speaker
Um, and that was really fun. On Tuesday, I had my first like event, like my first release day thing, um, at my favorite local bookstore. And they like sold out, which is bananas. And I got to meet like 50 readers of people who haven't read any of my books. A lot of people who had read out on a limb and wanted to read my other books for the first time. It was, yeah, it was a really, really cool day. Um.
00:12:56
Speaker
and I felt very lucky and spoiled there and I got like to trade friendship bracelets and oh I love that so it was it was wildly different I think it's it's now going to be one of those days that like I don't know my my husband's family has this term like deathbed day which is so morbid
00:13:14
Speaker
Like the things you're gonna reminisce about yeah like you know like those days where you're like that was a special day like your wedding your kids being born getting a putt like whatever but for me it's like big on this day too so
00:13:30
Speaker
So next year, next of kin are both being released with new covers. So yeah, I was out on a limb working. Oh, yeah. And so it's out on a limb. That reveal happened like a few weeks ago. How was that working with Lenny Kaufman, who's like, probably the most iconic artist as of right now in the book space? Well, so the amazing thing about it was,
00:13:51
Speaker
When I saw, they're being republished through Dell, which is under Penguin Random House. And when my editor and I, Shauna, started talking about new covers, they were just, they kind of just asked me a few general questions, like, whose art do you really like? Which, like, show us some covers you really like, blah, blah, blah. And I just threw Lenny's name out there thinking like,
00:14:15
Speaker
You know, everyone like running forward. And I hadn't heard anything. So from the point of them telling me, hey, like, here's some questions for you. We're going to redo the covers to me getting a sketch, like a pencil sketch of the next of kin cover. I hadn't heard anything. So I had no clue what they had decided. I didn't know if there was going to be a couple on the cover. I didn't know much. And then they sent it back to me and immediately I clocked it as Lenny's art. Yeah.
00:14:43
Speaker
same style, right? And she's so good. And I fangirled so hard that like I went before I responded to that email I e-messaged her on Instagram. And I was like, I'm so excited that you're working on these. This is such a dream.
00:15:02
Speaker
And she was nice enough to respond and not get a restraining order. And yeah, it
Upcoming Books and 'Out of the Woods' Reveal
00:15:08
Speaker
was so surreal. Again, another surreal part of this experience because I keep just kind of throwing things out there and Del catches it and runs with it. And my expectations, I tend to have low expectations because then you can avoid disappointment, but also it just doesn't feel like
00:15:11
Speaker
Like,
00:15:27
Speaker
it doesn't make sense like who gets to like write books as their job and like work with all these amazing cool people right so when they said oh yeah Lenny's in I was like that's a joke um yeah you're not serious yeah I love them so much for next of kin and next to you they just did what I would consider like an elevated
00:15:48
Speaker
version of the original covers like they kept it the same kind of like I think if you were describing them like okay if there's a couple in the kitchen she's sitting on the counter and they're both having a cup of coffee they're looking at each other it's the same brief but it's just Lenny's art and so I think it's just fantastic and they did some bolder brighter colors because
00:16:09
Speaker
their marketing team knows what works and knows what stands out on shelves and all of these things. But for Out on a Limb it was a very different, more hands-on process because from the get-go I had been like a little bit more vocal about what I wanted for that cover. In terms of just saying if we're going to change Out on a Limb's cover I think it needs to be something like a totally different
00:16:34
Speaker
cover because everyone really loves the indie cover and if we just redid that I don't think it would make people feel
Anticipated 2024 Releases
00:16:43
Speaker
satiated like I think we need to do something where it's like you can see their faces they're in a different environment they're you know like looking at the you know they're looking out of the cover so you can see them and see their little faces and see how in love they are right so the original cover is them standing with their backs
00:17:03
Speaker
facing it towards the reader and they're looking at a body of water and it's very cool and peaceful and calm and very them and I still love it but the new cover is them in their house on their couch all snuggled up and their disabilities are both so on show and so cool and so prominent and it's still very relaxing and calm but it's also a little bit more
00:17:29
Speaker
I don't know, romance looking. It's a little bit more lovey-dovey and bright and poppy. So I think that they've done a phenomenal job and they make it so easy. They look amazing. Yeah. They do. I'm so excited. I was one of the people who was very attached to the indie out on a limb cover. So I'm so excited to be excited about the new one too because now I'm like, yay! I get to love them both now.
00:17:53
Speaker
Yeah, and I think that's the benefit of doing something totally different, right? Is it's like, now we always get to have that and that was a special thing. But this one is like a new special thing. Yeah, exactly. It's still so good. All right. Now is time for our first game. This one is like our
00:18:12
Speaker
tamest of the bunch, if you will. I think you're going to be really good at this game. We're just going to do a quote game. So we're going to give you a quote and you as the author have to tell us which character said it. And this is from your
00:18:31
Speaker
from the next series and out on a limb. Okay, I'm gonna be so bad. I could pick some like softball ones, ones that I think are pretty obvious, but then we also did pick some hard ones, so. All right, I'm ready. All right, the first one is, it's not a Rubik's Cube, it's my penis. Oh.
00:18:50
Speaker
Yeah, that's it. Only Vogue would talk about a Rubik's Cube. Only Wynn would talk about both spaces. Okay, the next one is Tell Me to Stay. That one's hard. Matt. No, no. It's a Warren.
00:19:15
Speaker
It was Warren when he, like, had
Creative Book Idea Game
00:19:17
Speaker
the other apartment and... Yeah! Okay. But I forgot. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. That one's kind of hard though because it's like a short one. Yeah, it was just like... I feel like if I would have included the rest of that conversation. It's okay. This one is a little longer, so stick with me for a second. Okay.
00:19:38
Speaker
If it goes beyond that, I may simply let the illness take me. I'll go to the seaside like all the sick or slightly insane women used to, and I'll will myself to either be done with it or enjoy an early grave. Win. Yeah. Oh, I love this. Hard to roam and clean. Yeah. Next one is, put me down if you're going to be grumpy. I must be lame. Yeah. He's always holding care of me. Yeah.
00:20:07
Speaker
I'm thinking about Matt and Lane. They're carrying or being carried. Yeah. This one is, Hey, so no pressure, but I'm in love with you. When? No, wait, that's Chloe. Yeah. Yes. Something so similar though. Yeah. Yes. I have only so many jokes. You look so fucking adorable in my clothes. I want to rip them off you. Warren.
00:20:37
Speaker
Yeah. Good job. Next one is, try being selfish just for a little bit, just with me. Matt. Yes. I was like, if that's not Matt, I need to pick it up. Okay. I feel like this one will be easy, but it also could be hard. I don't know. Okay. That's the look of a man on someone's leash. Pussy wit.
00:21:04
Speaker
I think that's Sarah. Yeah. Good job. Oh my God. Good job. We tried to throw a little curveball with like somebody else, like not a main character, but clocked it pretty quick. Okay. Here's the last one for this specific game. Sorry for calling you hot. Okay. So is this a spoken line?
Taylor Swift Song Assignments
00:21:30
Speaker
Yes. Warren?
00:21:32
Speaker
No, this one was the hardest one. Let me give you a hint. It's a second. It's not a main character. It's not one of the... Sorry for calling you hot. Is it Matt talking to Chloe? No, that's a great guess though. It's talking to Matt.
00:21:50
Speaker
It's Liz talking, oh yeah, when she's a little drunk. And then she's like, is he a nice? And then Lane says the nicest. The nicest. Oh yeah, okay. Because I was thinking when I said the spoken thing, I was thinking, did Luke ever apologize to Chloe? I think he did at some point, right?
00:22:13
Speaker
Okay, amazing. Good job. That was really good. I am a little bit embarrassed. No, every time we play this with authors, everybody's gotten at least one wrong. Okay, that's good. Yes. Okay, back to some questions for you. Did you already know Matt and Lane's story when you were writing Next of Kin? No, I knew that they ended up together, but I didn't think it was ever going to be on page. Okay.
00:22:41
Speaker
So I have this weird mind map situation where when I'm writing, it's like I can see into the crystal ball from every little character. So I knew that they were in-game and I knew they were gonna be together. I just didn't think it was an interesting enough story. The original way I'd pictured that
00:23:09
Speaker
And then when I finished Next of Kin and I started writing a totally different project, and I kept being like, this would be more fun if it was Matt and Lane. So I just like took what I knew and then took that kind of part of that other story and combined them. But no, I didn't know their story, but I did know that they were going to be together in my original draft, which I took out because I was so sure I wasn't going to write their book. They had this like little moment
00:23:39
Speaker
um but you know that'll live on the computer forever but um but no i didn't i love that how has it been how has it been getting like new readers because i know like a lot of my mutuals were like oh gonna go get the new covers and stuff but like yeah yeah what are the new reactions it's interesting because i think
Closing Remarks and Laughter
00:24:00
Speaker
The way the timing works out, it's kind of twofold. There's a lot of people who I know have read Out on a Limb and were waiting for these to be re-released to read my backlist. Interesting. Because Out on a Limb just had more of a viral moment.
00:24:15
Speaker
and just did a lot better numbers wise straight out the gate. So a lot of people were like, oh, she has other books. And I think that was kind of like half of it. But then the other half I've noticed for sure is like, I think people who maybe just predominantly shop in stores
00:24:35
Speaker
and maybe aren't on book talk or bookstagram so much. Like I've noticed, and this is a silly thing to say you're noticing, and I don't want it to sound like I'm obsessively checking my Instagram or whatever, but I think like up until this point, if you looked at my followers, it would be like predominantly bookstagram or bookish accounts.
00:24:59
Speaker
And I've noticed in the past week and a bit since Next to Kim came out traditionally and it's been in stores, it's way more just like private, regular, everyday profiles. And so that's like, that is how I've noticed the biggest kind of, oh yeah, these people aren't really in this space. They're just maybe seeing the book on the shelf and picking it up. Also, like a couple of messages I've gotten are like,
00:25:25
Speaker
I saw your book at like an Indigo or a Barnes & Noble or whatever like I and you have other books but it seems like they're out but they're not out and like people coming in like why have people read them but they're not out yet? And where do I get these covers because I can only see these covers and so it's been a lot of like answering questions like that which has also been fun so that's kind of how I know that there's some like new faces. Yeah it's been interesting for sure I think the biggest thing
00:25:56
Speaker
because it was the most face-to-face was the release day event. And just people being like, oh yeah, like I had heard of maybe like one of your books, but then they weren't on KU, so I was waiting for this to be re-released. Or just people being like, I have no clue who you are or what this book's about, but it's so nice to meet you.
00:26:16
Speaker
Which is really fun. Like it just makes it feel special, right? Because so much of my career up until this point has been so reliant on social media. Right. I forgot that sometimes people just find books. Right. I noticed that in like author Facebook groups.
00:26:33
Speaker
Like, it'll just be normal people talking about the books. I'm like, oh, these aren't people who like have made books their entire life like me, like. Yeah, it's not their whole personality trait. And it's so interesting because like they'll, they'll ask questions in these groups. I'm like, how do they not know this? But I'm like, Kendra, they're not like, obsessively. They're not crazy like you. Yeah. That's so interesting. Yeah. Yeah. I went to Barnes today and I hadn't gone in a while and I was
00:27:00
Speaker
I was secretly hoping that they would have a fate inked in blood out early. No, but I also was gonna see if they had the American cover of Heartless Hunter. But anyway, that's beside the point. I went and I went upstairs. It's okay. I went upstairs to the romance section and they had like a big old table there and next of kin was right there and it was like so cool like you know seeing it next to like you know some of
00:27:23
Speaker
other authors that we absolutely love you know like Lauren Asher or Jessa Hastings or Emily Henry you know it's just like really cool to see it there so it was super super awesome. I went into because it for some reason um Canada tends to get re-releases a few weeks or at least a little bit delayed just of the nature of how it works with transferring over and everything and so it had been a few days and I was like okay maybe I'll just go check in and they go and if we don't have it it's fine
00:27:53
Speaker
And I went to my local one and I saw it on the table, like between Bride by Allie Hazelwood and my really good friend Becca Mack's book Unravel Me. Yeah. And I was like, I took a picture of it and I texted it to her and she was like, Oh my God, it's happening. Yeah, you guys get to hold hands and books.
00:28:18
Speaker
Um, and that was like, again, using the word surreal so much tonight, but like, it was just, it's just, it's so stupid. Like, I'm just like, what do you mean? And I think like, to just seeing the covers and how pretty they are, and like,
00:28:36
Speaker
them near like Hannah Grace's cover or like Olivia Dade's covers that are also by Lenny and being like these are people I like really look up to and emulate and like people who are just so insanely popular right and seeing my book like look similar and be on a table with them like that's that's yeah stupid
00:28:59
Speaker
I think Lenny is going to need her own table in Barnes and Noble eventually. I think Lenny should have her own internet. I think Lenny should have everything she ever wants. Lenny should be president. Okay, we are going to play our next game, which is I think my favorite game to play whenever we have authors on, and it's a superlative game.
00:29:19
Speaker
So we're gonna ask you like, most likely to be X, most likely to do whatever, and you just list, you assign that to one of your main characters. Okay. But you can even like assign it to someone we haven't met yet if you want to tease anything, if that sounds like good. Yeah, okay. First one, most likely to get caught banging in public.
00:29:43
Speaker
And it's just one person? Or you can be the couple. I guess, yeah, this one you can do a couple, but... Okay. Ooh! Okay, well, it's definitely not Chloe and Warren. And it's definitely not Bo and Wyn. They've got kids and... I think, I mean, I've written two scenes that are relatively public. One is in Next to You with Matt Knight, and one is in my new book.
00:30:17
Speaker
I feel like I have to go with that couple in my new book because
00:30:23
Speaker
It's so public. That is, like, definitely them. Also, Matt and Lane, for sure, I think would. But I think also Matt's got that survival instinct about him, where he's like, you wouldn't know somebody's coming. Yeah, exactly. Lane, you know? Uh-huh. Love that. Why do I always get this one, you guys? I purposely gave it to you. I know you did. I know you did. Most likely to try anal.
00:30:52
Speaker
damn it is it all gonna be yeah did you write an anal scene i did it but okay i almost did and my editor was like
00:31:09
Speaker
I'm really coming for those spicy peppers this time around. I'm sick and tired of being tagged in closed-door recommendations. Oh, I saw your TikTok. You're like, I wrote Come Play. Like, come on. That was great. I scandalized my mother. Like, stop tagging me.
00:31:29
Speaker
that was a solid oh my mom has read all of my books oh wow yeah that was truly a a 10 out of 10 use of that sound so thank you so much i was really impressed with myself
00:31:43
Speaker
I was like, look at her, she's using a trending sound for once. Okay, well, then, okay, again, Matt and Lane have a joke about it in their book. Yeah. So I'm gonna say Matt and Lane so I don't keep saying a new couple. But but also the new couple. Also draft couple, which I can't talk about, but draft couple 100 million percent. It's like sex lessons. So I'm excited.
00:32:13
Speaker
Well, this is a lot more tame. Most likely to have a viral TikTok account. Think bow.
00:32:22
Speaker
Okay, what would his content be? I think Bo would be like, I think Bo would do like day in the life dad. Oh, yeah, like a hot dad from that like, hot nerd dad, but also like old dad perspective. And it would be very like community building, but also like him and when would for sure be the type of people to like not show their kids.
00:32:47
Speaker
but like talk about their kids a lot online. Because I think I'm overthinking this, but I just think that both of them are like, we were so scared to become parents because of our disabilities. So that's like, they'd want to create community. Yeah. And so I think Bo, because A, he's hot, B, he thinks he's really funny. And C, he is both of those things. I'd follow. Most likely to win a Nobel Peace Prize? When?
00:33:17
Speaker
yeah i could see that and yeah can do yeah i can't can do oh my gosh i didn't even notice your shirt it's a cute love it's okay most likely to win survivor um not worn
00:33:40
Speaker
He's not gonna like be nice to anybody. He would get voted out so fast. People would get so intimidated by him. Okay, I'm gonna go down the line. Warren would get voted out so fast. Bless him. Chloe, Chloe wouldn't sign up. Lane would sign up, but for sure have to leave on day three because she's cranky and tired. I think Matt is the answer.
00:34:10
Speaker
Matt has lived off of the grid. Matt has great survival instincts. He's got a great attitude. He's very likable. He's very personal. He would make great TV. Who'd want to win so badly, but would definitely not because the challenges would not be just friendly. Yeah. Well, same answer for when they got so pissed. A new couple
00:34:40
Speaker
the irony. I cannot wait to describe this new book because the irony of it is that they would last zero days. Yeah, so I think I'm gonna go with Matt. I'm gonna tell you this one. I think I agree. I would I would have picked Matt probably. Which of your characters would be most likely to have a bookstagram account? Sarah. I agree.
00:35:07
Speaker
I think she will or Matt, but Matt doesn't know how social media works. Yeah, I've never been on the internet probably. So, right? Yeah. But so I've written, I've written two readers. And Sarah, who's in out on a limb is a really big reader. And he's like, I for sure see her as like a book talk, bookstagram girlie. Yeah. Most likely to help you bury a body. Chloe. Yeah.
00:35:36
Speaker
Chloe would do anything for anyone. To a helpless girl. Also, I feel like she's the type of person who relaxes listening to true crime. Yeah, like on her way to pick up Willow. We'll get some card she puts on the wiggles. Who is most likely to be a massive Jonas Brothers fan?
00:36:00
Speaker
Why did my mind want to say Warren? That's not true. I want to make fun of him, but he's not even real, so I want to be like, is he Warren? Probably Lane? Yeah. I feel like Lane is a very pop culture girl. Yeah. Who would be her favorite? I think she would be a Nick girl. Yeah. I feel like she would have been one of those girls where it's like,
00:36:26
Speaker
heard that he had diabetes and like cried for two days. I just see that for her. Last one, most likely to be the final person in a horror film. Lauren. Yeah. Yeah. I think Lauren just like
00:36:53
Speaker
would not wait for anybody other than Chloe. Like he would be like out of there. He'd be like Warren and Chloe, but only because he physically picked her up. Yeah. Oh, I love that.
00:37:11
Speaker
Alright, so now on to our next little batch of questions before our last game. And now we can finally ask what we've kind of been teasing a little bit. Sir, can you tell us a little bit about what you're working on next? Yeah, so in early 2025, I get to release my first
00:37:35
Speaker
Like trad pub book with not a re-release, a real real release. And it's called Out of the Woods. No way!
00:37:47
Speaker
And in case you didn't put it together, it is a follow up to out on a limb. And so I now have the next series and the out series. So I keep saying next out, which makes me really happy. So out of the woods is Sarah and Caleb Storm. It is a marriage in trouble.
00:38:12
Speaker
Um, but I would say it's fairly light on the marriage in crisis and more a person in crisis who's married. Um, so yeah, it's called out of the woods because they are kind of going through this rough patch in their marriage. They, as we know from out on a limb, started dating in high school, their high school sweethearts. And so they've been together for over half of their lives when out of the woods starts.
00:38:43
Speaker
And they're just kind of at this, this kind of juncture where they're like, where do we go from here? We don't want to have kids. We don't really like what's next. Right. And they're butting heads and they're feeling, Sarah's feeling a little directionalist and they have this kind of fight over something that I won't get into, but it kind of spirals and they decide, okay, enough is enough. We have to get back on the same page.
00:39:09
Speaker
And Wynn introduces them to the idea of this camping and hiking excursion because we all know our girl Wynn loves the outdoors. And we all know our girl Sarah does not. And so she introduces them to a mutual friend who's running this couples retreat that is a five day hiking, camping and backpacking retreat.
00:39:36
Speaker
for couples. And so they go on this excursion with three other couples and a pair of very, very kooky relationship therapists, and they get their shit together. And a lot of things ensue, a lot of comedy of errors for these two people who have no business being in the wilderness, trying to survive and
00:40:02
Speaker
rediscover their love for one another and we kind of find their purpose so we get a lot of
00:40:08
Speaker
moments of their past and we get a lot of moments of their present and we see a little bit of bow and win at the very beginning and the very end of the book. They are big players in the beginning and the end and we see where they're at with August and the camp opening and so it is I will say because I think people probably this will be one of the main questions I get once I finally get to talk about it. It's set
00:40:37
Speaker
Just so August is not quite two years old. So it's not the bonus. It's not at the epilogue like 10 years in the future.
00:40:46
Speaker
So it's right this summer where Camp Kando is set to open Kando for the first time. And yeah, it's a really good time. It's my favorite thing I've ever written. And I don't sing that lightly. I am very obsessed with that. I'm very obsessed with it. It is very deeply personal. My husband and I were high school sweethearts. And we're approaching that mark in our relationship where we have now been together for more than half of our lives.
00:41:15
Speaker
And I was feeling rather directionless a few years ago before I started writing and so it's all these kind of culminating things that I wrote in little pieces of us and I was able to do that again like I had done for Bo and Wynn but also really just give Sarah and Caleb their moment to shine and you get to hear a lot more about like Sarah's perspective of growing up in that household with Wynn and Wynn's mom and her mom and that kind of blended family and
00:41:43
Speaker
And a lot to do with her grief and her processing the loss of her mom and all of these things. So it's, it's, oh, I love it so much. I'm so excited. So it'll be out early 2025, which is exciting. That is amazing. Just like foaming at the mouth.
00:42:03
Speaker
Oh, I know. I think Kayla is my favorite character I've ever had. Oh my god. I mean, I loved him in Out on a Limb. I said she was my favorite in Out on a Limb just because he's so funny and clueless and sweet and so book smart but so street dumb. Yeah.
00:42:28
Speaker
Writing him was so special because he really is such a well-intentioned, kind person.
00:42:39
Speaker
who says the wrong thing and does the wrong thing and is trying to do his best. And he's got that, you know, nerd in the streets, freak in the sheets thing that Bo has going on. Except we enter into a very comfortable marriage where they've been intimate for quite some time. It's a little bit more
00:43:01
Speaker
experimental, a little bit more keeping the spice alive with some new tips and tricks and things. A little bit of a, you know, we're in the forest for 98% of the book. So
00:43:26
Speaker
Before we jump into our last game, Rapid Fire, are there any 2024 releases that you are excited for? I know you said you don't have a lot of time to read yet, but are there any books where you're like, oh, I can't wait to get that on my shelf?
00:43:39
Speaker
Yeah. There's a couple that I have read and a couple that I haven't. I mean, Abby Menez is my favorite author. So I'm so excited for her near release. Just for the summer is so good. We all read the arc of it. I know. I will admit I have the arc, but I'm refusing to read it because if I read that book in the middle of editing and drafting, I will quit. I'll be like, OK.
00:44:08
Speaker
I am really, really excited for Swift and Saddled. I'm really excited for, oh my gosh, there's so many books. I'm trying to figure out which 2024 was, 2025. Either. You can say either. Whatever. My friend Claire Gilmour has a new book coming out that I got to read like two years ago. And it's just one of the best romance novels I've ever read.
00:44:37
Speaker
Oh, God, she changed the title. I'm gonna get it wrong, but it's Claire Gilmour's new book. Everyone just go look at her page. Okay, yeah. Oh, and the rule book by Sarah Adams, it just got back to me today, and I'm really telling myself I can't start it until I finished drafting. Yeah, it's such a good year for books. It really is. And you get to be a part of that. Like, that's so cool.
00:45:04
Speaker
I was writing in my newsletter in the new year, I made a full list of like 2024 releases I was excited for. I think a lot of them though were the beginning of the year because so many have been like announced coming later in the year now. But oh my goodness, like what a lucky year I get to be a part of in terms of like, especially I think in June or I'd add on a limb coming out.
00:45:29
Speaker
I'm really excited for Out on the Limbs re-release. I am excited for next to you. I'm not skipping over next to you because they're my little child and they already get ignored enough. But Out on the Limbs re-release just feels so special. Like seeing I think that book on a shelf is going to be really special and cool. Just like how often do you see like two disabled main characters? Yeah.
00:45:54
Speaker
I will say I have a friend who's local here. She just went to a romance-only bookstore that just opened up here in November and they had the indie copies of, I don't know, Limb on their shelf still. She was able to pick one up at the store. I was thinking about Amazon anymore, but there are a few stores that have it. I panic bought 10. I panic bought three.
00:46:20
Speaker
No, you did not. You did? For me? I saved one for a giveaway because we knew we were having you on here and then I have my signed one from you and then I have my original one and then I have what I annotated.
00:46:34
Speaker
It's so cute. My face is red. Don't shame me, Kayla. Anyways, I will send you an arc of out of the woods. Don't tease that. I will drop everything I'm doing, Hannah. All right, let's do our last game before I embarrass myself off this podcast. Our last game is called Pitch a Book. This is our first time ever playing this, and we're really excited about it. So have you ever seen those things on Instagram where it's like, your birthday, build your own fantasy book, blah, blah, blah?
00:47:04
Speaker
So what we're going to do is we're going to have Hannah pick a color a month and a drink. And we'll explain those in just a second. And those are all going to correspond to things that could build a book. And then we're going to see what would pop into Hannah's head if she had to use these things to write a book.
00:47:21
Speaker
Oh my God, I love this. Yeah. So we're going to give you all the options first, but not tell you which corresponds to which. So Kayla and take it away. So first we're going to have you pick your trope. Okay. And the options are enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, brother's best friend, marriage of convenience, age gap, second chance and single parent. And we're going to have you pick a color and we'll tell you which color corresponds to which true.
00:47:48
Speaker
Do you have a favorite color? I wonder if we already have it listed. And then if not, we can give you some more options. My favorite color is green. OK, perfect. We got green. And that is marriage of convenience. OK. Next will be your birth month. And that will give you your location. So I'll read you all the locations we have. And we don't know your birthday yet, so we just picked these at random.
00:48:13
Speaker
small town, deserted island, on a plane, workplace, a farm slash like barn situation, space, Gotham, Switzerland, on a mountain, the Kansas City metropolitan area.
00:48:30
Speaker
Um, a football stadium or a cat shelter. I just want to make it. I just want to make it so clear. The Kansas city Metro area. I did not ask to put that in. She told us she was going to quit the podcast. If we didn't put the biggest liars of all time. They were like, Oh my God. Kansas City is so funny. What's your birth month? September. On a mountain.
00:48:58
Speaker
Okay. All right. It could have been a lot worse. All right. And the last one is going to be what turns this book into your wild card. So there, if this is going to be decided by a specific drink, which I'll list the options for you in just a second. But the options for the wild card are he's a blue alien with three penises.
00:49:19
Speaker
She's a secret pop star, thank Hannah Montana. He's literally a door. It's a shifter romance. I'm literally a door. Step siblings, a 50-year age gap, necromancy, or he has a meatloaf king. So what? Wait, what? A meatloaf? That was brandy. Hey, I had like three beers when you were coming up with this. It's a meatloaf king. We were trying to think of an unsexy food.
00:49:48
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. Okay. So are you a coffee drinker or a tea drinker? Tea. Okay. So then from tea, I'll list your options. It's chai, Earl Grey, green tea or a sweet tea. I'm so scared. Chai. Okay. Absolutely. Wait, how do siblings work with the marriage of convenience though?
00:50:13
Speaker
That's a good question for Hannah. Out of all of those options, somehow step sibling was the better one. Right? Okay. Right? Okay. So just to recap, for anybody listening, Hannah is going to pitch us a book where it is a marriage of convenience on a mountain with step siblings. Okay. Okay. It's giving credence.
00:50:38
Speaker
um oh my god oh my god my book is hot i stand by it right okay you like uncle jake right i love her convenience step siblings okay so all right i got it so the the main character let's call her kayla oh god
00:51:06
Speaker
I don't want to read this book anymore. I do. Kayla is very strange from her father. She grew up only with her mom and she has never met her dad. But when she turns 18, she finds out that her dad is this very wealthy guy who runs a ski resort in the mountains, right?
00:51:36
Speaker
and he is married to so and so and he has a son who no longer lives at home but is a ski instructor and when Kayla gets there
00:51:54
Speaker
She has no idea that her dad is even married, let alone has a wife who has a son. So she doesn't know she has a stepbrother, right? It's a gentle step siblings, I like it. So they, so she gets a ski lesson, they hook up, it's gonna be a one night stand, everything's fine. Everything's cool, everything's dandy.
00:52:15
Speaker
And then she finds out the next day at a very awkward family dinner that they are step siblings. And it's like, well, we didn't know we're both adults. We didn't grow up together. It's fine. Right? Except Oh, no. Dad isn't doing so well. And he doesn't really trust his wife anymore.
00:52:35
Speaker
They're kind of on the outs, like they're like about to maybe get a divorce. But he's really scared that if he gets a divorce, she's going to take half of everything, including the ski resort. Kayla's inheritance, right? So Kayla and him think of this plan.
00:52:52
Speaker
where if she and this guy, ski instructor boy, stepbrother, get married, he can get a divorce and the mom will be happy because she can keep the house, she can stay there, she'll still own half of the property. But she won't be in charge because she's not going to ruin it and Kayla can do something with her life. So they get married to protect the ski resort.
00:53:15
Speaker
And then they fall in love. I think, I think that's your next book. Just change the name. Hannah, do you know what's so funny? That's actually Kayla's real life. That's how she met. That's how she met Jared. It's her step brother. You know, they can't actually know that. And I wasn't sure if it was okay for me to speak here. Yeah. But Kayla, you have such a beautiful story. Oh my God. Thank you so, so much. They call each other brother and sister. Oh, wow. Wow.
00:53:46
Speaker
Nice step, bro. Step bro, stop. Step bro, you're stuck on the ski lift. It's quickly turned into a porn. Thank you so much.
00:54:04
Speaker
That was incredible. Hannah, that was great. That was amazing. Yes. Very, very amazing. I love that. Amazing. The wild card one really threw me through a loop. I know. That was definitely better than a meatloaf kink. Yeah. I don't know how I would have made the alien thing work. But I guess...
00:54:32
Speaker
You wouldn't know that he has three penises. Yeah, that's first. Kayla to find out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Why still me? Why still me? It is the first thing I saw when I looked up. Oh my god, amazing. We have just a couple more quick close out questions for you. Yeah. Hold on. Sorry. I'm still trying to recover from this.
00:54:58
Speaker
I'm sorry I shared the engine bit. True life, I fucked my step bro to save our ski resort. Kayla, I can't wait to work on this with you. I know. You know that makes sense because Jared's always like, oh, I want to come to Colorado so bad. Oh my God. That's so sweet. I'm so sorry.
00:55:22
Speaker
Okay, so as kind of one of our last little couple questions, just a fun little one. Can you assign, if you had to pick only one song for each couple, and you can do the new couple too for Out of the Woods. One song to each couple, please. And you can do Set the Record straight.
00:55:40
Speaker
Oh, thank you. Okay. To avoid my brain shutting down with the endless possibilities of songs because I'm a music person and I will absolutely keep you here for six hours. I'm going to limit myself to Taylor Swift songs. Okay, fair enough. Fair enough. So I think next of kin would be State of Grace. Yeah, I saw your post about that yesterday. Yeah. And I think next to you would be New Year's Day. Oh, that's cute.
00:56:12
Speaker
And we think set the record straight would be daylight and I think out on a limb would be sweet nothing. And the crowd goes, oh my god, is out of the woods going to be?
00:56:28
Speaker
It's actually not going to be out of the way. I mean, it is, but also it's not. We're trying not to get sued. It's so fair. She has no relationship with that song. I've never even heard it. I actually think out of the woods though, I mean, out of the woods, the song also is a big part of it and is on the playlist. But Sarah and Caleb's song,
00:56:56
Speaker
as a couple, I think for their story would be after a blow. I blew things out of proportion, now you're blue. And all of the like, please don't leave me. We're gonna be fine, we're gonna figure this out. That means it's sister song is the Great War. Bro, what the fuck were her and Joaoan fighting about? Because she always is like, oh, we got in this big ass fight. Dude, I've got mad at you.
00:57:22
Speaker
Like, what was going on? See, I have so many complicated feelings about her and Jo Alwyn. And I have never, I want to be clear, I have never been one to give a shit about celebrities, especially with their dating. But like, I think that I saw a TikTok about it. And I think this surmises my thoughts. I think Jo Alwyn and Taylor Swift really worked because he didn't care she was Taylor Swift.
00:57:47
Speaker
But I think they fell apart because he didn't care she was Taylor Swift. And I get it. Like, that would be a lot. But also, he didn't let her be bejeweled. He didn't let her bejeweled. He didn't let her shimmer. Yeah. Well, Hannah, thank you so much for hanging out with us and like playing all these games with us. Do you have any parting words for listeners, for future readers?
00:58:12
Speaker
Um, parting words. Just thought you guys were the best. And thanks for having me. And this has been the best time ever. Um, and yeah, I'm so excited. This is the first time I've ever gotten to talk about Out of the Woods. Cause when this comes out and we've already been announced. And we will be bragging about that. And Kayla, congrats again on your step brother.
00:58:41
Speaker
You guys didn't know that I was a ski, like, pro. Nobody knew that. That's all you talk about. I know. I think you didn't know that, actually. Yeah. How did she write the book? I live next to all of these mountains in the Midwest. In the Kansas City metropolitan area. They're all green screen and there's just a mountain mountain.
00:59:03
Speaker
All right. I really love you guys. Thanks again. This has been great. And follow Hannah on social media. It's author Hannah By on Instagram and TikTok. I think my TikTok's different. I don't know. We'll link it. We'll link it. Perfect. Awesome. And then as of right now, Next of Kin is available anywhere you buy books. And next to you is coming out soon.
00:59:31
Speaker
Bye guys! Bye!