Transcript
Heather Roberts: I am Heather Roberts.
Veronica Adams: I am Veronica Adams and we are 1852 Media.
Heather Roberts: Hello, hello, and welcome back to For Books Sake. I, again, am Heather Roberts. I am thrilled to be back here today. ah we have a guest with us. We have Campbell Linden, who is an author. She's been about a published author for about a year now.
Heather Roberts: And this is the launch of our new series where we are going to be talking to authors at
Sue Fleishman: This is...
Heather Roberts: different stages in their careers. And we thought this would be really fun and just, you can get different tips and tricks from everybody and see where you're at.
Heather Roberts: And we thought it would be very relatable for everybody at different phases of their career. So welcome Campbell. Thank you for being our zero to one person.
Veronica Adams: yes welcome yay everybody starts somewhere
Heather Roberts: Yay.
Sue Fleishman: Yay.
Heather Roberts: And no, it's true. oh You know, you have to start somewhere.
Veronica Adams: ah amazing
Heather Roberts: Everybody has been in your position before. And so, you know, I really feel like you have done so well in this past year.
Sue Fleishman: Right.
Heather Roberts: You've published four books and you are working on some more, which we will definitely talk about. um
Sue Fleishman: Yes, ma'am.
Heather Roberts: But yeah, I mean, tell us a little bit about what made you want to start writing because this is a second act for you.
Sue Fleishman: It is.
Heather Roberts: And, um you know, what what made you want to pivot in your career? And what do you write?
Sue Fleishman: um i write ah romance for people.
Heather Roberts: Oh, no. Did she freeze right when she was about to have to answer a question? Oh, no.
Veronica Adams: Oh
Heather Roberts: Hopefully she comes back to us soon.
Sue Fleishman: Wait, what?
Heather Roberts: Oh, no. Oh, no. Technical difficulties.
Veronica Adams: Oh, the editing on this one's gonna be heavy.
Heather Roberts: It is. um It's fine. You know what? It's all good. Are you there? Are you with us, Campbell?
Sue Fleishman: I am.
Heather Roberts: Okay, go ahead.
Sue Fleishman: yeah
Heather Roberts: Answer for now.
Veronica Adams: Yay! Okay.
Sue Fleishman: Wait, can you hear me?
Heather Roberts: Yeah, you were freezing right when you were answering your question.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: oh I'm so sorry. OK, I started writing because i loved romance. I love the genre. And i started reading romance after nine eleven when I wanted to escape.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: Couldn't take the news. My job was very heavily news focused. I was the head of corporate communications for a studio at the time. And I really just needed an escape.
Sue Fleishman: And the escape became those books, starting with Nora Roberts. And I just read and read and read. And I still read all the time.
Sue Fleishman: And um I found Heather ah through the back of one of the books that I was reading and which was great. And, um and so anyway, we established a relationship and I let her know that I felt like I had something in progress already, but,
Sue Fleishman: I had just decided that I was retiring from my other life and I was going to try to do this. And so that's that's how Stay With Me was born.
Heather Roberts: right.
Sue Fleishman: And um I write about people later in their lives finding love and the fact that, ah as I said once, you know we aren't dead just because we're over a certain age
Heather Roberts: and right
Sue Fleishman: Sex is still very much at the forefront and and romance and love and second chances and all of those things are very important to me. So um and so here i am.
Heather Roberts: I love it. I love it. Yeah, it was so fun when you reached out. I love working with newer authors, especially because it's it's all brand new. you know Veronica and have been doing this.
Heather Roberts: I've been doing this for about a decade, Veronica just a little bit less. And you know, it's easy to be like, oh, this is rote. This is the same thing over and over and over again.
Veronica Adams: yes yeah
Heather Roberts: But with a new author, everything's new and everything's new and exciting to you. And so you just bring a fun energy with that you don't often get to see in the job with with our job.
Heather Roberts: So it's always so much fun to work with newer authors.
Veronica Adams: yeah
Heather Roberts: What was the most shocking thing or overwhelming thing from the beginning that you can remember?
Sue Fleishman: Well, I remember knowing and i asked you about this recently because I was just looking for ah some sort of reinforcement and perhaps hoping that the number had gone down, which it has not.
Sue Fleishman: And that is that 60,000 words is, you know, your average is what you need to do for a book. And probably the most daunting thing for me that.
Heather Roberts: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: What in the world? how am I going to write 60,000 words? And um it happened. and And but but that was really overwhelming to me was was do I have that in me?
Heather Roberts: yeah
Sue Fleishman: I mean, am I do I have that?
Heather Roberts: yeah
Sue Fleishman: ability to just keep going and going. And is it going to be boring or will people yawn or, you know, am I going to bore myself, which I frequently do? you know, it was like, am I going to be yawning? um So, so I would say that that was probably the most overwhelming thing that, and then just the thought of, of getting a story out and,
Sue Fleishman: and hitting all the different points that I think you have to hit. I mean, I just started doing this.
Heather Roberts: Oh, yeah.
Sue Fleishman: I didn't study anything. I took one class from Grub Street um and that a friend of mine had recommended a friend who's been writing fiction for a long time, um short stories.
Veronica Adams: Mm-hmm.
Heather Roberts: Love it. Love
Sue Fleishman: She morphed from a journalist into into doing that. She's one of my best friends from from college, from Middlebury. And we are still very, very dear friends. And Um, so anyway, she recommended it and I took it, but it was like a morning long seminar.
Sue Fleishman: It was hilarious. There was an octogenarian on there who wants to know all about writing sex. That's all she wants to know. She's like, well, how do I do this? And what can I do? and Meanwhile, I'm like, all right, this gives me hope.
Veronica Adams: Oh, to have been a flag on the wall.
Heather Roberts: yeah You're okay. You're okay.
Sue Fleishman: i think i think um I think I'm on to something here. And so anyway, so that was really fun. um And I wrote down all these notes and we were going away on a vacation. And so I took the notes with me and i started writing on my iPad.
Sue Fleishman: and And so that's how my first book was born. But I would just say the daunting thing for me it was just ah how am I going to do this? And can I?
Veronica Adams: Mm-hmm.
Sue Fleishman: Can I? Do I have enough to say?
Heather Roberts: Yeah. No, that, I mean, that makes total sense. And well, with new authors, when I, when I bring them into the fold, I like to sort of help walk them through things that are needed business wise, right?
Sue Fleishman: mr
Heather Roberts: Because now you own your own business. ah You are your own publisher now.
Sue Fleishman: Right.
Heather Roberts: And I like to walk you through in stages because I do find that the business side of writing can be very overwhelming to somebody.
Sue Fleishman: Oh yes.
Heather Roberts: ah with, you know, when you're first coming in, because there's so much that can be done. Did you find that part easy? Did you do like, you're shaking yes and no.
Veronica Adams: ahil Immediate no.
Sue Fleishman: now No,
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Veronica Adams: Mm-hmm.
Heather Roberts: I know.
Sue Fleishman: I didn't find it easy at all. And I still don't understand it. You still are holding my hand very hard.
Heather Roberts: I try. I try.
Sue Fleishman: You know, but I apologize for that.
Heather Roberts: and
Sue Fleishman: But, you know, it's old dogs, new tricks.
Heather Roberts: now
Sue Fleishman: yeah um But I find it. No, that part's really daunting. And, you know, you also have to get out like I started obsessively checking Amazon, like to see how many pages and, you know, and and right now I don't have i' I have something new coming out shortly.
Heather Roberts: Oh yeah.
Sue Fleishman: But you know you get one order or you see that a certain amount of pages have been read and um it can be really depressing.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: So I had to also stop myself um from doing that and just give over to the process.
Heather Roberts: No.
Sue Fleishman: But no, the business side of it, I still don't understand all the acronyms. I still don't know all the lingo. I'm still kind of like, uh-huh, okay.
Heather Roberts: You can always ask me, Sue. If I say something that you don't understand, you can always ask me.
Sue Fleishman: No, I know I do. i do. But it's like, you know, it's just not um it's I'm not conversant in it.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: I'm not you know, I'm not um ah terribly literate in it.
Heather Roberts: Well,
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: And so it's something it's something I've had to learn.
Heather Roberts: I think that too, and also as as another great reminder for our listeners, reviews are for readers. They are not for authors. When you as an author put your book baby out into this world, it is no longer yours.
Heather Roberts: It is it is now in universe's.
Sue Fleishman: Right?
Heather Roberts: um So that is also something that you have to, as an author, really get used to that You know, a bad review is fine.
Sue Fleishman: true.
Heather Roberts: You know, it's okay to it's actually great to have a bad review because it shows different varying opinions.
Sue Fleishman: Yes.
Heather Roberts: And i sometimes find that bad reviews can sell books even, you know, that's
Sue Fleishman: Yeah. Well, sometimes you read why someone doesn't like something and you think, oh, but I might like it just because that person didn't like it.
Veronica Adams: yeah.
Heather Roberts: correct.
Veronica Adams: yeah.
Heather Roberts: Right.
Sue Fleishman: You know, and I had to I mean, I can be ah I had to grow a really tough skin um given the work I did over last 30 plus years.
Heather Roberts: Right.
Sue Fleishman: So um and no one was ever happy ever with anything i did. There was always someone who was upset. You know, you're favoring the film division over TV.
Sue Fleishman: You like them over this. You know, that story was bullshit. You should tell the TV story versus the film or whatever it was.
Veronica Adams: Right.
Sue Fleishman: They always felt like stepchildren, you know, which is hilarious now, given the state of the media industry.
Heather Roberts: Right.
Sue Fleishman: But anyway, um you know, it. it So as a result, I figured, you know, can handle things. But when you do read something that's critical and it's your own, you know, it's your own imagination, something of something that is sprung from your own imagination.
Sue Fleishman: yeah i wanted to, like, punch the person.
Heather Roberts: run
Veronica Adams: ah Well, how could you not? That's your art. You put your blood, sweat, in tears and tears into that.
Sue Fleishman: I was like, fuck you, you try doing this.
Veronica Adams: Like that is a a vulnerable reflection of you and someone doesn't like it. I mean, how dare they?
Sue Fleishman: Yeah, exactly.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Veronica Adams: Of course. Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: So, you know, that took a little getting used to too.
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: It does take a little getting used to.
Veronica Adams: Yeah. That, that level of toughness in the face of that vulnerability. That's it admirable.
Sue Fleishman: Yeah, so I don't know if I'm ever gonna get over that.
Veronica Adams: And you have to develop that. Yeah.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: But, you know, I have had a ton of therapy too. So, you know, I try to work through everything.
Heather Roberts: Yeah. And listen, I don't know if it ever goes away because we've had clients who've been writing for, you know, a decade or more.
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: and like she, why one that I'm thinking of, she just messaged me the other day, she's about to release a book and she's like, I'm still nervous. Why does this happen every time?
Veronica Adams: yeah yeah
Heather Roberts: I'm still nervous.
Veronica Adams: I had this conversation with an experienced author last week.
Heather Roberts: Like,
Sue Fleishman: Yeah.
Veronica Adams: We were talking about reviews and she said, I mean, she's got, I don't know, 70 books out there.
Sue Fleishman: Oh my God.
Veronica Adams: um Yeah, she's been writing for a long time. And she goes, I still don't read read the reviews. so I'm 10 plus years into this journey for my career and I still don't look at them at all because I can't.
Sue Fleishman: Yeah.
Veronica Adams: it It's too hard.
Sue Fleishman: Yep.
Heather Roberts: too vulnerable too much yeah so it's okay so you don't have to read them
Veronica Adams: Yeah, yeah.
Sue Fleishman: Yes. It's hard.
Sue Fleishman: yeah
Veronica Adams: ye
Sue Fleishman: Good.
Heather Roberts: ah it
Sue Fleishman: Good. I don't have, that's one less agitation and in a day that's built with them.
Heather Roberts: yeah and totally totally well so let's let's talk about your new series that's coming out so tell us a little bit about it what's that title the title first book and what's it about
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: Okay.
Sue Fleishman: Okay.
Sue Fleishman: Title of the first book is Settle for More, and it's a begin again series. So I just finished the first four books I wrote were part of the second chance romance.
Sue Fleishman: um
Heather Roberts: Yes. Time's Love series.
Sue Fleishman: That's what they were.
Heather Roberts: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: Yes. Timeless love series. This is a begin again series that takes place in a small town. um And it's about three sisters who inherit various properties from a great uncle, estranged great uncle, whom they really didn't have much to do with because the matriarch of the family got in a fight with them and stopped speaking to them. Who, by the way, is just like my real grandmother, who's no longer with us, but who would, you know, stop talking to people and then forget why stopped.
Sue Fleishman: And so, you know, seven years later, you're like, why aren't you talking to Auntie Anna who lives next door to you again? And why has it been seven years that you haven't spoken to her, even though you live next door to her
Veronica Adams: ah
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: And, you know, so that sort of thing. So anyway, so the sisters might go to a reading of the will when he, when Uncle Silas croaks and learn, they learn that they've each inherited a business in their hometown.
Sue Fleishman: The two two live in New York and one lives in LA and the eldest lives in LA. And so they find out that part of the stipulation is in order to inherit these properties, they have to go back and live in their hometown.
Sue Fleishman: So my first book about the eldest daughter, Tess, she's in retail in Los Angeles, successful with ah with her business partner and best friend. And they run this boutique kind of cool retail little chain.
Sue Fleishman: And she finds out she's got to go home to Danville Falls, population 8,000, Danville Falls, Connecticut.
Heather Roberts: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: And you know she's back living in her parents' house in her old bedroom. And her high school crush, who never gave her the time of day, turns out to be a contractor. She's inherited a gift shop.
Sue Fleishman: The gift shop's a mess. What else happens?
Heather Roberts: Tarks fly.
Sue Fleishman: Of course.
Heather Roberts: All
Sue Fleishman: But he has no intention of leaving Danville Falls and she has no intention of staying once the year is up. So that is the conflict.
Heather Roberts: right.
Sue Fleishman: In addition to his crazy ex-wife, his crazy ex-mother-in-law and the crazy ex-wife's boyfriend, all of whom may or may not be creating problems to drive Tess back and out of town.
Veronica Adams: This sounds like a real small town, not a fictional one.
Heather Roberts: Right.
Sue Fleishman: I don't know. I grew up in Danbury, Connecticut.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: There were thousands of people. It was big comparatively speaking, but you know, I did go to college in a town that was like that big.
Heather Roberts: But you did get a college, it so the other connection that we have is that you went to college in Vermont. Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: Right.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: So, but yeah. So anyway, so I'm having a ton of fun with it. And also the gossip machine and, you know, the local diner and all the scenes, the big scenes where the fights and everything take place in the diner and the boyfriend is like, I can't leave you alone for like, I can't let you go to the diner for lunch.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: Look what happens.
Veronica Adams: Ah.
Sue Fleishman: know, you get in fights with my ex-wife and the crazy mother and,
Heather Roberts: Yeah. Oh, yes.
Sue Fleishman: So anyway, it's it's I'm having a great time. And then there'll be two more about the other two sisters. ah One is a chef at a very fancy restaurant, a very accomplished chef.
Sue Fleishman: She inherits the kitchen wait corner cafe corner with a K, of course, and cafe with a K.
Heather Roberts: oh yeah
Sue Fleishman: And then the youngest is known as the tomato mama. she has from her minuscule New York City apartment kitchen, created this, you know, um huge line of gourmet food stores, of go gourmet food.
Sue Fleishman: And she goes back to Danville Falls and her ex-boyfriend from high school, whom she dumped, has this chain ah very upscale, fancy food purveyors, stores.
Sue Fleishman: And um he refuses to carry her
Veronica Adams: The perfect business partner.
Sue Fleishman: tomato sauce. she He refuses to carry her tomato sauce.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: And so tomato mama has to come home and live at home also.
Heather Roberts: Love it.
Sue Fleishman: So there you go.
Heather Roberts: I love small town romance.
Sue Fleishman: And they'll get back together.
Heather Roberts: Veronica knows that I love small town romance.
Sue Fleishman: Yes.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: Yes.
Veronica Adams: Heather. Heather is such a small town romance reader.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Veronica Adams: I like number one or number two on the list.
Sue Fleishman: I can tell because she came up with really good names.
Heather Roberts: i
Veronica Adams: If I had to guess.
Heather Roberts: Yeah. It's up there. It's very up there.
Veronica Adams: Oh,
Sue Fleishman: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: I love it because the small town becomes another character, you know, and you fall in love with the town as much as you fall in love with the characters in the town.
Sue Fleishman: It's true.
Veronica Adams: Uh-huh.
Heather Roberts: And there's just so much, like you said, with the gossip mill that runs and just how everybody's involved in everybody's business.
Sue Fleishman: Oh my God.
Veronica Adams: ah
Heather Roberts: And yeah, it's just so much fun.
Veronica Adams: yeah
Sue Fleishman: Yep.
Heather Roberts: i mean, when I moved to Vermont, it was, I live in a town of 3000 people. Okay. So It is, I i know small town. and you know, very quickly you realize, oh no, some of these things are real. Like there's the corner store where people go and like, that's where all the gossip is. And, you know, my brother was a new person, a younger person purchased the corner store and my brother was working there. And like, there was a question of whether he was going to date her and not, or they were just friends. Like there was gossip going around about it.
Heather Roberts: And it was just like so much, you know, it's just small towns.
Sue Fleishman: Yeah, totally.
Heather Roberts: Crazy.
Sue Fleishman: Yeah, no, I had to laugh because I named the local dive because the middle sister and the owner, he's he's trying to rehabilitate the local dive, um but the locals don't like it and they'll meet and fall in love.
Heather Roberts: Oh,
Sue Fleishman: But um I named it the water hole because the original owner thought that watering holes sounded like farm animals and he thought water holes sounded like golf and that was classing.
Heather Roberts: there you go.
Veronica Adams: Oh.
Sue Fleishman: So they go to the waterhole all the time and it always sounds wrong to me when I'm typing it
Veronica Adams: How very New England.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: but there's a really good reason. So, and and I can't let Egbert Sullivan, the original owner of the waterhole down.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: I've got to keep the folklore going. So, you know, yep.
Veronica Adams: yeah
Heather Roberts: Yeah, we love the lore. We love it. It's so much fun. And there's just, yeah, I love that you can intersperse real things from your life into these books and just see them, like you about with your grandmother, basically being reincarnated as a character.
Sue Fleishman: Yep.
Heather Roberts: it's it You brought her back to life in a way. And it's so much fun to see that, you know, in the
Sue Fleishman: Yeah. She was a real character and a real hard ass. And it was but it's fun. She's sprinkled throughout, you know, what she would have said or done. um But ah yeah, I've had a lot of fun um thinking about people and and envisioning it because I can kind of see it.
Heather Roberts: Yeah. Well, so the first one is settle for more. And then the next one is I'm trying to do this off memory.
Sue Fleishman: That's right.
Heather Roberts: So don't judge me. Settle for us.
Sue Fleishman: I'm not.
Heather Roberts: And then the third one is settle the score.
Sue Fleishman: That's right.
Heather Roberts: And they are coming out here shortly. The first one comes out in October.
Sue Fleishman: Yes.
Heather Roberts: And so.
Sue Fleishman: October 16th.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Heather Roberts: Mm hmm.
Sue Fleishman: So I'm in the throes right now of my process. I'm about to send it off for copy editing today, but, um, with my process, I like to print it out. So I send it to the local
Heather Roberts: That
Sue Fleishman: I also live in what might be considered a little village, you know, between Burbank and Studio City. So, um and it's called Toluca Lake and there's a certain amount of small town and I'm on the homeowners associate association, which is hilarious and, and, and much and, and really kind of awesome.
Heather Roberts: and is
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: But, um you know, I sent it off to the local FedEx and then trot down the street to pick it up and then bring it back and then use a pen and go over it that way. I find it's it's someone suggested that to me a long time ago and it and all all the time, whenever I was writing in in business, and writing speeches or doing anything like that, I always liked a piece of paper and a pen, which I know dates me.
Sue Fleishman: But, you know.
Heather Roberts: No, is why we get along. um Veronica knows. aye I am a printout queen. i love to print things out. if you go If you go and watch any of our legal case breakdown YouTube videos on YouTube, yeah, you will see all of the court cases printed out, everything highlighted.
Sue Fleishman: I love it.
Veronica Adams: Yep, she has all the different filings.
Sue Fleishman: Oh, I'm going to go and do that. I love that stuff. I'm always very interested in that.
Veronica Adams: huh. Yeah.
Heather Roberts: Yeah, yeah, we started doing that because it was just, well, it leans into our strengths. We're both attorneys.
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: And, you know, obviously we are in the publishing industry.
Sue Fleishman: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: So we felt that it was a lovely crossover. And we didn't really feel like or see anybody else doing that type of level breakdown, you know, from a legal perspective.
Sue Fleishman: Sure.
Veronica Adams: yeah
Heather Roberts: What do these things mean?
Sue Fleishman: Yep.
Heather Roberts: And all of that.
Sue Fleishman: Yeah. And so much of what I focused on back in my other life was lot was around copyright and a lot around, you know, intellectual property and the protection of it and all of that.
Veronica Adams: Oh yeah. Of course.
Sue Fleishman: So, um, that was really at the height of, uh, the electronic freedom foundation and a whole bunch of other, you know, organizations that were trying to erode copyright.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: So, um, And my former boss at Warner was an attorney by trade. And so he loved to get into things like that.
Heather Roberts: Well, this is your friendly mind reminder to those who are listening. You have not copyrighted your books yet. Make sure you go and do that. Copyright your books. um when you are publishing them, it is so important, especially for situations that we're now seeing with, for example, the anthropic lawsuit, that some of the qualifiers to be eligible for even to receive a settlement is that you have to have copywritten your books.
Heather Roberts: You have to have filed the copyright.
Sue Fleishman: Right.
Heather Roberts: um So that is one reason of many why you should file.
Sue Fleishman: Right.
Veronica Adams: yes
Heather Roberts: But yeah,
Sue Fleishman: And that's a hot topic here right now, you know, from my my other community.
Heather Roberts: Is it really out in LA?
Sue Fleishman: Oh yeah. Actors, writers, everyone, AI and what it's, how their, yeah, how their work is being used, their likenesses, everything.
Veronica Adams: Fair use and yeah. Yeah.
Veronica Adams: Mm hmm.
Sue Fleishman: I mean, it's really, ah Well, this is the old fashioned me speaking. It's a little terrifying, but.
Heather Roberts: No, I mean, it it definitely is.
Sue Fleishman: you know
Heather Roberts: I mean, you want to make sure that you're being compensated if your likeness is being used. I would think in film yeah especially that there's so much opening um for that to to just be snatched and grabbed and used however a film studio wants to.
Sue Fleishman: Exactly.
Veronica Adams: yeah yeah
Sue Fleishman: Yeah. Well, even how they trained this whole, I mean, all of that.
Heather Roberts: yeah
Sue Fleishman: what they've used for training. And that's what the anthra, isn't that what and is at the core of of the case?
Heather Roberts: Yes.
Veronica Adams: yeah
Heather Roberts: And ah something to think about, too, I mean, if you if you haven't copywritten your if like you haven't filed for copyright, I'll put it that way.
Sue Fleishman: Anyway.
Heather Roberts: That's what we're talking about here. Filing with the United States government for under in the copyright office. If you have not done that um for that might take you out of this potential lawsuit. But don't forget, this isn't the only one.
Sue Fleishman: Right.
Heather Roberts: Well, you want to go and file your copyrights because you that might make you eligible for the next one.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Heather Roberts: From what I've been hearing, I sit on the AI committee with the American Association of a Literary Agents. And um what I was hearing from those meetings is that this might actually be a small settlement ah compared to, you know, if you look at the other juggernauts where the ah lawsuits are pending with Google, with Meta,
Sue Fleishman: one
Sue Fleishman: Yep.
Heather Roberts: Uh, so with open AI, you know, those lawsuits are still pending that that's still happening. And Anthropic is a smaller company comparative to those.
Sue Fleishman: Right.
Heather Roberts: So yeah, you're, you're friendly warning to go out and get your ducks in a row, uh, to make sure that you can get compensated if that happens.
Sue Fleishman: Yes.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: Absolutely. Yep.
Heather Roberts: But there's so much in the media these days, media industry with books, with TV, and and all of that. That's, you know, a live wire, it seems.
Sue Fleishman: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: how How do you handle, do you think about that when you're writing your books? Or do you just write what you want to write? And that's it?
Sue Fleishman: Um, I think about a lot of things when I'm writing, um, You know, the current climate in this country is chilling.
Veronica Adams: Mm-hmm.
Sue Fleishman: It's reminding me of other bad periods of history and um on so many levels. And ah I have to say that that, you know, it affects how you think about things. i I can't I don't live in a bubble and I'm surrounded by by the companies that at the moment I think are are
Heather Roberts: Right.
Sue Fleishman: cowardly and not standing up. And, you know, bully is one thing, but fascist is another. um And ah just the recent events have been extremely disturbing to me, ah especially around the First Amendment.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: um And also,
Sue Fleishman: well, let's just put it this way. Every asshole in my book drives a Tesla.
Veronica Adams: Oh.
Heather Roberts: um Do they really? I don't think I've ever noticed that before. Yeah.
Heather Roberts: la
Veronica Adams: oh I love it. Writing your principles and your beliefs into your art.
Sue Fleishman: Well, you know,
Veronica Adams: But that art, art is political and books are art.
Sue Fleishman: yeah
Veronica Adams: So here we are.
Sue Fleishman: I don't see how you separate it.
Heather Roberts: yeah
Sue Fleishman: And, you know, look, I was raised as a good old fashioned democratic liberal. and And I, by God, am not going to give that up now.
Sue Fleishman: And
Heather Roberts: Oh,
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: either are my friends and I am so disturbed that, I mean, this is not an answer, but the other day on Sunday, I still get newspapers at home.
Sue Fleishman: Please don't tell anyone, but I do.
Heather Roberts: I love that. I love that. Don't tell anyone. Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: Um, I just threw them in the, I took out the crossword puzzles, which is my, I'm obsessed with crossword puzzles, but anyway, it took those out and then I threw them in the trash, uh, recycling, sorry.
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: yeah
Sue Fleishman: And, um, i I put them away because i ah I couldn't, I just couldn't take it. And I almost did it yesterday and poor Jimmy Kimmel's face is on the front page of the New York times right now, sort of looking over at me on my table.
Veronica Adams: Yeah. Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: And, um, you know, i just don't know what to make of it. And yesterday was my son's 28th birthday. The great news about that is that we started the day before to have a discussion about what had happened with Jimmy Kimmel.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: And then last night we went out with one of my dearest friends who's like an uncle to him, ah who, you know, we just both, we all sort of sit there and look at each other like, where are we?
Sue Fleishman: What is this?
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Veronica Adams: McCarthyism, the 1950s are back.
Sue Fleishman: Yes!
Heather Roberts: yeah
Sue Fleishman: Hitler!
Veronica Adams: Yes, yeah.
Heather Roberts: Yeah. I mean, it's, it's crazy. i do want say though, I feel like, um, my husband's been saying this a lot and I don't think that he'll be mad that I'm bringing this up on a open podcast, but, um,
Sue Fleishman: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: yeah
Heather Roberts: you now and
Veronica Adams: To call him and get him to come on camera and say it himself.
Heather Roberts: know
Sue Fleishman: That's right.
Heather Roberts: is, that's a different podcast.
Veronica Adams: And is for sure.
Heather Roberts: He is very, very good.
Veronica Adams: and it is for sure
Sue Fleishman: It always is.
Heather Roberts: Yeah. And yeah, we we've talked about doing a podcast together, but no, he, he talks about how he's like, you know, I don't think we can compare Trump to Hitler anymore. I don't, he's like, maybe 2016 we could.
Heather Roberts: um But I think it's turned, he thinks it's turned into something different now. He thinks,
Sue Fleishman: Different or bigger?
Heather Roberts: Like bigger. He thinks it's it it's not right to compare him to Hitler anymore because it's a it did different animal. um Not that he's saying he's better.
Sue Fleishman: ah
Heather Roberts: that like
Sue Fleishman: No, no, no, no. I understand.
Heather Roberts: It's just...
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: i mean, there's probably the truth to that.
Heather Roberts: it's almost doing a disservice to compare him to Hitler because, um, of some of the, the differentiations of of what he's done in that almost on in certain ways that he's worse.
Sue Fleishman: Yes.
Heather Roberts: Um, so he's like, I don't, I don't think we can in 2025 in good faith, call him Hitler, you know?
Veronica Adams: yeah
Heather Roberts: And I,
Sue Fleishman: I think that that's actually a really um smart and insightful
Heather Roberts: he He is very smart and insightful.
Sue Fleishman: ah statement.
Heather Roberts: ah
Sue Fleishman: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: yeah I'll make him listen to this podcast later just for that.
Veronica Adams: Yes. Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: But, but, but I mean, but you know, i like, I think that that's true because I think this is even worse on so many levels. And I just laugh.
Sue Fleishman: I mean, I laugh and then it's so not funny, but at how,
Heather Roberts: Right. Well, you have to laugh or you'll cry. i mean.
Sue Fleishman: Yeah, but in how, like, he's he's like, they made so much fun of me. You know, and it's like, yeah.
Heather Roberts: Well, and we worry about it with romance books.
Sue Fleishman: We're allowed.
Heather Roberts: I mean, we worry about it with censorship coming to romance books.
Sue Fleishman: Yes.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Heather Roberts: And Veronica and I have been, you know, probably for a year now telling people to stop calling all romance books smut because we're fearful that it's going to be colored across the everybody, right?
Sue Fleishman: Yes.
Heather Roberts: Like, oh, all romance books are smut and then therefore they are inherently dangerous and inherently dangerous.
Sue Fleishman: Right.
Veronica Adams: pornographic and therefore subject to increased censorship.
Heather Roberts: pornographic and right.
Veronica Adams: Like they aren't already subject to censorship.
Sue Fleishman: Well, that's really horrifying.
Veronica Adams: So. yeah.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Veronica Adams: yeah.
Heather Roberts: And so that that's a big concern. I don't think that's out of the realm of possibilities.
Sue Fleishman: Sure.
Heather Roberts: When we first were talking about it, people were like, oh, well, you know, that's never going to happen. But if we've said that about other things before that have happened.
Sue Fleishman: Yes. Yes.
Heather Roberts: So I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility. We've seen some bills come up in different states, and we know that's how they test ideas that specifically target romance novels.
Sue Fleishman: Yes, course.
Veronica Adams: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Heather Roberts: So, you know, it is a big concern. And I think as a romance author, that's something you consider at every stage of your career, for sure.
Sue Fleishman: Absolutely.
Heather Roberts: I mean, it's your future livelihood. It's you're trying to build a ah brand and this it could be undercut from out of you, you know, your knees are off.
Sue Fleishman: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: So it's absolutely.
Sue Fleishman: Yeah. It's a lot. Um, I think sometimes it's also why I want to run screaming from the room because, or I put the newspapers in the recycling. Um, but I also know, you know, you can't live like that.
Heather Roberts: You're right.
Sue Fleishman: So I try to find some sort of a balance, um, if it's possible, but right now we're not living in balanced times. And so, um, so I just sort of try to,
Veronica Adams: no
Heather Roberts: I do.
Sue Fleishman: um Try to find joy where you can um and try to try to be happy and try to be grateful.
Sue Fleishman: um You know, and and I am no Mother Teresa, so.
Heather Roberts: i did
Sue Fleishman: But, you know.
Heather Roberts: I do find that if I go too long without reading, because it's so funny because with this job, you would think, oh, Heather, you get to read all the time. Not true.
Heather Roberts: um Spoiler alert.
Veronica Adams: from your lips to God's ears.
Heather Roberts: ah just, yeah, not true. And I do find that if I don't, especially for fun, I might be reading something, but it's for work, which is not the same things in your brain.
Veronica Adams: Yes. Yes. Uh-huh.
Heather Roberts: Your brain is still thinking it's different.
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: Um, so yeah, I went, if I go too long without reading for fun, i start to get very agitated.
Sue Fleishman: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: Like I need that sort of escapism. I need the reset.
Veronica Adams: Mm-hmm.
Sue Fleishman: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: Um, yeah. Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: My friends and I, we've been laughing because um I have been, I've been watching like season 8,000 of Top Chef. um And, and then at the same time reading, I read for pleasure every night.
Veronica Adams: Perfect.
Sue Fleishman: I make sure I do. And, um and so I am, you know, very, very I'm reading a Jennifer Scully series right now and, uh, and, uh, it's re they're really good.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: And, and they're also, sometimes she makes me laugh out loud. She is so funny and the way she's very dry.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Veronica Adams: yeah
Sue Fleishman: and And so I'm laughing out loud. I'm watching people make things I could never make ever. And, you know, and sort of going, okay, this is fine.
Heather Roberts: yeah
Sue Fleishman: Food and romance. Like I can do this. Yay.
Heather Roberts: yeah
Sue Fleishman: but But that's the kind of cocoon I'm putting myself in. Because every morning the papers are on my doorstep and every morning I pick them up and go,
Veronica Adams: Right.
Sue Fleishman: ah
Heather Roberts: Yeah. Right.
Veronica Adams: Yeah. But you still got to protect that creative energy so that you can keep writing.
Sue Fleishman: Yes, absolutely.
Veronica Adams: i mean, there has to be some way for you to shield yourself in peace from everything that's on fire outside so so that you can also duke pursue your art, of course, but also help other people have the same escape that you're getting from Jennifer and from Top Chef, right?
Sue Fleishman: Yep, it's true.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: Right, right?
Veronica Adams: I mean, like you are... Yeah, growing that readership and giving people the same escapism and hope and relaxation and revitalization.
Sue Fleishman: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: Hopefully, yeah. Yeah, just the pleasure of things working out.
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: You know, there's something about a happily ever after because life so rarely provides it.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: But to be able to do it and have it, um to me, that's also part of what brings a lot of joy is having it all work out.
Veronica Adams: Mm-hmm.
Heather Roberts: Well, that it's so important too, because you see a lot of authors burn out if they don't take care of their own mental health and they don't protect their peace.
Veronica Adams: Yes. Yeah.
Heather Roberts: So I think it's incredibly important as an author in their your first year to learn those lessons and to set up systems where you are protecting your peace there.
Veronica Adams: yeah
Sue Fleishman: Yeah, I do a lot of walking in my neighborhood um and that also helps because, you know, you start to fantasize about who lives in that house and what does that mean?
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: And, oh, what's that? Or, oh, that's a cool street. I should keep that streetscape in mind or, you know, there's there's a lot that comes from it.
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: And then sometimes I walk with friends and that's always hilarious because I have one friend who walks so slowly that I can drink a cup of coffee while we walk.
Veronica Adams: That is a stroll.
Sue Fleishman: It is a stroll.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Veronica Adams: mean,
Sue Fleishman: And my we laugh I laugh so hard. I'm like, well, I just came back from two hours with Tim.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: And I don't think we went very far, but we spent a lot of time together.
Heather Roberts: Go 0.5 miles in
Sue Fleishman: Yippee.
Heather Roberts: go point five miles in two hours.
Sue Fleishman: So.
Veronica Adams: ah Right?
Sue Fleishman: Yes. Yes.
Veronica Adams: Well, but so that leads into like, what is your process at this point? Like from, from where you started when you first decided you wanted to transition and, you know, have a business writing and self-publishing to what you do today with this new series as you're writing those books.
Veronica Adams: I mean, are you pantser or plotter? How do the ideas come to you?
Sue Fleishman: I got asked that question.
Veronica Adams: what Awesome.
Sue Fleishman: i and I'm a pantser, but I'm, I'm, I have a bit of a plotter. So I'm a plot pants.
Veronica Adams: Okay. She's a hybrid.
Heather Roberts: near proximity.
Sue Fleishman: I'm sort of a hybrid. Like when we were doing the small town stuff, I, I sort of ah it really helped me. i wrote a note to Heather outlining how I saw each book and, and how, and what would happen and what their professions would be, what their love interests would be.
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: you know, what um challenges they'd have to overcome, all of that stuff.
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: When I was writing the first book in the um in the ah Timeless Love series, ah Stay With Me, a character emerged, a best friend emerged, who was the mix of the woman I was telling you about, The Grub Street,
Sue Fleishman: dear friend, um my ah another college classmate who I'm still very, the three of us are still very, very close.
Veronica Adams: Yeah. Nice.
Sue Fleishman: Her mom, who was like a ballsy chick from Queens and um my sister who can be like chop chop, let's go.
Sue Fleishman: And, um and so she emerged. And then the second book was based on her and her love interest. And her love interest is based on someone i was very madly in love with that never could be.
Sue Fleishman: And so, but then I was able to have it happen and have them be together. And that fulfilled something inside of me.
Veronica Adams: yeah.
Sue Fleishman: And then the next one came from you know, where lived, I used to live, not in this, I used to live up in the hills behind Universal and the hills are really narrow.
Sue Fleishman: The streets are really, the roads are really narrow. I'm sure you guys have you know this, but hairpin turns and craziness.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: But on our particular stretch, we, the neighbors all became really close and the houses are very close together. So that led to a whole other thing. And then the fourth book, um, there was, uh,
Sue Fleishman: ah a dog, my, my yoga teacher, who's my dear friend, her dog, Alfie and Alfie sort of became the star of the show. So, but they all emerged like one led to another led to another without a whole lot of strategy or thought.
Sue Fleishman: It was like, Oh, okay.
Veronica Adams: The inspiration just builds on itself over time.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: Yeah.
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: Whereas I feel like this one, ah this series is more planned or that I have a much clearer idea of
Veronica Adams: yeah
Sue Fleishman: a beginning, a middle and an end. Sorry, that was very long winded.
Heather Roberts: No, that makes total sense, though.
Veronica Adams: No, it's perfect.
Heather Roberts: Yeah. No, that's great.
Sue Fleishman: So, you know, so anyway, so who knows what the next thing will be, but um at least for the for the next year um or so,
Veronica Adams: Well, right.
Sue Fleishman: ah i i i have I sort of feel like I have a bit of a blueprint and I don't normally, I haven't in the past kind of followed that.
Veronica Adams: Awesome.
Heather Roberts: it's true yeah because we talk and I'd be like so what's the next book and you're like I don't know and I'm like all right
Sue Fleishman: I just put out one. I can't think. I have to go to my local wine bar.
Heather Roberts: right right and you know me I'm always like let's put the whole series up for pre-order and like let's plan everything out
Sue Fleishman: I'm late.
Sue Fleishman: Exactly. I'm like, no, wait, I'm scared.
Heather Roberts: You're
Veronica Adams: Heather cracking the whip behind the scenes.
Sue Fleishman: Oh my God.
Heather Roberts: making me sound terrifying.
Sue Fleishman: Oh, oh, please. Let me tell you. She's quite formidable when she wants to be.
Heather Roberts: Oh
Sue Fleishman: I'm like, Heather, I have a meeting with Heather. I have to write.
Heather Roberts: my God. Yes. Yes. Yes. terrifying oh my god
Sue Fleishman: No, you're wonderful. I love you. But, but you know, you know how much I love you. It's just, it's just, it's good.
Heather Roberts: yeah
Sue Fleishman: have to have it. I'm a procrastinator.
Veronica Adams: Mmm.
Heather Roberts: yeah We keep you on track,
Veronica Adams: Okay. Yeah.
Heather Roberts: It's important. Yes.
Veronica Adams: yeah
Sue Fleishman: Yeah. And if I don't have that, then I'm very good with deadlines, including terrifying deadlines.
Heather Roberts: yeah
Sue Fleishman: ah there That's kind of what i I need. I really do. And I've always been that way. I think the only time I wasn't like that and I shocked myself was my senior year in college. I wrote a thesis and I actually did it, you know, did it pretty methodically, but that was a very different kind of writing.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Heather Roberts: Yeah, that makes total sense.
Sue Fleishman: You know, I wasn't waking up in the middle of the night and going, you're not dropping enough clues early enough on.
Heather Roberts: So you would say, so it's helpful to have somebody who is providing you with structure.
Sue Fleishman: You need to go back.
Sue Fleishman: Yes. Yes.
Heather Roberts: That's a nicer way of saying cracking wood.
Sue Fleishman: Yes. No, because I used to to meet with my thesis advisor every week or every two weeks.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Veronica Adams: yes
Sue Fleishman: And I was scared of her.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: I am i am nothing.
Sue Fleishman: I'm not scared of you, Heather.
Heather Roberts: if not lovely Yeah, I'm glad.
Sue Fleishman: Heather.
Heather Roberts: I'm glad. Now, and you know, I will never bite your head off if you, you know.
Sue Fleishman: and
Sue Fleishman: No, I know that. You've always been very patient.
Heather Roberts: Yes. Yes. Very patient. Listen, we've we've seen a thing or two our time.
Sue Fleishman: Oh, I bet you have.
Heather Roberts: So there's pretty much nothing you could say that would surprise me, ah which is good.
Sue Fleishman: i know.
Heather Roberts: But, you know, we deal with things as they come.
Sue Fleishman: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: Yep.
Heather Roberts: mean, Amazon's going to be Amazon. Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: Oh, God.
Veronica Adams: Oh, Lord.
Heather Roberts: yeah Yeah, they far as far far as they come.
Sue Fleishman: Oh, wait. I think that's scarier. I think they're far scarier on so many levels. on many levels.
Heather Roberts: Well, you recently switched from you being wide to going into KU. What has your thoughts been on that? do you have any thoughts on that? do you find that better worse?
Sue Fleishman: i don't I can't see if there's much of a difference or i that's not fair.
Heather Roberts: ah
Sue Fleishman: I know there is because the pages are being read and there's some income that comes from that.
Heather Roberts: Right.
Sue Fleishman: So I appreciate that.
Heather Roberts: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: um And I do think that that's better than some of the other places I was when, you know, you're getting nothing. So something is far better than nothing.
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: Right. Yeah. Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: um So i I don't think, I think it's too soon to to say whether or not it's um it's the right or wrong thing.
Heather Roberts: yeah
Sue Fleishman: And I just want to give it much more of a chance. um I'm very impatient. Of course, just like everyone, I want to be, you know, selling millions and millions of copies.
Sue Fleishman: But um I also know that's not to happen. And um so I just, you know, I think it's I think the strategy is good.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: I really do. i think it's a.
Heather Roberts: Well, I think it's and your newsletter is growing, which is exciting.
Sue Fleishman: Yes, yes.
Heather Roberts: one thing that we recently implemented, because listen, you were writing and you were writing these these first four books and that was your focus. I mean, this was all brand new to you.
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: And so you wanted to get that series out.
Sue Fleishman: Yes.
Heather Roberts: And so here I am saying, hey, you need to write something else as a reader lore so that we could put it in your newsletter to get people to sign up to your newsletter. And and she's like, when am I going to do that?
Heather Roberts: ah like, don't know, find some time. But you eventually did. you found that.
Sue Fleishman: I did.
Heather Roberts: And then we we implemented that somewhat recently. And that's really helped to expand ah your newsletter. So i feel like that's there.
Sue Fleishman: I'll do it again.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: I'll do it again for Danville Falls. i'll I'll tell a funny story or maybe, you know, find a town pet or do something like that.
Veronica Adams: Perfect.
Heather Roberts: No, and it's great. And I mean, you can have one that stays the same, that brings people into your newsletter, or you can change it out for different books. um I have someone that I work with who this is like, she she loves them.
Heather Roberts: So she uses bonus scenes and deleted scenes, puts those at the end of her book and for every single book, and then has those, they're all separate and they come into separate segments into her newsletter.
Sue Fleishman: Oh, cool.
Heather Roberts: Yeah. And then she knows like where the person came from you know organically.
Sue Fleishman: That's cool.
Heather Roberts: And she can then remarket to them on her newsletter a lot better in the future if she has another book with the same tropes, for example, or um if she's writing mail mail and it's a mail mail book in the future.
Sue Fleishman: I think I just lost you guys.
Sue Fleishman: Shoot.
Heather Roberts: So there's a lot of flexibility you can do with the reader lores. I'm not sure if Campbell is still with us or not. um But yeah, it' I love a good reader lore and I was thrilled to see the explosion um of the newsletter once we put that reader lore in place.
Heather Roberts: I thought that that was really great.
Veronica Adams: Yes, it's awesome how well those work once you get them done. It's just sitting down and having the content to use for them.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: Great.
Heather Roberts: and And my point being, like, as i was saying, we did this sort of in stages as a new newer author because you can't do everything right away.
Veronica Adams: yeah.
Heather Roberts: it's It's practically impossible
Sue Fleishman: Right.
Heather Roberts: you have to build the foundation and then start you know building up.
Veronica Adams: yeah
Heather Roberts: And the foundation here is the books, right? You need the products.
Sue Fleishman: Yes.
Heather Roberts: ah
Sue Fleishman: Yep.
Heather Roberts: So it's really interesting how you know you can you can do that as an author. What would you say you have learned the most from from writing this past year?
Sue Fleishman: Absolutely.
Heather Roberts: know a very heavy question.
Sue Fleishman: Um, I think I've learned what I'm capable of. I think I, I think what that's done is given me a lot more confidence.
Sue Fleishman: And i I think I didn't think I could do it when I started out and, and I've been able to prove to myself that I can.
Heather Roberts: Yeah. Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: Um, and, and that means a lot because I, um, I'm not always the most confident person and it's helped me a lot with that.
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: The other thing that I've learned that I love is that you can bring parts of your real life into your books and you can work through a lot of things. And that has also helped bring some real peace and perspective.
Heather Roberts: yeah
Sue Fleishman: And I didn't expect that to be a benefit, but I feel like that is an added benefit. And I've learned a lot as a result.
Heather Roberts: It's like therapy.
Sue Fleishman: Yes, it sure is.
Heather Roberts: that's not
Veronica Adams: absolutely yeah so if if you could give yourself advice a year ago or give advice to someone who hasn't actually started the journey but is thinking about it someone who's where you were last year what what's something anything one thing the top thing maybe that you would tell them i love that yeah
Heather Roberts: Oh, I love that.
Sue Fleishman: Don't give up. Have faith in yourself. Keep at it. Keep writing.
Heather Roberts: yeah
Veronica Adams: Awesome.
Sue Fleishman: Just write, write every day and just keep doing it because it will come ah even when you're frustrated.
Veronica Adams: Getting the words down. Yeah.
Sue Fleishman: Eventually it will come. It may come again, as I said, not to overemphasize this in the middle of the night. It could come could come when you're out on a walk. It could come when you're driving or you're in traffic, which as everyone knows in Los Angeles is the bane of everyone's existence and and and a constant that never goes away.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Heather Roberts: All the time.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: Um, so, you know, the you don't know when the inspiration or what will come, but I, I would just say, don't give up. There were times when I was so tired or I thought, oh, this is not, this is bad.
Sue Fleishman: This is terrible. What am I doing? Why am I doing this? But I'm glad I stuck to it.
Veronica Adams: Awesome.
Heather Roberts: Yeah, I'm glad you did too.
Veronica Adams: I love that.
Heather Roberts: it's now It's been an absolute pleasure to work with you and it's been really fun to see your wins and and to be there and to see the success and see as see how you're growing.
Sue Fleishman: Thank you.
Heather Roberts: thank
Sue Fleishman: Thank you. i can't thank you enough. And um it you have been so wonderful and rock and steady and great and encouraging and all the things that a writer needs.
Sue Fleishman: So I adore you and I thank you so much.
Heather Roberts: you.
Sue Fleishman: And Veronica, I'm thrilled to see you. And I hope I get to see and interact with you much more in the in the coming years so
Veronica Adams: Yeah.
Veronica Adams: Absolutely.
Heather Roberts: Yeah, we need to do more. We've been, we've talked and we've done it a little bit, but we need to do more firm wide things.
Veronica Adams: Yes, like cross-pollination and collabs. we
Heather Roberts: Yes.
Veronica Adams: without any sort of organic, well it was organic, without any sort of planning, we just sort of have like a yours, mine and ours kind of situation. And we need to shake the tree a little bit and get our authors to interact with each other and do things with each other.
Heather Roberts: Yeah.
Veronica Adams: And yeah.
Heather Roberts: Can we do it?
Sue Fleishman: i would I would love that.
Heather Roberts: We do have an author group that everybody is in.
Sue Fleishman: I really would.
Heather Roberts: So it's not like we're separated, but I do feel a lot of times that we don't, we don't do enough.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: Yep.
Veronica Adams: Some people are more enthusiastic about that than others.
Heather Roberts: Yeah, some are, but you know what? That's fine. Everybody does what they want on their own and not mandatory.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Sue Fleishman: Yep.
Heather Roberts: um But no, I do want to do more, you know, quarterly events where we have everybody together and do more meetings.
Veronica Adams: Awesome. Yeah.
Heather Roberts: So something that I'm,
Sue Fleishman: that That would be so great.
Heather Roberts: Yeah, it's something I'm trying to plan out for the next year to bring in speakers and stuff.
Sue Fleishman: Cool.
Heather Roberts: And I think that that'd be really fun. and
Sue Fleishman: Great.
Heather Roberts: So hopefully you'll see Veronica more the coming year.
Veronica Adams: Yes, it'll be great.
Sue Fleishman: yea
Heather Roberts: But otherwise, you can always check us out on YouTube with our beautiful faces with For Book's Sake.
Sue Fleishman: That'd be great.
Sue Fleishman: That's right. I will. Yep.
Heather Roberts: And yeah, I think that that I think we'll wrap up here. It's been an absolutely wonderful episode.
Veronica Adams: Awesome.
Heather Roberts: Thank you so much for joining us, Campbell.
Sue Fleishman: Thank you.
Veronica Adams: Yes, thank you.
Sue Fleishman: Thank you for having me.
Heather Roberts: well and yes Go and follow her on all of her socials.
Veronica Adams: Yes.
Heather Roberts: Check out her website. She is Kindle Unlimited. You can go and binge her books and read for free with Kindle Unlimited, the Timeless Love series, and then make sure you pre-order the Begin Again series with Settle for More.
Heather Roberts: So we will see you all next time.
