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Elsie Silver: Hopeless, Canadian Cowboys, and what's next after Chestnut Springs | S2Ep8
829 Plays2 years ago
This week Elsie Silver drops by the pod to talk all things Chestnut Springs, how she crafts near perfect smut scenes, and what readers can expect from her latest release, Hopeless. She also give us a sneak peek at what's to come after the Chestnut Springs series and plays a fun "Who Said It?" game with us!
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Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz
Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Announcement
00:00:04
Speaker
Hey guys! Hey guys! Welcome to Bring Your Own, a catch-all location of the time podcast. I'm Brandi. I'm Kendra.
Meet Elsie Silver: The Author's Journey
00:00:14
Speaker
I'm Kayla. Today we have a very special guest. We have Miss Elsie Silver on the podcast. We're so, so excited.
00:00:24
Speaker
Elsie is a Canadian romance author who currently lives just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband, son, and three dogs. Love Vancouver, gorgeous place. She's been reading romance before she was probably supposed to and has never stopped. She writes steamy small-town romances with dirty talking alpha heroes that we love and we'll talk a lot about and strong heroines who we also love who clap back.
00:00:50
Speaker
Each of her books are a little bit different, but still always feature real characters with real problems. Scenes that make you blush, and stories that always, always end happily ever after. Welcome, Elsie! Yay! We're so excited. Thank you for having me. We're so excited. Absolutely. Oh my goodness. Awesome. Super fun.
Current Reads and Drinks
00:01:10
Speaker
But before we jump in, ladies, what are we reading? What are we drinking?
00:01:14
Speaker
I'll go first. I am drinking a High Noon, which is my favorite seltzer ever, Grapefruit Flavors, Supremacy. I love it. And I am reading two books right now. On my Kindle, I'm reading Meet the Benedetto's, which I just started last night, by Katie Katagno. It's an ARC. It comes out in December. I'm literally only a chapter in, so I can't say
00:01:36
Speaker
I don't have an opinion yet. And then I'm listening to Her Good Side by Rebecca Weatherspoon. I started it this morning. I'm already like 60, 70% in. We'll be done with it tonight. Oh, wow. And it's so cute. It's her YA debut. It's fantastic. It's YA. I didn't know that. Mm-hmm. It's very cute though. It's fun. Bye. I'm Kayla Ann.
00:01:56
Speaker
Just water today no coke zero you guys I know crazy And as far as what I'm reading well, I just finished hopeless last night, so that was very exciting But I haven't picked up anything since then so I don't know I think I'm gonna Listen to the audio arc of better hate than never by Chloe lease. It's a second book and her Two wrongs make a right series. I don't actually know if that's the series name and
00:02:23
Speaker
But, um, probably listen to that one. And I don't know what I'm going to read physically yet. I may have to ask Brandy, Kendra, or Elsie for a recommendation if they have one for me. Yeah, of course.
00:02:35
Speaker
I also finished hopeless yesterday. Um, so I did too. I want to say, um, so I haven't started. Yeah, exactly. Right. Um, but I haven't started anything physically since then. And I am listening to the audio arc of caught up by Liz Tom Ford, which I'm very excited about. Yeah. Uh, and I am drinking, uh, Sauvignon Blanc because I had a day at work. So I'm a little white. What about you, Elsie?
Elsie's Reading and Writing Insights
00:03:05
Speaker
Um, well, it's the middle of the afternoon where I am, so I haven't broken into the booze yet. But I'm having a cinotto. I'm sure anybody Italian would not approve of my pronunciation, but it's like that bitter orange soda. I don't know. It's from the Italian market here. Um, and I really love that. And I'm actually reading a series right now that isn't romance. So I don't know. Are we allowed to talk about that?
00:03:34
Speaker
It's a, well, I don't know what the actual series is called. I think it's Sides. It's, but it's by Neil Shusterman and it's kind of a Y-A-N-A by the end of the three books, um, like dystopian future. It's like my husband read it and he was like, you'll love it. You'll love it. And I do love it. The storytelling is amazing. Um, I'm on book three, which is the toll. Yeah.
00:03:57
Speaker
But he was like, there's romance. Like, let me tell you. No. I'm fine with it. I'm fine with it. But I just was like, babe, you cannot describe this as romance to people. Like, there's like, literally, there was a line that was like,
00:04:13
Speaker
when like two parts come together. And then it was like, fade to black. And at the end of the chapter, I was like, are they even doing it? I'm not totally sure, but I'm gonna go out on a limb here. Yeah. So anyways, but it's very, very good. Yeah. My husband would be like, that's spicy. That's spicy. That's so fun that your husband reads. Yes, he's a big reader. Okay, cool. Romance besides your books.
00:04:40
Speaker
He hasn't read my books. And he hasn't really read romance. He does love fantasy though, so I got him to read Akatar.
00:04:54
Speaker
But he, in a typical like he doesn't love romance, he hated book two. And I was like, who's the best book?
Elsie's Writing Journey: Pandemic Beginnings
00:05:06
Speaker
So yeah, so but he did love the storytelling and whatever. So and I think he's gonna read fourth wing. So the same thing happened with my husband, I had him read the first two ACOTAR books, and he hated the second one. And I was like,
00:05:20
Speaker
My husband was like, nothing is happening. And they keep talking about their meat. And it's really weird. And I was like, everything. Yeah, my boyfriend also read the first two. And then he told me he was too bored to read the third one. Out of curiosity, do you avoid reading?
00:05:41
Speaker
contemporary romance when you're writing? I do feel like I get a bit burnt out on it now because I just am constantly thinking about it in my own books. So then when I try to pick up a contemporary romance, it almost feels like work. And there's not always, but it just depends on like where I am in the writing phase. And I'm like almost finished a manuscript right now. So I've just I'm like, I do read a lot of fantasy or paranormal.
00:06:07
Speaker
So yeah, and then I've got like my go tos that I pick up no matter what. So yeah, I'll read anything though. Love.
00:06:17
Speaker
dive right into the many discussion questions we have for you. So to start out, we just kind of want you to walk us through your self-publishing journey. A lot of people, including us three, discovered you through Chestnut Springs. But if you don't know, that's a spinoff of your first series, which was at Gold Rush Ranch. So what made you decide to take the plunge and start writing and self-publishing? And then how has that been different now that you are traditionally published with Bloom?
00:06:42
Speaker
Um, okay. So I started writing, uh, during the pandemic, I was working as an editor before, like for an academic kind of circles. So it was a lot of like masters and PhD students. Um, and so I would do, you know, like a line edit, basically. Um, and then, um, of course, when the pandemic hit, academic research was kind of stalled out. People weren't going out into the field. Like, and I was working with,
00:07:11
Speaker
um like sociology and education students so they weren't going into schools or you know um um like police police detachments or like whatever to do the research that they were working on so I was at home my husband his work was still going and so or he was like in and out of the office still so I was stuck at home with a three-year-old and my mom was like you gotta do something you're gonna go
00:07:37
Speaker
crazy without preschool or whatever. So she was like, you're always reading those like romance books, because I have been like a really, really voracious. I was like, before I started writing, I was like that four books a week kind of person. And I, you know, I go for a walk with my mom and be like, Oh, it was like so good. But like, I wish I wish this would have happened or that would have happened. Or like I had all these ideas for how I could build on the stories I was already reading. And so
00:08:01
Speaker
she really gave me the push to write, you know, just something. So I had this like idea in my head, and that turned into Off to the Races, which is my debut novel. And yeah, I wrote it, I didn't know what I was going to do with it. And then I kind of
00:08:21
Speaker
I don't know, just started researching and seeing what I could do. Lots of Facebook groups and stuff like that. And I was reading a lot of indie romance. So I kind of started to piece it all together and just went from there. Then I got the bug. Like I just was like, okay, I want to release again. I want to like, I just kept going.
Publishing Path: Indie to Hybrid
00:08:37
Speaker
And it was really, I don't know, it was fun for me. I wasn't always sure like,
00:08:43
Speaker
I've done a lot of different jobs and gone to school for a lot of different things. So, but once I started doing this, I was like, Oh, this is what I want to do for sure. Um, so that was such a good feeling. I've just been, I've been really, really fortunate to kind of have some, some special opportunities, um, you know, with my agent and with bloom and my UK publisher Piatkiss. And, um, it's changed from like kind of straight indie to, to hybrid and, um, yeah.
00:09:13
Speaker
So it's kind of just taken off. Yeah. I love that your mom was like the big push for you. That's so cool. Has she read your books? She was. She has, yes. Is she cool? My aunt, my mother-in-law, yeah. My aunt's like, I have it pre-ordered. I'm like, oh. And you're like, don't tell me anything. I love that. We don't talk about them. Yeah. Wait, do they have a favorite that you know? I think that my mom loves winter.
00:09:44
Speaker
Yeah. And then I don't know, like my aunt, she just reads them all and we don't really talk about it. And then my mother-in-law, I'm not sure who her favorite is. I got her to read priest and she just still talks about Tyler all the time. Well, yes. Love that. Cool.
00:10:09
Speaker
Brittany Broski recently talked about your books, specifically Flawless, on her podcast that has millions of listeners. Did that cause any waves in your day to day? Did you notice anything different after she talked about it? Because I was like, oh my god, she's talking about Elsie. I got so many messages from people.
Social Media's Influence on Writing
00:10:29
Speaker
Now I know who she is, and I can relate it back to the meme that she's famous for.
00:10:36
Speaker
Um, and, but I didn't really know people started tagging me and I was like, I don't know like what this is. Um, and I honestly, like, I have this fear of like, I haven't listened to the podcast. So I'm like, Oh, really?
00:10:52
Speaker
if she didn't like it, I don't like I will like be gutted. So I just I'm like, I'll just pretend I like don't I kind of like live in a bubble sometimes. Yeah. But yeah, I got a lot of tags from it. And definitely people being like, if Brittany loves this, then like, I love it too. So it was it was
00:11:10
Speaker
kind of a cute moment. But that was really cool. I because like, I haven't listened to the full podcast either. But I follow her on tik tok. And she was reading exclusively fantasy for a very long time and talking a lot about it. And your book was like the first contemporary romance that she talked about. And I was like, I was just so pumped because I was like, what an amazing place for somebody to start reading contemporary romance, like with flaws.
Exploring Small-Town Romance
00:11:33
Speaker
Like, yeah, that was really cool.
00:11:37
Speaker
So kind of going back a little bit to when you kind of started doing all this, how did you know that small town was going to be like kind of your niche or did you kind of know that that was going to be your nation? Were there any other romance subgenres that you tried exploring or that you want to explore in the future? I think when I first started, I didn't really know
00:11:59
Speaker
like what my niche would be or like what a niche was, even like I was like, oh, it's like a romance. Like, what do you mean? So, but the stories in my head were set, you know, like, cause that first series is set on a horse racing farm. It was like kind of just like naturally a small town romance. And then I feel like I just like really built traction through that series and just felt comfortable there. I love a small town romance cause I feel like I can have like,
00:12:26
Speaker
I can have an athlete, I can have a rancher, I could have a contractor, I could have a billionaire. It gives me a lot of wiggle room in a setting that I personally really enjoy. So I do think I'll kind of stick to small town. I can see myself doing like, I have some ideas for standalones maybe in the future that will be in not such a small town, like not necessarily on a ranch, right? Like there's some variation.
00:12:56
Speaker
I don't know like I'll read, I'll read dark romance, but somebody's like, I'll see you write a mafia romance. I don't know I'm like, I'm not good at those kind of storylines like I think that's why I love reading paranormal and stuff because there's always like
00:13:11
Speaker
kind of a suspense line or an adventure line, right? And like my brain just does not come up with those things. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I don't know, biker gangs. Yeah. Ronna Darling's got the marked corner there. Canadian biker gangs. I know your besties with Catherine Cowles too, and she writes like romantic suspense. Like do you ever see yourself like
00:13:37
Speaker
trickling into that area at all? Or you're like, well, if Catherine gets her way, then yes. She's like, the other day I was like, Oh, this conflict, like I was struggling with the conflict in the book that I'm reading right now. And she was like, just have her get kidnapped.
00:13:53
Speaker
It doesn't work for this storyline. Like, just out of the blue, she gets kidnapped. That's so funny. I got a cup from her at Love in Vegas that says, like, what is romance if there's not somebody being kidnapped or something like that? I know, right? Perfect. Anytime I read an ARC, like, I think it was Fractured Sky, which was like the last book in her last series. And I was like, if this poor girl gets kidnapped again, I am gonna riot. And she just sent me back like a smiley face. And I was like, oh.
00:14:23
Speaker
This girl's been kidnapped like 10 times in one book. Give her a break. So I don't know. I could do that one day for sure. Sometimes I feel like my brain just needs something different. So I could see trying it.
00:14:38
Speaker
I know, not every time, but as like something just for fun. Yeah. Amazing. This is going to sound very American of me, but before I read Chestnut Springs, I just never associate, I never associated Cowboys in Canada. Like that was just never a thing for me. And now I'm like, Oh my God, these Calgary stamp. I can't, I can't tell you.
00:15:01
Speaker
Like I said, very American education is showing right now. Especially because I grew up in Texas, so I'm like, I associate it with that. But I'm just like, oh my God, in Canada, let me go to Canada. Oh my God. Yeah. Somebody actually said that to me in another interview the other day. They were like, I didn't know you had cowboys there. And I was like, yeah, we've got ranching, dairy farming, the whole thing. I think that cowboys here are not quite as
00:15:29
Speaker
like stereotypical as like a Texas cowboy for example. I always say country boys because it's kind of like they're more like just yeah country boys like I don't think there's quite as unless you're at a rodeo like the big buckles and the hats and stuff but yeah we've got them and we've got the rodeos. Did you grow up with horses?
Character Development Process
00:15:51
Speaker
I grew up
00:15:52
Speaker
Yeah, I grew up riding like equestrian really competitively. So show jumping so kind of like a different a different world. I'll probably touch on it. I don't know at some point. But I did so like I was in the country and then it would be like, Oh, we go to somebody else's farm or like their you know, they're they would have grown up with horses and there would be a you know, a ranch next door or we would just for fun go to the rodeo because
00:16:21
Speaker
We liked that stuff. And then we always had the Canadian finals rodeo in the city that I grew up in like once a year. And so we would go to that. Rodeo is a big deal. I grew up in San Antonio. And so then in reckless and you had the ago to San Antonio, I was like, I love San Antonio. It's a cool city. So it really is. Oh my gosh. Okay. So all your characters feel so fleshed out and real from like
00:16:48
Speaker
page one, can you talk about how you build their personalities and like how you attach certain things to them? So like how did you know Cade was going to be like this grumpy man and how did you know Willow was going to be like so wild? Like what is your process of building out your characters? Yeah, I like I'm not a big plotter storyline wise. I always feel like I have like certain scenes in mind that I really want to happen or exchanges like I have a note section like on my phone and anytime I think of something
00:17:18
Speaker
I'm like typing it in there madly. So I have something to refer back to. But I do plot my characters so that I have a decent idea of how they would react in those situations. And so I will do like there I'll do I have a character sheet that I use that talks about, you know, their wounds, their ticks, their strengths, their weaknesses, and then I'll even
00:17:42
Speaker
do like a Clifton strengths test or like an enneagram or like try and do or like then look up you know are they an Aries and if they are like what does that mean and then try and flesh out you know how do they see themselves and how do other people perceive them like things like that so that i feel like when i go in i like know the i know the character really well so yeah sometimes people are like this and this and this should have happened and i'm like she would never do that i just feel like
00:18:12
Speaker
I talk about them like they're real people now. They're your kids. Are any of them an Enneagram 5? Because I'm a 5. I would have to check. I'll email you back. I'll want to find her. I'm an Enneagram 5 with a wing. What is it? A wing or something? Yeah, a wing one or something like that. I don't know. I've never heard anybody talk about taking personality quizzes as their characters. That's so fun.
00:18:40
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Yeah, it is fun. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. The Goldrunch Ranch series follows a group of friends and coworkers, like he said, on the horse racing farm.
Character Dynamics and Relationships
00:18:50
Speaker
And the Chestnut Springs series follows obviously the Eaton family. Both series have such beautiful platonic relationships. And
00:18:59
Speaker
I was just wondering like how is creating these bonds different than creating like the romances in the books? Like how, like you said, you put so much thought into how they would react in those things. Like how much of like their friends and families go into who they are as a character? Yeah, for sure. I actually find sometimes I get a little overwhelmed by it because I'm like, oh my gosh, we haven't seen, you know, enough of Summer and Rhett in this book. And then I'm like trying to like, you know, fit them in somehow because
00:19:25
Speaker
I don't know. I feel and that's part of where I think with this series, I like love the text messages at the beginning of the chapters because because I do I mean, I my my books, I feel like are like heavy on external plot. A lot of it is just like two people going through their everyday lives falling in love with each other because that's
00:19:46
Speaker
of what I like to read. I like it when both the characters are in every chapter. I like if there's too much other stuff and they don't see each other for two chapters I find myself skimming so I like you know I can only write the books that I like to read. So I think the text messages are kind of a way to give you more of like a perspective of what's going on in their life beyond those interactions that I'm showing you on the page because sometimes I find myself you know writing about them and then I'm and then I'm like
00:20:16
Speaker
This person is so boring. Like if all they do is hang out with their boyfriend, like we've all had that friend and then they just like stop going to anything. So I feel like those scenes with everybody or, you know, the girls branching at Le Pomp-Le-Mousse or the family dinners just kind of
00:20:34
Speaker
give you a little perspective of how they are in a in a social setting not just in their relationship um which is i think how you like bond with characters too right yes i was looking through my highlights are flawless and heartless and i have so many willa summer moments highlighted just because like i think their friendship is like really beautiful
00:20:56
Speaker
And in Powerless, when they went to Gold Rush Ranch, that moment or that chapter where Sloan was with the girls is what made me bump Gold Rush to the top of my TBR. I read off to the races immediately after finishing Powerless because I was like, I need to know everything about these girls because it was such a fun dynamic.
00:21:15
Speaker
Yeah. And honestly, I did that on purpose because so many people will read Chestnut Springs because it's so popular. And then they just won't even touch Gold Rush Ranch. So I was like, you know, if I just drop them in here, maybe people will ask some questions or go looking.
00:21:30
Speaker
But I still get messages probably every week that are like, will you ever do a book for Violet? And I'm like, no, that is where we started. I wish Gold Rush Ranch was talked about so much more because the front runner is in my top three for you. I love that book so much. That's a great one. My favorite of that series is a false start. I love that.
00:21:59
Speaker
I sent her to read it. I will not lie. I have not touched Gold Rush Ranch yet, but the time is coming. Yes, the audiobooks are coming. Yeah. I know this is like asking you to pick kind of a favorite child, but you have either like a favorite book that you've written or like one that you're really particularly proud of.
Favorite Characters and Tropes
00:22:24
Speaker
And then is that the same as like your favorite couple? Do you have a favorite couple?
00:22:29
Speaker
I think that Summer and Rhett are my favorite couple.
00:22:36
Speaker
Um, just because I like their dynamic and I like their banter and I like that he's funny and kind of boyish, but also kind of itchy sometimes. That's like my favorite type of hero who's just like a little bit snipey and maybe not actually his internal model or dialogue like makes up for it, right? Yeah. Um, and Summer's just so like, I don't know. I love, I love Summer's gift. To me, she's like the perfect balance of like,
00:23:03
Speaker
Nice and snarky and smart and accomplished and I don't know like I really I put a lot of myself into summer so I'm kind of attached to her. And then I think the book I don't want to say that I'm the most proud of but that I'm probably like the most attached to is reckless for sure.
00:23:23
Speaker
I feel like, listen, I'm really competitive. So if you ever do a Clifton strengths test, like my number one strength is competitive, which isn't necessarily with other people, so much as with myself, the way that my other strengths fell down. But I feel like with that book, everybody, not everybody, I mean, like, you know, I'm generalizing was like, I don't like winter. I don't care about Theo. And I hate the pregnant
00:23:49
Speaker
And I was like, you're like, let's go. Yeah, I think I just like, I don't know, wrote that one to like, prove that I could. And I, and I love those characters. Yeah. Honestly, I love that trope. We do too. We are all big pregnancy girlies.
00:24:10
Speaker
Okay, so the secret baby I actually um shout out to Corinne Michaels because she helped me like kind of navigate secret baby I messaged her and was like was like people love your secret baby books like if you could give me three pointers what would it be like
00:24:33
Speaker
Can I call you? I remember you guys having a live together, talking about that. I think it was around when Reckless came out and when Her Books and Her Hearts came out or something like that. I remember watching it and you guys were talking about that. Yeah, we did. We were writing those books at the same time.
00:24:55
Speaker
Then she got stuck on something and then I was like, yes, I can return the favor. So yeah, we got to do a live after this. Yeah. Well, you should know that Reckless is all three of our favorite book of yours. It's our. We love them so much.
00:25:13
Speaker
Yeah, I love them too. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. It'll be so much fun writing that book too. Like they always, like every book feels different, right? Like some fall to the page, some feel like they stump me a little bit more. And that's not always because they're like any, there's anything wrong with them. It's like even like something emotional for me or like something that's just like tripping me up a bit. But that one, I just had so much fun writing that book. So yeah.
00:25:39
Speaker
We had such a great time reading it. Yeah, we were all together when we started it. We got the arcs while we were on vacation together. Oh, that's so fun. And Kayla and I, like, on our phones, like, when we were waiting in line for everything, like, we were like, ah! I love that. Oh, my God. And then I had to wait, because I didn't get it. And I had to wait, like, a few weeks. And so they're just teasing me the whole time, like, kindred of the world. Oh, no. So good. And then I devoured it so much. And like, oh, wait, this is actually a really good segue. OK, so, Elsie, I have to tell you something. OK.
00:26:07
Speaker
Um, ever since, ever since I, and I said this on TikTok, ever since I read, I read Reckless, I cannot look at my thumbs like the same way.
Crafting Unique Smut Scenes
00:26:18
Speaker
Um, and so, and I also always tell people like, you, I think are just so good at writing Small Town and in a lot of Small Town books, like, you know, the smut is very like, it's like even, you know, it fits the tone. And I'll say, I'll say Silver does not write smut. She writes porn, like yours?
00:26:35
Speaker
is like such another universe where I'm like, oh my God, this is so good. And that's why I can't look at my thumbs the same way because I can feel. So how do you go about crafting such amazing, hot,
00:26:53
Speaker
Smack scenes literally no misses. We talk about your... Inside this is like a little uncomfortable. We talk about your smack scenes so like they're just so like you have a gift. Like unprompted in our group chat. Remember? Remember when Kate said this? Sorry, what was the question? How would I do it?
00:27:24
Speaker
Yeah, no, I, I think I forget who you're talking to about this. And I was like, I think I just kind of black out like I have a general idea of what I'm gonna do. And then sometimes I get in there and I'm like, Oh, what if I did this? Like, I feel like I just like, I like use my I don't know, lizard brain or something. And I don't ever like if I'm writing a sex scene, I write the entire thing that day because
00:27:36
Speaker
Yeah. So like, how do you go about writing your smut scenes? Like, is it fun for you? Is it really technical for you?
00:27:53
Speaker
I'm waking up first thing in the morning with a coffee and being midway through a sex scene. I'm just like, why did I do that to myself? I've learned that. You can't leave them unsatisfied. No. I try to just put the headphones on and work my way through it. If anything, my assistant, she's been with me now for two years.
00:28:17
Speaker
She saves she's so funny. She I got to get her to put a post together anytime that I have an idea I'm like, I'll text her and she always is like, why do you not even just not like good morning? How are you? Can I get your opinion on something? I'll just be like, do you think it'd be weird if the heroes like spits on her pussy?
00:28:42
Speaker
That's how I sold a false start. Or like, I was like, you guys need to read a whole dress range right now. I was like, because I just got to the last book. And that's exactly what convinced me to read. I was like, all right. And so I picked it up. Yeah. Yeah. Like, and it's just something like I think, and it's not even always like, I actually often find the actual sex is
00:29:05
Speaker
superfluous to like the lead up. Like it's always like the little things before that I think are hotter than the actual side. Yeah, the tension. Yeah. So but yeah, so she's got a whole bunch of those. And you get there's one from hopeless that like,
00:29:22
Speaker
Would it be hot if? Is it the bathtub? Yeah, I'm not going to say it in any case, but I'm like, would it be hot or just weird? And she was like, well, it kind of sounds weird, but I feel like you could probably pull it off. And I was like, okay, I'm just going to leave it then because my brain just went there. I didn't plan it. I finished it and I was like, hmm.
00:29:41
Speaker
I don't know. And then I sent it to her because she reads as I go. And she was like, Yeah, it definitely wasn't weird. So I've seen a lot of like posts of people playing like the bathtub scene on Instagram too. You know, we all we all read that scene and immediately texted one another was like, like our jaw was on the ground.
00:30:00
Speaker
Yeah. So I don't, I don't know if I have like a method to my madness. I just, well, whatever you're doing is working. Yeah. We thank you for your service is so good.
00:30:12
Speaker
Yeah, I think we all also agree that when we were reading Reckless and you didn't, like when Theo and Winter were, I mean, small spoiler, if you haven't read Reckless, I don't know what you're doing. What are you doing? But yeah, when they first were talking in the bar, Theo and Winter, and then they go together, and then it's like, we don't see that. And I was about to be like, nah! I was about to be so mad if we didn't get to see that, but we did. And it was the best thing ever. Now can I get a thumbs up?
00:30:41
Speaker
yeah and while we're here Elsie you tease us so much will you ever write will you ever write anal do you think the day will come i know everybody who read hopeless was like is this the one and i was like
00:31:00
Speaker
Um, probably, you know, Catherine always bugs me. She was like, first it's a thumb, then it's, you know, what's next? Like, so I don't know. Maybe one day it has to fit. I feel like it has to really fit the cup, like fit the couple. Yeah. Um, there's probably a couple in this next series that I felt like could, could pull it off.
Discussing 'Hopeless' and Romance Preferences
00:31:24
Speaker
Maybe we'll see.
00:31:26
Speaker
I feel like I just toe the line every time. I can push it a little further. When this episode airs, Hopeless will be out tomorrow. And I know everybody's just like so fucking excited. I got so many DMs being like
00:31:41
Speaker
I need this right now when I post that. Yeah, I'm sure you get I feel so bad. My first born I'm like, Oh, I don't want any more. But for readers who are really, really excited, or readers who maybe are learning about you for the first time, like what can they expect from hopeless? Can you give us like your elevator pitch when you describe hopeless to people? Yeah, so okay, hopeless is about a military
00:32:11
Speaker
hero who went missing in action and was injured and now he's back he's left the military and was kind of adjusting to civilian life and really very lost and confused about kind of like where he fits in the world without the job that he's done for so long and it's a age gap romance with
00:32:36
Speaker
of the girl from the other side of the tracks, the family in town that is not well-liked, they kind of just both realize that they can help each other out and end up in a fake engagement situation. So she needs a little bit of a reputation boost and he needs something that explains to his family why he's never around and that kind of shows that he's
00:33:04
Speaker
okay when maybe he's not because they're kind of smothering him in a way that isn't working for him. So they embark on this fake relationship and we all know how those go.
00:33:16
Speaker
And yeah, it starts as close proximity, turns into forced proximity, because I think every Elsie Silver book is almost forced proximity. But yeah, it's like, it's a slow burn, but also really, like, spice starts earlier in this book for me than I ever have had at start. And yet, it's also like,
00:33:39
Speaker
a slope. I don't know. People are like, it's your spiciest book yet. Oh my God, when are they going to bang? And I'm like, I don't know. I don't know what I think. You say the spice starts a little bit earlier in this one. And I think it was Kendra and I, we were talking before we had finished this book and
00:33:57
Speaker
We're like, Oh, it's an Elsie Silverberg, but they're not going to do anything to at least 60%. You know, that's what we were used to. But yeah, a little bit. I find that so interesting that people like it depends on either when it happens for them to be like, Oh, this will be like the spiciest thing you've ever written. Or like, what happens? Like, how do you yourself? I like count any like sexual encounter, because for me, like, I prefer the sex scenes to have kind of to like move the plot forward.
00:34:27
Speaker
Cause if they're too many for me as a reader anyway, like just again, a personal preference. If there's too many, I get bored or I feel like if it happens too early for my preferences, I'm like, oh, no more attention. And then I'm like not invested anymore. I want to earn it. Exactly. Yeah. I want it to be what, you know, like I'm just vibrating with like, oh my God, just do it already. So I love that. I love that feeling. Yeah. That's what keeps me flipping the pages.
00:34:51
Speaker
or to change things.
00:34:56
Speaker
I love non, like tradition, like, I don't want to use the word penetrative, but I have to like, like, not like sex, sex, sex scenes, like where they're like, Oh, I just like, I love that. And I just think it's adds so much tension to books. And there's moments of that and hopeless that are just like, so delicious.
00:35:17
Speaker
I agree. Yeah. Those are some of my favorite scenes too. Hopeless is the last book in the Chestnut Springs series. Are you sure there are no more Eaton children? Yeah. Secret baby, but main character. No, there are no more Eaton's. Okay. All right. All right. But you've mentioned
00:35:45
Speaker
before that you already started on your next series.
Teasing Future Projects
00:35:50
Speaker
Yes. And one of which we may have already briefly met in Chestnut Springs. We have a guess. But can you tease anymore? Yeah, it's so the connection is like, and you can read them in any order, it's not going to be
00:36:05
Speaker
in any way connect like over like the time, please don't ask me about timelines. But yeah, so it'll be a standalone in a new town. Actually, the town is Rose Hill. So it's one of the stops that Jasper and Sloan make on their road trip. So it's where they play pool. It's based on it's based on the the town that I grew up vacationing in in
00:36:35
Speaker
here in Canada. And the hero is introduced in hopeless. And he is like just my favorite type of hero. He's kind of grumpy, but like witty and snarky and funny. I am obsessed with him right now because I'm just in the book. And he will have
00:37:03
Speaker
I think a tie back to Chestnut Springs that everybody will love because it's gonna bring a fan favorite out for a little visit. And yeah, it's gonna be a fun series.
00:37:15
Speaker
Is it Ford? It's Ford. Yeah. Yeah, it's Ford. So. Love. Oh my god. Yeah, me too. Yeah, you will. Oh my god, more Willa content. I'm so. Yeah, so she swings by for a couple chapters. Yeah, so. Love her. She's so fun to read about. Every time she's in a scene. She's fun to write. Yeah, every time she's in a scene, it's just like instantly like. Heartless rewrote my brain chemistry.
Character Quote Game
00:37:42
Speaker
Yeah.
00:37:44
Speaker
All right, so we have a little bit of extra time and we want to play a game with you. A aesthetic game. We're going to each take turns reading quotes. We made it a little easy. It's only going to be Chestnut Springs quotes. So it narrows down the character pool and then you can guess at who said it because you wrote these words. Quick question before we start. Do you reread your own books or like listen to your audio books after you send them off?
00:38:14
Speaker
I try to listen to the audiobooks. I find it a little embarrassing to listen to them back. That's so funny. I feel like a lot of authors have mentioned like, I cannot look at my own work. I have like tried the furthest. I actually, I finished one and it was powerless. And I think that's because I just love
00:38:35
Speaker
Teddy Hamilton's voice so much and CJ Bloom too for that matter. It just was, that one just hit right for me. Not that the other ones aren't great too. I just like, I don't know what it was about that one. I must've been in the right mood for it, but yeah. Yeah. And I mean, speaking of just audio books, Jason Clark for Hopeless is amazing. He's so good. He's so good. We're a little bit obsessed with him. Are you? I mean, so is everybody.
00:39:03
Speaker
I know. I'll manifest it for you. Thank you. I think we're going live on release week, so you'll have to. We will be there. Yeah. Okay. I'll read the first. It's going to be embarrassing.
00:39:25
Speaker
No, that's why this is funny. I feel like I have readers who will know this better than I will. These are all our highlighted quotes. We looked through our highlights and pulled quotes. Also, just to be clear, hopeless is in here. It's non-spoiler, obviously. Just want to let you know that that is also in the running. Okay, perfect. All right. First one is, fuck my life. He calls you princess too. Unfair. Willa. Correct.
00:39:53
Speaker
I'll go next. Okay. Good job. You're one for one so far. I am one for one. If you want to be bitten, I can help you with that. I just imagine like the who wants to be a millionaire music playing in the background or like the Jeopardy music or something. Oh my gosh. Is it Theo? Yes. Good job. I was like, who is a biter? Oh, maybe.
00:40:20
Speaker
Okay, this one's a little longer, but I want to make one thing clear. I am not possessive, I am protective, and I'll never stop protecting you. I'd hit that fucker again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping him from you, keeping him from talking to you. That way I swear I can read. He didn't say that part. You like that one is pretty, that one's pretty. Yeah, I love Brett.
00:40:44
Speaker
Yeah. All right. Next one. It's almost like you're the very last person I would ever consult about my life. Winter. Yes. I said that to Rob. I love winter. Mega loser. I feel like I could crumble under the weight of not wanting to disappoint you. I'm paralyzed by my fear of losing you.
00:41:12
Speaker
My sad boy Jasper. He's such a sad boy. Sweet boy. Yeah. Okay. She's a breath of fresh air. She's excitement and innocence and a purpose all wrapped up in one. Bow.
00:41:31
Speaker
I'm killing it. Who's gonna be? Okay. All right. The next one is, there's something about a man who's so damn good at what he does that holds an appeal for me. Every step is sure. Predicted. Full of self-confidence. Sorry. Practice. Full of self-confidence. Shit. I think it's Willa, but it could be Sloan.
00:41:59
Speaker
It's summer. No, it's summer. I was like, wait, what is, cause I was like, is they talk, are they talking about hockey? And then anyways, that was when she was watching them. Yeah. Okay. This one is a little different. It's two people. Okay. So it's two lines. First one is careful about one's got claws and then that's okay. I like having my back scratched.
00:42:25
Speaker
Okay, so Rhett says, careful, that one's got claws, and Theo says he likes having his back scratched. I think it's Kate is the one that says, that one's got claws. Half a point. You got the important part. Yeah, exactly. You got the important part. Yes, exactly. You have two left, so this is your second to last one. Okay. I run into this problem where she's concerned a lot. The most trivial little details have me obsessing over her.
00:42:54
Speaker
Um, hmm.
00:42:58
Speaker
This is the one that I thought was going to be the hardest when I pulled it. I'm like, that sounds like something all of them would say. They're all down so fast. They're all steps, yeah. Is it Bo? No. Cade. It's Cade. Another grumpy boy. Watch TV. Watching her watch TV. Yeah. Of course, just something super benign. I love it. All right, the last one is, I just watched a heartbreak right in front of me, and I remember how it feels.
00:43:29
Speaker
Um, oh my gosh, I feel like I know this scene. Oh, it's winter talking about Theo. Yeah. I'm gonna say you are.
00:43:40
Speaker
You did such a good job. You did really good. Good job. Honestly, my memory is not great, so I am impressed with myself. People are always like, how old is this character? And I'm like, ooh, I don't know. Whatever you want them to be. Except for Harvey, he's not 40. I'm sorry. Oh my gosh. Yeah, wait, last thing.
Bookstore Anecdotes and Conclusion
00:44:03
Speaker
Obviously, I've been begging for a Harvey book, but all of your Bloom books feature a bonus Harvey scene, right?
00:44:09
Speaker
They do. Yeah. So he gets his own little like, his own little mini arc that kind of complements each book at the end. And then by the end of hopeless, there's a little happily ever after for Harvey in there too.
00:44:23
Speaker
I love that. It warmed my heart seeing it and it was like, aww. Oh yeah. Yeah. Well, and I think that because Flawless and Heartless are out right now, but then it's at the back of Powerless that you kind of start to get the meat. Yeah, because that's when those seams were sprinkled. Yeah.
00:44:40
Speaker
I have to say too, yesterday I went to Barnes for the first time in a long time and so I saw your books there and that was the first time that I saw them in store and I was like oh my god I was so excited and my husband was there with me and he I mean he knows like the kinds of books I read but he thinks and I've talked about this before on the podcast
00:45:00
Speaker
He thinks he has a talent where he can pick up a book, open up to us anywhere, not without looking, and that he'll open it up to a spicy scene because he thinks that every single book that I read is non-stop. It's just non-stop. Yeah, exactly. He picked up Heartless, and I was like, you have a pretty good chance of fighting something.
00:45:19
Speaker
Um, and he did, he did open up to the, the very first scene when she comes back from, uh, the bar and he's waiting over here. No, no, not the hot tub scene, but yeah. So I was like, Oh yeah. He's like, here it is. It's the first place he's seen. Yeah. He's like, is this what women like? I'm like,
00:45:45
Speaker
Yeah, literally, don't tell me what to do. If my boyfriend ever tried to tell me what to do, I'd be like, yeah, exactly. All right, my friends, well, visit our Instagram page and tell us which of Elsie's books is your favorite. Like we said, we are all reckless girlies, but we are at Bring Your Own Pod. Hopeless comes out tomorrow, October 13. Thank you so much for being here with us, Elsie.
00:46:11
Speaker
Thanks for having me. This was awesome. Yeah I can't wait to see the new series as well. And thank you for reading. Yeah, I'm excited to share more. Yay! I'm super excited. Yeah! Bye! Bye everyone!