It was wonderful seeing so many of you on there, made me feel right at home. And you were all right: that was fun. Actually, they asked us back for next year when Rocky Start comes out, so we can do that again.
But mostly, THANK YOU!
Edited to add:
Video is here:
I wanted to be there live but I got called in to work. I’m so glad it went well!
Sneaking out of lurkerdom to say the podcast was so much fun and just what I needed to make my day a little brighter! You both were wonderful and I’m already looking forward to when you do it again when Rocky Start comes out.
My sentiments exactly. Thanks Jenny and Bob.
It was fun, entertaining and interesting on a whole lot of levels, and I now totally understand why Bob writes such laconic characters, and why yours are kinda speedy. 😂 The whole interview was a treat to watch, I’m so glad I caught it live. And excellent news that they’re going to do another one for Rocky Start.
I did like the two interviewers, too.
I enjoyed it too, even though I didn’t comment on it. I recognized several names from Argh. 😊
I’m out on the road right now, so I will have to try this later today on YouTube. All I’m getting is the commercial, over and over and over again. 🤷🏻♀️
It’s not commercials. Go to 8:39 on the video as that’s when the interview starts. I’m so excited that Bob is working on Arresting Alice. And really hope Jenny you can talk him into a three book deal so that we get Haunting Alice and Stealing Nadine. Alice and Nadine are two of my favourite characters.
Well, the three books are linked and overlap, so he’ll be working with the characters from those books in the other two. Not sequels but spin-offs. So there’s a chance. I’ll lean on him. I have experience with that.
I got so excited when Bob said he was working on Arresting Alice! I really want that trilogy.
I did, too.
It worries me that he thinks it’s a novella. I sent him over 30,000 words and he’s added to it. And then of course I’ll add more. That’s not a novella.
Unless he cut some of my good stuff. ARGH.
I’m so relieved that the books won’t be novellas. Like Deb, I really want that trilogy.
That video is the unedited version. I think Emily cuts the stuff in the beginning when the audio is released, so that’s something.
It was wonderful seeing both of you in person, and hearing your take on things. You really do write yourselves, at times. I think all writers do, to some extent. Well done!
No need to worry — there wasn’t even a hint of mania or hypomania — you were simply charming and interesting, so well done! It was definitely cool to put a face, voice, tone, and mannerisms to the words we’ve been reading (both in books and here on the blog). Speaking of which, Bob says he was born in the Bronx, but the way he talks sounds more southern to my ear. Did he not spend much time in the Bronx?
Also, the little slice of your new place we saw looks great! Keep up the great (and extremely tedious) unpacking work! I’m rooting for you while I also try to motivate myself to unpack all the boxes I’ve got sitting in my new room in Philly haha. I don’t have a whole house to store stuff in, so I get overwhelmed every time I open a new box XD
I think Bob spent his first eighteen years or so in the Bronx, and then four years at West Point in New England, but he’s been everywhere, stationed everywhere, so he could easily have picked up some Southern influence. He lived on Hilton Head for a stretch, I know.
The light is really good here, so I do like that. Everything else is still stacked around, although I did get some of the books on the bookcases. I sympathize with your reluctance to open a box. The only reason I’m still opening mine is that I have more coming. ARGH.
Plus the weather in PA has been positively divine after the misery that was our 90+ degree weather
It’s been perfect. Like there’s no weather at all, not hot or cold, just right. I love this part of the seasons when they’re changing.
That was one of the reasons I clicked on the video, Bob’s speaking voice. Did he speak Bronx or Southern, well I found out southern and mellow. The both of you work well together with your exuberance opposite his calm and thoughtfulness. Liz and Vince off the pages and into our lives.
Really? I don’t hear any southern in his voice. His voice sounds like a pretty much unaccented American accent to me.
His “draw” sounds like the Bronx to me. I forget where he said that word, but I thought, “Oh, there it is, New York boy.”
It was great. And I really liked the two interviewers. I’m looking forward to the next one. Where I will continue my tradition of stalking you 🙂
Emily and Trey were so much fun.
One of my favorite comments was yours (I misquote…)
“I’m not just any rando, I’m your rando.”
I missed all this fun & can’t take the time to watch right now…whine
But it’s because of a very worthwhile endeavor that is taking more time than I thought it would.
The minute that project is over – I’m all over watching this!
Same for me
That was so much fun. We are all doing happy dances (to the extent bad knees and hips allow, fir some if us it’s chair dancing) and downloading Vermilion today. The video was a lovely gift to your (second person plural) fans and we thank you both.
It was so much fun to see you on there! Just like old times.
Great interview. I watched it live on my TV. So when Bob held up the bear to show its “tattoo” I had a good view, lol. Cute little bear.
By the end, you covered a lot of ground. And there was a nice balance between the two of you as well. Like others, I’m looking forward to the Alice book/novella. Maybe This Time is one of my fave of your books and she’s a great character.
Since I watched via TV, I didn’t do the chat but was curious about Bob’s mention of Sue Grafton feeling tied to the Kinsey books. Got me wondering if she ever also mentioned to him what else she wanted to write instead that she didn’t get to do. Such a talented writer. And good with humour, too. I still remember the episode of Rhoda she wrote. While she was vocal in not having the best experience working in TV etc., I thought she had a good sense of pace for screenwriting and could also easily imagine her writing books beyond her “brand.”
As you mentioned in the interview, that brand thing can be an issue with some agents and publishers. Always been a bit of a head scratcher for me why some authors are encouraged to write cross-genre (even if pen names are required) while other authors seem kept more in their writing lane. While it may be easier for marketing, clearly there’s also proof that many authors can have success beyond their lane when given the chance. So it’s always confused me that some are “allowed” to stretch and some are not.
It isn’t so much “allowed,” as what authors agree to. If you sign a contract to write three romantic comedies, you write three romantic comedies.
But if your editor says, “No, don’t write a ghost story, write a romantic comedy,” and you’re not under a specific contract, you can walk away. She has the right to ask for what she thinks will sell, and you have the right to say, “I know that will sell, but I want to write this other thing.” And she has the right to say, “Fine, but we’re not going to publish it.” And then the ball is in the author’s court: give them what they want (only fair, they’re paying for it) or walk away to write what they want to write.
Unless you’re under contract for a specific kind of book, you can write what you want. And they can publish what they want. I gave SMP the Nita book on my last contract and they rejected it because they didn’t think it would sell. We offered them the Liz series and they didn’t take it because they didn’t think it would sell. They are entirely within their rights to do that; it really doesn’t have anything to do with making us write something else, it’s just that they’ll only go to contract on things they think will sell.
Well they were entirely wrong about the Liz Danger series, but on the pro side we probably got to read it sooner since you guys self published.
I know nothing about publishing whatsoever, but a lot about reading so here’s my two cents: I have my favorite genres and I probably have my own biases as well. But every time I think “that’s not really my genre,” I find that one author who just does it so well that they change my mind. So it seems like publishers miss out by focusing more on trends and not enough on books that are really well written.
It really comes down to getting the book into the right reader’s hands. And that is incredibly difficult to do through marketing unless the author has a track record that they are not violating by switching genres. It’s the reason word of mouth is so powerful, it’s like getting fixed up by a friend who knows both of you.
Got it. Be interesting to know how the folks who rejected the Liz series feel now that the books are clearly selling. Think this kind of goes back to the publishing “casino” thing where nobody really knows ahead of time. But I imagine it’s possible they may come back to you now asking for things like translation or audio rights.
In any case, with indie publishing now an option you and Bob are doing a fab job getting the books out into the world yourselves. And it seems with less stress and with even more books to come. So this all seems like kismet:)
Yep, I’m very happy with indie publishing. For one thing, it means we can get the Rocky Start books out next year. It’ll probably take us to next spring to get them all done (first one is discovery draft done) so we can put Rocky Start (the first one) out at the end of June and follow up with the next two a month or two months apart. If we sold three finished books, the first would come out a year later, and then probably a year apart for the next two. So no on that.
Squee!
Getting the books to your fans so much faster sounds wonderful, yay indie publishing! Taf
Man, I really hope you and/or Bob do whatever needs to be done on Nita to get it published because the tidbits you’ve fed us have been so tantalizing! It sounds like a phenomenal premise. All your book bits you give us sound great and grip me right away, but Nita’s the one I find myself thinking of every once in a while, wondering what happened next.
Yes please!
Yeah, I’ve had three (?) years away from Nita so it’s whiteboard time again. That one I’ll send to my agent to see if she wants to try to sell it, and then if it won’t go, which is very possible given that it’s supernatural and nobody wants supernatural from me, I yell, “Bob!” and he publishes it.
BUT YOUR SUPERNATURALS ARE GREAT THEY’RE ALL CRAZY
Maybe This Time was wonderful, and I thought you guys did an excellent job on Wild Ride too
Write whatever you want, in whatever genre takes your fancy. We will devour it.
I thought you and Bob both handled yourselves smoothly and professionally. Your podcast hosts, however, seemed unaccustomed to interviewing fiction authors, or at least genre-fiction authors.
Doing interview podcasts in order to publicize books sounds only one step less onerous than the book tour you refuse to take, but if you did want to do more, I’m pretty sure you could find venues more suitable that would welcome you as guests. I know nothing of mystery or romance interview podcasts, but I’m sure there are some. In a pinch, I know there are such for science fiction and fantasy. That’s not what you’re publicizing at the moment, but you’ve written fantasy and Bob has written sf, and I know that even your other-genre work has followers in that community. I’ve seen mentions of Liz Danger from Ilona Andrews and Jo Walton, for instance. So you could probably even line up “associated interest” interviews on sf-oriented podcasts.
In my experience, forthcoming live YouTube episodes show up ahead of time in my feed listing after I have subscribed to a channel. That didn’t happen here for some reason, so I started by watching my first video on Facebook, an app I almost never use. All went well on my end for most of the cast, but then I probably unknowingly hit some control and the sound went out. Luckily, by that time I had a YouTube feed, so I finished up there and then was able to go back and listen to the bit I’d missed. I think I caught all of it!
I bet Smart Bitches Trashy Books would jump at it.
I thought about that. I’ve known Sarah a long time. We’ve just had so much on our plates that we haven’t really looked into promotion; the Modern Romantic invited us and that kind of jogged us out of our fog.
I loved it!!! So much fun. And so excited to have new releases to read. I’ve been rereading all the older ones. Looking forward to Rocky Start. RED is one of my favorite movies.
That was fun! So great to see and hear you both. So excited Bob is reading Arresting Alice, which means more books. So many of the “here read this” works in progress just wetted the appetite. Wetted – hmm, correct (?) but on the run. Will look up later. More books, happiness Tuesday.
Unexpectedly, it’s actually “whetted the appetite”! English is confusing and kinda dumb
It probably made more sense in the past when people actually used the word whetted more frequently because we actually had to sharpen our own stuff.
Yeah, I always think of a whetstone. But then there are other weird things about English that make no sense. Like “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” used to be a phrase used to say how futile something is (“as futile as attempting to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps”), but now it’s taken to mean lifting yourself up (usually out of poverty) all on your own efforts. It’s fascinating and frustrating seeing how language changes over time. Same with “blood is thicker than water,” which, taken in the longer phrase it came from, used to mean that brotherhoods and friendships were stronger than familial ties (the complete opposite of how people use it now).
Zoe, I do love learning things like this. I knew the ‘blood is thicker than water’ one, but not the bootstraps. That makes so much sense.
Yeah, it’s pretty fascinating, but it’s also so frustrating when people here in the US use that expression to mean that if everyone just worked a little harder, they could all be rich. I’m not blaming this on the phrase, but the phrase is an unfortunate representation of the belief we have in this country that anything can be achieved with hard work, which, conversely, means that if you’re in dire straights, it’s all your own fault. I know not everyone here believes that, but it’s written into the fabric of our government and approach to taxes and social services and stuff. Whew, sorry — went off on a rant there!
Thanks Zoe, I knew it was wrong but was in a rush. And I hoped by the time I got back I might not have to look it up. I’m having a “0” birthday next week, so…a new decade. Couldn’t think of the correct spelling. 🤷🏻♀️
Happy Birthday! I think a party is the best way to deal with the disorientation that comes with an “0” birthday.
Sunday. Granddaughter and I are a day apart. She will be 10. I will be 70. There I said it. It hasn’t bothered me but the not remembering certain things is nerve racking. Especially with my brother having vascular dementia at 80. He will be 85 next month. Zero and five birthdays. Hmm.
Haha no worries! Sometimes I forget dumb things, like how to spell “door” (“dore?” “doar?” “dour?”)
LOL. I have had the same thing with “who”.
To whet means to sharpen.
I got to watch it after the fact and since I’m currently listening to Maybe This Time… I really REALLY want Alice’s story!
I do, too. I just a few minutes ago sent Bob what I have, so we’ll see.
This makes my heart happy!!
I would love a sequel to Wild Ride too!!
Bob would be able to get his pirate zombies there!
Great podcast. Funny.
Both of you were funny and informative and professional. So good to hear you talking about writing again. Not sure what you were worried about.
I’m laughing at the comments that Bob doesn’t sound like he’s from NYC. I attended a workshop he gave at RWA national convention in Atlanta back in . . . dear lord, was it really 2006? I think it was. :watches time fly by: Anyway. I’m not sure which was more difficult, deciphering his Bronx accent or trying to keep up with his rapid-fire delivery. He covered A LOT of info in a very short time and did it well, but you had to pay close attention. He sounds less like NY in this podcast, but it’s still there.
Speaking of time passing, Jenny, is it your birthday today? I know it’s somewhere roughly in the middle of this month. Happy Birthday, whenever it is!!
Happy Birthday, whenever it is!!
Last Sunday. Constitution Day. And me.
And thank you!
Happy belated birthday! I remembered you’re a September Virgo, but keep forgetting it’s September.
Oh gosh did I enjoy that! Couldn’t watch it live & Show Up, but it was great to watch it after the fact. You two are so good together. The skill and logic that undermines what you each do is clear, even though you add your individual gender strengths on top of that. And clearly the joint working through conflicting views thing you do is the key to survival of the team, which I just think is wonderful.
It was funny to learn that whenever Bob starts bringing zombies up, he sees it as just ‘messing with’ you. The guy-on-guy military version of conversational banter. It always reminds me of the joking patterns among cops I used to work with — but on top of that, the fact that he found Pride & Prejudice & Zombies really empty & stupid pleased me too.
Just an interview well done on your part. That’s why we’re fans of you!
That was such fun. And, I have to admit I was hoping the zombies would appear and you did not disappoint.
Really enjoying Vermillon. Small and probably nitpicky point, but in the scene where Vince is at the house and thinking about mosquitoes the words negated and precluded are back to back I have nothing against double negatives in the vernacular, but I don’t think this was intentional.
I’ll tell Bob. I’ll enjoy that.
I loved seeing you and Bob as well as listening to your voices, chuckling at your gestures, and learning a lot about how you write.
I thought the hosts were so terrible that I turned off the program after 45 minutes.
I plan to listen to what I missed later this week.
I just watched the podcast three days later (forgot on Monday, had an echocardiogram and optometrist). God, you guys are cute together! Hilarious. And you are really lovely, Jenny! You have the classic ‘fine eyes’. And a most infectious smile/sense of enthusiasm- I was grinning all the way through. Nice haircut too.
Thank you. This is what hypomania looks like (g).