58: Sexy, Steamy, Romantic Literature (Abby Jimenez Announces New Book!)

Summary

Summary of Podcast Episode 58: "Sexy, Steamy, Romantic Literature (Abby Jimenez Announces New Book!)"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Happy Wife Happy Life
• Hosts: Kendahl Landreth and Jordan Myrick
• Guest: Abby Jimenez, Bestselling Romance Author
• Release Date: March 31, 2025

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1. Introduction to Abby Jimenez

In Episode 58 of Happy Wife Happy Life, hosts Kendahl Landreth and Jordan Myrick welcome renowned romance author Abby Jimenez. The hosts express their excitement and admiration for Abby’s work, highlighting her popularity among diverse audiences.

Notable Quote:

• Jordan Myrick [01:29]: "Every time I walk into Barnes and Noble, they're at the front of the store."

2. Abby Jimenez's Writing Process and Productivity

Abby shares insights into her disciplined writing schedule, revealing that she publishes one novel per year and has been working on short stories for the past two years. She emphasizes the constant cycle of promoting current works, editing completed novels, and drafting new ones.

Notable Quotes:

• Abby Jimenez [02:16]: "I only do one a year, which for me is actually a really good pace."
• Abby Jimenez [02:25]: "At any given time, I am promoting a book. I am editing the book that I just finished writing, and I'm writing the next book."

3. Upcoming Book Announcement: "The Night We Met"

Abby excitedly announces her ninth book, tentatively titled The Night We Met. She provides a sneak peek without divulging too many details, building anticipation among listeners.

Notable Quotes:

• Abby Jimenez [03:14]: "It's called The Night We Met."
• Abby Jimenez [03:20]: "This book will make you laugh, but it is going to make you cry."

4. Navigating Romance Tropes and Character Development

The conversation delves into popular romance tropes. Abby expresses her fondness for the "friends to lovers" trope, valuing its natural and believable progression. She also discusses her avoidance of tropes that involve cheating or instant love, aiming to create deeper emotional connections between characters.

Notable Quotes:

• Abby Jimenez [07:57]: "I'd have to go back to Acts of Service."
• Abby Jimenez [08:20]: "My favorite trope to write is Friends to Lovers."

5. The Rise of Cartoon Covers in Romance Novels

Abby and the hosts explore the trend of using cartoonish covers for romance novels. Abby credits this shift to reducing the stigma around the genre, making it more accessible to a broader audience.

Notable Quotes:

• Abby Jimenez [22:14]: "What it's had is it's had a rebranding… it's erased some of the stigma of reading these books."
• Abby Jimenez [25:01]: "Most recently, I do add trigger warnings to all of my books because of the prettiness of the covers."

6. Emotional Intelligence and Relationship Dynamics

Abby emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence, both in her writing and in real-life relationships. She believes that reading romance novels can enhance one’s ability to understand and navigate interpersonal dynamics.

Notable Quotes:

• Abby Jimenez [44:50]: "I think emotional intelligence is something you learn when you read romance novels."
• Abby Jimenez [45:48]: "Anything you practice, you will get better at."

7. Balancing Tropes with Fresh Storytelling

Abby discusses her approach to balancing traditional tropes with fresh storytelling. She believes that while tropes provide a familiar framework, her focus on deeply developed characters makes her narratives stand out in a saturated market.

Notable Quotes:

• Abby Jimenez [41:22]: "The tropes are the tropes. You're never going to invent a new trope that's never been written about."
• Abby Jimenez [43:58]: "My characters feel so deeply real to me. I think that's why they feel so real to everyone else."

8. Audience Engagement and Q&A

Towards the end of the episode, Abby interacts with audience questions submitted via Patreon and other platforms. Topics range from writing challenges to personal anecdotes, allowing listeners to gain a deeper understanding of her creative process and inspirations.

Notable Quotes:

• Abby Jimenez [36:12]: "There's so many… certain things that I wouldn't put in there out of respect."
• Abby Jimenez [45:52]: "So that makes a lot of sense."

9. Final Insights and Book Promotion

In the concluding segment, Abby promotes her book, encouraging listeners to engage with her work in various formats, including audiobooks narrated by Christine Lakin. The hosts also announce a giveaway of a signed Advance Reader Copy (ARC) for enthusiastic fans.

Notable Quotes:

• Abby Jimenez [66:16]: "This [book] is a book about making memories and losing them."
• Jordan Myrick [66:26]: "We'll be giving away a signed arc copy… look below to find out the details for that."

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Conclusion:

Episode 58 of Happy Wife Happy Life offers an in-depth conversation with Abby Jimenez, shedding light on her prolific writing career, her approach to romantic storytelling, and the evolving landscape of romance literature. Listeners gain valuable insights into the nuances of crafting relatable characters and maintaining emotional depth within popular tropes. Abby’s candid discussions not only promote her latest work but also inspire aspiring authors and romance enthusiasts alike.

Transcript

[Kendall Landris]

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[Abby Jimenez]

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[Kendall Landris]

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[Abby Jimenez]

We have you say offer valid through 4 2.

[Kendall Landris]

Selection varies by location. While supplies last.

[Jordan Myrick]

Nordstrom brings you the season's most wanted brands, Skims, Mango Free People, and Princess polly, all under $100. From trending Sneakers to beauty must haves, we've curated the styles you'll wear on repeat this spring. Free shipping, free returns, and in store pickup make it easier than ever. Shop now in stores [e-mail]. welcome to Happy Wife, Happy Life.

[Kendall Landris]

We're your hosts. I'm Kendall Landris.

[Jordan Myrick]

And I'm Jordan Myrick.

[Kendall Landris]

And we are two incredibly unqualified but.

[Jordan Myrick]

Deeply in love comedians who are here to help you with all things relationship. And on today's episode, we are talking about romance with famous romance author Abby Jimenez.

[Abby Jimenez]

Hi.

[Jordan Myrick]

Abby. Thank you so much for being here.

[Abby Jimenez]

Thank you for having me.

[Kendall Landris]

We are so excited that you're here.

[Abby Jimenez]

I was excited to get invited.

[Jordan Myrick]

We could not believe we could get you. You are the romance author.

[Kendall Landris]

True.

[Jordan Myrick]

Especially for straight people, which we're really trying to branch into the heterosexual space.

[Kendall Landris]

That's why this was really huge for us. You know, the lesbians really flocked to us. But we said, the straight people are gonna be really impressed that we got you in the building.

[Abby Jimenez]

That's hilarious.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

People are obsessed with you. I mean, your books. Every time I walk into Barnes and Noble, that they're the front of the store. Cat, Kendall's sister is obsessed with you.

[Abby Jimenez]

Oh, my gosh.

[Kendall Landris]

She lost her mind.

[Jordan Myrick]

She's like, no way.

[Abby Jimenez]

You should have brought her.

[Kendall Landris]

I know.

[Jordan Myrick]

She would have not been well behaved. She would have freaked out.

[Kendall Landris]

I knew she would have been too excited. We would have been like, madison, please. But she was just so excited to hear that you were coming. She's a huge fan. We're obviously a huge fan. I feel like you release so many books all the time, you crank them out, which I feel like romance authors are kind of expected to do. Crank out so many books, and it's so impressive to me.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah, I only do one a year, which for me is actually a really good pace. But for the last two years, I've done short stories, which might be why it feels like more.

[Jordan Myrick]

It does one a year is about 100% more books than I've ever written, so it feels extremely impressive. But it does seem. I mean, to have the whole process fit within a year feels wild.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah. So at any given time, I am promoting a book. I am editing the book that I just finished writing, and I'm writing the next book.

[Kendall Landris]

So currently, you're writing a new book?

[Abby Jimenez]

Yes. So right now, I'm actually working on my ninth book. I'm like, five chapters into my ninth book. My eighth book is completed and in edits. And then, of course, I'm promoting my seventh book, which is say or Remember Me.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay, you can say no, but do you have any happy wife, happy life exclusives?

[Abby Jimenez]

Oh, I wonder. I wonder if I'm allowed to say what the title of the next book is.

[Kendall Landris]

We can always leave it out if.

[Jordan Myrick]

You'Re allowed say it, and then we'll leave it out.

[Abby Jimenez]

If you find it.

[Jordan Myrick]

You're not allowed.

[Abby Jimenez]

I'm gonna tell you that I'm gonna text my editor and be like, is this okay? It's called the Night We Met.

[Kendall Landris]

Okay. All right.

[Jordan Myrick]

Feel sexy.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah, the night sexy. Wow, that's so exciting. That's so much content, though, to constantly churning out. Do you ever feel like you're. Do you get writer's block from having to produce that much content, or does it make it almost easier to just always be doing a book?

[Abby Jimenez]

You know, I don't really struggle with writer's block. I think now that I'm working on my ninth book, I am kind of getting to the point where it's like, I don't want to repeat tropes. You know what I mean? I want to keep it really fresh and, like, not feel like I'm writing the same book over and over again. So I guess in a way, that's kind of a struggle. But I never feel, like, dried up for content, I guess. Yeah, I'm having a really good time. I think the key is writing the book you feel like writing, you know, and not forcing it.

[Jordan Myrick]

So this does lead me to ask, are you just insatiably horny all the time? You're writing so many good, kind of juicy, sexy, fun, romantic relationships. It's just like, are you so romantic?

[Abby Jimenez]

You know what's funny is, like, I'm actually not really a romantic. I'm a very, very deeply practical woman. And my husband is like. I always say that there's a piece of my husband in every single one of my male characters because I like to write cinnamon rolls, I guess more Than anything more than being romantic is. I just really am infatuated with interpersonal relationships. Like, I love the dynamic between two people falling in love. I love writing. You know, sort of like who those people are and how they became that way and then why that makes them work as a couple. So I guess that's what I'm obsessed with. Not so much like the space, spicy stuff, or even, like. I guess. Yeah. I mean, of course I love romance, but that's the thing that I. That I really enjoy. And I think that's what I do really well in my books, too. And that's why people walk away from my books and go, oh, my gosh, you felt like real people.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah. You know, and your husband must be just the most incredible man, because I feel like, famously, the men in your books are perfect.

[Abby Jimenez]

I know. Mr. Jimenez actually is perfect. No, you know, we actually talk about this a lot because you. I've done a lot of things in my life. Right. You know, I've. I've started a cupcake business out of my house. I've. I'm a Cupcake wars winner. And now, you know, I'm a. I'm a best selling author. It's hard to say that without sounding like. Like, I'm like, toot my own horn.

[Kendall Landris]

But I have to say it's required. We'll say it. You're a bestselling author.

[Abby Jimenez]

And, you know, my husband has been behind me every step of the way, elevating me and P and, you know, pushing me higher. And we always talk about it like, what if you were this just very misogynistic, like, threatened by my success, my ideas, kind of me and my family, like, we would not have the life that we have. You know what I mean? So it's like, this is why it's good to tackle the patriarchy.

[Kendall Landris]

Yes, man.

[Jordan Myrick]

And not just the patriarchy, though, is like, I have people ask all the time if Kendall and I get jealous of each other. And I'm like, if Kendall's richer, I'm richer, baby. Like, there's no downside to either one of us having success. And so I'm always so shocked when I see these relationships where people seem very jealous of their partner's success. But I, too, am a very practical person. So I'm like, I know.

[Kendall Landris]

To me, I'm always like, my dream is that you book a huge show, and then I don't have to work anymore. I just not work, and I reap the benefits. Incredible.

[Abby Jimenez]

You just get to, like, be in the green Room and eating M&M's and waiting for her to come out.

[Kendall Landris]

Exactly.

[Abby Jimenez]

And my husband is very much that support system for me. He is my assistant. Like, he does all the things. He'll get me to these things, events and get me to these places so I can just shut off my brain and then just show up fresh and, like, you know, ready to go. Yeah. He's really wonderful. He is a cinnamon roll. And I. I find. And this is an ongoing theme in my books, but acts of service to me are just so attractive in a man.

[Jordan Myrick]

Hey. And I'll say it. I'm gay, but he's hot.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Abby Jimenez]

Oh, why, thank you. The elusive Mr. Jimenez. He doesn't like to be in any of my TikTok videos or any of my. My social media content. So it's like the only way you can see Mr. Jimenez. He doesn't even like me to say his name.

[Jordan Myrick]

Mr. Jimenez is very sexy. The Happy Life Happy Life exclusive is that he's hot.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Abby Jimenez]

So the only way that you can actually see him is to go to one of my events where he is literally the photographer that will take photos of this man has taken, like 10,000 photos last year. I'm so serious. And he's just the guy that works the line and makes sure that everybody's having a good time and, like, takes all the pictures. So that's the only way you can see Mr. The elusive Mr. Jimenez.

[Jordan Myrick]

I love that.

[Kendall Landris]

Do you feel like there's a trope in any romance novel, really, that you feel like either your husband or any husband should be doing? That is a good trope. That's like. Yes, that is maybe a silly thing that's in romance novels, but it actually would really add to your relationship.

[Abby Jimenez]

I'd have to go back to Acts of Service. You know, I feel like women just take on so much of the emotional tasking, the physical tasking within the home. Maybe that's why, to me, I just love it so much when a man, you know, does things for me, you know what I mean, to take some off of that load off. But, yeah, in terms of tropes, my favorite trope to write is Friends to lovers.

[Kendall Landris]

Okay.

[Abby Jimenez]

Because I just feel like it's the most natural, it gives you the most believable romance, in my opinion.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

I want to know, what are your least favorite tropes in romance novels?

[Abby Jimenez]

Oh, man. There's really no tropes that I don't like. I can tell you what readers don't like.

[Kendall Landris]

What's that?

[Abby Jimenez]

Readers are very Wary of love triangles. They don't like love triangles. I think the reason why readers don't like love triangles is because there's always sort of like a cheating component to it, whether it's emotional cheating or physical cheating. So I think people don't. Don't care for that insta love. You either love insta love or you hate it.

[Kendall Landris]

What is that?

[Abby Jimenez]

It's where they are instantly in love or in, like, with each other. You know, I think people like to see the build, which is why I tend towards friends to lovers, you know, because I feel like, again, it's a more natural build. But I really, you know, my favorite trope is enemies to lovers. I love reading that.

[Kendall Landris]

That's like. I love that too. Some deep, toxic part of me, I just eat up people hating each other.

[Jordan Myrick]

Anytime Kendall's like, I really hate her. I'm like, uh, oh. Cause Kendall loves enemies.

[Kendall Landris]

Not in my real life, but I read these little books where they are. I was just reading one. It's one of my favorites where they play assassins and they're trying to kill each other, and every time they go to kill each other, they end up having sex, and I'm just eating it up. Don't need that in my real life. But it's fun to read.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah. Now I am curious. Your books are more romance than smut, I would say. Would you ever write something leaning more towards a smuttier version of what you do now?

[Abby Jimenez]

You know, I think I'd actually lean towards writing less smut because I just feel like I'm not very good at it. And, like, the parts that I really enjoy is the emotional attachment, the emotional connection between the characters. So even when you read my books, I won't even have a quote unquote open door scene that's in quotes because my scenes are still not very spicy even when they are open door. I won't even have that scene until we are emotionally invested in those characters having that interaction. So probably not. There are so many authors that do it so much better than me, you know, I'll leave it to them.

[Jordan Myrick]

And who is your favorite romance author? Other than yourself, obviously.

[Abby Jimenez]

Oh, gosh. Okay. So I absolutely love Kennedy Ryan. You cannot go wrong reading anything by Kennedy Ryan. Tralina Pucci is great if you like smut. She's a very good, spicy romance author. Let's see. Dominic Lin. I love his romances. He's a queer author. Absolutely love his stuff. Casey McQuiston is always a good read. Oh, gosh. Yeah. I just. I have so many. Carly Fortune, I want you to know.

[Jordan Myrick]

You'Re not very romantic, but you're one of the most successful romance authors of this time. What happened? When did that start? Why were you. To me, that feels like if all of a sudden I was like, you know what? I'm gonna be an opera singer. Just something that I hadn't done and don't feel like is particularly attached to me. How did you decide to become a romance author?

[Abby Jimenez]

You know, I guess I like writing fantasy. I don't know. No, I love romance. Like, I love relationships. I just like, as an author or as a human, I suppose am very practical in the fact that, no, you know, these men probably don't really exist in real life. Or if they do, you know, it's a spectrum of what I've written. You know, a man that fulfills all of the things that the men in my books fulfill are probably few and far in between. And I'm, you know, I realize that, but no, I just have always loved romance. I cut my teeth reading those, you know, Daniel Steele the Fabio cover books back in high school. And always, always, always love romance.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah, I love that.

[Abby Jimenez]

I love the feeling of falling in love. Like when you're reading a really good romance novel and you feel like you're falling in love. That is my favorite thing.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah. So you feel like, correct me if I miss her, but you feel like men like the ones in your books really do not maybe exist.

[Abby Jimenez]

I think they exist in parts. I think that, you know, there's obviously some reality in these characters or, you know, people will call BS reading it. You know, obviously Mr. Jimenez is very, very much like the heroes in my romance books. But I don't know, like, I just don't want my heroes in my books to have any flaws.

[Kendall Landris]

But that's also what I love about when I'm reading this and Xavier, at every moment. Because you get, when you're reading a book, you get that anxiety when things are going good. You're like, what is he gonna do? What is he gonna do?

[Jordan Myrick]

Not my best.

[Kendall Landris]

Every turn I said, xavier, you've done it again. You are just perfect.

[Jordan Myrick]

Well, I deal with enough male flaws in day to day life. I'm like, I'm not trying to read more of em, you know, so I can really rel.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah. And you know, he feels like a real person because he's got real struggles, you know, he's just not like flawed towards the heroine. I suppose that's just like my brand.

[Jordan Myrick]

I love that.

[Kendall Landris]

But I also love that Because I think it also sets up maybe a man like this could exist. Because I don't think if I read a female character like this, I would be as taken aback. But I think watching a man be so perfect is you feel like you're watching, I don't know, like a horror movie because you're ready for something bad to happen. But maybe that's not normal. Maybe we should look for more men like this.

[Jordan Myrick]

Hey, maybe not for you and me and most of our audience, but maybe other people should see this is why.

[Abby Jimenez]

Men need to read romance. Because I think. I mean, obviously, I think reading romance makes you more emotionally intelligent, in my opinion. And for me, it is always a green flag when a man reads romance. I love that.

[Jordan Myrick]

I love that. I'm curious, is there anything about this book? It comes out tomorrow. What do you want people to know about this book before they purchase it?

[Abby Jimenez]

This book will make you laugh, but it is going to make you cry. I don't want people to be fooled by the cutesy cartoon cover. There's a lot of depth in all of my books, but this one in particular, it could be a heavy read. Definitely check trigger warnings. It's the start of a new series. So this is my third series. There's the Friend Zone series and there's the part of your World Series, and then this is the of course they Remember Me series. It's going to be the first of three. And if you've never read one of my books before, you can absolutely pick this one up as your first, just to see if you like my writing and then swing back around and pick up the others. But they exist all within the same universe. So we are going to get some cameos from some previous characters, but then quotes because the characters are animals from the previous books, because Xavier is a veterinarian. I absolutely loved writing this book. There's some books that I slog through, like the one that came before this one just for the summer. I had the hardest time writing that book. It was painful to write.

[Kendall Landris]

Yes.

[Abby Jimenez]

And it was my best seller of all time.

[Jordan Myrick]

People love it.

[Kendall Landris]

Yes.

[Abby Jimenez]

They are feral for that book. And I'm not even kidding you. I was like. When I gave it to my editor, I was like, well, I mean, I don't know. This is best I could do. Like, I just felt like, God, I can't even look at this anymore. And I don't know why that was. If it was just like the subject. You know, material was heavy for me on a personal level, but I felt like that book was just so painful to get through. And this book just flew out of me. I mean, I wrote it in, like three months. It was actually. I was going to put forth a different book for this year's publication. And that book was. It's just a very nuanced plot, and I couldn't finish it in time. So halfway through the year, I. I pitched this one to my editor. I was like, look, I have this other idea. I think I can write it really quickly. And, you know, I'm really excited to write it. So I think it's just going to flow right out of me, which it did. And, you know, what do you think of that? And she was like, all right, do it. So I wrote this one and gave her this instead. And the book that I had a hard time getting through is actually going to be next year's book. So, you know, this book just flew out of me. I loved writing it. I loved spending time with these characters. I couldn't wait to get back to them in edits. When I got my audiobook, I was so excited to listen to it and just to spend more time with these characters. So it was a very fun book to write as the author.

[Kendall Landris]

Oh, I love that.

[Abby Jimenez]

And I think people can tell. I mean, maybe they can't tell.

[Jordan Myrick]

It's fun to read.

[Kendall Landris]

It's super fun to read. It's such a fun cast of characters and they're all living together, which feels like an added bit of chaos. That's so fun.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yes. Tristan is my favorite, by the way.

[Kendall Landris]

Rennie's. He gonna get a book.

[Abby Jimenez]

He's not. Because I already know, like, what books are coming up. I know. Maybe I should write. Let's see what the. Let's see what the people say when they.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Will you ever write a gay book?

[Abby Jimenez]

You know, I probably wouldn't. And here's why. Because I don't want to take space from the queer authors that are already writing those books. Instead, I would rather platform those authors and tell people, please go buy these books that historically don't get the shelf space, that are historically banned, that historically have a harder time getting the attention. It would feel like a slap in the face to me as like a white cishet author, best selling author, to be like, hey, I've written a queer book. Please read mine. Don't read any of these books that are being told through own voices that, you know, should be platformed so well.

[Kendall Landris]

Very thoughtful of you. But Tristan also, I mean, has a lot of growth that needs to happen, clearly.

[Jordan Myrick]

So if you keep up with Kendall and I to write it, then it's fine. So something to think about.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Have you ever written a book as a trio?

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah, I have not. You know, Christina, Lauren. That's actually two people. They're best friends, Christina and Lauren, and they co write a book. And I think about that sometimes, like, how sweet that would be. Just have to do half the work.

[Kendall Landris]

Yes. But I always have found. Cause I'll see that in stores where it'll be like, two authors. And I am like, I don't even know how you would do that. Which is probably just bad on my part. But I am like, do you go back and forth between each chapter? You read a chapter, I read a chapter. Do you read the whole thing together?

[Abby Jimenez]

I think they split the characters. So one person, that seems like the.

[Jordan Myrick]

Hardest way to do it.

[Abby Jimenez]

Well, like, one person will write the guy and the other one will write the girl. And I think they probably sit down and map out what the plot's gonna be and then read the chapters as they go. Like, it's probably really fun. Like a writing exercise.

[Kendall Landris]

Yes.

[Jordan Myrick]

This is kind of reminiscent to me of this thing that I did when I first moved to la, where it was this. They were trying to make an app where it was like a partnered.

[Kendall Landris]

Kind.

[Jordan Myrick]

Of like sexual roleplay app, essentially, where one person had, like, all the things written for one person and one person had all the things written for another person. And then you each did your thing not knowing what the other person was doing. And that was one of my first jobs when I moved out.

[Kendall Landris]

And you did this as a job?

[Jordan Myrick]

I was right. Well, I was writing. They brought me in to, like, pitch on it initially. So it was like a week and a half.

[Kendall Landris]

What did you pitch?

[Jordan Myrick]

Well, I remember it was just like we were supposed to kind of pitch things, and then they kind of ended up just being like, let's just act out a bunch of these that we already have written. And I was like, this is not really what I signed up for. And then this was January of 2020. So four days into it, I was like, I'm really sick, and went to the doctor. And they were like, let me guess, you think you have this coronavirus that's going around. You don't. And it's not a big deal, so don't worry about it. And then a month and a half later, they were like, no, kids can't go to school anymore. So it was a weird time. But that, to me, I guess, feels a little similar to that of being like we're each doing different things, then we're gonna see how they interact.

[Kendall Landris]

Well, also. Cause I feel like it's hard. I can imagine it would be hard to remember. Okay, what does each character know? Like, you're. Do you ever feel like you're so drowned in the characters? Cause you've obviously created them that you forget, what have I actually written down on the page? And what is just my knowledge of this character? Cause I created it.

[Abby Jimenez]

I never do. So everybody always asks me, what's your writing process? And I tell them, this will be helpful to no one. But I completely write the book in my head before I write any down on page. And, I mean, I write it. Like, I feel like I know these people, that these are people whose love story or lives I've watched, you know, for six months straight. And I know them inside and out and completely. And then I sit down and I write it. So by the time I'm writing it, I never get, you know, tripped up on who's done what, who's thought what, you know, or how they would think, like, for these characters and say, or remember me, you know, they feel very defined. Like, you've got Xavier, and his personality is just very dry, and he's very reserved, and he's very contemplative. And you have Samantha, who is very sort of. She uses a lot of modern lingo. You know, she's very online. She's chronically online because that's her job. So they feel like very distinct people. So there's really, like, no point in time where I would get confused about who would say what or who would do what. You know what I mean?

[Kendall Landris]

Totally.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah, that makes sense. Well, I feel like we have so many questions for you.

[Kendall Landris]

I know from our readers. People are losing their minds, are really excited.

[Jordan Myrick]

So let's get into some of that. If you're like, I want to submit a question to the podcast, you can. You can leave them on Patreon, which is great. I think you should join. And not just because it pays us money, because we actually give you a lot of stuff, and it's really fun. I'm not as good at this as you are. This is normally your job. I'm nervous. I am very nervous.

[Kendall Landris]

You're doing a good job. Did you stay with the email?

[Jordan Myrick]

You can also email us at Happy. No.

[Kendall Landris]

Nope.

[Jordan Myrick]

Oh, no.

[Kendall Landris]

You can email us at.

[Jordan Myrick]

No, I got it. I got it. Have faith in me. Have faith in me. You can email us at h w h l pod questionsmail.com youm can also send us questions on Instagram. We also post all the prompts on Instagram before we shoot the episodes. So you got a lot of ways you can reach out. So if you're wanting to do it.

[Kendall Landris]

Yes. Okay. People were so excited to ask you questions. I feel like romance. And maybe this is just because now I'm an adult, but I feel like romance has had a huge current resurgence. Is that true or is that just me being now reading it?

[Abby Jimenez]

No, it absolutely has. You know, what it's had is it's had a rebranding. So the covers used to have, you know, the shirtless men on the front that Target would never sell on their shelves now has a cartoon cover on the front, has the exact same content inside, but it's got these very, I guess, accessible, cartoonish covers that people don't feel, you know, weird picking up. I think it erased some of the stigma of reading these books.

[Kendall Landris]

Yes.

[Abby Jimenez]

And I think people that wouldn't normally reach for a romance are now reaching for romance and really realizing, oh, my gosh, I really like romance. And I think that's caused a whole resurgence of reading this genre, which is great.

[Kendall Landris]

Well. Cause I do feel like people are more comfortable. I'm a huge. I'm reading romance novels in a way that is disturbing and is affecting my job, but I love them. And I do feel like there's so much more comfortability now to just anyone you meet being like, oh, you read romance. Would you like sex in it or no? Which authors do you like?

[Jordan Myrick]

Are you reading the stuff where the dragons and the fairies have sex, or are you reading the stuff where people are having sex? It's like a normal conversation I hear.

[Kendall Landris]

At my work 100%, and I absolutely love it. And I feel like the most common question we got was about the cartoon book covers. Some people love them, some people hate them. I do find them fascinating. Yours is. This is classier, is what I will say. This is a cartoon book cover, but this looks more adult. Some of the ones that I've seen look very childish. They look like they could be the COVID of Captain Underpants. I'm still reading it. I'm obsessed with it.

[Jordan Myrick]

But I think people buy them for their. So, you know, you say, oh, this is kind of. These are two people kissing so that, you know there's gonna be a little romance.

[Kendall Landris]

Yes. But some of the cartoon covers, they really do look like children's books. I love it. But some people find it bizarre. What are your thoughts on these cartoon book covers?

[Jordan Myrick]

I also wanna know who Started it. Who was the first person? Is there someone in your mind where you're like, this person kind of kicked off this cartoon cover rebranding of romance, for example.

[Kendall Landris]

And this is one of my favorite authors. This is Ashley Heron. Blake. So this is one of my favorite books of all time. But this could be about. This looks like this could be.

[Jordan Myrick]

I thought that was about sisters. I thought that was a sister road trip.

[Kendall Landris]

Two sisters in middle school. One of them's their twins. One of them's kind of dark, and the other is the president of student council. Like, I would not know that that was. And it gets pretty dirty in here.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah. Okay. I'm probably not the best historian for this, but I want to say it started around the hating game time frame.

[Kendall Landris]

Okay.

[Abby Jimenez]

And that was slightly before my publishing timeline. So when it's like, maybe 2017 is when they turned and started using these covers more. But I'll never forget, I was at Bookcon. It was 2019, and I'm getting ready to go on a panel with Tessa Bailey, and Tessa leans over and, like, whispers to me, points to her book there, and goes, that's the same smut I've always been writing. But now it's on sale at Target because I had a cartoon cover. So I never thought.

[Kendall Landris]

That's genius. I never thought about that.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah, because, you know, there was the stigma there. So I. I personally love the cartoon covers, but I agree, you know, it can be a little. You have to do it. Look as the reader, you have to do your due diligence. Okay. You've got to Google. You use the Google, Go to Goodreads, check it out, you know, see what people say about the spice level. There's people, there's reviewers out there doing the work for you. It's not hard to. To get to the bottom of it. One thing I will say, though, is most recently in my most recent books, I do add trigger warnings to all of my books because of the fact that I've got this very pretty, artsy cartoon cover, and you pick it up and might be expecting, you know, a certain type of read, and then it's like, boom. You're hitting the side of the head by, you know, tragedy, you know? Cause I do like to write deeper themes, so I feel like it's responsible to put trigger warnings in a book. Personally.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah, I love it. Cause even also, this is also Ashley here and Blake. But this is. I do think it's made me be a really lazy reader when I go to look, which I love. Anything I Can do less work when I go to look for books. Because now the cartoon covers, it really tells you everything. You're like, okay, lesbians, construction worker, girl in a pretty dress. And now I'll see covers where it's just like, you know, it just says the title. And I'm like, what is this about? I can't. What am I gonna read the back of all of these books? So I do. I also like the cartoon covers for that reason.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah. Cause even tells me, even though the back, I feel is not always, like, the best depiction of what's gonna happen.

[Jordan Myrick]

I think the back is so vague. I feel like anytime I flip over a book, it's like two friends, one summer. You decide. And I'm like, wait, what's this book about? What genre is it?

[Kendall Landris]

But that's.

[Jordan Myrick]

What group is it for? It's your experience.

[Kendall Landris]

You haven't read this, but you could tell me exactly.

[Jordan Myrick]

I can tell you exactly what's going on. I know exactly what's going on in that book. And I think that is important and it is helpful.

[Kendall Landris]

So, like, a lot of people had questions about that. I think that is so interesting. I would have never thought. I thought it was just a trend. People were like, I like a cute cover of a book. But that makes so much sense. What do you think the romance genre.

[Abby Jimenez]

Could use more of movies?

[Kendall Landris]

Oh, I love that.

[Abby Jimenez]

More romance adaptions, very specifically. And it's just personal preference for me. I want more series to be adapted like Bridgerton style. I want, you know, the books that we fall in love with where there's multiple characters. I want. I want that. That's what I want.

[Jordan Myrick]

So you would sell the book to be a movie or a TV show?

[Abby Jimenez]

Oh, absolutely. I get offers. I do get offers. And I'm very, very picky about what I say yes to, because I don't want some cheesy adaption made that's going to make me cry in the theater. Like I want. I mean, of course I want to. I want to cry in the theater, but for the reasons that they've done it well and they're, you know, I don't cry. I don't want to cry because I'm disappointed. No. So I'm very picky about what I say yes and no to. So just know if I ever do get an adaption, it's going to be because I was, like, super picky about who does it and how they're doing it and what they're doing. But, yeah, I think we need more adaptions that's what I.

[Kendall Landris]

Okay. If you're looking for two lesbian characters, I will play in any part.

[Jordan Myrick]

Let us or anything work on it. Production assistance.

[Kendall Landris]

We'll play straight. We'll play straight. I'll say Xavier. Okay, Xavier.

[Jordan Myrick]

Straight for pay. Yeah, I'll show. Run it. Whatever you want. What is your favorite romance movie of all time?

[Abby Jimenez]

Warm Bodies.

[Jordan Myrick]

Oh, I love Warm Bodies.

[Abby Jimenez]

And I love Teresa Palmer with, like, the burning passions of 10,000 suns. Like, sometimes I just write heroines and just imagine her as the heroine the whole time. I just love her. She's just. She's just iridescent. I love her.

[Jordan Myrick]

That's so fun. Really unexpected answer.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah, I love that movie. I've probably seen that movie like, 200 times.

[Kendall Landris]

Oh, my God.

[Abby Jimenez]

It's like my comfort movie. I'll just put it on and play it. And it's so different from the book. The source material was very different vibe. I think they did a really good job with that movie.

[Jordan Myrick]

I love that. It's like a zombie high school. It's a riff on Romeo and Juliet, kind of.

[Kendall Landris]

Well, I would love that. I love zombies and I love romance.

[Jordan Myrick]

Nicholas Hoult is in it.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah.

[Kendall Landris]

Oh, and I love Nicholas Holt.

[Jordan Myrick]

We love him.

[Kendall Landris]

Oh, my gosh. That is so fun.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah, you'd like it. We'll watch it. We'll watch it tonight.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah, I would love to. Okay. This little longer of a question. This person wants to know. I've written fiction on and off since I was pretty much a kid, but I've always been hesitant to even touch romance as a topic because I find it so challenging to take sincerely without being or feeling cringe. Am I just emotionally repressed, or is there some truth to the narrow line between sweet and cringy? How do you navigate that?

[Abby Jimenez]

I don't know, because I feel like cringe is a personal. You know what I mean? It's like. It's a spectrum. Like, what one person might find cringy in romance, that might be somebody else's sweet spot. So I guess maybe she needs to reflect and think, what is it about it that's making her feel cringey about it?

[Kendall Landris]

Right. Is there ever a line you go to write that one of your characters is saying, and then you backspace and you're like, that's too cheesy sometimes.

[Abby Jimenez]

But I will say, sometimes it's those lines that people really just love.

[Kendall Landris]

That's what I want. I love eating it up when he. Well, see, this is why I'm so mad at spoilers. I'm About Jordan said before we walked in. She's like, I know we loved the book, but you have to be careful talking about it. Cause I'll be like, no, no, this isn't a spoiler.

[Jordan Myrick]

Kendall is the worst with spoilers. Kendall, this is an actual true thing that happened. Kendall will be like, no, no, it's not a spoiler. I'm like, no, Kendall, I think you're gonna say a spoiler. They're about to see the movie. Don't tell them. Kendall will be like, no, it's not a spoiler. So when they die at the end, I'm like, kendall, what part of your brain thinks that's not a spoiler?

[Kendall Landris]

What do you think is hilarious? I know.

[Jordan Myrick]

I know.

[Kendall Landris]

I'm so. Or I'll be like this. I love a spoiler. I could have someone tell me the end of the book, and I'm eating it up. I still don't care. I'm like, I think maybe because I'm anxious sometimes I like knowing the ending so I can enjoy the book because I know it doesn't end so badly.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah, I'm the same way.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah. I don't mind in a TV show. I think it makes me understand also, if I know how it's gonna end, I'm like, great. I can comprehend beginning and middle wild.

[Abby Jimenez]

Going back to trigger warnings, there are some people that absolutely do not want that in their books because they feel that it's a spoiler. So I always put the. If you think trigger warnings are a spoiler, do not read the next paragraph. Like, I will make sure they're warnings.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah, that's so.

[Jordan Myrick]

But I get it. I. I'll be honest with you. Read this. Love this fan of yours. I'm not a romance reader. You icked out. Icked out myself. It's just not for me. I don't know why I haven't been able to connect with it. I've tried a bunch of different things. I'm a mystery thriller, horror person. So kind of the other end of the spectrum.

[Kendall Landris]

But I always. And I want to listen to you, and I want it. But I think that means there's some. We gotta unlock something in you to open yourself up. Cause I do think it's, like, vulnerable, even with yourself. It's like intimate to read romance. You know what I mean? And I think it is. I think I'm more comfortable now than I used to be sitting and reading something so sweet. But I love it now. And I am someone who loves in the last chapter for there to Be a paragraph. Love proclamation. As cheesy as it is. I love those, like, cheesy lines.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah. I get so many converts, though. So a lot of people follow me on social media for my dogs, Tess and Stuntman Mike. And I'll get people, they're like, I don't read romance. But I decided I want to support you, you know, So I bought one of your books and they're like, I loved it. And then I read all of them and now I'm reading all these other books and it's like the gateway, you know, I think. And here's the thing with romance is there are so many different types of romance. So maybe perhaps you haven't found the romance that is the right romance for you. Because, you know, you've got everything from the super sweet, you know, Amish romances that are just very closed door and very sweet, you know, genre Amish. Oh, yeah, it is a thing.

[Jordan Myrick]

Amish romance.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yes, it is a thing. Very sweet romances, you know, all the way up to like this spiciest, smuttiest smut that you can find. You know, just erotica. There's a huge just, you know, scope of romance out there and every different kind. So maybe just haven't found the. The right one for you.

[Jordan Myrick]

I'll keep looking. I mean, I'm gonna read the next two books in this series now. I'm interested in this, on this. So I'll go back and read your other books too. I'm very excited. But it is just. I think it is. It's hard to get into. I think there is a vulnerability.

[Kendall Landris]

I don't know. Maybe I'm. Maybe, maybe you're.

[Jordan Myrick]

I don't know.

[Kendall Landris]

I don't. Maybe it's just not for you. I just can't imagine. I'm obsessed. It's also so nice to read something that is so nice, where things just work out and everything. Do you feel like there's a specific. When you. I'm sure you meet so many of your readers all over the country, when you go on tour.

[Jordan Myrick]

All over the world.

[Kendall Landris]

All over the world, yes. That you meet. Do you feel like there's a specific type of person that reads romance or do you find that it just. Everyone reads romance?

[Abby Jimenez]

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[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Abby Jimenez]

Because they might actually find that they are romance lovers. Just because, you know. And also going back to why there was like this huge resurgence. Okay. I think it was the cartoon cover. And I also think it was because you had this really horrible, very unsure time. No touching, you know, and. And then you get these. You get to read these romance novels where bad things might happen within the. The book, but at the end it's gonna be okay.

[Kendall Landris]

Yes.

[Abby Jimenez]

You know what I mean? And I just, I. That's just like what I love about romance.

[Kendall Landris]

And two, everyone's moving back in with their families. And what I've seen in the romance books I've read is even the characters who, like in this book, the brother, have their faults. They all are operating in a way that is at least a little bit healthy. They're communicating well. Or if they don't, they know they didn't. And I think there's something so. And even in this book, the father, I feel like, for a person of that age, communicates very well and expresses needs. It's very refreshing and relaxing to be like. There's a huge cast of characters, and even when they're being weird, they all are pretty good, effective communicators and nice people.

[Abby Jimenez]

Well. And I like to think that I humanized each of them. You know, they're flawed, but they're human, you know, so maybe that's why we like them. Even though sometimes they do things that, you know, are not the best, you know, or that we we shouldn't like. But they're humanized. They're real. They feel like real people.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah, absolutely. Okay, let's see what other questions we've got.

[Jordan Myrick]

People want to know, have you ever written based on real situations that have happened to you? I know your husband inspires a lot, but is there anything like, really directly you've pulled from your real life?

[Abby Jimenez]

Oh, there's so many. Oh, I love that there's so much, like. There's things on an emotional level that I've written into my books, things that I've experienced. There's, like, actual scenarios that I've experienced. And now, like, now I'm on the spot, so I can't think about what they are. No. But I definitely do pull from my real life. Absolutely.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Abby Jimenez]

I pull from, you know, things that have happened to me or just even, like, funny stories I've had with my kids, you know? Okay, here's one example. The whole conversation in the Friend zone about Stuntman Mike being. I first. I wrote my real dog into the Friend Zone. So my real dog, Stuntman Mike, is the character's dog in the Friend zone.

[Kendall Landris]

I love that.

[Abby Jimenez]

And it's an actual conversation that I've had with my husband. That's. Stepman Mike is a hunting dog. My husband's like, that's an affront to hunting dogs everywhere. So that's a real conversation that I have with my husband. Yeah, I definitely pull from real life, and I have this ongoing notes app for funny quotes or funny conversations or funny situations that I might want to use later on down the line. So, yes, definitely.

[Kendall Landris]

Is Jake from State Farm? Is that from your real life?

[Abby Jimenez]

No, I just thought that was, like, the most hilarious animal name ever. I'm really good at naming animals.

[Kendall Landris]

That's really good.

[Jordan Myrick]

An additional career you could have, maybe.

[Abby Jimenez]

I know.

[Kendall Landris]

Yes. I know. I feel like you're a baker.

[Jordan Myrick]

You're a baker, author, animal namer.

[Abby Jimenez]

Like, in the Fall Risk, the fish's name is Swim Shady. Everybody loved that. No, I just love funny animal names. And I was, like, waiting to use that. I'm like, I gotta find a book to put Jake from State Farm in there.

[Kendall Landris]

That is so funny.

[Jordan Myrick]

Is there anything from your real life that you would not include in a novel? You're like, no, that's too much. That's too personal. This is just for me.

[Abby Jimenez]

I mean, it would have to be. I always think about, like, my friends and family that read my books, you know, and there's certain things that I wouldn't put in there, things that they've done because I, like. I don't want them to be like, hey, no. There's certain things that, you know, out of respect, I will always leave out of my books. Or I'll wait till they're dead. Yeah, sure, I'll put it in there.

[Kendall Landris]

Do you feel. Because that was another question. And, you know, you don't really write smut in your books, but people Were asking, when you write, do you ever get like, oh, my parents are gonna read this. My daughter's gonna read this. I don't want to write that.

[Abby Jimenez]

Not really, because my daughters don't really read my books.

[Kendall Landris]

Easy for you.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah, they don't really read it. And my dad doesn't read my books. You know, I think my dad's just, like, sort of vaguely aware that I'm a successful author. Like, I think he. I mean, he knows I'm an author, but I don't think he's, like, aware of the full scope of, you know, like, I guess, my popularity at this point. But, no, I never. That never really stops me. And. And also, I grew up, you know, like I said, in high school, blowing through, you know, the Fabio paperbacks. So I'm very much, like, not trying to protect my children. Like, I want my children to read what they want to read. You know what I mean? Like, I'm. I'm very much on the. On the. On the, you know, wagon of, like, just pick up the books that are interesting to you, because reading is good for you no matter what, you know? So I wouldn't really keep them from mine either.

[Kendall Landris]

Oh, I wish I had learned that in high school. Cause I was always a kid who was like, I hate reading. I hate reading so much. I hate reading. I don't want to read. And now I'm a huge reader. It's like, my most favorite thing. And sometimes I read. You know, right now I'm reading a. Like, a nonfiction book about the Donner Party. You know, that's more, like historical. But also, I've got my little smutty novel next to my bed that I love to read as well. And I. Like, a couple years ago, I was like, I need to start reading. Like, I watch TV because I don't want to be, like, watching as much TV and being on my phone as much. Sometimes you want to watch a really educational documentary, but most of the time, I'm turning on a comfort show, turning on a reality TV show. So I should do the same for books. And I feel like now. And I think these cartoon covers have maybe inspired it. I'm seeing a lot of moms be like, I find these specific books that are, like, basically romance novels, but they're a little more, you know, for teenagers. And my kid loves reading now. And I'm like, I love that.

[Abby Jimenez]

That's so fun. My favorite thing to hear is when somebody tells me, your books are the reason why I am now reading.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Abby Jimenez]

And I. I love that. That's the biggest compliment anyone can give me.

[Kendall Landris]

Oh, I love that.

[Jordan Myrick]

Sweet. I imagine that's incredible. Just thinking of someone telling me your comedy is what made me laugh again. And no one's ever said that that's.

[Kendall Landris]

What you were thinking. You had to put it in.

[Jordan Myrick]

Well, I. I was just like, that must be a feel like feeling. Because you know what, as, as a comedian, what do you mostly get? Good show. Good, good show. If somebody, you know, good show. But for someone to be like, your comedy is what made me laugh.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah, we gotta get funnier. Cause we gotta get on that level when people are saying stuff like that to us.

[Jordan Myrick]

It's pretty good. That's a good compliment to that.

[Kendall Landris]

It's a really good. That's an amazing thing to have people say.

[Jordan Myrick]

I would have a huge head.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah. I'll be honest. That one definitely makes me. Makes me feel proud.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

How do you as a writer balance the expected tropes of romance versus making something fresh that stands out in a heavily saturated market?

[Abby Jimenez]

I mean, the tropes are the tropes. You're never going to invent a new trope that's never been written about. You know what I mean? So I don't know. I. I think the only thing you can do. And I remember somebody telling me this really, really early on, like back when I was in my writers critique circle group online. You're never going to invent a new trope. All you can do is make the trope that you're writing as fresh as possible. So that's what I try to do. And, you know, when I went into this writing thing, I just a little background. I didn't go to college. Okay. The only background that I had in writing was creative writing that I took in high school and just reading romance novels myself. I thought that to be a romance author, you had to have some sort or an author in general. You had to have street creds. You had to be like a journalist or have a blog or, you know, have an English degree or something. It never occurred to me that I could just sit down and just like start writing and get really good at it and then become an author. That never occurred to me in a million years. So I didn't follow any guidebook. I didn't follow any rules. You know, I think there's some authors that, you know, really stick to, like, a very formulaic method of writing. Like, okay, at 20%, we need to have this happen, and at 40%, this should be happening. And I don't Follow that. I just write instinctually. I just give the story what it needs. And I don't know, I think maybe because of that, some of the tropes that I write can feel a little bit fresh, because I'm just doing what feels right. I'm not following any sort of pattern.

[Kendall Landris]

And also, the characters are so specific and so different. And I even find that in comedy because I feel like, similarly, you're like, especially in the Internet. What else could I say that has not been. What opinion can I say that people are gonna be like, I've never thought of that and, you know, ever so often. But if you're trying to make something every day. And I think for me, like, with my characters, I'm like, you know, a mom at a grocery store, for example, is not a new thing we've seen. But this specific mom at a grocery store, which is my mom at a grocery store, is a little different than what people seem, because it's a different person. And I think I. I read this when it was sent to me, which was almost a month ago, and I read a lot of romance novels, and they blur to. You know, they start to blur together. I remember every character in this book by their name. Their little. Even the side characters, of course, you remember the two main characters. But I have books, you know, I read two weeks ago that I'm like, don't ask me anything about the plot. I have no idea. But I think your characters are so specific that even if a trope is, it's also trope for a reason. Whenever two characters walk in and they're like, there's only one bed, I'm like, oh, here we go again. I love it. So I think you're doing those tropes along with all your characters. Being so specific makes it so special and unique and memorable, where it's like, you don't have to worry about. They're not being a trope because it's different.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah, well. And my characters feel so deeply real to me. I think that's why they feel so real to everyone else. Like, you know, for example, Doug in Part of youf World, Everybody loves Doug. And even though we only see so much of Doug on the page, Doug feels like a fully formed person because I know everything there is to know about Doug. I feel like Doug is somebody that I know. And while I only wrote so much about him on the page, you know, he feels fully fleshed out because he is like, I have his backstory, so he feels like a real person. I just think that's so important. I think that's why, you know, people walk away from my books. They remember, you know, they remember my characters because they feel like they're real people.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Speaking of real people, is there something that you think is the most important thing that real people can directly pull from romance novels that they can incorporate into their dating life?

[Abby Jimenez]

I think emotional intelligence is something you learn when you read romance novels, in my opinion. And emotional intelligence is going to be helpful for you in every facet of your life, not just in romantic situations.

[Kendall Landris]

I love that.

[Jordan Myrick]

I love that.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah, I think too. And I've talked to you about this before in just romance novels and even in, like, the more smutty world, I feel like most skills in life are always like, oh, I'm good at that, or I'm bad at that. But they're all, like, learned, you know, like, oh, I'm bad with money. Well, no, you have to learn how to be good with money. And I feel like romance is the same way. And I think the more I have read romance novels, read sexy books, I've both. I've gotten more comfortable in both of those arenas because watching people, you know, some people grew up with two incredibly in love parents who are absolutely obsessed with each other. But you learn all of that by watching. And I do feel like reading romance novels makes you more comfortable with that, which is nice.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah. And anything you. Anything that you practice, you will get better at. And socialization and emotional intelligence requires practice.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Abby Jimenez]

So that, I mean, that makes sense.

[Jordan Myrick]

Absolutely. How do you write couples that have things that are tumultuous or issues or whatever without making them toxic? Where's that line for you?

[Abby Jimenez]

You know, I don't know how I don't make them toxic. I think I just stand back and go, is that toxic? And then I change it, you know, But I, as a person, I've grown so much since my first book, you know, and the way that I've grown as an author has been through, you know, practicing socialization, you know, getting to know more people. You know, being online and social media, you get exposed to so many different kinds of people and different kinds of, I guess, takes on things and relationships. And, you know, I read a ton. And I guess what I'm saying is I evolved. I have evolved as a human since my first book. And I've learned that, you know, putting sensitivity readers on my books is very important. Putting advisors on my books is very important, you know, and through that evolution, I think you can feel my books also changing. And Becoming more aware and becoming less toxic, as it were, you know. Sure. So that the depictions of these relationships is a lot healthier, which I'm very proud of. You know, it takes a lot of work to have that kind of balance, I think because I feel like so.

[Kendall Landris]

Many of your characters in all of your books, a lot of them do have a great relationship that stays pretty solid throughout the book, even if external things are causing there to be struggles and drama. I feel like there's such a pressure to have almost like a third act breakup which a lot of people ask questions about. Does it feel hard to find that tension in the third act without doing that?

[Abby Jimenez]

I have done a third act breakup in every single book. I am not going to say anything about this one, but I do. Okay. Because what am I supposed to do? Just let them be happy?

[Kendall Landris]

Right?

[Abby Jimenez]

No, no. I don't know. I really love a third act breakup personally, because I feel like there needs to be that high stakes. Are they, will they, won't they? Are they going to make attention?

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Abby Jimenez]

So personally, I really like third act.

[Kendall Landris]

Breakups and makes one of them be like, I gotta figure it out.

[Abby Jimenez]

I think the harder thing is to have a book that doesn't have a third act breakup where you don't lose that tension. You don't lose that will they, won't they, you know, thing that you really want to carry right up till the end. Because here's the problem when, when they don't have any issues, they don't have any conflict, is the book loses steam.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Abby Jimenez]

You know what I mean? So you really have to keep that tension up through the whole thing. And that's, that's a hard act to juggle. That's one of the hardest acts to juggle, in my opinion. Writing romance.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah. How would you. What advice would you give to someone to do that?

[Abby Jimenez]

Oh, gosh, it just depends on what the conflict is, you know. Now, unfortunately, readers hate this, but miscommunication in, you know, romance novels is very rampant because miscommunication is a really great way to keep the will they, won't they tension up because it creates drama and conflict where if they just had a conversation, it wouldn't be there. You know what I mean? So that's why that's such a common romance trope. And I'm really trying hard, at least in my more recent books, to not have that miscommunication because I know that that does frustrate readers. But man, it's a balancing act.

[Kendall Landris]

Well, I kind of like the miscommunication And I know people sometimes don't like it. For me, I kind of like it because it makes the characters good people. Cause sometimes one of them will do in a non miscommunication trope. It'll be like, well, she cheated on her. And I'm like, well, now I have to forgive this person as a reader. She really did something wrong versus a character. Like, they just have to have one conversation and everything will be okay.

[Abby Jimenez]

Well, what cracks me up, okay, as somebody who, you know, I've been married over 20 years, right? And of course, I've dated before I was married. The thing that cracks me up is people hate miscommunication so much. And I'm like, really? You telling me you communicate with your partner? Like, we all miscommunicate. Even in a 20 year marriage, there still could be miscommunications.

[Kendall Landris]

Right.

[Abby Jimenez]

You know, like, I feel like communicating thoroughly and completely with somebody that you're partnered with is always a challenge. You know what I mean? And so it feels very realistic to me, but it frustrates the readers.

[Kendall Landris]

But I would say almost every argument we have is probably a miscommunication. And even, like, that took me a long time to. To feel because I feel like I was always at the end of the argument being like, but what did you do wrong? Let's kind of figure out what you did wrong or I did wrong. One of the things wrong. And I think it took me a long time for it to be like, neither of us are ever trying to irritate or anger the other one. So it really is usually a miscommunication. That's where all our problems, any problem we have stems from.

[Jordan Myrick]

Well, I get irritated when the miscommunication is like, why didn't you just text each other? Or whatever? Like, something very simple like that. But you're 100% right. I think it really enhanced our relationship when we were like, we are on the same team. And when something bad happens or we get mad at each other, it's like pretty much always a miscommunication. So let's just talk it out before we walk it out, because there's. Because, like, what, One of us was trying to hurt the other one's feelings? No, of course not. You know, so we have to kind of. Let's just figure out where that went wrong versus now.

[Kendall Landris]

I feel like in romance, and I feel like this happens in this book. Not a spoiler.

[Jordan Myrick]

Kendall, is this a spoiler?

[Kendall Landris]

No, this is not.

[Jordan Myrick]

Look at me.

[Kendall Landris]

I don't. Are you sure that there's miscommunication in this book. I mean, you could assume, is that a spoiler? There's something happens in this book.

[Jordan Myrick]

Is it a spoiler?

[Kendall Landris]

Something happens, period. That's all.

[Abby Jimenez]

I think it's a spoiler. This is like a trope. It's like a trope mentioned. I don't know. I feel like, is it a spoiler to be like, there's only one bed. I mean, this book doesn't actually have a one bed trophy.

[Kendall Landris]

There's no one bedroom. But what I'll say, I won't say where it is, beginning, middle, or end. There's miscommunication somewhere in here. I feel like in most books and in this book where we don't know, the miscommunication is because of an internal struggle that we get to see more. Which I also think when you're talking about, like, learning emotional intelligence to be better in a relationship or friendship, I feel like hearing people's internal monologues. The way people write romance novels now is so interesting. And I do feel like emotionally helps people. I read a book recently that was great, but was from, oh, my gosh, when was it written? Carmilla.

[Jordan Myrick]

Oh, Carmilla predates Dracula.

[Kendall Landris]

So this was written a long time ago. And I did say, loved the book. It was great. It was very old. And I was like, it's fascinating. Because people back then didn't. The emotional intelligence was so lacking that it's almost hard to follow the book because they'll say, I'm scared. And you would take that at face value. But they're not even scared. They're feeling some other emotion. Or there's a part in the book where no spoilers for Carmilla. No spoilers for Carmilla.

[Jordan Myrick]

Oh, my God. Okay, I'm in the process of reading.

[Kendall Landris]

This is a spoiler for Carmilla. No, I've already told you this. There's a part where. And who did the rewrite on it? Carmen Maria Machado does little excerpts in it. And there's a part where she's like, I'm pretty sure this is her orgasming, but they make it seem like she has the flu. So everything is so. Like, you would think she is sick. And she's like, I think she's explaining an orgasm.

[Jordan Myrick]

Sure.

[Kendall Landris]

So it's very confusing. I really don't know why I'm getting at this, but I just think the miscommunication, it's nice to read why it's happening. Not just, oh, I'm not saying because we got. We Both got off the train at the wrong time, and so we miscommunicated.

[Abby Jimenez]

Well, that's why I love dual POVs. Cause you're in on the. You're in on the joke. You know what I mean? You're in his head, so whatever she's assuming is happening, you as the reader are in on it. You know that that's not what's happening. You know how he's really feeling or vice versa. That's why I love. I'll always write dual POVs because I'm obsessed with knowing what's in each of their heads.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah, I'm nosy.

[Jordan Myrick]

Well, I wanna do a fun thing real quick before we end the episode. It's a little segment called page turner or book burner.

[Kendall Landris]

Oh, my gosh. I love it.

[Jordan Myrick]

And I'm going you some different tropes, and you're going to tell me if that trope is a page turner. You're obsessed with it. You can't get enough. Or a book burner. It's ruining the book for you.

[Abby Jimenez]

Got it.

[Jordan Myrick]

Friends to lovers.

[Abby Jimenez]

Oh, Paige Turner.

[Jordan Myrick]

Enemies to lovers.

[Abby Jimenez]

Paige Turner.

[Jordan Myrick]

Forbidden love.

[Abby Jimenez]

It depends what kind of forbidden love.

[Kendall Landris]

I feel like when it's two families hate each other, I cannot care about that.

[Abby Jimenez]

You can't hear about that.

[Kendall Landris]

I don't know why. I'm just.

[Jordan Myrick]

That's Romeo and Juliet.

[Abby Jimenez]

It's like. But it's like, why are they forbidden? Are they cousins? Because I'm not gonna be into that.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay, so incest, we're saying's a book burner.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah, like there's a. There's a line. I've got a line. I do love forbidden love. But it has to be, like, not gross.

[Kendall Landris]

Sure. So you might like the families.

[Abby Jimenez]

I might. Yeah. If. If it feel. If it's well done enough.

[Kendall Landris]

Yes.

[Abby Jimenez]

If it feels contrived or like I'm rolling my eyes at it, then I'm not gonna love it.

[Jordan Myrick]

You like different families. Not the same family.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah, that makes sense. I feel like for me, I'm always like, who cares what your parents think? Just do. But then, you know, I'm reading a book right now where they're. It's like that, and they're like. They try to run off together, and the parents keep trying to kill them. I'm like, you got to get rid of these parents no matter what anyways, so let's just put on some wigs. And that's. It's hard for me to believe.

[Jordan Myrick]

Kendall's always trying to just get everybody to put on some wigs.

[Kendall Landris]

Put on some wigs and run away. I don't know.

[Jordan Myrick]

I'm, like, always trying to do that with me.

[Kendall Landris]

My mom was like, you can't date Jordan. I'd. I'd dye your hair blonde.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah, but it's also, like, 20, 25. It's like, if my parents were like, you can't date Kendall, I'd be like, shut up. I'm 30. Like, what are you gonna do about it? You know what I mean? Like, what are you gonna do? But it's different when you read, like, old timey stuff, right? Sure. You know, okay. Secret identity. Like billionaire or royal family. Page turner or book burner.

[Abby Jimenez]

It would have to be very well done, but I'm gonna go page turner.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay. Stuck together. Trapped in an elevator. Trapped in a ski chalet.

[Abby Jimenez]

Let it. Give me 14 of them.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay. Best friend's brother or sister.

[Abby Jimenez]

I'm gonna go with Paige Turner.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay.

[Kendall Landris]

That's always hard because I usually feel like that means they're in high school. And when I.

[Jordan Myrick]

Will you meet your best friend's brother at her wedding because he's been away with the Peace Corps.

[Kendall Landris]

Oh, okay. I like that. Write that.

[Jordan Myrick]

I'm a romance author now. I'm feeling inspired.

[Kendall Landris]

I will say I have a hard time with the high school. Anytime a book is written about high school, I'm like, just put them in college. I cannot read a sexy book about high schoolers. It makes me feel so weird. But it could easily just be in college. Just put it in college.

[Abby Jimenez]

I fully agree. Maybe because I actually have teenage daughters right now. And I'm like, this is not sexy to me at all.

[Kendall Landris]

Well, it's also hard for me. I'm like, I'm in every book. I'm like, end. It ends. They will be together forever. But it's in high school. I'm like, you're not gonna be happy?

[Jordan Myrick]

Happy for now, yes. Like, just make everybody in every book and every TV show and every movie 45 years old. 45 years old to 70.

[Kendall Landris]

Okay.

[Jordan Myrick]

I think no more child actors. No more movies set in high school. I think they're doing bad things to society. And I think whenever I see an older actor, I'm like, incredible.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Incredible performance. So talented. So I'm like, let's just age everything up.

[Abby Jimenez]

I agree.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Sorry. That's my truth. That's my truth. Second chances. Paige Turner or book burner.

[Abby Jimenez]

I'm gonna say book burner because I feel like most of the time, when something doesn't work out, there's a pretty Good reason why. You know what I mean?

[Kendall Landris]

Yes.

[Abby Jimenez]

And it's, like, hard to convince me that it's gonna work out the second time around. Makes sense. Well, that is assuming that the Second Chance romance is with the same two people. It's second chance. Like she's divorced and she's getting a second chance at love with somebody else. Then absolutely, yes.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay, that totally makes sense.

[Kendall Landris]

But Second chance, like the same person.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah, I agree.

[Kendall Landris]

Cause I just read a book that I really liked. But part of it is that which I think this has been in many books. She had left her at the altar years ago. Left her at the altar.

[Jordan Myrick]

You can't undo that.

[Kendall Landris]

Cannot come back from that.

[Jordan Myrick]

There's no way.

[Kendall Landris]

The author did a great job. By the end, I was pretty much sold. But then they started talking about getting married again.

[Jordan Myrick]

I'm like, no way. You cannot have another wedding. No way.

[Kendall Landris]

After you've been left at the altar with the same.

[Jordan Myrick]

It would have to be like. It was discovered that the person who left you had a tumor pushing on their brain that made them act erratically. And now the tumor's been removed. And once again, that could be a good book. Should I start writing? Yes.

[Kendall Landris]

She comes back from the Peace Corps.

[Jordan Myrick]

She's a tumor. She's a tumor. It's her best friend's sister. Yeah. I just think you can't do it. Okay. Fake relationship blossoms into real relationship.

[Abby Jimenez]

Love those patrons.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay. Wedding fever.

[Kendall Landris]

What does that mean?

[Jordan Myrick]

Runaway brides jilted best friend, best man, wedding planners. Anything like that?

[Abby Jimenez]

You know, for some reason I don't. Readers love wedding related books, but that's just not a trope that I'm not into. Okay.

[Jordan Myrick]

Amnesia slash mistaken identity.

[Abby Jimenez]

I feel like I know too much about, like, traumatic brain injuries.

[Jordan Myrick]

Sure.

[Abby Jimenez]

You know what I mean?

[Kendall Landris]

If you're, like, not romantic.

[Abby Jimenez]

No. Like, I'd be worried, you know what I mean, about the person. Like, oh, my gosh, are they gonna be okay? You know, like, that's what I'd be worried about. Like, what are the long term ramifications of this amnesia situation? I think I just. I know too much.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Holiday romances slash flings.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yes. Yeah. Paige Turner.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay. Fish out of water.

[Abby Jimenez]

Paige Turner.

[Jordan Myrick]

Opposites attract.

[Abby Jimenez]

Paige Turner.

[Jordan Myrick]

Rivals.

[Abby Jimenez]

Paige Turner.

[Jordan Myrick]

Oblivious to love.

[Kendall Landris]

What? What does that mean?

[Abby Jimenez]

Like, they love each other and they don't realize that they're in love with each other. I feel like that would get kind of tedious for me.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Dark secret.

[Kendall Landris]

Oh.

[Abby Jimenez]

Paige Turner.

[Jordan Myrick]

Work colleagues.

[Abby Jimenez]

That's actually how I met my Husband. Yeah, I met him at work.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay.

[Kendall Landris]

So you can't burn that.

[Abby Jimenez]

No, I can't burn that. But I don't. I don't know why. Just.

[Jordan Myrick]

No, you're like, I already have it. I'm not reading about it.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah. Like, I've already got, like, a really big stack of tropes that I'm loving, and I probably. I don't know, I've just never gravitated towards a work, you know, relationship trope.

[Kendall Landris]

Are you liking work? Because work, to me, I'm like, usually it's in big city. I feel like there's two kind of romances. We have. Girl comes from small town to big city. Girl comes from big city to small town. Which are you picking?

[Abby Jimenez]

Maybe that's why I'm not loving it. Because in yours truly, I did write a work romance. Jacob and Brianna, they meet at work. And I obviously, I love that book and those characters. I think when you say work romance, my brain innately goes to, like, pencil skirt, high heel shoes. She's in an office. They're at a publishing company. Like, you know what I mean? It just goes to that. And I just don't find that interesting. For me, I am the same way.

[Kendall Landris]

I think there's also a lot of books coming out where it'll be like, she's a famous actress, and she's the. And though it's fine. I. Maybe because it's so different from my life, I love, like, we're on a ranch, we're in a small town. You know, every person who lives there, I love that. But maybe people who live that way want to read about celebrities.

[Abby Jimenez]

Big city girl.

[Kendall Landris]

Big city girls.

[Abby Jimenez]

Sure. Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Revenge.

[Abby Jimenez]

Oh, my goodness.

[Kendall Landris]

How would that even work in a. I know.

[Jordan Myrick]

In a romance, this is getting into revenge. I don't know.

[Abby Jimenez]

I'm gonna say Paige Turner.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay. Bully turns nice guy.

[Abby Jimenez]

Oh, I don't know, man. That man would have to have a Come to Jesus. Like, there'd have to be a really good reason why that bully was a bully. And a very, very big redemption arc for me to be into that.

[Kendall Landris]

I read one recently that was a bully, and it wasn't. This was some of the worst bullying I've ever. It was bordering on, like, sorority. What do they call it?

[Abby Jimenez]

Hazing.

[Kendall Landris]

Hazing. It was like. It was so much. And I was like, how are we gonna get to this being acceptable at all? I think the only reason that worked that took place in a high school. And I think when they're teenagers, you're like, okay, yeah, Your frontal lobe is not forming. But I think love triangle is probably hard in that way too, because I'm like, how do we that already? I'm respecting you less because you don't have your shit together if you're in a love Triangle at 30 years old. Sure. Or you're really cool. I don't know. Maybe I'm just jealous. I've never been in a love triangle.

[Jordan Myrick]

Sure. Okay. I got a couple more.

[Kendall Landris]

Okay, let's hear it.

[Jordan Myrick]

Love potion.

[Abby Jimenez]

Okay. I could be into that. Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Age gap.

[Abby Jimenez]

It depends. For me, it depends what kind of gap we talking about. Because if he's in his 30s and she's 16 or 17 or 18, I'm not doing it. But I.

[Kendall Landris]

What about. What about mistakes were made? If you've read that book where the. It's college, late college, her best friend's mother.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay, what's the best age gap? You would say, like, you would see that age gap and you would go, hubba hubba.

[Abby Jimenez]

I would say late 20s with, like, 40s.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Abby Jimenez]

That's kind of like where my sweet spot is. And I did write an age gap in part of your world. She's older, so he's 28, she's 37, you know, and that. I love that. Like, I like that dynamic.

[Jordan Myrick]

I love that my favorite age gap is 25 to 32.

[Kendall Landris]

That's our age gap. That's very brave of you. Jordan, for a long time was like, don't say it. Just don't never, never bring up our ages on the podcast. Very sweet of you to bring that up.

[Jordan Myrick]

I know. Cause I know you like that. I have no issues with my age or our age, but I had never dated someone younger than me. And when we first started dating, Kendall was 21 and I was 26. And I was just like. I remember calling my best friend Lily and being like, I'm gonna go to jail. I'm gonna go to jail. A 21 year old just asked me on a date. And she was like, you're 26, about to turn 27. That's fine. You're both in your 20s. That's like, not a big deal. And I was like, like, people are gonna think differently of me. And then I remembered that, like, every man is always, like, dating an 18 year old girl when he's 400 years old.

[Abby Jimenez]

See? But I feel like the power dynamic matters.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yes.

[Abby Jimenez]

You know what I'm saying? Like, that's where it gets icky. Like, if there's a very uneven power dynamic there, because, you know, the Older person is, you know, more wealthy or, you know, like, more. More controlling or whatever. That's where it gets gross. It's. What I'm saying is it is nuanced.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yes.

[Abby Jimenez]

You know what I mean? And I think it can vary from relationship to relationship.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yes. That's why Kendall keeps all of her financial passwords, to make sure there's a balance. Because I'm older, she keeps all of our finances a secret from me to make sure that things stay balanced.

[Kendall Landris]

Oh, my gosh. Well, thank you so much for being here. This is, like, truly. I. I was gonna tell Jordan this after in private, but I'm just gonna say it to you. I was genuinely a little nervous today.

[Abby Jimenez]

Why?

[Kendall Landris]

Because you're so cool. What do you mean? You're very cool.

[Jordan Myrick]

You're very famous and successful, and we were like, you seem so nice, but, you know. And Kendall's a huge romance.

[Kendall Landris]

But I'm being really cool. I'm being really cool. I'm a huge romance fan. I'm a big fan of you. And I. This was, like, so exciting for me. I am writing my own little romance book. Are you really for fun? Just, you know, on my own, because I love. I also. I didn't go to college. I was not great academically, and I. But I love reading them so much that I was like, let me just.

[Abby Jimenez]

That's how you do it.

[Kendall Landris]

Do it. And it is fun, and it's just an absolute treat. So I just was so excited to meet you today and talk to you, and you have so many good insights, and I'm so excited for your new book.

[Abby Jimenez]

Thank you.

[Kendall Landris]

We've already read it, and it's absolutely. There's no spoilers. Incredible.

[Jordan Myrick]

Care about the spoilers.

[Kendall Landris]

If you care about that spoiler, then that's your problem. It's so good. It's so fun, and the characters are great, and I'm so excited for people to read it.

[Abby Jimenez]

Well, if you ever need a blurb for your book.

[Kendall Landris]

Oh, my gosh.

[Jordan Myrick]

Let's go.

[Kendall Landris]

I'll let you read it before you commit to that. You're gonna regret it. You're gonna be reading it being like, I cannot write.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah, it's disgusting. Yeah.

[Abby Jimenez]

Like, you're so good at making relatable characters.

[Kendall Landris]

Oh, thank you.

[Abby Jimenez]

Why would that be any different in a written format?

[Kendall Landris]

Well, I will say, I think because I used to love writing. That's why I wanted to do it. When I was a kid, that was my activity of choice. I wrote books all the time, and I was like, I want to get back to doing something just creative for myself, and maybe if I finish it, I'll do something with it. But I was like, I think writing videos for the Internet has helped me so much because I think part of it is just being able to throw stuff out there and be like, I'm just gonna write and write, and then I'll go back later.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah. Getting rid of the real judgment.

[Kendall Landris]

Yes. Self judgment is really hard. Do you feel like you struggle with that?

[Abby Jimenez]

Oh, yeah, we all do. Everybody has that, you know, imposter syndrome. But what you do is storytelling.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Abby Jimenez]

So why wouldn't you be a good storyteller in a different format? You see what I'm saying?

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Abby Jimenez]

Like, people that follow me for my dogs are like, oh, my gosh, I love your dog. Emily's just storytelling. If you like the storytelling, the narratives that I create with my dogs and their little POV videos, you're going to like my romance novels because I'm a storyteller.

[Kendall Landris]

Yeah.

[Abby Jimenez]

So same thing.

[Kendall Landris]

Oh, my gosh. Okay.

[Jordan Myrick]

I'm feeling a mentor, mentee relationship.

[Kendall Landris]

I know. I'll send it to you when it's ready. Thank you so much for being here. Is there anything else you'd like to say about plugging your book or where people can get it?

[Abby Jimenez]

You can get my book wherever it is that you buy books. The audiobook is fantastic. It's narrated by Christine Lakin of step by step and Matt lantner. I mean, honestly, it's. It's really good in all formats. There's special editions out there. It's a book about making memories and losing them.

[Jordan Myrick]

Incredible. And we will be giving away a signed arc copy, which is an advanced reader copy that we were very generously given. So look below to find out the details for that.

[Kendall Landris]

Yes. Thank you so much for being here. If you like what you heard today, make sure to rate and review us anywhere you get your podcasts. And if you want to keep up with the podcast, where you can ask questions or just see what we're doing, follow us on Instagram and TikTok. What else?

[Jordan Myrick]

Make sure.

[Abby Jimenez]

Yeah.

[Kendall Landris]

Subscribe to us on YouTube.

[Jordan Myrick]

YouTube. Join our Patreon. There's tons of fun stuff over there. And make sure you're following Abby and go buy this book.

[Kendall Landris]

Yes, this Truly. It's such a treat to read. It is so amazing. Make sure to go pick up a copy of say you'll remember me by Abby Jimenez. Bye.