Inside Bridgerton: Author Julia Quinn on Fame, Shonda & Real-Life Gen Z Princesses

Summary

House of Maher: "Bridgerton, Romance & Tough Gen Z Princesses"

Date: March 24, 2026
Host: Wave (Ilona Maher and her sisters Olivia and Adrianna)
Guest: Julia Quinn, author of the Bridgerton series

Episode Overview

This lively episode of House of Maher centers on the transformative journey of Julia Quinn, beloved author of the Bridgerton series, whose Regency romances became a Netflix sensation. The Maher sisters delve into everything from Quinn’s writing process and the impact of Bridgerton’s adaptation, to the rise of Gen Z European royalty, the nuances of romance tropes, sisterly dynamics, and tough female characters—fueled by plenty of laughs and memorable anecdotes along the way.

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Main Themes & Purpose

• Julia Quinn’s Path to Pop Culture Icon: How her Regency romances went from bookstore shelves to Netflix’s global stage.
• Writing Relationships: The value of sisterhood and female friendships in Quinn’s novels and real life.
• Modern Heroines & Gen Z Royals: Discussion of heirs-apparent across Europe and their cultural impact.
• Television Adaptation: Behind the scenes with Shondaland, Julia’s creative input (or lack thereof), and diverse casting decisions.
• Literary Craft: Deep dive into writing techniques, favorite tropes, and changes in the romance genre.
• Personal Stories: Julia’s own family, med school, game show moments, and views on feminism and book bans.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sisters, Middle Children, and Rule Breakers

• The show opens with sisterly banter about being the middle child, breaking rules, and family dynamics.

  “I am also a rule follower...I will figure out everything I can do within the rules and do that, but I’m not a rule breaker.” — Julia Quinn (03:42)

• The Mahers and Julia humorously debate Connecticut’s best demonyms (“Connecticuticles” vs. “Nutmegger”) and reminisce about working at a Barnes & Noble.

2. Rise of Gen Z Princesses & Modern Royalty

• The group discusses the “era of queens” in Europe, with Gen Z women set to inherit thrones.
• Julia notes:

  “Not in Spain though. In Spain it’s just lucky...if she had a younger brother, he would have jumped her.” — Julia Quinn (08:05)

• The Mahers draw parallels to their own Dutch heritage and discuss Queen Maxima’s badass backstory.

3. Diversity and Reimagining History

• The conversation turns to Bridgerton’s inclusive casting and the choice to make Queen Charlotte a woman of color.

  “What they did with Bridgerton...let’s just say for sure that she looked biracial...What would happen in one generation? How might society be more diverse and inclusive? ...It was a way to say, what if?” — Julia Quinn (10:23)

• Julia commends Shondaland’s inventiveness:

  “They found this totally different way...just to change the nature of society based on Queen Charlotte, which I thought was brilliant.” (29:07)

4. From Page to Screen — Julia’s Role and Reflections

• On selling the adaptation rights:

  “Are you willing to give up creative control? And I immediately said yes...I did not want to mess this deal up...But it’s also really easy to take that attitude when you’re working with Shondaland. They know what they’re doing.” — Julia Quinn (01:29, repeated at 27:15)

• Julia describes her minimal role (“almost not at all”) in the show and praises the addition of Queen Charlotte as the show’s connective scaffolding:

  “That is the addition of Queen Charlotte...she really acts as the scaffolding that connects all the seasons.” (29:44)

• On Julie Andrews voicing Lady Whistledown:

  “I stopped breathing for long enough that I legitimately should be dead...My husband was home and he knows nothing about pop culture or anything, but he knows Julie Andrews.” — Julia Quinn (43:47)

5. Writing Process & Literary Craft

• The value of female friendships and sisterhood in her books:

  “At that time, you really didn’t see female friendships in romance...I just want, like, a healthy friendship in here...” — Julia Quinn (14:20)

• Thoughts on narrative POV:

  “I don’t break the fourth wall or anything. So I go back and forth [close third person]...the big trick is not to...do what writers call head hopping...” (24:28)

• Favorite and least-favorite tropes:

  “I do like a good amnesia book from time to time...you’re only allowed one amnesia book as an author...
  ...I’m not a big age gap fan. It just. It kind of creeps me out.” (55:58, 56:21)

• Changes as a writer:

  “Hopefully I’ve just gotten better...writing, there’s a macro-level...and then there’s, can you write a damn sentence?” (32:14)

6. Book World, Fame, and Fan Interactions

• On the meteoric rise post-Netflix:

  “Nothing could be as oh, my God crazy as now...before the show, I was definitely considered one of the bestselling historical romance authors.” (19:59)

• On favorite fan moments:

  “My favorite reviews were the ones where people said, I don’t even like the book, but I have to get the next one.” (21:00)

• On secrecy about the deal:

  “It took a year and a half before it became public. So you now know I can keep a secret.” (19:29)

7. Personal Anecdotes & Fun Facts

• Julia’s game show experience — Weakest Link:

  “I got all my history correct when I was on that game show. I was not the weakest link!” (34:39)

• Brief med school stint:

  “I did, but only for a few months. But long enough to dissect a human backside, which looks disturbingly like a piece of brisket.” (37:26)

• Family and feminism:

  “It’s a miracle really, because neither of us knew what we were doing...we grew up alongside each other and did not grow apart. It’s not a you complete me thing. It’s, I am better with you, but I am still my own person.” (40:03)
  “You get to do this and this and this, because of feminists.” (67:06)

8. Book Recs, Clubs & Upcoming Projects

• Julia plugs her new historical romance book club, J.Q. Editions, for special edition reprints.

  “Every book is picked by me...It is not a committee...Did I think this book was amazing? That’s how you get it.” (64:30)

• Recommends “All We Have is Time” (age gap time-travel/vampire romance), “How to Commit a Post Colonial Murder,” and “And Now Back to You” by B.K. Borison.

• Announces a top-secret new project and activism against book bans:

  “I have something pretty cool planned that I’ll be announcing later this year...I have been...leaning into more philanthropy and political advocacy. Been talking a lot about why book bans are really, really bad.” (31:49, 65:43)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Literary Adaptations:

  “I’m not gonna be the person who’s gonna tell Shonda Rhimes how to make television.” — Julia Quinn (02:04, 28:12)

• On Queen Charlotte and diversity:

  “If she did present as biracial, that was not something that the English crown was gonna play up. What they did with Bridgerton...is say, society is different, and we don’t have to explain it all.” — Julia Quinn (10:23)

• On her favorite aspect of being adapted for TV:

  “Queen Charlotte truly acts as the scaffolding that connects all the seasons … and Golda Rosheuvel is a tour de force.” — Julia Quinn (29:44)

• On male characters missing obvious clues:

  “Anybody who doubts this has never had a male Instacart shopper—has never had their dad look for ketchup in the fridge.” — Julia Quinn, about Benedict not recognizing “Sophie” (46:31)

• On feminism:

  “Everything running is political. Wearing pants, political. Using our own money, political.” — The Maher sisters & Julia Quinn (66:33)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:11] Introducing Julia Quinn and her “classic middle child” status.
• [07:45] Era of Gen Z queens and European royal succession.
• [10:01] Queen Charlotte’s historical identity and the adaptation’s creative choices.
• [14:20] The power of female friendships in romance writing.
• [17:43] Julia recounts how Shondaland and Shonda Rhimes discovered Bridgerton.
• [19:59] Discussing the before-and-after effect of the Netflix adaptation.
• [24:28] Literary technique: point-of-view choices in romance writing.
• [29:44] Favorite change in adaptation: addition of Queen Charlotte.
• [34:39] Game show and Barnes & Noble anecdotes.
• [37:26] Brief, comical tales of med school.
• [40:03] Julia discusses meeting her husband and their relationship values.
• [43:47] Reacting to Julie Andrews cast as Lady Whistledown.
• [55:58, 56:21] Favorite and least favorite romance tropes; shoutout to “All We Have is Time.”
• [64:02] Launch of Julia’s subscription book club “J.Q. Editions.”
• [66:02-67:11] Feminism, women’s rights, and the political context of romance writing.

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Closing Notes

• Julia’s warmth, humor, and candor make this episode a must-listen for fans of romance, Bridgerton, or anyone curious about how stories leap from the page to pop culture phenomenon.
• The Maher sisters bring a witty, supportive, and refreshingly honest tone, underscoring the show’s celebration of strong women, real conversations, and literary joy.

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For more:

• Bridgerton books by Julia Quinn — available now
• Julia’s J.Q. Editions book club on Kickstarter
• “All We Have Is Time” (forthcoming); “How to Commit a Post Colonial Murder” and B.K. Borison’s “And Now Back to You” (recs)
• @HouseOfMar for highlights, upcoming episodes, and behind-the-scenes content

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End of summary.
(This summary skips non-content segments, ads, and outro plugs.)

Transcript

[Julia Quinn]

So good, so good, so good.

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[Julia Quinn]

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[Julia Quinn]

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[Julia Quinn]

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[Julia Quinn]

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[Podcast Sponsor Announcer]

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[Julia Quinn]

thing that happens when Hollywood comes to you and says, can we adapt your book? Is they say, are you willing to give up creative control? And I immediately said yes, for a couple reasons. The first one was I did not want to mess this deal up. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for my whole genre. Nobody had gotten a deal like this. There were Hallmark movies and there was Outlander.

[Host 1]

Right?

[Julia Quinn]

So I wanted this to happen. I wanted it to be a delight to work with. But it's also really easy to take that attitude when you're working with Shondaland. They know what they're doing. I mean, I am not gonna be the person who's gonna tell Shonda Rhimes how to make television.

[Commercial Announcer]

Right?

[Host 1]

Right.

[Julia Quinn]

No, I mean, can I give you some rugby hints?

[Host 2]

Please, please. After this. It's not amazing. Welcome or welcome back to House of Mar a Wave original brought to you by Intuit TurboTax. Now this is taxes Dear reader, help yourself to whatever's in the fridge. The WI fi password is thisseasonsdiamond, all caps. You should know that we have a few house rules here.

[Host 1]

Girls are magic.

[Host 2]

Reading is hot, and so are you. Make sure to check us out on YouTube. Like, subscribe and do all the things.

[Host 1]

All the things get crazy with it.

[Host 2]

Our fourth March sister today is a sister herself. Is a mastermind behind the Bridgerton family, a literary universe so powerful, it convinced Shonda Rhimes to lead one of the biggest shows in Netflix history. She's in the Romance Writers hall of Fame. And when she's not creating the characters were all obsessed with, she's winning game shows, being spoofed on the Simpsons, and reminding men everywhere that they need to level up to meet the standard set in romance novels. Keep working on that. Give a huge welcome to Bridgerton author Julia Quinn. Oh, my gosh, a legend.

[Julia Quinn]

Thank you so much for being here. This is so exciting for me because I am also one of three sisters.

[Host 1]

Oh, my God.

[Host 2]

And you're. Where are you in the order?

[Julia Quinn]

The middle, these two.

[Host 1]

Are you a classic middle?

[Julia Quinn]

Well, I guess it depends on how you define classic middle. What is classic middle?

[Host 1]

To me, I think of a middle as, like, a bit more of a. Like, the second born is always more rebellious, a bit more beats to their own drama.

[Host 2]

I wasn't very rebellious either, but I do kind of, I guess, rebellious in terms of. I did like, rugby. Nobody else did that, so a little. But I'm a rule follower.

[Julia Quinn]

I am. I am also a rule follower. Like, I'm the person who's like, we'll figure out. And I could. Maybe I could have been a lawyer, but I will figure out, like, everything I can do within the rules and, like, do that, but I'm not the rule breaker.

[Host 2]

Did you have a sister that was a rule breaker? This is ours.

[Julia Quinn]

Oh, mine was the older one.

[Host 1]

Oh, yeah.

[Host 3]

Olivia, step it up.

[Host 1]

Sorry. Sorry.

[Host 2]

My.

[Host 1]

What kind of rules would she break?

[Julia Quinn]

Oh, you know, like, sneaking out of the house and stuff like that. I mean, it wasn't that hard. We lived in, like, a little, like, condo, and it's all on the main floor, so, like, to go out the window is not dangerous in the slightest, you know? And one time, I remember my mom even said, like, you know, when a time's for you guys to marry, you should just elope because it'd be a lot cheaper and I'd be all like, are you gonna just, like, buy us a little stepladder or something?

[Host 1]

Yeah, right.

[Julia Quinn]

I Mean, we don't even need, like, a ladder to go up to the ladder.

[Host 3]

It's almost too easy.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah, it'd be super easy.

[Host 1]

Yeah. I was asking to be sneaked out of that house for sure. This is our rule breaker.

[Host 3]

I was just. I didn't break too many rules, But I was just. I didn't follow the status quo as much.

[Host 1]

Right. She underage, drank, not us.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah.

[Host 3]

Oh, and I talked back.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Julia Quinn]

And you guys are also native New Englanders, too.

[Host 2]

Where are you from?

[Julia Quinn]

That's right. I'm a kineticuticle. We're in Connecticut, girl. Ridgefield. Yes, I know. I've been looking you up, and I've been trying to make the word connecticuticle happen for so many years.

[Host 2]

That freaked me out when you first said that. Yeah.

[Host 1]

It was interesting.

[Host 2]

In my time in Connecticut, Quinnipiac, go Bobcats. I've never heard that.

[Julia Quinn]

I made it up, and I cannot make it catch on, But I'm gonna make it happen eventually. Cause the other thing is to call yourself a nutmegger. And I think Connecticut.

[Host 2]

I like connecticuticle better than nutmegger.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Nutmegger.

[Host 3]

Something's wrong.

[Julia Quinn]

So I think the senators, Chris Murphy, and I think Rosa DeLauro is the. She was. I think I voted for her when I lived last time I lived there. And so, yes, we need to make Connecticuticle happenaticuticles.

[Host 3]

Is it just kinetic? What is a plural for Connecticut person?

[Host 2]

Connecticutian.

[Julia Quinn]

I looked it up. It's like nutmegger because it's a nutmeg way. Yeah.

[Host 1]

That doesn't. No, it sounds sexual. I don't know.

[Host 2]

We have a lot of family still there, so I will do my best to. Oh, how are my kinetic cuticles doing over there in North Haven?

[Julia Quinn]

North Haven. I worked at the North Haven Barnes and Noble. Did you really? I did.

[Host 1]

Oh, my God. Yeah. That's where you spent.

[Host 2]

I spent a lot of time there.

[Julia Quinn]

I mean, I left when you were in your single digits, so I am that old. But I worked at that bookstore. I originally signed on as Christmas help because I need extra people. And then they kept me on because I actually knew about books. Yeah, right. You know, when they actually find somebody who reads, they're really excited about that, and they let me work there for the rest of the time. My husband was in medical school at only, like, eight hours a week, which normally they don't do. And I did the romance section, and I did the mystery section, and that was pretty much it.

[Host 3]

Oh, my gosh.

[Julia Quinn]

And I loved it.

[Host 1]

This was, like, probably Barnes Noble heyday too of like cozy, almost like coffee, jazz shop kind of vibes. Was it then?

[Julia Quinn]

I don't know if I'd say that, but we did have a little coffee stand and it was Starbucks, but it wasn't a Starbucks. It was like the Barnes and Noble little stand that sold Starbucks. And I was there when they introduced the Frappuccino as a new product.

[Host 2]

Oh my God, how exciting. It really was.

[Julia Quinn]

And all of us are in there going like, did they put crack in this?

[Host 1]

Yeah, right.

[Julia Quinn]

Like it goes down so easy and we're just like, make another one. What the heck?

[Host 1]

You're shelving books like this.

[Julia Quinn]

Like wait. Yeah, exactly. And then at one point they lowered our discount on books but upped it on coffee. And I was like, they just want to keep us caffeinated during the Christmas season.

[Host 3]

Just 50 grams of sugar.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah, right, exactly, exactly.

[Host 1]

Franking.

[Host 2]

Well, let's get head to Connecticut soon. Yeah, let's all kind of trip.

[Host 1]

Connecticut alone is going to. Alone. She'll make that happen, don't worry.

[Host 2]

Deeply sexual place of Connecticut.

[Host 1]

The nutmeggers. No, I don't think so.

[Julia Quinn]

No Connecticuticles.

[Host 1]

Perfect. Well, I think we should go over into the group chat. So this is what's going on with us and online it's what we're talking about in our group chat. Maybe girl news, what's happening in our lives. But what we wanted to talk about today is that we are entering the era of queens in Europe. Have you heard about this?

[Julia Quinn]

Yes, yes, yes I do.

[Host 1]

So it's basically for everyone listening that doesn't know a Gen Z generation of female heirs is preparing to take the thrones, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden. And I guess in those places there's new laws that allow for the firstborn to inherit regardless of gender.

[Julia Quinn]

Not in Spain though. Not in Spain, No. In Spain it is just lucky that there's. If she had had a younger brother then he would have jumped her.

[Host 2]

Really?

[Host 1]

But she doesn't have.

[Julia Quinn]

She doesn't. So she just has a younger sister.

[Host 1]

God. Oh my gosh. And she's the one that's in like military academy or training school. She seems like a badass.

[Julia Quinn]

She seems pretty cool.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Julia Quinn]

And can I say like. So I was, I, I was reading about you guys and I know that you are half Dutch.

[Host 3]

Yes.

[Julia Quinn]

And you seriously look like one of the Dutch princesses.

[Host 2]

We were just talking about that in the, in the green room because like

[Host 3]

all of our Dutch family, whenever they see me, they're like, you look just like Princess Amalia. So it's like, maybe I know my face too much, but I'm like, she just seems like a redhead with a rounder face.

[Julia Quinn]

I think you look like her younger sister.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 3]

Oh, her younger sister.

[Julia Quinn]

The middle one.

[Host 2]

Okay.

[Julia Quinn]

I could agree with that.

[Host 3]

But I always get Amalia, and I'm like, I don't see it, guys.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah, no, I think you like the other one.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 3]

I'm honored, actually.

[Host 2]

Maybe.

[Host 3]

Guys, that's where I get the red hair.

[Julia Quinn]

Their mom is a badass.

[Host 1]

Yes.

[Julia Quinn]

Queen Maxima. Yeah.

[Host 1]

Queen Maxima.

[Julia Quinn]

Oh, yeah.

[Host 2]

Married into the family. Or she's the head.

[Julia Quinn]

She married in part.

[Host 2]

She married into it.

[Julia Quinn]

She's Argentinian and has, like, a degree in economics and was really had quite the career before she met and married then Prince Willem Alexander. Yeah, something like that.

[Host 3]

Kind of sounds. Right.

[Host 1]

We can call it.

[Julia Quinn]

I know. Kind of, like a ridiculous amount of it.

[Host 1]

No, we love it. This. We figured you'd be a perfect. Perfect words.

[Julia Quinn]

Oh, yeah.

[Host 1]

Wait, we just had a picture of them up. These are the Dutch princesses.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah. So the one in the purple is the one. I think you look like.

[Host 1]

Okay.

[Host 2]

A slay.

[Host 3]

I love that. I gotta start doing my hair like that.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 3]

Which one of those stunning left is Princess Amalia? The crown princess.

[Host 2]

Oh, there's three girls as well.

[Julia Quinn]

Yes.

[Host 2]

Point yourself out. I'm the middle one. Of course.

[Host 1]

I'm the crown princess.

[Host 3]

Okay. My twin.

[Host 2]

Beautiful.

[Host 1]

Now they're stunning. They really are.

[Host 2]

So cool.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

Oh, I love it.

[Host 2]

Also, the girls were just telling me, I think it was a video online about how Queen Charlotte was actually a woman of color in real life.

[Julia Quinn]

Well, we think so. So here's what we know. We know that she had African ancestry for sure, because her family tree is pretty well established. What we don't know is if she actually presented as biracial. And there's no way we'll know that for sure.

[Host 1]

Right.

[Julia Quinn]

But what we also know is that if she did present as biracial, that was not something that the English crown was gonna play up. And so what they did with Bridgerton is they said, okay, let's just say for sure that she looked biracial and that this was accepted by the crown. And how does that change society? So that's how they played with that, which I thought was so cool, because it was a way to say, okay, what would happen in one generation? How might society be more diverse and inclusive? And we can just say it's like that without having to go into, like, accept explaining everything.

[Host 1]

Right, right.

[Julia Quinn]

And then, of course, they went back and did Queen Charlotte and explained it there.

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah. Which then you went and then novelized Queen Charlotte.

[Julia Quinn]

I did.

[Host 3]

Oh, my gosh.

[Host 1]

What was that like?

[Julia Quinn]

That was crazy, that. So I knew I was gonna be doing that for a few months before I actually could get started. Because the way we did it, it wasn't like I was holed up in a room with Shonda. Although that would've been very exciting. She wrote the scripts, gave me the scripts, and then I turned them into a book. So it was the exact opposite of the normal process.

[Host 2]

Yeah. Right.

[Julia Quinn]

So I said, okay, I'm gonna go online and research how do you do this? And there's nothing, absolutely nothing. And so I thought, okay, well, people may say I did it badly, but nobody can ever say I did it wrong because I can't find anything like this except for maybe some Star wars stuff and, like, Jaws.

[Host 1]

So you literally wrote the book?

[Julia Quinn]

I literally wrote the book.

[Host 1]

You literally wrote the book.

[Julia Quinn]

But it was really fun. It was like a puzzle, you know, like, okay, what am I keeping what I'm doing? And then I'd have these great writing days where I'm like, oh, my Gosh, I wrote 15 pages, which is a lot. And then I realized, actually, half of those is literally just retyping Shonda's dialogue. You know, it counts.

[Host 1]

It counts.

[Julia Quinn]

I'm going so fast.

[Host 1]

It's in there.

[Julia Quinn]

But anything that made you cry was Shonda's fault.

[Host 1]

Okay. Just so you know, blame her.

[Host 2]

That one's a fan favorite, right? Like Queen Charlotte. The show was a big one.

[Julia Quinn]

Well loved one. I think so. Yeah.

[Host 2]

A well loved one.

[Host 1]

Very cool. I really enjoyed it.

[Julia Quinn]

Definitely a little more serious than Bridgerton overall.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

Yes.

[Host 3]

I feel like maybe this isn't the one for the group chat, but I wanna know, do you have a favorite book of yours?

[Julia Quinn]

No, I get asked that all the time. And, no, it's a good question and it's a logical question, but it's sort of like each book has aspects that are important to me, and it may be things that you'll never know. It may be something that was going on in my life at the time. You know, the one I wrote when I was trying to figure out, like, how to be a mother for the first time and have a newborn. And I'm proud of myself that I actually got a book written or, you know, or maybe there's a scene or something. And so I really can't pick. But what's interesting is that, you know, some of my books are the fan favorites and the ones that aren't, I always feel like they're underdogs. And so I'm kind of rooting for them a little bit, being like, this one's special too. You should check this one out.

[Host 1]

I love that. Do you have a group chat that

[Julia Quinn]

you're a part of? I have several group chats. I have sister chat.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Julia Quinn]

I have my family group chat, which is like my nuclear family. Then I have cousins on my mom's side, cousins on my dad's side. I've got group chats.

[Host 1]

They're active.

[Julia Quinn]

They are, yeah.

[Host 2]

Do you have a funny name for any of them? We love a good funny name.

[Julia Quinn]

Sister chat is just sister. It's just my sisters with a little.

[Host 3]

That's exactly what ours is.

[Host 1]

Ours is sisters with emojis.

[Julia Quinn]

Oh, ours. Like my sisters, but yeah.

[Host 1]

Oh, okay. My sisters. That's cute. I love that.

[Host 2]

Well, let's get into tea time.

[Host 1]

Let's get into tea time. We're all ripping and roaring for it.

[Host 2]

Okay, tea time. The tea's piping hot. And I want to learn everything about you and your writing and whatever the hot literary tea is today. Tea time is brought to you by Intuit turbotex. Okay, so you have written many successful books. Ajan and I were talking about it last night. One thing that we love about your books is the dialogue you have between women. And even Daphne and her mom and the sisters. I think it's something special. Maybe a little think we were talking about, like, maybe some people will criticize for being pretty modern, but I love that. And does that come from, you know, you talking with your sisters or you talking with your mom?

[Julia Quinn]

Probably. I mean, you know, I get a lot of questions saying, like, you know, why did you choose to do this? And why did you choose to do that? And for the most times, I'm. I don't know why. But one thing I do remember when I was writing my very first book back in. I started in 1992 when I was finishing college, was that I thought to myself, I wanted to the heroine to have a friend who's female because. And this is different now, but at that time, you really didn't see female friendships in romance. You know, I think it was a way of isolating the character. And, you know, an isolated character can make for a very interesting character. So, you know, it just seemed like the secondary women female character was always either maybe her younger sister she had to take care of cause they were starving or some evil, awful person. And I was like, I just want, like, a healthy friendship in here. So I gave her a cousin who she was visiting. And since then, it just kind that I. Not in every book, but in a lot of them, you have these female friendships, either between family members or just someone they know. And I think it really adds to it. I mean, most of my readers are women, and I think it's something that we relate to or having those conversations. And a lot of times when I'm writing my books, I have found that the scenes I've enjoyed writing the most are not the ones between the hero and the heroine, but between one of the main characters and a side character as a part of their friendship.

[Host 3]

And I'd agree. Like, I think I've read your books. Watching the show, like, I'm always so gravitated towards the female characters rather than, like, still love the love interests. But I'm like, for me, the draw is the female characters, the heroines themselves, because it's. I feel like it's. Sometimes you don't see them. Like, they're just so interesting. And he's a man. She is so interesting.

[Host 1]

And he was there.

[Host 3]

And he was there, too. Maybe if you were looking more. So, like, roles reverse, maybe be more interesting. But I was like, this is just. There's so much meat to it, which I think we're missing sometimes.

[Julia Quinn]

Thank you. I mean, kind of the goal in writing historical romance, at least for me, especially when you're writing in the Regency, which is kind of tends to be like this glamorous thing. You know, we've got these characters who are certainly not my forebears. I mean, my ancestors at that time were digging potatoes somewhere. Yeah, they were not doing well.

[Host 2]

Ours too, probably.

[Host 1]

Ours too. Look at our builds.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah, okay, but can you give them emotions and hopes and dreams and psyches that are relatable to a modern woman or modern, you know, or even with the male characters, too. I was just talking about this about Benedict. I mean, one of the things that really drives Benedict in the books, and I think they carried this over to the show pretty well, is that he feels overlooked that he, you know, people call him number two. He feels, you know, he's not the heir. And this is in a society where, like, it's all on the firstborn guy. He's, you know, he's the spare, and he's just like, oh, you're one of the Bridgerton brothers. You're one of this, one of that. And that really kind of feeds into his sense of self, that he is how does he make himself an individual when he's got this big family? And I think that's something that a lot of people can relate to. You know, you don't need to be a handsome, aristocratic guy in 1815.

[Host 1]

You're the second. Do you feel that way?

[Host 2]

Yes, yes, absolutely. So overlooked.

[Host 1]

She's so overlooked.

[Host 2]

I know I need more attention.

[Host 1]

How could she get more attention?

[Host 2]

So your first Bridgerton didn't come out till like 2000?

[Julia Quinn]

Yes.

[Host 2]

When did it get picked up?

[Julia Quinn]

2017.

[Host 2]

2017. And what. How did that come about? Did you get an email in your inbox?

[Julia Quinn]

Like, I got a phone call from my agent and I was sitting in Starbucks because, you know what I mean, it was a hot coffee by then, but sitting in Starbucks. And my agent called and you know, usually he emails. So I was like, oh, Steve, what are you. He said, yeah, I just had the most interesting call. And I. I was like, oh. And he said, have you heard of Shonda Rhimes? And I said, hilarious. He said, well, you know, it wasn't her. It was her people. I would say her people called my people. And by people, I have one person. And she wanted to know if the Bridgerton series was available for adaptation. And I said, oh, my gosh, I can't believe you even thought you needed to call me. Will you call them right back right now? And what happened, I found out later, was that she was traveling and she's a huge reader and she always brings books. And she got sick and she ran out of books. And the Duke and I happened to be at her hotel or inn or wherever she was. And that is how lucky I am.

[Host 2]

Oh, my God.

[Julia Quinn]

I know. She'd never read a romance novel before.

[Host 3]

Oh my gosh.

[Host 2]

Interesting.

[Host 1]

I mean, yeah, she lucked out. That's a good one to pick up first.

[Julia Quinn]

She just picked that one up and she said she went out later and bought all the rest of the book. She's like, I was still feverish. I went out, got all the books, like, oh my. Oh, I love it. And then. And so here's the fun part. Then she starts telling everybody, Shondaland you have. She called them these crazy romance novels, which I take no offense at. I think was crazy just cause it was. She. She'd never read one. And she kept telling everybody, you have to read these crazy romance novels and then passing it out. And by the time I finally went to Shondaland for the first time, you know, the people there were saying, oh my gosh. The parking attendant was reading them. We had everybody reading them, and this is all happening, and I have no idea.

[Host 3]

Oh, my gosh.

[Julia Quinn]

Cause it's all happening in the months before they actually call. And so it was just like, my life is changing. I have no idea. Until this phone call in January 2017.

[Host 1]

Interesting.

[Julia Quinn]

And then it took a year and a half before it became public. So you now know I can keep a secret.

[Host 1]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Host 2]

Trust.

[Julia Quinn]

So, like, turn this off and tell her.

[Host 3]

Yeah, do anything you want to tell her.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah, dude.

[Host 1]

She can hide a professional right now.

[Host 2]

So that's crazy then. So you put the books out at the beginning of the 2000s and just, like, put it out as for people to read, and then, I don't know, were they, like, extremely popular, or did the show just make it, like, was it oh, my God crazy in the early 2000s when it came out, when

[Host 1]

there was no book talk?

[Julia Quinn]

You know, I wouldn't say oh, my God crazy. Cause first of all, nothing could be as oh, my God crazy as now. Yeah, right, right. They did pretty well. I mean, before the show, I was definitely considered one of the bestselling historical romance authors. But the Duke and I, which was the first one, I mean, that did not hit the New York Times list or anything that was, you know, because they're eight books long. But I think it was the third one. Was the first one. The first time I ever hit the New York Times list.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Julia Quinn]

And so it was just growing. I was. You know, it was a respectable. It was not a lead title, but it did. We did see a bump there. We did see that something was picking up, that people really were liking the series, and people were really liking the Lady Whistledown mystery. And they were also a little miffed, because the thing about romance novels, as you guys know, is that they end up real neat and tidy in the end. Right. You have your happy ending, and that's why we love them. Le Beau, which you had in the Duke and I, you know, Daphne and the Duke, and they're all happy and everything, but I didn't say who Lady Whistledown was. And everyone's like, what?

[Host 2]

Yeah, right.

[Julia Quinn]

What? You know? And so my favorite reviews were the ones where people said, I don't even like the book, but I have to get the next one.

[Host 2]

You're like, gotcha.

[Host 3]

You're like, give me that money.

[Julia Quinn]

I'm okay with that.

[Host 2]

We were talking about that as well, because in the books, it's not until Penelope. Yeah. When it actually tells who Lady Dusta. Don Ajana was saying, like, she actually would have Liked it. Maybe in the show if we'd had waited a little bit. Cause it's at the end of first

[Julia Quinn]

season, you know, they went back and forth on what they were gonna do. And I would've loved that, too, except you could just Google it. Anybody would've just Googled.

[Host 3]

That's so true. You know, Google exists. Search engines.

[Julia Quinn]

And, you know, it's one thing when it's just the book world and people. You know, when it was just the book world, like, if I was doing an event, I never said who Lady Whistledown was, even though a lot of people knew, because, you know, you'd have to go out of your way to find out who she is. Really. You know, it wasn't something that would just come through on your Instagram feed. And so I think they just figured there's no way they could not have it spoiled.

[Host 3]

And also, when I watched the first season, I hadn't read any of your books, and I immediately. The first one I picked up was Penelope's book. I went straight to that one. I was like, well, that's my story.

[Host 1]

I know it.

[Julia Quinn]

Okay.

[Host 3]

Because also, I was like, redhead.

[Host 2]

Okay.

[Host 3]

Overall, I see myself in her.

[Julia Quinn]

I love that.

[Host 1]

And now, do you have a personal favorite storyline from your own books that's maybe different from the adaptation? Like certain characters?

[Julia Quinn]

I wouldn't say that. I mean, the one thing that, I mean it's in the show, but it's bigger in the books, is Anthony's fear of dying young. And that's something that I did pull from real life. There's somebody I knew whose father had died quite young, and he was just convinced that he would die before the age of 45 or whatever. And I thought it was just such a fascinating psychological thing. And I was talking to my aunt, who's a psychologist, and she said, no, it's actually really common among people who. Especially if it's the same gender parent that you lost of just thinking, like, I will not be able to live longer than my parent lived if Lily die young.

[Host 1]

Interesting.

[Julia Quinn]

So I just thought, oh, that's like an interesting quirk to give character. Yeah.

[Host 1]

And now, like, does you find. Does it give them a sense of wanting to live life larger or a more conservative way, kind of more careful in the way that maybe Anthony.

[Julia Quinn]

I think it could go either way. I think the person in my life was living life larger, and I think Anthony was the other way around. Living more conservative.

[Host 2]

It's that time of year again.

[Host 1]

What time? Tax season.

[Host 2]

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[Host 3]

I'm always concerned they've missed something or that they weren't done right.

[Host 2]

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[Host 1]

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[Host 2]

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[Host 3]

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[Host 2]

I have a question in writing. Okay, so sometimes I read books like where it's just from the main

[Host 1]

woman

[Host 2]

and it's just from her mind. And then I'll read books kind of where it's like one chapter from her mind and then we go to dual pov. Is that what people call dual POV with your books? You kind of do like a mix in, almost like you're just a third party in everybody's mind. How do you write like that or why do you choose to write like that? I like that cause I like to know what he's thinking and what she's thinking.

[Julia Quinn]

The dual PV that you're talking about, where it's both people in first person, that's pretty new. And by new meaning, like I've been doing this for 30 years, so it's new to me. It's been around for a while. I don't know, maybe in the last 10 years or so. And it's become very, very popular. Contemporary romance and things like that. You don't see it in historical that much. When I started writing, almost all books were either first person, which is, I think, what you're talking about first, where you're in the heroine's mind, the main female character's mind. I mean, I guess it could be the guy too, but generally it's the woman for romance at least. Or it was third person, which is what I do. And the third person can be omniscient, narrator, or kind of get into the minds. And I'm. I don't break the fourth wall or anything. So I go back and forth in them. And the big trick to that is that you need to not do what writers call head hopping, which is when you're going back and forth between the heads of the characters. But you do it in a clunky way, and it can get confusing where all of a sudden you're like, wait a minute. What?

[Host 1]

Who?

[Julia Quinn]

Who?

[Host 1]

What?

[Julia Quinn]

And so most people will do the character POV switch at, like, the chapter or a chapter break or something. If you're gonna do it, like, within the text, you have to actually think kind of hard about how you do it.

[Host 1]

Interesting.

[Julia Quinn]

But I like it because I like to know what everybody's saying.

[Host 2]

I do, too. No, I. I enjoy that because some books, like, it's. When it's just the woman's point of view, especially in romance. You're like, I want to know how jealousy is.

[Host 1]

Is he yearning? Yeah, I know.

[Host 2]

They always say you see it in the eyes. I'm like, okay.

[Julia Quinn]

Have you. Have you read the Hating Game by Sally Thorne?

[Host 2]

I think I did read that one.

[Julia Quinn]

I love that book. And I told her once, I said I would pay good money to get his point of view.

[Host 2]

Oh, yeah.

[Julia Quinn]

And she's like, I don't know. And I was just like, ugh, come on. I would easily just buy the book again. I paid, like, hardcover price. You know, it came out in paperback. I would pay a lot. I really want to know what he's thinking.

[Host 1]

I mean, didn't.

[Host 3]

It's like Midnight Sun.

[Host 1]

Oh, yeah. I was gonna say Stephanie Meyers went back and wrote from Edward's first, like, brain the whole time. That's Midnight Sun.

[Host 3]

We also just read Mate by Ali Hazelwood. And I like how it's all from her point of view, but, like, at the beginning of each chapter, there's, like, three sentences from.

[Host 1]

And it was just, like, tantalizing.

[Host 3]

Just a nice. A taste.

[Host 2]

Yeah, that was nice. I do enjoy that she's, by the

[Julia Quinn]

way, one of the loveliest humans on the planet. I have. Yeah, she's super, super nice. And, you know, English is not her first language.

[Host 1]

Get out of here.

[Julia Quinn]

I'm not kidding. She's Italian.

[Host 2]

Whoa.

[Julia Quinn]

I know.

[Host 3]

I will say, I think some of the best authors don't have English as the first language if they write in English. Like, I grew up, like, in the time of, like, Wattpad and, like, AO3 and everything. And there's always some people, like, sorry, this isn't my first. English is my first language, and they're

[Host 1]

writing the most beautiful woman I know.

[Host 3]

And so I'm of the opinion. I'm like, I hope English isn't your first language.

[Host 1]

That's hilarious. How involved are you with the show?

[Julia Quinn]

Almost not at all.

[Host 1]

Really?

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah. So the first thing that happens when Hollywood comes to you and says, can we adapt your book? Is they say, are you willing to give up creative control? And I immediately said yes for a couple reasons. The first one was I. I did not want to mess this deal up. I was aware this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, not just for me, but for my whole genre. Nobody had gotten a deal like this before. There were Hallmark movies, and there was Outlander and Outlander. There's a lot of romance in it, but it's not a romance. And don't get me wrong, I love Outlander. Love, love, love Outlander. But it's not a romance. She was breaking every wall and rule and whatever. And I'm like writing. I'm in the box. I'm in the romance box. So I wanted this to happen. I wanted to be a delight to work with. But it's also really easy to take that attitude when you're working with Shondaland because they know what they're doing. I mean, I'm not gonna be the person who's gonna tell Shonda Rhimes how to make television.

[Host 1]

Right? Right.

[Julia Quinn]

No, I mean, can I give you some rugby hints, please, after this? I mean, it's just like the hubris. So, no, I'm not gonna tell her to make television. And also, it's just as a company, their values align with mine. I think they do such good work. And so I was just saying, you know what? I'm gonna let you work your magic.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

One thing that she did that was like, I'm assuming so different than the time period was the diversity in the cast. And what happened when you heard that, you were just like, okay, cool, let's go.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah, pretty much. But I. So I knew from the outset that they were gonna do something to make it more diverse and inclusive. I mean, in the books, I don't say what race anybody is, but it's implied. They're all white. And I knew she wasn't gonna do that. Cause that's not how she does her shows. But I had no idea how she was gonna make it happen. And I thought either they were gonna go with true colorblind casting, which is that would be like if you had the Bridgerton family. And they did not look like they could even be genetically related, which is not what they did. They do what's called color conscious casting. Cause they put a lot of thought into how they cast characters. Or I thought they would change up the plots to make it to bring in more elements of Kind of the traumatic parts of history around racism and colonialism and stuff like that. And instead they found, like, this totally different way, which we talked about earlier, which was just to change the nature of society based on Queen Charlotte, which I thought was brilliant. It was amazing.

[Host 3]

What was the one change that she made that you were almost jealous of that you didn't think of?

[Julia Quinn]

Oh, that's easy. That is the addition of Queen Charlotte.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Julia Quinn]

I mean, because she. I mean, she's so amazing. And the thing about romance novels is that when you have a series, it's more of a collection of spinoffs rather than sequels. Right. And so Queen Charlotte, I think, really acts as, like, the scaffolding that connects all the seasons. And so. Yeah. And plus, she's written so well, and Golda Roshaval is like, a tour de force. And she is also absolutely as cool as you think she would.

[Host 1]

Ugh. I believe it.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah. She's incredible.

[Host 3]

I so believe it.

[Host 1]

Do you think there's something that romance novels are able to do or accomplish that like a TV show can't, an adaptation can't.

[Julia Quinn]

Oh, that's a good question. I think you just get in the head more. You know, you just can't get into that. The deeper thoughts in the way that you can in a book.

[Host 2]

Question again about writing.

[Julia Quinn]

Okay.

[Host 2]

When you write your female characters, did you write, like, Daphne or anybody in your image or anything like that, or what do you. Cause I guess people try to make it so that this character women can easily put themselves in. Is that something you're conscious of? Do you try to see yourself in your characters?

[Julia Quinn]

I don't think I'm conscious of it. There've been a few times where I have actively pulled from my own experiences, but not necessarily with each character. And the best example would be Penelope in that. And I think there's even some place in the book where she talks about this feeling of knowing who you are on the inside, but not knowing how to present that person on the outside, and feeling like you say something and you're like, wow, that sounded much better in my head. And that just really encapsulated how I felt through high school. And granted, Penelope's older, but I pulled from that. And I think a lot of people really related to that. Cause I think we've all been through parts of our lives. We're just like, okay, this is who I really am. And yet every time I open my mouth, I don't sound like that person. And so that time I did purposely bring it in. And then with Eloise, you know, somebody who interrupts everybody. That's also me. So I'm a mix.

[Host 3]

Do you have any plans to break out of the historical romance, maybe go into a supernatural fantasy thriller?

[Julia Quinn]

I think so. I have something pretty cool planned that I'll be announcing later this year.

[Host 2]

Very exciting, Kendall.

[Julia Quinn]

Yes, it will be. But still historical romance.

[Host 3]

Okay, Vampires and historical.

[Julia Quinn]

No, no, I just, you know, just the whole biting thing, just. It's not for me. It's not for me.

[Host 1]

Sorry. I love it. How have you changed as a writer over all this time?

[Julia Quinn]

I don't know. I mean, I hope I've just gotten better. You know, it's interesting because like, writing, there's like this whole macro level of it, which is story and characterization, and then there's this micro level of it, which is, can you write a damn sentence? And it's really kind of horrifying how many people can't. And so a lot of times people say, well, did you study writing? I'm saying, no, I didn't study writing in college or anything, but I wrote a lot of papers. And when you write a lot of papers, you have to learn how to write a sentence and then how to write a sentence that follows it. That is not the same structure as the previous sentence. Cause if all your sentences have the same structure, people are gonna feel like they're reading a nursery rhyme. And so there's. Yeah, I don't know. I think hopefully I've just got better at both.

[Host 2]

We were big dress up people. Did you play dress up with your sisters? Like, is that where the world started?

[Julia Quinn]

We had a lot of paper dolls.

[Host 2]

Okay.

[Julia Quinn]

More that than dress up. And we would take the paper dolls and I can remember being in my grandparents house, also in Connecticut, and they had a big tv. And this is like the old TV where it's like a little bit rounded, you know, you could actually put your paper doll and kind of tuck it into where the casing was. And then you would stand up and it looked like they were in a show. And I'm pretty sure we lost some paper dolls into the side of the tv.

[Host 1]

Oh God.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah. So if. I don't know if they ever caught on fire or anything, but like we would do that and we had. Did you have color forms? Were those still around?

[Host 1]

Color forms? What is that?

[Julia Quinn]

No, those must have disappeared. They were probably toxic. You know, they were anyway, Holly Hobby color form. So we would do all kinds of dress up things. And then the other thing I remember is my sister and I had a Barbie Catalog.

[Host 2]

Oh, cool.

[Julia Quinn]

Which was actually more fun than actually having Barbies.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Julia Quinn]

And a lot cheaper.

[Host 1]

So it's like the shopping catalog for Barbie.

[Julia Quinn]

It was like this huge catalog with, like, everything Barbie. I don't even know where we got it. But, like, you could look at all the expensive Barbie items. Cause we didn't have enough money to buy stuff like that. And so it'd be like, oh, you know, we have, you know, the Barbie thing. Townhouse with the elevator and dream house. And so we kind of like imagination set up all the Barbies we didn't have, but based off the catalog.

[Host 1]

Okay, well, that got the brain going. Yeah, absolutely. Then. So what then drew you to the Regency era?

[Julia Quinn]

I just really liked to read the books. I somehow fell into the books that were set in that time period. And it just kind of made sense that when I started to write that, I just tried that.

[Host 1]

Yeah, and that became your fixation. You just sort of learned more and more and more.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

And then one game shows off of it and that kind of thing.

[Julia Quinn]

Yes, I did. I got all my history correct when I was on that game show. Yes. Is this where I get to say I was not the weakest link?

[Host 1]

Yes.

[Host 2]

Tell us. You might.

[Julia Quinn]

Weakest link. It was awesome. It was awesome. And I also had to keep that a secret.

[Host 2]

Oh, that was a busy one or

[Host 3]

two years for you.

[Julia Quinn]

Okay. That was a long time before. And so what happened with that was I filmed it in September and I was supposed to air in, like, just October or something. And you sign a piece of paper that says if you give up the result, that I might have to pay NBC a million dollars.

[Host 2]

Oh, my gosh.

[Julia Quinn]

And then I'm thinking to myself, this isn't Survivor, Right? Nobody.

[Host 1]

Nobody care. Like, they care. But, like, come on.

[Julia Quinn]

No, nobody cares. But anyway, I kept it a secret. I'm like, it's not fine. And you also don't get paid till it airs.

[Host 3]

Oh, my God.

[Julia Quinn]

Okay, so these two things are happening, and then I have an air date like a month later, and then we get bumped for super croc.

[Host 1]

Okay.

[Host 2]

And what a super croc. Gotta keep waiting.

[Julia Quinn]

Exactly what it sounds like. It's on National. It's National Geographic about, like. Oh, my God, like, killer crocodiles got

[Host 1]

bumped for super croc.

[Host 3]

They're like, the people need to know about super crocs.

[Julia Quinn]

I got bumped for. It wasn't even Shark Week. I got bumped for super croc. And my husband's all, well, if you're getting a bump for something, I mean,

[Host 1]

at least It's Super Croc.

[Julia Quinn]

And then I was like, okay, so I'll be like, the next week. And then we invaded Afghanistan.

[Host 2]

No.

[Julia Quinn]

Yes. Then we invaded Afghanistan. And okay, like, people, I'm making everybody laugh. So, yeah, I mean, it's not funny that we invaded Afghanistan, but it is funny that, like, I didn't get paid because we invaded Afghanistan. And so they weren't running the show. And then they started doing all of, like, the celebrity versions of. Of Weakest Link.

[Host 1]

Oh, my God.

[Julia Quinn]

I was not a celebrity. I was a regular person. And it kept going and going and going. I'm not getting paid. And then because she on the show, she actually let me say what my pen name was and what my book was. It was actually An Offer from a Gentleman was the latest one. And all of a sudden, somebody posts something online saying, oh, my gosh, good job. I saw you on tv, and I'm thinking, I wasn't on tv. And what happened was it aired in. In the UK and they didn't tell me. And so I immediately notified NBC saying, I need you to know that people are saying something online because, like, I have some profile online, and I did not leak this because I do not want to pay a million dollars. And I was just trying to cover myself not to pay a million dollars. And they just wrote back, said, okay, we'll release your check right now. I was like, really? I get paid now?

[Host 1]

Oh, my gosh. But I also bet there was something in your contract that was. If they decided to never air it, would you just have never gotten paid anything?

[Julia Quinn]

No, I think eventually you get something, and eventually it never did air on network television. I'm just endlessly in the reruns on the Game Show Network.

[Host 3]

Oh, my gosh.

[Julia Quinn]

That's awesome. So I think, like, every 13 weeks, you come up and you see me win on the weakest link. 99 grand.

[Host 1]

Nice.

[Host 2]

Wow. Did I hear you went to med school?

[Julia Quinn]

I did, but only for a few months.

[Host 1]

Oh, okay.

[Julia Quinn]

But long enough to dissect a human backside. Whoa. Which looks disturbingly like a piece of brisket.

[Host 2]

What?

[Julia Quinn]

Ah.

[Host 2]

I don't doubt.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah. And it's kind of funny because before you start, it's called Gross Anatomy, and that's the. When you dissect a human body and beforehand, everyone's sitting, like, going like, oh, my God, this is gonna be so disgusting. I'm not gonna be able to eat after this. And no afterwards. Cause you've been standing for three hours, like, slicing into things, and you're like, I am famished. And everybody's going to be like, get me a burrito when you're done with this. And the other thing is, everybody's going like, I would be such a bad cadaver.

[Host 2]

Nope.

[Julia Quinn]

Well, because you're just like. I mean, I'm like, it would take them so long. Like, you're just like, right here. This would be really tough. Or like, you know, someone's like, I've only got one kidney.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Julia Quinn]

You know, we're just going, like, over your burritos. And then we were so bad by groups, like, I think she was shot. We were convinced our person had been shot. No, it was like the hole that they use, like, the embalming person to drain something. We were all like, we called the professionals. Excuse me, Professor. I think our cadaver was shot.

[Host 2]

You know, what is the case here when you do it to try to figure out how somebody died? Post mortem autopsy. You were doing an autopsy in there?

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah, we were. Yeah. I don't think she was shy.

[Host 1]

And your husband's a doctor?

[Julia Quinn]

He is. He is an infectious disease specialist.

[Host 1]

Oh.

[Julia Quinn]

We had a super fun pandemic.

[Host 2]

He's had some fun. He's some fun in recent years, huh?

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah. You know, first we had the super fun pandemic, and now we have RFK Jr. Yeah. And it's like, I think his head's going to explode. Yeah.

[Host 2]

Gosh.

[Host 1]

Were you at med school together?

[Julia Quinn]

Yes. We were supposed to actually start together, and I deferred for a couple years because I had gotten my first book deal, and then I panicked and I had my mid-20s crisis, and I was like, oh, my God, I'm not qualified for anything. All my friends are going to graduate school. And, I mean, it just shows you how completely narrow my worldview was because I'd already had three books published. And isn't that like, the dream?

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Julia Quinn]

Right. And it says, like, I need more education. What am I gonna do? And so I kind of begged them to let me back in. And. Which I cannot believe because it was literally like, three days before school started. And they let me in. And here's the amazing thing. They never made me pay them any tuition for the two months I was there.

[Host 3]

Huh.

[Julia Quinn]

Wow. And so I actually did put the dean of Yale School of Medicine into one of my books. I just named the character after him. He's in there.

[Host 2]

That's nice of you. Can you tell us a little about your love story?

[Julia Quinn]

My love story? I met my husband ridiculously young. I was only 18. It was my second day of College, second day of freshman week.

[Host 2]

Wow.

[Julia Quinn]

He was a junior. I had gone on the freshman outdoor program, you know, the hiking thing. And my FOP leader was his roommate. And they came over and sat with us in the freshman dining hall. And he. Yeah, and then I ran into him a couple days later on campus, and he said, oh, a bunch of us are going to Jeremy's grandfather's house. Well, you want to come? And I'm thinking, uh, no. Like, I think it's freshman week.

[Host 1]

I think I should stay, be living my life.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah. I'm like. And then, you know, I thought I went so long before we started dating. But, like, it was the end of October, my freshman year. And I always tell my kids, you know, if I could write my own story, I would have been older when I met him. Cause I think that there are things I missed out on, but I did not miss out on enough to, like, throw him back and say, you know, let's not do this. And honestly, it's a miracle, really, because neither of us came from families with, you know, intact. His parents divorced when he was 6, mine when I was 5. So neither of us knew what we were doing. And, like, somehow we grew up alongside each other and did not grow apart. But I think that's in large part because we each have our own identities. So we are not dependent on each other. It's not a you complete me thing. It's a, I am better with you, but I am still my own person on my own.

[Host 1]

But the other authors that we've had on this show are all very happily married and, like, very supportive, wonderful relationships. And I'm like, so I can't write a romance book until then? What the hell?

[Julia Quinn]

No, you can. You can. You absolutely can. You can. And I just, like, shout out to my husband. Cause he is. He's really amazing. So he's an infectious disease doctor. He's climbed Mount Everest.

[Host 2]

Oh, my gosh. No way.

[Julia Quinn]

He has. He has twice.

[Host 1]

That makes my chest.

[Julia Quinn]

I don't know why. Well, he didn't get to the top the first time. Cause he was there the year of the earthquake.

[Host 1]

Oh.

[Julia Quinn]

And so he was at Camp 2 during the earthquake and had to be, like, helicoptered off. I know. Yeah. That was, like, spooky, super fun on my end.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Right.

[Julia Quinn]

So he's climbed Mount Everest, and he's, like, the most supportive, great guy there is, and just a wonderful husband and father and has never minded that I make more money than he does.

[Host 1]

God, that's hot.

[Julia Quinn]

It is, especially.

[Host 3]

Cause he's a doctor too.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Four years of med school, four years of rest of disease.

[Julia Quinn]

Like, hey, well, that's the thing is like, by then he was like so far behind because you, you're making negative money in med school and then in residency, you're making so little. I mean, I think we worked out one time that he was making like $8 an hour as a medical resident and that was if he was only working 80 hour weeks, which he was usually working more than 80 hours a week. I mean, it was.

[Host 2]

And you were at home writing and I was at home writing next to you.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah, I was like, yeah. So, I mean, I definitely made the right decision leaving medicine.

[Host 1]

Between work, life and everything in between, finding time to move can sometimes feel impossible.

[Host 2]

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[Host 3]

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[Host 2]

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[Host 2]

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[Host 3]

So let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push and go.

[Host 2]

I am ready to run, lift, sculpt, push and go. And I hope you are too. So explore the new peloton cross training tread [e-mail] One thing about Bridgerton. How did you feel when Julie Andrews you learned was gonna be voicing?

[Julia Quinn]

Oh my gosh.

[Host 2]

I said, when did you hear that? Did they send. Did they let you know beforehand or did you hear it?

[Julia Quinn]

Oh, no, I knew it before you did. But I stopped breathing for long enough that I legitimately should be dead for some reason. My husband was home when this happened. And I can picture it, he was just like reading on the bed or something. He's like. And he's like, what happened? What happened? What happened? He knows nothing about like pop culture or anything, but he knows Julia. Yeah. So he was like, like, that's pretty cool.

[Host 1]

No husband of yours would not know,

[Julia Quinn]

you'd be surprised if he doesn't know. Yeah, he's. He's pretty out of the loop. And then every now and then he'll pull up some crazy reference like, I was watching the Umbrella Academy with my daughter, and out of nowhere he's like, is that Mary J. Blige?

[Host 2]

Or like, wow, okay.

[Julia Quinn]

The two of us were just like,

[Host 1]

huh, who are you?

[Julia Quinn]

I mean, this is. He knows nothing about pop culture. I have no idea where he got that. And he was right.

[Host 2]

They did some other changes to it where, like in the first one, is she. Is there a diamond of the season?

[Julia Quinn]

No, that's.

[Host 2]

That's new.

[Julia Quinn]

No, I mean, is an expression that existed. And I'm sure it's in one of my books or in several of my books, but it was not a big thing. Like it is in Bridgerton.

[Host 2]

Okay, right.

[Julia Quinn]

So that they ran with in the books, Daphne was not like Ms. Popular.

[Host 2]

She'd been in the season for like, had two non successful seasons.

[Julia Quinn]

Exactly. And her big thing was like, everybody sees me as one of the guys because I have these three brothers. And they're like, oh, you know how to talk to us. Like, you're not scary.

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right.

[Julia Quinn]

And so I'm not interested in you if you don't. So that was kind of her thing going on. But then the rest of what they did was true to the book, the whole fake dating thing and that kind of stuff. So I think they do a pretty good job of like, you can't get everything in there.

[Host 1]

Yeah. What's been the reception to this, the second part of the newest season? Been like, oh, people are loving it.

[Julia Quinn]

It's been great. I mean, the first part ending on Benedict's offer. Cause the book is called An Offer from a Gentleman.

[Host 1]

Yes.

[Julia Quinn]

We thought about calling it Sophie's Chase. Oh, we decided not to. We're like, no, no, we'll go with Offer from a Gentleman. People were just like, at that one. Like, like, what are you doing? And then also, I have to say, in the books, two years goes by before he sees her again. Ooh, that's important. Because everyone's like, hello. How can you not tell it's the same person?

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Julia Quinn]

So in the book, two years have gone by. And remember, we don't have. They don't have phones. He doesn't have like a. You know, can't look at her picture and everything. So it is a bit more believable. But some of the memes I've seen, they're like, Benedict, they're literally, three women of East Asian descent,

[Host 1]

please put two and two together.

[Host 3]

I felt like I was. I had to, like, let all my friends.

[Host 2]

I was like, guys, it's.

[Host 3]

It was two years actually in between. So, like, she would have aged. And I think her hair was different.

[Host 1]

So, guys, she was on the front lines.

[Host 2]

Don't worry.

[Host 3]

I was on the front lines.

[Julia Quinn]

I appreciate you. Yeah. And then also, my favorite, like, tweet or thread or whatever I saw about it. Somebody said, anybody who doubts this has never had a male instacart shopper, has

[Host 3]

never had their dad look for ketchup in the fridge.

[Host 1]

Yes, totally.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

Has your dad see your oldest childhood friend in front of him again? Oh, God.

[Host 2]

Right.

[Julia Quinn]

Good point. So, I mean, I think we have to suspend our disbelief for that one. So anyway, so there's that. But I think, like, everybody. It's like he redeemed himself in the second one.

[Host 2]

I haven't got to watch the second part yet.

[Julia Quinn]

Oh, sorry. Oh, oh, oh.

[Host 1]

I'm doing it really slowly. Cause I don't want it to end. Cause, you know, I need more of it at all times.

[Host 2]

And I wash it in one day.

[Julia Quinn]

Okay, thank you.

[Host 1]

So, I mean, plugging your ears alone's plugging your ears.

[Julia Quinn]

Do we tell them that they should have box of tissues also?

[Host 3]

Oh, no, they actually should. I was fully sopping.

[Host 1]

I just got to that, and I was okay.

[Julia Quinn]

So it was.

[Host 1]

Yeah, it was okay.

[Julia Quinn]

Keep him plugged. That was something in, like, the show that. We know him a lot better in the show than we did in the books. And I knew especially. Cause they introduced him last season. Keep him plugged. Keep him plugged.

[Host 1]

Yep.

[Julia Quinn]

And I was like, oh, this is gonna be devastating.

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Julia Quinn]

Okay, you can stop now.

[Host 2]

And one last thing.

[Host 3]

This isn't gonna. I don't think it'll spoil it. Her acting was phenomenal.

[Julia Quinn]

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

[Host 3]

Blew me away.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah, she, you know, she was Sally Bowles in Cabaret in London. And I didn't get to see her as it, but I accidentally leaked the news on set. And I will share with you the photo of the moment that Florence Hunt found out what happened was beforehand. I was talking with Tom Verica, who's one of the directors and showrunners and everything, and not the showrunner, but he's up there. And I was saying, oh, yeah, I'm going to see Cabaret. And he said, oh, my gosh. Hannah just, you know, signed on to do that. So when I ran into her again, it's like, oh, congratulations on Being Sally Walls. At which point everybody around was like. And he's like, oops. Oh, no.

[Host 3]

Hey.

[Host 2]

You didn't know.

[Host 1]

Yeah, I am.

[Julia Quinn]

If you tell me it's a secret, I'm evolved. If you don't tell me it's a

[Host 1]

secret, it's for the world.

[Julia Quinn]

Exactly. It was fine. She was. But I heard she was amazing. Yeah, she. She was amazing.

[Host 3]

I saw a few sneaky videos from her show, and I was like, God,

[Julia Quinn]

can you tell me how to find that? Because I have not been applying.

[Host 3]

Have you ever heard of slime tutorials? That's how they, like, label it of the illegal videos taken during Broadway or West End shows. Okay, so you'll just type in, like, cabaret. Slime tutorial.

[Host 1]

Thank you.

[Julia Quinn]

No way.

[Host 1]

Thanks for watching me as well.

[Host 3]

Now, have you taken any onset souvenirs home?

[Julia Quinn]

I wish. Oh, I wish. Because those sets are pretty cool. All I have is they cut me a scrap of fabric from one of Penelope's outfits that I use as a bookmark. You know, the thing is, like, these sets are not going away.

[Host 1]

Oh, that's true.

[Julia Quinn]

They are so strict there. I mean, if you give away anything. Like, the last time I visited, I wanted to post something, and I said, what if I post this picture of me and I'm in front of. It's called Video Village. Cause you can't actually be where the actors are to watch them. They're just looking at monitors, and I, like, blur everything out, and they're. And they're like, no, no. And, like, they're literally. There's signs all over the place saying, like, what will happen to you if you leak anything? And, like, there is, like, a statue. It's like I have turned to stone because I have leaked stuff. So. Yeah, you can't leak anything. You can't steal anything.

[Host 1]

That's a good point. It's ongoing. You can't do that.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

I worked on Dickinson on Apple tv, and I got, like. There was an opera episode, and I got the poster that was made for the opera, and it's hanging in my room back home in Vermont. It's a fun little souvenir, so I would love that. So start stealing.

[Julia Quinn]

I would like to try.

[Host 3]

Ask for forgiveness, not permission.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah, I've been learning that. But, you know, the things that would be cool to steal out of there do not fit in my handbag. But one of the funniest things is actually they have. And I don't know if they still have this. This is from season one, I think, you know, a beautiful Picture in a frame like the one you have there. And it is just green screen.

[Host 1]

Right.

[Julia Quinn]

I have a photo of that, too. It's like the funniest thing. And so they do green screen, some of them, not all of them. And when I was watching the first season, and I get early, like, rough cuts, so it's not final. So, like, maybe it's not the final music. You'll see things like on the bottom, it's like, delete airplane. And you look up and there's an airplane going back. And so there's this one scene when Simon and Lady Danbury are looking at a portrait of Simon's mother. And they're like, she. She was so beautiful. And it was just some old white dude. And my husband and son were absolutely convinced they were gonna forget about that. I was like, they are not gonna leave the old white dude in the portrait. And like, no, no, it's gonna happen. It's gonna happen. And when we were watching the final thing, and it was really sweet. It was during COVID so my whole family was home, and we had like. They made tea, made scones and all this stuff. And they're like, wait, the two of them. Cause my daughter hadn't seen it yet. They're like, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it. I was like, hello. Thank you. They're professionals.

[Host 1]

They're professionals.

[Host 2]

We actually went to Lady Danbury's house in Bath. Did you go to Bath?

[Julia Quinn]

I have been to Bath, so they don't film there anymore.

[Host 3]

Oh.

[Julia Quinn]

Because they discovered that it was actually cheaper to rebuild Bath on a soundstage.

[Host 2]

Right, of course.

[Julia Quinn]

Yep. And so. But I did go during season one when they were filming in Bath. And I also took a gap year between high school and college. And I went to school in Gloucestershire.

[Host 1]

Oh, get out.

[Julia Quinn]

And Bath is where we went when they would sort of let me let us loose on the weekends. Cause it was like the last year of the equivalent of high school. So you're still somewhat. You're not free to do whatever you want. And so I can remember going to Bath with my girlfriends, and all they wanted to do was go to McDonald's.

[Host 1]

What?

[Julia Quinn]

It was driving me crazy. Cause this is the first time I've ever left the country. Right. We didn't travel when I was a kid. And I was like, I don't want to go to McDonald's. They're like, oh, don't you want McDonald's? Don't you want a Big Mac? I was like, I've never even eaten a Big Mac. Yeah, right. Which horrified them. So they made me get a Big Mac. So to this day, the only Big Mac I have ever eaten because I'm more of just like a cheeseburger girl was in Bath.

[Host 3]

Oh, my gosh.

[Host 2]

And not even an American McDonald's.

[Host 1]

Yeah. So it probably wasn't even a good Big Mac.

[Host 2]

I don't know about that. I don't know.

[Julia Quinn]

I don't know.

[Host 1]

Interesting. No, we went. Yes, they don't. So that's interesting. It's all in sound stages now.

[Julia Quinn]

It is.

[Host 1]

Because we went to late. We also went outside the Featherington house. Like the exterior they use for that as well. Yeah, yeah.

[Julia Quinn]

I don't even know where that one is.

[Host 1]

That one's over by one of the

[Host 2]

big art in Bath. But like up a little bit.

[Host 1]

It's in a different part of Bath.

[Julia Quinn]

Okay.

[Host 1]

Okay.

[Julia Quinn]

Because the extra of the Bridgerton house is in Greenwich.

[Host 1]

Oh, okay.

[Julia Quinn]

Where the prime meridian is.

[Host 2]

Is that still England or is that still England?

[Host 3]

Okay.

[Julia Quinn]

I thought it was Connecticut spelled the same way.

[Host 2]

No, no, it was in Connecticut, man. Everything goes right back to Connecticut.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah. That's crazy. So, no, Greenwich is a part like right outside London. And it is where the prime meridian is, which is 0 degrees longitude. So it's a fun place you can go and you can like put one foot in. In the Eastern hemisphere and one foot in the western hemisphere.

[Host 1]

I love that.

[Host 2]

Very cool.

[Host 1]

Alona's convinced her husband's over there.

[Host 2]

I have a. I have a pull towards England like no other. And we looked up my star lines. One goes right through England.

[Host 1]

Astrocartography.

[Host 2]

So we were in Heathrow recently and I was like, ah, he's here. I can feel it. So that might not be true. I was in England for like three months last year, four months ago.

[Julia Quinn]

I know that some of those Bridgerton bros are still single.

[Host 1]

Are they now you got. You can help us out or what?

[Julia Quinn]

I can't. That I can't do much. Plus, I think Jonathan Bailey's not gonna work for you.

[Host 2]

Right.

[Host 3]

That might be a tough one.

[Host 1]

Nah, it'll be tough, which is too bad.

[Julia Quinn]

But you know, it was really funny when we knew he was gonna be the lead and you know, he was already out and everything. And I remember saying, like, it's not like, what's the big deal? It's like, I have just as much chance with Reggae Jean Page as I do with Jonathan Bailey.

[Host 1]

Right.

[Julia Quinn]

It doesn't really matter that one's straight, one's gay. It's like neither one is gonna go for me.

[Host 3]

Right.

[Host 1]

Did he bring anything to the character that surprised you to Anthony Sideburns?

[Julia Quinn]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, he brought the sideburns. Well, I think it's just amazing acting because he actually was asked once, which Bridgerton is he? And he said he's a Gregory because he's the youngest and he has such golden retriever energy. In real life, he is delightful.

[Host 1]

I believe it.

[Julia Quinn]

Really nice.

[Host 1]

I believe it.

[Host 2]

All right, well, let's get into Try Hard. You visited Bath. Did you watch any rugby when you were there?

[Julia Quinn]

No.

[Host 2]

Okay, that's a missed opportunity.

[Julia Quinn]

I know, I know.

[Host 2]

Next time, Okay?

[Julia Quinn]

I was very young.

[Host 2]

All right, well, there's hot rugby. Men.

[Julia Quinn]

Okay, excellent.

[Host 2]

But in rugby, a touchdown is called a try. Okay, so what we're gonna have you do is just try as hard as you can to answer these questions as quickly as possible, okay?

[Julia Quinn]

Oh, boy.

[Host 2]

And they're. They're simple.

[Julia Quinn]

See, this is bringing back all my, like, insecurities about sports.

[Host 1]

Oh, gosh. We don't need to do that just

[Host 2]

to say, next we're picking teams.

[Host 1]

Yeah, Seriously.

[Julia Quinn]

When I was in elementary school, I would. You'd go and you'd see, like, your homeroom list, and the first thing I do would be looking be like, are there girls in my homeroom who are worse at sports than I am? Oh, I won't be the last one picked. Gosh, like, this is still scarring. Yeah.

[Host 1]

Okay.

[Host 2]

I don't know. I was like. I was always, like, first.

[Julia Quinn]

I know we're having a dog out there.

[Host 1]

Don't even worry.

[Julia Quinn]

I have video for you of me, like, hurling stuff at my mother just yesterday.

[Host 1]

Perfect.

[Julia Quinn]

She's got the reflexes of a cat man. Well, she's working out.

[Host 1]

She's doing kettlebells with you guys.

[Julia Quinn]

She is.

[Host 1]

She is.

[Julia Quinn]

My mom is. She's only four, nine and a half

[Host 2]

now, but, oh, my goodness.

[Julia Quinn]

We call her fun sized.

[Host 1]

Fun sized.

[Host 3]

Yeah, that's cute.

[Julia Quinn]

Pocket size. All right. Okay, we go. I'm. Try hard.

[Host 2]

Here we go. So you are very good at history and literature. How are you at math and science?

[Julia Quinn]

Actually, pretty good.

[Host 2]

Of course you are.

[Host 1]

Med school. Med school.

[Julia Quinn]

Sorry.

[Host 1]

Med school.

[Host 2]

She's good at everything.

[Julia Quinn]

No, I can't turn a cartwheel.

[Host 2]

Oh, you can't?

[Julia Quinn]

I've never been able to either.

[Host 2]

I also don't somersault.

[Host 1]

I'm scared of it.

[Julia Quinn]

I'm very not spatial. Like, I'm not good at spatial things.

[Host 3]

I hear that. What's a underrated romance trope that you love?

[Julia Quinn]

I do like, a Good amnesia book from time to time.

[Host 2]

Intriguing.

[Julia Quinn]

But I think, like, you're only allowed one amnesia book as an author, or at least every. Like, I've done it. Once you get one, you get one. Like, I'd written over 20 books. I was like, you know, I think I finally earned an amnesia book.

[Host 3]

Right.

[Julia Quinn]

Right.

[Host 1]

As a treat.

[Julia Quinn]

And you don't get to do it again. Yeah.

[Host 1]

Okay. Then on the flip side of that, is there a trope that you would like to retire forever?

[Julia Quinn]

I'm not a big age kid gap. I agree. It just. It doesn't. It kind of creeps me out.

[Host 1]

Okay.

[Host 3]

Especially we read a lot of fantasy and I'm like, and they're 500 years old and she's 20. There's. There has to be a.

[Julia Quinn]

That's a really big age gap. Although I will say I read a book. It's coming out in June, maybe called all we have is Time.

[Host 1]

Okay.

[Julia Quinn]

One character. One character actually is a vampire. I don't do that many vampires. And the other one is a time traveler who keeps coming back to like. Like, she can't seem to die. And he keeps coming back. Yeah. And so that one. There's definitely an age gap going on there. And I liked it.

[Host 2]

Okay.

[Host 1]

So I pocket on that.

[Host 2]

What's something that you realize super late

[Julia Quinn]

in life that I have to stop trying to make everybody like me.

[Host 1]

Mm, good one. Are you still working on that or do you think you've achieved it?

[Julia Quinn]

I think I have gotten pretty close.

[Host 1]

Okay. Who's your weirdest crush?

[Julia Quinn]

Probably the guy I had a crush on in high school, but I don't know if it's weird. But like, you know, definitely like Jon Stewart. Mmm. You know, I. I like the, you know, that sort of nerdy, funny guy.

[Host 1]

Hell yeah.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

Good at what he does.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Julia Quinn]

Smart.

[Host 1]

Love that.

[Host 3]

Something about John Oliver.

[Host 2]

I don't know. Oh, me too.

[Julia Quinn]

Yes. Also John Oliver. Basically all those, like, funny guys.

[Host 1]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Host 3]

What movie have you seen the most times?

[Julia Quinn]

Hope and Glory.

[Host 2]

What movie is this?

[Julia Quinn]

Which you need to see if you have a thing about England. It is. There you go. You know, it is not a well known movie. It came out actually during my gap year when I was living in England. And it's about a family during World War II in England and I. And it's like, got some of the funniest moments, like, ever. And it's just so well done. So you should see Hope and Glory.

[Host 2]

Okay. Are you like a Jane Austen fan?

[Host 1]

I am.

[Julia Quinn]

Although I think that, you know, I think A lot of people go to her thinking, like, oh, this is gonna be an easy read, because it's about, like, people and families and not, like, the epic white male quest. And it's not. They're actually hard to read. She didn't.

[Host 3]

You know, you really gotta chew on them.

[Host 2]

Yes.

[Julia Quinn]

Her sentence structure was not what we do today. And you've gotta. You gotta work at it.

[Host 3]

Do you have a favorite Jane Austen?

[Julia Quinn]

Probably Pride and Prejudice, like, most. But I can say I have a least favorite, and that's Mansfield park. Because I did the afterword for the Signet Classics edition of that a while back, and I remember doing it thinking, like, there's no way they're paying me enough money for this. I mean, they paid you. Like, it was really a pittance, but it was really hard to do. So basically my whole essay is like, what does it mean to be the least popular Jane Austen novel? Which it is. Is really.

[Host 1]

Yeah. Do you and your kids send each other memes?

[Julia Quinn]

I send way more to them, really, than back. And then. And then I send them memes about, like. Like, the kids, like, rolling their eyes at the parents sending the memes.

[Host 3]

But yes.

[Host 1]

Okay.

[Host 2]

That's probably our mom, too. She's like, the kids are gonna love this. Yes. I'm like, okay, Mom.

[Host 1]

Yeah, thanks, Mom.

[Julia Quinn]

It's definitely that.

[Host 3]

And what would be on your family crest?

[Julia Quinn]

Maybe a quill?

[Host 1]

Oh, yeah, right. Yeah.

[Host 2]

Yeah, a quill. And then maybe something for your husband, like an infectious disease molecule.

[Julia Quinn]

Well, then we got, like, the snake or something.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Oh, true.

[Host 3]

It'd be like a quill, and then the snakes would snake around it.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Sorry.

[Julia Quinn]

He actually really wants to make this custom chess set, which is funny because neither one of us plays chess, but it was going to be like the doctors versus the microbes.

[Host 2]

Oh, cool.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah. So it'd actually. It'd be super cool, but we don't play chess, so.

[Host 2]

Well, these girls were learning it on Duolingo.

[Host 3]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

We were doing. We were.

[Host 2]

So they were on a chess.

[Host 1]

Yeah, I learned. That's awesome. Yeah.

[Julia Quinn]

I'm doing French. I just hit my thousand day streak. Yeah. I'm so proud of myself. Yeah.

[Host 1]

She just gave hers up.

[Host 2]

Yep.

[Host 3]

I hit a thousand days and I stopped. I was like, I did it. I'm done.

[Julia Quinn]

Oh. See, I'm old enough that I'm, like, thinking about, like, brain health.

[Host 2]

Right.

[Julia Quinn]

This is, like, good. This is keeping my brain going. So. Yeah.

[Host 3]

See, mine wasn't, I think, doing anything for me, because I would. I just hack it so I could get my streak. And I was like, I'm only doing this for my streak. Not really to learn a language.

[Julia Quinn]

What language were you doing?

[Host 3]

Dutch.

[Julia Quinn]

Oh, okay.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 3]

So I need to figure out another way to learn Dutch.

[Julia Quinn]

But Duolingo wasn't. I love the look of Dutch because it looks so friendly. Cause it has so many double vowels. Like, I remember I always. When I'm at the airport, I'm always looking over people's shoulders to figure out where their passports are from.

[Host 2]

Oh, yeah, Yeah, I do too.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah, I'm like, ooh, and the Dutch one is so cute. Cause it's like, passe boort.

[Host 1]

Yeah, they love that. They love it.

[Host 3]

All right, so to close out, I'm gonna head us over to the book. Not what's happening in the news regarding, like, adaptations. What are we reading? Things like that.

[Julia Quinn]

Well, I do want to say I saw that you guys are doing Jenny Lawson for your book club. I am such a fan.

[Host 1]

Are they ever better?

[Julia Quinn]

No. I even once accepted a talk a speaking thing in another country because, I mean, well, partly because she was going to be there and then she ended up doing hers via Zoom. And I was like, I didn't get to meet you.

[Host 1]

So there you are in the other country and she's out here.

[Julia Quinn]

Oh, I don't want to. They follow each other on, like, social. And once I saw her say something like, oh, she's so cool about me,

[Host 3]

I was like, blogger.

[Host 1]

Oh, I love it. Yeah, I read our book club pick many, many years ago, so I don't really remember it. And then I read furiously. Happy her follow up soon after that when it came out, but I'm just so excited to experience it again.

[Julia Quinn]

And then she also did another one and I'm blanking on the name of it, where I think it delved more into, like, dealing with mental health because she had a whole chapter which was like a letter to insurance companies that was just. I mean, you're peeing in your pants laughing, but it's also the most heartbreaking thing you've ever.

[Host 1]

Right, Right.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah. She's amazing.

[Host 1]

So. She's so cool.

[Julia Quinn]

So great taste.

[Host 1]

So that's what we're reading.

[Julia Quinn]

I'm joining your book club.

[Host 1]

Please walk in. Are you reading anything, though, currently?

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah, I'm always reading something. One of the nicest things about my job is that I get a lot of books ahead of time. You guys know about Netgalley?

[Host 1]

No. What?

[Host 2]

What is this?

[Host 1]

What is this?

[Host 2]

Neck galley.

[Julia Quinn]

No, see, netgalley.

[Host 2]

Netgalley. I'm far away.

[Julia Quinn]

It's a publishing insider thing. Basically, you can request early copies of books.

[Host 2]

Okay, get on that team. Team Netsgalley Hazelwood.

[Julia Quinn]

I am fairly convinced that you guys would be approved for most things. I occasionally don't get approved for something and I'm like, oh, really?

[Host 1]

Okay, what the hell?

[Julia Quinn]

And sometimes it's a romance. Like, I have been declined for like three Christina Lauren books.

[Host 3]

Huh?

[Host 1]

Dang. They're keeping you hu.

[Julia Quinn]

Christina, Are you Christina and Lauren. Sorry, it's two people actually. I'm like, are you guys listening? Like, your publisher keeps rejecting me.

[Host 1]

Yeah, hello.

[Julia Quinn]

But I recommend a lot of books online. So that's why. And I think people know that. And usually I go out on the Today show and recommend books whenever there's a new season. I would do that like every other month if they would let me.

[Host 1]

Yeah, right.

[Julia Quinn]

I get to read lots of books and it's nice.

[Host 1]

Is there anything you recommend that will be coming out soon enough that you can talk about?

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah, so there was the one I told you about. All we have is time. One of the books I recommended on the Today show, which I really loved, was how to Commit a Post Colonial Murder.

[Host 2]

Oh, interesting.

[Julia Quinn]

That was my reaction. I was like, what could this be about? Yeah, it is really hard to describe it, but it's set in the 1980s. This girl, she's half Indian and like Indian Indian, not Native American and half white living in Wyoming, where like, Indian usually means something else. And this is not going to spoil anything. But her family from India come to stay with them and her uncle is abusing her and her sister and they decide they're gonna kill him. Oh, and it's another one of those ones that's just like heartbreaking, but also funny in parts. And the author's really neat cause she breaks the fourth wall a lot.

[Host 1]

Interesting.

[Julia Quinn]

And I just. Yeah, that was a really good one. And then in terms of just romances, there's a great one that's out right now by BK Borison. Called and now Back to youo.

[Host 1]

Yes, I've been seeing this, which I really liked.

[Julia Quinn]

It's the second book in a series. I like them both a lot. I think I liked. And now back to you a little bit more.

[Host 1]

First time caller was the first one, right?

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah, which I. But I read a. Now back to you first.

[Host 2]

Okay.

[Julia Quinn]

And I was not lost at all.

[Host 2]

Okay.

[Julia Quinn]

So you can do that. Historical romance, there's always great stuff and. Oh, sorry. This is where I need to tell you. I have started my own historical romance book club.

[Host 3]

J.Q. right.

[Julia Quinn]

J.Q. editions. Yes. So it's a subscription box slash historical romance book club. And what we're doing is we are publishing my very favorite historical romances as beautiful special editions with like, the fancy edges and working with the artists so that there's a lot of Easter eggs on the covers and things like that. And it'll come out every other month. And it's on Kickstarter right now. Mostly because we needed to know how many books to print.

[Host 1]

Right, Right.

[Julia Quinn]

I'm really learning as I go along on this. I've never been on the other side of publishing before.

[Host 3]

Right.

[Julia Quinn]

And what's really funny is we are doing one of my books as just like a special bonus for some people. And I had to actually negotiate with my publishing house to do a special edition of my own book. So they're being like, I am fairly certain the author will accept.

[Host 1]

I have a good feeling.

[Julia Quinn]

I think we'll be able to come to terms here. That's really fun. So if you want to get into historical romance and you don't know where to start, this is great. Because every book is picked by me. It is not a committee. Nobody's going through looking at being like, well, the author has to sell XYZ number of books. It's just did. I think this book was amazing. And that's. That's how you get it.

[Host 1]

It's not a democracy.

[Julia Quinn]

No, it's absolutely not a democracy at all. I'm ignorant.

[Host 2]

I'm deans.

[Julia Quinn]

Wait, Sorry. I need to say one part is a democracy because we have this thing called the Diamond Club where if you join, you can vote on some of the books that we will publish. So next year, we're gonna publish one of four books by an author named Tessa Dare, who's amazing. And we're gonna let our Diamond Club

[Host 3]

members pick which one I love.

[Host 1]

I love it. And I guess I have to ask, are you writing anything? Currently?

[Julia Quinn]

I am. My super secret project, which is coming out.

[Host 1]

That's right.

[Julia Quinn]

Later.

[Host 1]

Okay. Yeah, we'll keep an eye out.

[Julia Quinn]

But I have been taking a lot of time off and really leaning into more philanthropy and political advocacy. Been talking a lot about why book bans are really, really bad.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 3]

And I think that's a good reason to take time off. Like, good use of your time off as well.

[Host 1]

Right.

[Julia Quinn]

Thank you. I also talk about some other things, but at least with the book bands, nobody can say, stay in your own lane.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Right.

[Julia Quinn]

Cause I get that a lot when I talk about other stuff.

[Host 2]

Right. Do they ever they do it to me. You're an athlete. Why do you talk about politics? I'm paying taxes. Yeah, actually a lot more than you motherfuckers.

[Host 1]

And the very factors I'm going to talk about.

[Julia Quinn]

Dude, I have a uterus.

[Host 2]

Yeah, right.

[Host 3]

Everything is political. You wouldn't have been able to play rugby if not for politics, you know?

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah.

[Host 3]

It all comes back to you.

[Host 2]

Couldn't even write a book under your name probably.

[Julia Quinn]

I'm sure you've seen that picture of the first woman to run the Boston Marathon.

[Host 2]

Oh my gosh.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Everything running is political.

[Host 3]

Wearing pants, political.

[Host 1]

Using our own money, political. Insane.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah. No. My mother in law told me that she in order to open up a credit card, her first credit card, they had to get permission from her ex husband.

[Host 2]

Huh.

[Julia Quinn]

So this was like in the mid-70s. I couldn't believe that.

[Host 3]

It is crazy.

[Julia Quinn]

I think it's not that long ago

[Host 3]

we are so unaware of like how close everything is, you know, to us.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah. Well, this is what drives me crazy. All these women's lives. Like, I'm not a feminist. I like to do this and this and this. I'm like, yeah, you get to do this and this and this. Because of feminist.

[Host 1]

Because of feminism.

[Host 2]

Kind of an OG one too, in. In the writing space.

[Julia Quinn]

Thank you, I appreciate that.

[Host 1]

Well, we want to do really quick one of our favorite things which is called the chore wheel. You are.

[Host 2]

Don't look, don't look. Come on. Sorry I didn't told you.

[Host 1]

Okay, so one last thing, one last

[Host 2]

thing before you go.

[Host 1]

You are now part of this family. You got a a of hell out around the house.

[Julia Quinn]

Okay.

[Host 1]

Please choose a chore and you'll be given a corresponding challenge. So laundry, dishes, vacuuming or sweeping?

[Julia Quinn]

Definitely not the dishes. I hate the dishes. Okay, I'll go with vacuuming.

[Host 1]

Mary Kill. Colin Bridgerton. Anthony Bridgerton. Anthony Bridgerton or Benedict Bridgerton?

[Julia Quinn]

No. Oh, can I pick a different chore? No, because like I wrote them, they're like my son. Okay. All right. Go with laundry. No, I can't do. Those are like my kids. I cannot do that.

[Host 1]

No, I figured that might be the case.

[Host 2]

But let's all pick one. Who we would marry.

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah, you guys pick it.

[Host 2]

I feel like it's going to be.

[Host 3]

I'd probably do Anthony.

[Host 1]

It's going to be Anthony. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Love him.

[Host 3]

On this side of the room, it's

[Host 2]

going to be Anthony. Okay, Right, right, right.

[Host 3]

All right, all right.

[Host 1]

So how about what is your favorite super spicy novel?

[Julia Quinn]

I'm Thinking more author than novel. But Ali Hazelwood.

[Host 1]

Okay, same.

[Julia Quinn]

She writes a spicy novel. Oh, I love him.

[Host 1]

We have mate.

[Julia Quinn]

I was just at Emerald City Comic Con and somebody came dressed as Olive from.

[Host 1]

Oh, get out.

[Julia Quinn]

The Love Hypothesis.

[Host 2]

I know which one.

[Host 3]

I don't remember.

[Host 2]

Is it Love Hypothesis?

[Julia Quinn]

Yeah. And so she's wearing like a Stanford shirt and has her lab coat on it. And she said it was the only fake ID she'd ever made. And I took pictures of her. I'm like, I'm gonna text this to Ali Hazelwood right now. Cause I have her number. And she was like, oh my God. And then Ali responded and she took like a picture thing. It was really sweet. It was really sweet. Oh, I love it. So yeah, she writes a spicy book and I like it.

[Host 1]

She writes a mean spicy book. All right, well, thank you so much for coming over. Julia, grab your copy of An Offer from a Gentleman wherever you get your books.

[Host 3]

Dear gentle readers, thank you so much for coming over to the House of Mar A Wave Original.

[Host 2]

Be sure to watch, subscribe on YouTube and listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[Host 1]

Plus, follow the show on social media HouseOfMar for clips and behind the scenes content.

[Host 3]

We'll see you next time.

[Julia Quinn]

Thank you so much for coming.

[Host 2]

Thank you so much. Thank you. We have some reading to do. You have some writing to do. Get in there.

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[Julia Quinn]

How quick?

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[Julia Quinn]

Ross.

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