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Speaker 1: Bookmarked by Reese's book Club is presented by Apple Books. Hi,

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Speaker 1: I'm Danielle Robe and welcome to Bookmarked by Reese's book Club.

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Speaker 1: Derist Rita's I am overcome with the excitement about this

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Speaker 1: week's guest, and just in time too, as the latest

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Speaker 1: installment of the Bridgeton universe has grace Netflix accounts everywhere

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Speaker 1: with its presence. Okay, sorry, that was the best British

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Speaker 1: accent I could muster up. But yeah, so we are

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Speaker 1: getting to talk to Julia Quinn, author of the Bridgerton

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Speaker 1: novels and Queen of Regency Romance. But first, it's the

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Speaker 1: first Tuesday of the month, so you know what that means.

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Speaker 1: It's time to announce the February Reese's book Club pick.

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Speaker 1: Reese take it away.

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Speaker 2: Hi, Bookmarked listeners, this is your Captain Reese speaking.

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Speaker 3: Okay, we're keeping the thriller energy going at the start

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Speaker 3: of this year.

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Speaker 2: Doesn't the pace of thrillers just make you want to

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Speaker 2: stay up all night turning pages? I can't handle it.

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Speaker 2: Our February book Club pick is no exception. In her

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Speaker 2: defense by Philippa Malika, this just feels like a classic

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Speaker 2: book club thriller.

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Speaker 3: This book has it all.

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Speaker 4: A celebrity on trial, a secret past revealed, a therapist

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Speaker 4: with bad intentions, and an employee who's out to get somebody.

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Speaker 4: With endless twists and turns, and an intricate web of

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Speaker 4: characters who all have different understandings of the truth.

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Speaker 2: I could not put it down. It's a twisting, turning,

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Speaker 2: fantastic read. I hope you enjoy it. It's called In

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Speaker 2: Her Defense by PHILIPI Melika Reese.

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Speaker 1: I cannot agree more. You're all in the right place.

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Speaker 1: Let's turn the page with Philippa Malitzka.

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Speaker 5: Philippa, welcome to the club.

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Speaker 6: Thank you so much. It's an absolute honor and privileged

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Speaker 6: to be here, completely amazing.

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Speaker 1: The honor is all mine and all ours, and a

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Speaker 1: huge congratulations is in order. I'm getting to speak to

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Speaker 1: you on your first pub day. How incredibly fun for

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Speaker 1: your debut novel to also be a Reese's Book Club pick.

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Speaker 6: I'm pinching myself, absolutely pinching myself very hard at the moment.

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Speaker 1: Who was your first call after you heard the news

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Speaker 1: that you were going to be an RBC pick?

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Speaker 6: Well, I actually got a cryptic email from my American

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Speaker 6: editor being like call me, and I was like, okay,

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Speaker 6: and then I had no signal and four percent battery

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Speaker 6: and my heart was going like that. Can you imagine

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Speaker 6: the stakes I got through when they were all screaming,

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Speaker 6: which is amazing. And then I called my boyfriend Axel,

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Speaker 6: and we have this phrase when something goes well in

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Speaker 6: our lives, we say it's vodka and loves to time.

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Speaker 6: And I shouted, it's vodka and loves to time. And

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Speaker 6: he was a work did us, so he had had

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Speaker 6: to play it quite cool, but yeah, it was. It

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Speaker 6: was amazing to you know, tell my friends and family,

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Speaker 6: just amazing.

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Speaker 1: That's so cute. I'm assuming that you guys love vodka

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Speaker 1: and loves and that's where it came from very much.

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Speaker 6: And he's Scandinavian so it fits it so cute.

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Speaker 1: Do you foresee any pub day traditions that you're going

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Speaker 1: to be setting besides vadca and lobster, which I love already.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, start the day with a creative lobster, probably delivers

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Speaker 6: some vodkrin lobsters to you know, the bookshops that have

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Speaker 6: supported me, and then carry on feasting at the end

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Speaker 6: of the day. I think this time I'm going to

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Speaker 6: have a very little baby with me who'll be about

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Speaker 6: a month old, so I will be slightly dictated by him,

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Speaker 6: and hopefully he likes Wokrin lobsters.

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Speaker 1: So one day, I can't believe how much transition you

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Speaker 1: have going on in your life, Like there's so much

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Speaker 1: excitement all at once. Are you are you able to

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Speaker 1: take it?

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Speaker 5: Like?

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Speaker 1: How are you doing?

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Speaker 6: I have to say Danielle that I'm afraid this is

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Speaker 6: just what happens with my life. Like when I first

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Speaker 6: got the book deal the UK and the US one,

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Speaker 6: I had gone to visit my friend in Barcelona to

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Speaker 6: chill out because it's a very stressful time and we

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Speaker 6: were luckily okay, but we were involved in a car

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Speaker 6: accident there. So when I got the calls from my

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Speaker 6: publishers being like, can you come on a call and

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Speaker 6: you know, discuss your book and stuff, I was like

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Speaker 6: in a neck brace. I always feel like this stuff

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Speaker 6: happens at quite kind of transition moments. I'm not going

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Speaker 6: to compare having a baby to being in a car crash,

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Speaker 6: because I think it's not that. Yeah, it does seem

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Speaker 6: like these big things seem to happen and collide at

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Speaker 6: once in my life. So yeah, hopefully we'll be fine

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Speaker 6: with being carried around and taken to bookshops.

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Speaker 1: I think everybody would like to be carried around and

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Speaker 1: taken to a bookshop. But you know what was cool

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Speaker 1: for me to learn is that I always love particularly

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Speaker 1: first time novelists. I'm like, Okay, what was your life

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Speaker 1: before this? And you worked in publishing, So for readers

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Speaker 1: who are going to be seeing your book on the

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Speaker 1: shelves for the first time today and thinking, hmmm, that

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Speaker 1: looks interesting, what is your elevator pitch for? In her defense?

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Speaker 6: So I always say that I need a slightly long elevator,

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Speaker 6: like a kind of skyscraper elevator I can, And my

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Speaker 6: pitch is that in her defenses centered around a highly

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Speaker 6: publicized libel trial between a woman called Anna Fimbo who's

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Speaker 6: like a beloved TV personality and her daughter's therapist. Her

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Speaker 6: daughter's therapist has encouraged her daughter to cut herself off

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Speaker 6: entirely from her friends and her family. So that's kind

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Speaker 6: of we're like nearing the ground on the elevator. And

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Speaker 6: if I just continue, I say that it explores motherhood,

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Speaker 6: obsessive friendships, the unregulated therapy industry in general, and then

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Speaker 6: the precarious line between healing and harm, and then we've

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Speaker 6: reached the ground.

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Speaker 1: First of all, bravo because it is a very complicated story,

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Speaker 1: so the fact that you were able to put that

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Speaker 1: into an elevator ride was very impressive. But I'm sort

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Speaker 1: of obsessed that this story is the Reese's Book Club

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Speaker 1: pick for February, because it's the month of Valentine's Day,

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Speaker 1: and I think this is a little bit of a

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Speaker 1: toxic love story in a way it's different. I recently

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Speaker 1: heard the term mood readers. Are you familiar with this

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Speaker 1: at all?

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Speaker 6: I've just been learning about it too literally this week,

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Speaker 6: So yeah, I think we're talking about the same thing

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Speaker 6: people that want a vibe, a certain vibe from a.

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Speaker 1: Book exactly, so like people whose TBR piles are based

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Speaker 1: on vibes and feelings and a mood. What kind of

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Speaker 1: mood readers do you think will enjoy this novel?

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Speaker 6: I think it would appeal to somebody who loves a

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Speaker 6: little bit of winter darkness. Maybe someone who's Valentine's Day

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Speaker 6: isn't always the happiest day of the year for them,

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Speaker 6: someone who kind of sees through some of the like

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Speaker 6: saccerin traditions there, So anybody who's looking for a kind

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Speaker 6: of who enjoys dark, academic type of contexts, somebody who

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Speaker 6: wants a provocative and unsettling kind of read rather than

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Speaker 6: something that's going to be neatly wrapped up by the

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Speaker 6: end of it. But also I think someone who's a

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Speaker 6: kind of a bit of a voyeur and kind of

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Speaker 6: takes pleasure in being a bit of a voy And

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Speaker 6: I guess as readers, we're all voyeurs. But my agent

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Speaker 6: calls my theme rich people destroying their lives. Somebody who

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Speaker 6: maybe takes a bit of pleasure in kind of watching

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Speaker 6: that unfold would be my dream kind of mood reader.

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Speaker 1: It's funny you say that because we had Ruth wear

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Speaker 1: on this show a few months ago and she said

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Speaker 1: that she was obsessed with rich people destruction as well.

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Speaker 1: It's a really a very British thing. Yeah, it's that bad,

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Speaker 1: I think.

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Speaker 6: So it's the kind of I'm going to say, this

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Speaker 6: is wrong with the kind of shade and freud that

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Speaker 6: you have from watching people with everything slowly start to

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Speaker 6: you know, lose it, often by their own hand. It's

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Speaker 6: just to me delicious.

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Speaker 1: When you submitted the proposal or the book in general.

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Speaker 1: Did you have any books that you gave this one

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Speaker 1: context to, Like I guess in pop culture we could

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Speaker 1: say like it's like this book meets this TV show

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Speaker 1: meets this song. But what did you have on your proposal?

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Speaker 6: Yeah? I think I think we referred to the talented

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Speaker 6: mister Ripley, which was, you know, a really big text

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Speaker 6: and movie. Frankly, for me, I think my agent said

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Speaker 6: at Tessa Mosfeg meets the talented mister Ripley. Now, I

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Speaker 6: wouldn't put myself in that literary camp as highly as that,

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Speaker 6: but you know, her narrators are often very unsettling as well.

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Speaker 6: So that kind of like, you know, that kind of

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Speaker 6: Riviera glamour of the talented mister Ripley and somebody on

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Speaker 6: the outside and wanting to participate in it was a

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Speaker 6: really instructive kind of theme for me.

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Speaker 1: That makes sense. Are there any movies or TV shows

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Speaker 1: or music that you think would contextualize it as well?

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Speaker 6: Oh my goodness, I've actually I've compiled a playlist for

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Speaker 6: Reese's Book Club with some yeah, in my opinion, master

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Speaker 6: songs on it that finally encapsulate it. So there's Bob

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Speaker 6: Dylan on there. There's Big Thief. I don't know if

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Speaker 6: you love Big Thief, a song called Mary, which was

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Speaker 6: super instructive throughout the book. I think music for me

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Speaker 6: much more than television, although I have to say that

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Speaker 6: Meryl Streep's character in Big Little Life was pretty instructive

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Speaker 6: for me as well.

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Speaker 1: So, yeah, that makes sense because there's so much duality

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Speaker 1: in your book.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, exactly.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, were you inspired at all by real life court

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Speaker 1: cases or cult stories? Because I was peeking at the

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Speaker 1: book thinking she went down some rabbit holes here, like

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Speaker 1: your Google search history must have been wild.

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Speaker 6: It's so dark. Yeah, it's fascinating because as soon as

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Speaker 6: you start talking about this story, everybody has a story

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Speaker 6: to kind of offer. It's really sad actually, So in

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Speaker 6: the UK the term therapist is not protected in any way,

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Speaker 6: so I could truly go online this evening by some

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Speaker 6: weird Mickey Mouse credential or not even at all, and

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Speaker 6: you know, get a beautiful office in little Venis and

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Speaker 6: set up as a therapist, which is mind blowing. And

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Speaker 6: I know, you know, although it's legally protected in the US,

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Speaker 6: there are obviously practitioners. You read about them every day, right,

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Speaker 6: who are abusing their positions. I mean, it was kind

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Speaker 6: of reading about this and learning about this really kind

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Speaker 6: of got me interested in how like how often that

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Speaker 6: kind of role gets abused. And then I think for

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Speaker 6: me what was really interesting was actually turning thirty and

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Speaker 6: like many young women, having a stint of therapy myself,

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Speaker 6: which I found really helpful, and realizing how much trust

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Speaker 6: I put in the woman I was talking to every week,

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Speaker 6: and it made me very aware of how badly somebody

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Speaker 6: could abuse that position if they wanted to. You know,

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Speaker 6: So my therapist obeyed all the kind of professional boundaries,

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Speaker 6: and when I asked her where she lived, she'd just

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Speaker 6: say West London and wouldn't tell me more. And you know,

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Speaker 6: she never tried to create any kind of social relationship

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Speaker 6: with me, quite rightly, and you know, our sessions were

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Speaker 6: only forty five minutes long, quite rightly. It started to

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Speaker 6: make me really afraid. Like you know, Gene in my

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Speaker 6: book Three Hours, four Hours, she tells things about herself

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Speaker 6: to her you know, her clients that make them feel

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Speaker 6: like they owe her something. And so as soon as

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Speaker 6: I started to have a good experience in therapy, it

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Speaker 6: really drove me forward in the plot, because I was like, Wow,

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Speaker 6: how badly could this go in the wrong hands? And

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Speaker 6: it's such a sacred and beautiful relationship going into a

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Speaker 6: room talking about your life, receiving guidance, and when that's

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Speaker 6: in the wrongest of hands, like, it still gives me goosebumps.

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Speaker 1: Really, it's cool because I've been a big proponents the

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Speaker 1: right word. Therapy has really helped me in my life,

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Speaker 1: and I've never really considered a therapist abusing their power

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Speaker 1: in the way that you set forth in the book.

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Speaker 1: And I actually have a lot more questions I want

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Speaker 1: to ask you when we meet again at the end

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Speaker 1: of the month. But there I'm wondering if there's like

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Speaker 1: a scene or a section or anything that you are

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Speaker 1: most proud of that you could read for us.

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Speaker 6: I spent so long trying to think about how a

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Speaker 6: character like Jean would unleash her villainy, how would she

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Speaker 6: get these girls into her orbit, And I, you know,

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Speaker 6: I wrote scenes and scenes of her seducing these girls,

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Speaker 6: and they never felt right, they never felt quite true

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Speaker 6: to me until I was like, Okay, put yourself in

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Speaker 6: the shoes of your characters. You're a long way from home,

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Speaker 6: you know this woman takes an interest in you, she

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Speaker 6: seems glamorous, she's asking questions, she's organizing your life. That's enough,

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Speaker 6: That would actually be enough, and actually kind of staying

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Speaker 6: true to that rather than creating this whole massive Of course,

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Speaker 6: there's a massive, convoluted web that goes on in the book,

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Speaker 6: but it actually starts in such a simple way, and

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Speaker 6: once I kind of crack that it's about someone caring

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Speaker 6: about you on a simple base, on a simple basis,

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Speaker 6: and I think, kind of, yeah, unwrapping that and realizing

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Speaker 6: that it was simpler than it needed to be was

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Speaker 6: a proud moment.

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Speaker 1: So shall I stand up it now? Yeah? Please?

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Speaker 6: Yeah? Okay, So it's the beginning of part three. If

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Speaker 6: you asked me, why did I let her in? How

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Speaker 6: did I let Jeane control my life so intimately, my

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Speaker 6: answers would be embarrassingly naive, because she worried about me,

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Speaker 6: because her apartment was nice. By November, Jane was offering

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Speaker 6: her home as a sanctuary whenever things got a bit much,

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Speaker 6: providing me each time with freshly pressed pajamas, a caraffe

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Speaker 6: of lemon water, and stacks of good reading material. I

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Speaker 6: had been the kind of child who was expected to

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Speaker 6: make her own breakfast, so it was a novelty when

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Speaker 6: she greeted me in bed, the cup of coffee soothing

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Speaker 6: the perpetual hangovers and come downs I was sustaining from

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Speaker 6: trying to keep up with Mary. But as I let

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Speaker 6: her lavish all sorts of maternal comforts on me, was

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Speaker 6: there also an uneasy twinge inside a strained note which

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Speaker 6: might have warned this woman is kind, but is she

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Speaker 6: too interested in me? What is it that she wants?

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Speaker 6: If there was, I chose to ignore it. I had found,

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Speaker 6: for the first time in my life someone to lean on.

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Speaker 1: M That last sentence too freaks me out. Still it does.

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Speaker 1: Why I just I think, I think I empathize.

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Speaker 6: I empathize with Gus there, and it's that thing about

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Speaker 6: having someone to lean on, which, of course she then

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Speaker 6: you know, she becomes that person for Anna later on.

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Speaker 6: So it's the way that she kind of then repeats,

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Speaker 6: repeats the kind of patterns behavior.

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Speaker 1: For everybody who hasn't been immersed into the book yet.

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Speaker 1: Gus is sort of our narrator. And one of the

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Speaker 1: things I love about talking to Reese's book Club authors

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Speaker 1: on their pub day is that you get to speak

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Speaker 1: to readers the very first day that they can get

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Speaker 1: their hands on the book, And so what is your

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Speaker 1: message to them? What do you want them to keep

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Speaker 1: in mind while they're reading. What should they pay attention

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Speaker 1: to which they keep their minds open about?

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Speaker 6: Okay, so, I mean there's lots of questions in this book,

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Speaker 6: but I would keep a very close eye on Gus

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Speaker 6: And obviously her observations are being served to you as

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Speaker 6: a first person narrator, but I would keep a close

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Speaker 6: eye on what she's telling you and how she's kind

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Speaker 6: of giving you information and protect yourself slightly, i'd like

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Speaker 6: to say. And I think the other thing to really

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Speaker 6: engage in is the actual premise of the trial. You know,

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Speaker 6: it's a libel trial. Anna Thimbo has published an online

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Speaker 6: newsletter where she's named her daughter's therapist and committed libel

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Speaker 6: against her by calling her a modern day cult leader,

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Speaker 6: and that becomes the kind of crux of the case

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Speaker 6: because Gene says, you know, that's defamatory and that isn't true.

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Speaker 6: So kind of to keep this question in mind, what

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Speaker 6: would make a modern day cult leader? And how might

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Speaker 6: modern day cults differ from those that we might have seen,

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Speaker 6: you know, in the seventies, eighties, nineties, and how might

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Speaker 6: a therapy cult proliferate? And if you kind of do

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Speaker 6: you keep in that kind of prism of the trial

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Speaker 6: and in that mindset, then hopefully the book will unfold

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Speaker 6: and answer.

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Speaker 1: Some of those questions for you, Philippo. When you said that,

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Speaker 1: I thought of this New York Times article I read

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Speaker 1: about how millennials are the least religious group in six decades,

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Speaker 1: and the author of the article was saying, therapy is

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Speaker 1: the new religion. And so I just really feel as

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Speaker 1: if you've touched on something so timely. I cannot wait

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Speaker 1: for everybody to dig in and to talk to you

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Speaker 1: in just a few weeks. Thank you so much.

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Speaker 6: Oh it's such a pleasure. Thank you, thank you.

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Speaker 1: Welcome back to Bookmarked by Reese's book Club. Guys. I

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Speaker 1: was so excited to sit down with Julia Quinn, the

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Speaker 1: author of the original Bridgerton novels. Here's why Julia first

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Speaker 1: started publishing her novels over twenty five years ago. She

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Speaker 1: was writing romance in an era when it was still

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Speaker 1: written off and stigmatized. She chose it too. She got

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Speaker 1: into medical school, okay, and instead she made an incredible

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Speaker 1: career out of her passion, publishing over twenty five books,

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Speaker 1: and then decades later she got to see Bridgerton come

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Speaker 1: to life for a whole new generation of fans and

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Speaker 1: spark a total cultural phenomenon. I mean, it's really the dream. So,

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Speaker 1: as Reese said, you are in the right place. Let's

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Speaker 1: turn the page with Julia Quinn. Well, Julia, we're gonna

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Speaker 1: clink mugs because we're both holding our coffee this morning.

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Speaker 1: You have a read band book smug. I have a

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Speaker 1: Reese's Book Club mug.

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Speaker 3: I want one of those.

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Speaker 1: We have to get you one.

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Speaker 3: I actually have a little connection to Reese that I

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Speaker 3: mean she doesn't know about. But Reese just did a

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Speaker 3: book with Harlan Coben.

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Speaker 1: Yes, it became a bestseller.

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Speaker 3: Yes, but their editor is my longtime editor, was a

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Speaker 3: kersh She was my longtime editor and still one of

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Speaker 3: my very closest friends. So Reese's editor is my editor, well,

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Speaker 3: my old editor.

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Speaker 1: Well I can officially welcome you to the club. Then

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Speaker 1: I love that you have a connection Reese.

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Speaker 3: We're bestie now.

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Speaker 1: So Julia, you are, without a question, one of the

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Speaker 1: defining romance writers of our generation. Season four of Bridgerton

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Speaker 1: is officially halfway out in the world. You actually, I'm

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Speaker 1: going to give everybody behind the scenes tea. You just

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Speaker 1: got back from Paris doing a little Bridgerton promotion.

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Speaker 3: I did, I did, and it is as excellent as

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Speaker 3: you think. I'm not gonna be falsely modest. It was awesome.

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Speaker 1: And you came back with some really fancy French butter

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Speaker 1: that you hit in the bottom of your suitcase.

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Speaker 3: I did. I did. It's shrink Craft. I also had

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Speaker 3: some shrink Craft cheese and some really good chocolate too.

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Speaker 1: Okay, so now you're making me hungry, but everybody else

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Speaker 1: is clamoring for the second half of Bridgerton. I feel

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Speaker 1: like the obsession is very real. What is it like

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Speaker 1: to have started a cultural phenomenon?

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Speaker 3: I really like that you asked the question that way,

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Speaker 3: because what I usually get is what is it like

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Speaker 3: to see your characters come to life? And I mean,

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Speaker 3: that's all amazing and fabulous, but truly, the weird surreal

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Speaker 3: part is the cultural phenomenon part. To realize that something

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Speaker 3: that started like in your head, on your little computer

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Speaker 3: in a room by yourself, is now understood and recognized

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Speaker 3: by millions and millions and millions of people. I mean,

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Speaker 3: even if they don't watch Bridgerton or like Bridgerton, they

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Speaker 3: kind of know what it is, yes, And you know,

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Speaker 3: people can say like, oh, that's so Bridgerton, or you know,

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Speaker 3: I have friends who write romance novels and or his

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Speaker 3: say historical romance novels. And one of them thanked me.

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Speaker 3: She said, people finally understand what I do because I

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Speaker 3: can say it's like Bridgerton and then they know. And

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Speaker 3: that is truly the weirdest thing. I mean, these little

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Speaker 3: cultural touchstones, or like, for example, when the Simpsons spoofed

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Speaker 3: Bridgerton with Tunnelton that I wasn't sure I could ever

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Speaker 3: or top that. We're such a Simpsons family and they'll

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Speaker 3: make late night jokes. There's now Bridgerton Dove soap. There

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Speaker 3: is Bridgington ice cream. I'm super excited about the Bridgerton

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Speaker 3: ice cream.

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Speaker 6: Cool.

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Speaker 3: It's insane. It's absolutely surreal and insane and wonderful in

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Speaker 3: every good way.

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Speaker 1: It must have. I just I asked the question that

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Speaker 1: way because I put myself in your shoes for a minute,

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Speaker 1: and I thought, how incredible to feel like your creativity

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Speaker 1: permeated like something that lived in your brain for I

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Speaker 1: can imagine so long also lives in people's hearts now.

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Speaker 1: It's unbelievable. And I also want to add that I

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Speaker 1: think it really it didn't just permeate culture. It pushed

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Speaker 1: the culture ball forward, which not everybody's work does. I'll

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Speaker 1: never forget watching an interview with Regina Hall and she

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Speaker 1: was saying that as a young actress she had never

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Speaker 1: been allowed to audition for period pieces because she was

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Speaker 1: a black woman, and change that in the coolest possible way.

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Speaker 3: It really did, And I'm always very careful to say

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Speaker 3: I cannot personally take credit for that. I want to

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Speaker 3: make it absolutely clear. I love it. I think it's fabulous.

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Speaker 3: I support it one percent. I'm so grateful that Shondaland

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Speaker 3: chose to make the show that way, but I can't

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Speaker 3: take that credit. That was That was Shondaland's decision and

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Speaker 3: their work to make that happen.

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Speaker 1: I kind of want to start with you with love

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Speaker 1: because it's something that we share. I love how openly

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Speaker 1: you talk about the legacy of romance and not just

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Speaker 1: the fantasy of it. Are there any current romance writers

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Speaker 1: who make you excited about the genre.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, there are a lot. You know, one who is

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Speaker 3: really up and coming right now she writes contemporary books,

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Speaker 3: not historical, is BK. Borrison, and I've been really enjoying

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Speaker 3: her books. Within historical romance, there are gosh, so many

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Speaker 3: wonderful authors. I've always been a fan of Eloisa James

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Speaker 3: and Lisa Klaipis.

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Speaker 1: I really love historical romance. It's it's such a fun genre.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and I think it's it's a little underrated right now.

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Speaker 3: It's kind of not having its moment, which is weird

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Speaker 3: because Bridgerton is having a moment and I'm not really

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Speaker 3: sure why it's happening that way, but I am personally

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Speaker 3: trying to do something about that.

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Speaker 1: You're starting something that's specifically sort of tailored to this exactly.

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Speaker 3: I am starting JQ Editions, which is kind of half

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Speaker 3: book club, half subscription box, And what I'm doing is

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Speaker 3: I'm choosing historical romances, which I think are the very,

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Speaker 3: very best of the best. It's a mix of brand

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Speaker 3: new books, recent gems and classics of the modern genre.

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Speaker 3: And right now we're doing one every other month, but

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Speaker 3: we're also bringing them out in beautiful special editions, so.

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Speaker 1: They've got I think this is the coolest part.

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Speaker 3: Actually, oh yay, I'm having so much fun working on it.

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Speaker 3: I'm the one who's actually working with the illustrators to

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Speaker 3: come up with these covers, because I want each cover

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Speaker 3: to truly reflect the book, to not just be like,

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Speaker 3: you know, all right, let's slap some fancy lettering on

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Speaker 3: it and you know, maybe put a guy here and

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Speaker 3: women there. I really want them to reflect the book.

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Speaker 3: And so we've got these beautiful covers. They all have

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Speaker 3: illustrated end papers and you know those fancy sprayed edges

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Speaker 3: everybody likes. And her first three books actually are well

434
00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:39,800
Speaker 3: won by Eloise and James, so I just mentioned and

435
00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,520
Speaker 3: it is her. It's a brand new book. And then

436
00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:46,680
Speaker 3: the second book is An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole,

437
00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:50,120
Speaker 3: which came out about seven or eight years ago and

438
00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:53,240
Speaker 3: is set during the Civil War, which is not a

439
00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:56,400
Speaker 3: very popular time period any longer. But what Alyssa did

440
00:24:56,480 --> 00:25:00,879
Speaker 3: is she made the heroine a free black woman from

441
00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:03,760
Speaker 3: I think Boston who travels to the South as a

442
00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:08,000
Speaker 3: spy whoa and actually puts yourself in the place of

443
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,240
Speaker 3: an enslaved woman in order to spy for the North

444
00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:14,800
Speaker 3: with this organization called the Loyal League, and then finally,

445
00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:19,040
Speaker 3: our last book of twenty twenty six is Lord of

446
00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:24,080
Speaker 3: Scoundrels by Loretta Chase, which is I think considered the

447
00:25:24,119 --> 00:25:26,520
Speaker 3: best historical romance of the modern era. I have never

448
00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:29,600
Speaker 3: seen a list of historical romances that doesn't have that

449
00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,359
Speaker 3: one at the top. And I take no offense.

450
00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:35,359
Speaker 1: When you're choosing these books. I kind of consider you

451
00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:39,080
Speaker 1: the godmother of historical romance. So when you are choosing

452
00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:42,159
Speaker 1: what makes the cut, what separates a good romance from

453
00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:44,080
Speaker 1: a must be on my shelf romance?

454
00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:46,080
Speaker 3: The first thing is is like, can I put it

455
00:25:46,119 --> 00:25:49,040
Speaker 3: down right? Am I itching to pick it back up?

456
00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:55,000
Speaker 3: Do I love the characters of something within? It sparkles?

457
00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,760
Speaker 3: And usually it boils down to the author's voice. There's

458
00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,359
Speaker 3: something about the author's voice that really grabs you.

459
00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:05,400
Speaker 1: When you say the author's voice, do you mean they're prose,

460
00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:11,000
Speaker 1: the a deafness that which they build out characters or

461
00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:13,119
Speaker 1: is it more just an emotional feeling you have.

462
00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:19,080
Speaker 3: It's their prose and what they're pros invokes in you.

463
00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:21,320
Speaker 3: You know, I've been told that I have a very

464
00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:24,400
Speaker 3: distinct voice, which is why I think people either really

465
00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:27,400
Speaker 3: love my books or I'm just absolutely not for them,

466
00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:30,919
Speaker 3: and that's okay if people like different voices. But I

467
00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:35,240
Speaker 3: think there are you know, some authors where if you

468
00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:37,560
Speaker 3: pick up one of their books, if you're familiar with

469
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:39,520
Speaker 3: them a little, you can say, yeah, I can tell

470
00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:42,359
Speaker 3: you who wrote this for sure, because I just hear her,

471
00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:49,520
Speaker 3: And to me, that's what usually moves a really good

472
00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:50,760
Speaker 3: book into a great book.

473
00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:54,080
Speaker 1: Okay. You know, Julia, as I was reading about your

474
00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:58,240
Speaker 1: path to becoming a writer, I almost stopped in my

475
00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:01,760
Speaker 1: tracks when I read that you nearly became a doctor.

476
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,000
Speaker 1: I have to know how you went from writing medical

477
00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:08,120
Speaker 1: school applications to writing Lady Whistled Down Takedowns.

478
00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:12,040
Speaker 3: Well, I was actually writing the medical school applications at

479
00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:16,040
Speaker 3: the same time I was writing my first book. Wow. Yeah,

480
00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:17,800
Speaker 3: so that was happening.

481
00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:19,679
Speaker 1: Said nobody ever, who has time to do that.

482
00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:24,320
Speaker 3: I was writing these books and applying to school, and

483
00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:26,399
Speaker 3: it all kind of came down at the same time.

484
00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:31,719
Speaker 3: I got my acceptance to medical school the same month,

485
00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:34,480
Speaker 3: almost the same week I got my first book deal,

486
00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:39,240
Speaker 3: which was insane, and I knew if I entered medical

487
00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:43,120
Speaker 3: school right away that was it. There's no time really

488
00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:45,560
Speaker 3: to do anything else. So I deferred, and then I

489
00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,679
Speaker 3: deferred again, and all I could think was, if this

490
00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:52,359
Speaker 3: writing thing doesn't work out, I'm not qualified to do anything,

491
00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:57,040
Speaker 3: which which shows you how narrow my worldview was, because

492
00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:00,360
Speaker 3: I'd already had three books published, which is like the dream, right,

493
00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:03,399
Speaker 3: But I just was freaking out. And I was at

494
00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:06,040
Speaker 3: medical school for about two two and a half months

495
00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:09,440
Speaker 3: before I realized this really isn't the right thing, and

496
00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:12,920
Speaker 3: I withdrew Wow, and I haven't looked back.

497
00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:16,040
Speaker 1: And so you knew anything that was in the back

498
00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:18,680
Speaker 1: of your mind kind of was washed away at that moment,

499
00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:20,320
Speaker 1: and you knew you were meant to be writing.

500
00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:24,840
Speaker 3: Yes. Yes, And I'm very glad I did that. I mean,

501
00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,399
Speaker 3: I don't think i'd be sitting here today thinking like,

502
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:29,520
Speaker 3: oh my gosh, should I have gone to medical school.

503
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:33,320
Speaker 3: I would have figured it out. But it's still I think.

504
00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:35,399
Speaker 3: You know, you get the things that you don't do

505
00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:41,360
Speaker 3: more than the things that you do. And I had

506
00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:44,840
Speaker 3: that opportunity to go to start down a different road,

507
00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,280
Speaker 3: to realize that it wasn't the right road, or at

508
00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:52,800
Speaker 3: least it wasn't the best road, and it just made

509
00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:54,440
Speaker 3: me all the more secure in what I did.

510
00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:58,760
Speaker 1: Eventually, choose to do, which was obviously Bridgerton. Where did

511
00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:01,600
Speaker 1: the seed of the story come from? Did you always

512
00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:03,320
Speaker 1: set out to write eight novels?

513
00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:04,520
Speaker 6: No?

514
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:08,800
Speaker 3: Absolutely not. And in fact, I couldn't remember where the

515
00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:12,160
Speaker 3: seed came from at first, because I wrote the first

516
00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:16,360
Speaker 3: book in nineteen ninety eight. I mean, my first book

517
00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:18,240
Speaker 3: is old enough that it would be kicked off my

518
00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:22,800
Speaker 3: health insurance. So after about four or five interviews of

519
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:24,800
Speaker 3: people asking me where I got the idea and me

520
00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:28,920
Speaker 3: being like, I can't remember, I finally put it together,

521
00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:33,880
Speaker 3: which was actually the character Simon came first. And what

522
00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:37,840
Speaker 3: had happened was I met somebody. He was I don't

523
00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:40,160
Speaker 3: even remember his name now, but he was a classmate

524
00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:42,800
Speaker 3: of my husband's. My husband was in medical school at

525
00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:46,760
Speaker 3: the time, and he had a very severe stutter. He

526
00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:50,520
Speaker 3: was a student at Yale School of Medicine. He was

527
00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:53,520
Speaker 3: very smart, he was doing things, but he still had

528
00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:57,080
Speaker 3: this incredible difficulty speaking. And it just made me wonder

529
00:29:57,160 --> 00:29:59,960
Speaker 3: what it would be like to have that difficulty communicate,

530
00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:03,080
Speaker 3: because I mean, I'm very chatty. I come from a

531
00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:07,240
Speaker 3: very chatty family. So I decided, you know, it's like, okay, well,

532
00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:11,480
Speaker 3: maybe we could make this character and make it the

533
00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:14,080
Speaker 3: male character who was supposed to be, you know, the big, strong,

534
00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:19,560
Speaker 3: tough guy, but this is his issue to overcome. And then,

535
00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:22,840
Speaker 3: you know, because historical romance and actually literature in general

536
00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:25,239
Speaker 3: is so full of bad parents, I decided to give

537
00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:28,560
Speaker 3: him this really awful father and this terrible, terrible childhood.

538
00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:33,440
Speaker 3: And I wrote the prologue to the story and it

539
00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:36,800
Speaker 3: was one of those magical writing moments that happens really quickly,

540
00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:40,760
Speaker 3: and you know, I think I wrote that one day,

541
00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:45,520
Speaker 3: which was incredible. And then I thought, this guy, he

542
00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:48,680
Speaker 3: doesn't just need a great woman to fall in love with.

543
00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:51,040
Speaker 3: He he needs like a new family. He deserves to

544
00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:53,280
Speaker 3: fall in love with somebody who comes from the best

545
00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:56,360
Speaker 3: family ever. They need to be fun and they need

546
00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:59,040
Speaker 3: to be loving, and he gets like a new family.

547
00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:00,800
Speaker 3: And that's where the bridge came from.

548
00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:04,120
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna share for anybody who's not as familiar.

549
00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:08,880
Speaker 1: The characters go in alphabetical order, and so Daphne, who

550
00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:12,360
Speaker 1: starts with a D, is the fourth, but you actually

551
00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:14,920
Speaker 1: start season one with her love story and she's married

552
00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:17,040
Speaker 1: to Simon. Is that why you started with that one?

553
00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:21,320
Speaker 3: Actually, in that time period, women tended to marry younger

554
00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:25,000
Speaker 3: than men. So it actually, in terms of making it chronological,

555
00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:27,360
Speaker 3: it made sense to start there, okay, and then to

556
00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:29,880
Speaker 3: go back and have her brothers. And then there's another

557
00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:32,920
Speaker 3: little switch at the end where Hyacinth gets married before Gregory,

558
00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:37,640
Speaker 3: which also makes sense in terms of just how society

559
00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:39,000
Speaker 3: kind of played out.

560
00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:44,400
Speaker 1: So I pride myself on asking one unhinged question every interview. Okay,

561
00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:45,240
Speaker 1: this is yours.

562
00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:47,560
Speaker 3: I don't know if I'm scared or excited.

563
00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:52,480
Speaker 1: Do you have a character that you feel was written

564
00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:54,120
Speaker 1: in the image of you at all?

565
00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:58,160
Speaker 3: Okay, that one I can kind of do. Okay, So

566
00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:03,000
Speaker 3: I am a common a nation of three.

567
00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:04,240
Speaker 1: Okay, you have to tell me.

568
00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:06,600
Speaker 3: Penelope.

569
00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:08,120
Speaker 1: Okay, that makes sense.

570
00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:13,040
Speaker 3: She's the one I pulled. I think my own more

571
00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:17,520
Speaker 3: of my own personal experiences from so many so much

572
00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:20,959
Speaker 3: of what I felt like in high school. And then

573
00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:25,600
Speaker 3: there's also Alloway's because I talked too much and I.

574
00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:26,080
Speaker 1: That was my guest.

575
00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:33,840
Speaker 3: And then Francesca, huh, because you know, I often feel

576
00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:38,000
Speaker 3: I love my family, I have the best family. I

577
00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:41,880
Speaker 3: often feel like I need some space. Okay, So I

578
00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:50,360
Speaker 3: really get Francesca's need to to just set herself apart

579
00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:53,920
Speaker 3: at times. And I've had moments where, like one of

580
00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:57,080
Speaker 3: my sisters said to me, like fine, Francesca, like what

581
00:32:57,440 --> 00:32:57,840
Speaker 3: it's like?

582
00:32:58,160 --> 00:32:58,720
Speaker 6: Wow?

583
00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:03,240
Speaker 1: I actually find that a lot of sibling dynamics on

584
00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:06,680
Speaker 1: screen are portrayed in a way that like does not

585
00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:10,320
Speaker 1: resonate for me with my brother and Bridgerton really does.

586
00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:12,920
Speaker 1: Where did that come from? Was that something that you

587
00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:15,040
Speaker 1: consciously crafted or it kind of just happened.

588
00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:18,600
Speaker 3: I think it just happened because you know, I not

589
00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:21,280
Speaker 3: only have you know, these siblings, but I also have

590
00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:25,800
Speaker 3: first cousins to whom I'm extremely close, and second cousins

591
00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:28,240
Speaker 3: and even some third cousins. I mean, I have I

592
00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:32,520
Speaker 3: have this big family and I'm not super close with

593
00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:35,640
Speaker 3: all of them, but we tease each other, we don't

594
00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:40,479
Speaker 3: take crap from each other, and that, I think, above

595
00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:45,280
Speaker 3: everything is what the television show Bridgerton really gets from

596
00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:45,600
Speaker 3: the show.

597
00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:46,960
Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, it does.

598
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:48,920
Speaker 3: I love it. They get lots of things, but that's

599
00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:52,240
Speaker 3: the one they just get perfectly, that sense of family,

600
00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:55,760
Speaker 3: that sibling dynamic, and I think I think that's one

601
00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:59,400
Speaker 3: of the things that people really love is to see

602
00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:03,040
Speaker 3: that because it is something that resonates with so many people.

603
00:34:03,080 --> 00:34:06,680
Speaker 3: I mean, if you have a sibling, and I would

604
00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:09,080
Speaker 3: venture to say more than half of us. Do you

605
00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:09,560
Speaker 3: get it?

606
00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:12,080
Speaker 1: Absolutely? And I think one of the things that a

607
00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:16,640
Speaker 1: lot of people actually don't know is that your first

608
00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:20,359
Speaker 1: Bridgerton novel was published in two thousand and you were

609
00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:23,839
Speaker 1: done publishing the series in two thousand and six. How

610
00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:27,720
Speaker 1: did you hear that Shonda Rhymes wanted to adapt this show?

611
00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:30,440
Speaker 1: And I guess my even bigger question is what was

612
00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:33,759
Speaker 1: it like revisiting the series after fourteen years away? That

613
00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:36,480
Speaker 1: has got to be very strange.

614
00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:41,400
Speaker 3: I heard it was in January twenty seventeen. I was

615
00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:46,359
Speaker 3: sitting in Starbucks with my computer as I frequently did

616
00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:49,920
Speaker 3: and do, and I got a phone call from my agent.

617
00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:52,560
Speaker 3: So I picked up and he said, I just have

618
00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:55,840
Speaker 3: the most interesting phone call. And I said, okay, and

619
00:34:55,880 --> 00:35:01,040
Speaker 3: then he said, have you heard of Shonda Rhymes?

620
00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:01,680
Speaker 5: Uh?

621
00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:06,719
Speaker 3: Yeah, And he said, well, you know, her representatives just

622
00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:09,839
Speaker 3: called to ask if the rights to the Bridgington series

623
00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:12,480
Speaker 3: are available, and if so, are we interested in talking

624
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:16,600
Speaker 3: to them about adapting it. I was like, get off

625
00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:18,480
Speaker 3: the phone with me right now and call them right

626
00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:20,200
Speaker 3: back and say yes. I can't believe you even thought

627
00:35:20,239 --> 00:35:24,880
Speaker 3: you had to ask, and what I found out later, Well, Shanda,

628
00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:27,160
Speaker 3: she's a huge reader. She loves to read, and when

629
00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:30,120
Speaker 3: she travels she usually brings books with her. And she

630
00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:33,120
Speaker 3: was somewhere I don't know where, in like a hotel

631
00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:35,840
Speaker 3: room and in something, and she was sick and she

632
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,279
Speaker 3: ran out of books and the book that happened to

633
00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:41,400
Speaker 3: be sitting around this inn was The Duke and I

634
00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:42,319
Speaker 3: and so she.

635
00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:42,879
Speaker 6: Picked it up.

636
00:35:43,239 --> 00:35:46,719
Speaker 3: And that, people, is how lucky I am, because she

637
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:49,239
Speaker 3: said she read it and she loved it so much

638
00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:52,120
Speaker 3: that she got out of her sick bed and ran

639
00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:54,040
Speaker 3: down the street to get the rest of the books

640
00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:56,640
Speaker 3: in the series and just like read through everything. And

641
00:35:56,719 --> 00:36:00,160
Speaker 3: then and then she started making everybody at Shondaaland read it.

642
00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:04,920
Speaker 3: And she kept calling these crazy romance novels, which it's fine,

643
00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:07,520
Speaker 3: I think, you know, crazy just because she'd never read

644
00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:09,440
Speaker 3: romance novels before. And she's like, you have to read this.

645
00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:10,879
Speaker 3: I think, don't you think this would be a good show?

646
00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:13,080
Speaker 3: You have to read this. And the crazy thing for

647
00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:15,719
Speaker 3: me is that this is all happening down in Los

648
00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:18,839
Speaker 3: Angeles at the Shondaland offices. They told me, even like

649
00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:23,080
Speaker 3: the parking attendant was reading the books, and I had

650
00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:25,520
Speaker 3: no idea. I had no idea all this was happening

651
00:36:25,600 --> 00:36:26,439
Speaker 3: until the phone call.

652
00:36:33,719 --> 00:36:36,520
Speaker 1: I have to get the season for Bridgerton T because

653
00:36:36,520 --> 00:36:40,920
Speaker 1: it's out on Netflix right now and everybody listening would

654
00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:42,960
Speaker 1: hate me if I didn't get all of the behind

655
00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:46,520
Speaker 1: the scenes info from you. I was reading the original

656
00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:49,160
Speaker 1: book for this season, which is an offer from a gentleman,

657
00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:52,600
Speaker 1: and I was immediately struck by the Cinderella parallels. First

658
00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:55,719
Speaker 1: two books play on classic romance genre tropes, But what

659
00:36:56,080 --> 00:36:59,359
Speaker 1: inspired the sort of retelling of a classic fairy tale?

660
00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:03,719
Speaker 3: I had read fairytale retellings. I'm certainly not the first

661
00:37:03,719 --> 00:37:05,520
Speaker 3: person who's done that in romance, and I think it

662
00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:07,000
Speaker 3: was one of those things where I was like, Okay,

663
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:10,400
Speaker 3: maybe it's time to try this. And there are aspects

664
00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:14,840
Speaker 3: of it that work very well for a historical romance

665
00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:18,319
Speaker 3: because I was able to take this Cinderella story and

666
00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:22,800
Speaker 3: actually turn it into kind of a forbidden love trope

667
00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:28,120
Speaker 3: because the issue of class was something that was almost

668
00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:33,880
Speaker 3: insurmountable in that time in England, and so Cinderella seemed

669
00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:37,279
Speaker 3: like a good way to put that out there. So

670
00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:44,120
Speaker 3: for Sophie being a servant and also I legitimate, which

671
00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:49,040
Speaker 3: was a huge deal. Then really makes for somebody that

672
00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:54,840
Speaker 3: somebody like a Bridgeton cannot marry. This is a big deal,

673
00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:57,319
Speaker 3: and I think that was hard for some readers to

674
00:37:57,480 --> 00:38:03,640
Speaker 3: understand because Nedict makes choices and asks things of her

675
00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:08,319
Speaker 3: that she does that she finds insulting. And I think

676
00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:10,320
Speaker 3: a lot of readers were insulted on her behalf and

677
00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:13,720
Speaker 3: were really angry with him. And I felt it saying, like, guys,

678
00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:16,919
Speaker 3: this is exactly how it would have happened. Then, this

679
00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:19,040
Speaker 3: is what he would have done. And the big deal

680
00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:22,799
Speaker 3: is that he overcomes it and he decides that, you know,

681
00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:25,279
Speaker 3: being with her and the love that he has for

682
00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:29,560
Speaker 3: her is more important than these issues of class. But

683
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:34,920
Speaker 3: I think that the story really is his growth, not

684
00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:37,880
Speaker 3: where he started. The point is that he grew and

685
00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:40,400
Speaker 3: was able to get past that and change his mind.

686
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:46,000
Speaker 1: This is interesting because I actually think part two really hinges.

687
00:38:46,160 --> 00:38:49,759
Speaker 1: I can imagine on BENEDICKT. Bridgerton, everybody wants to know

688
00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:52,960
Speaker 1: what is going to happen. What do you think most

689
00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:56,320
Speaker 1: excites you about his story compared to the rest of

690
00:38:56,360 --> 00:38:57,319
Speaker 1: the Bridgerton gang.

691
00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:02,840
Speaker 3: You love the way he loves Eloise, I love the

692
00:39:02,880 --> 00:39:05,360
Speaker 3: way he interacts with his siblings. You love you just

693
00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:08,680
Speaker 3: and Luke. I have to take this moment to say,

694
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:14,000
Speaker 3: is the most delightful human being. He's so sweet and

695
00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:17,040
Speaker 3: so lovely and so smart. And he speaks French by

696
00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:19,880
Speaker 3: the way. I don't know if people realize this, and

697
00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:22,400
Speaker 3: it's this is a funny thing about season four is

698
00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:25,040
Speaker 3: that they have him speaking French, but he has to

699
00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:29,719
Speaker 3: speak French badly. Sophie corrects his accent. That's so interesting,

700
00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:32,200
Speaker 3: which is funny because he has a perfect accent because

701
00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:33,080
Speaker 3: he grew up in France.

702
00:39:33,160 --> 00:39:35,200
Speaker 1: But well, let me ask you this, is there a

703
00:39:35,239 --> 00:39:38,799
Speaker 1: small detail from Benedict's book that you made sure made

704
00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:39,640
Speaker 1: it into this season.

705
00:39:40,040 --> 00:39:43,000
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I wanted, like the prison scene, you know,

706
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:46,400
Speaker 3: hopefully this isn't a spoiler. I wanted the lake scene.

707
00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:52,120
Speaker 3: I wanted, you know, the masquerade scene.

708
00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:54,319
Speaker 1: That's such a magical scene.

709
00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:55,160
Speaker 6: Yeah.

710
00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:57,879
Speaker 3: But according to the people who put together the show,

711
00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:00,279
Speaker 3: they said it was the I think the easiest book

712
00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:03,040
Speaker 3: to adapt. It was sort of more naturally cinematic than

713
00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:05,640
Speaker 3: the other one. So I think it actually does follow

714
00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:08,880
Speaker 3: the book a little bit more closely than most. So

715
00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:11,040
Speaker 3: we get a lot of really fun moments in there.

716
00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:15,680
Speaker 1: So romance is now the fastest growing genre in publishing.

717
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:18,800
Speaker 1: I read that it's a one point four billion dollar

718
00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:22,239
Speaker 1: business in the US every year, And I genuinely think

719
00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:25,800
Speaker 1: that Bridgerton arriving when it did helped push the romance

720
00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:30,960
Speaker 1: genre into cultural mainstream. And in twenty twenty it hit Netflix,

721
00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:35,960
Speaker 1: and I think it introduced this like unapologetic desire and

722
00:40:36,120 --> 00:40:40,600
Speaker 1: passion front and center and no shame attached, and obviously

723
00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:45,000
Speaker 1: the audience loved it. When you were writing these books

724
00:40:45,239 --> 00:40:48,120
Speaker 1: long before twenty twenty, long before it was a one

725
00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:52,000
Speaker 1: point four billion dollar business, when romance was honestly a

726
00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:56,279
Speaker 1: little bit dismissed or still sort of stigmatized. What has

727
00:40:56,360 --> 00:40:59,759
Speaker 1: this boom meant to you personally? After years of advocating

728
00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:02,359
Speaker 1: for this genre before it was quote unquote cool.

729
00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:06,279
Speaker 3: Well, I do want to point out that even when

730
00:41:06,360 --> 00:41:09,560
Speaker 3: we weren't cool and we were kind of dismissed a lot,

731
00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:14,000
Speaker 3: we still were huge business. Romance has been the best

732
00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:18,239
Speaker 3: selling genre for as long as I've been writing. I mean,

733
00:41:18,280 --> 00:41:20,520
Speaker 3: so even when people are you know, pooh poohing us,

734
00:41:20,520 --> 00:41:22,440
Speaker 3: saying they're not real books or whatever, we were the

735
00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:25,239
Speaker 3: ones still bringing in the money. We're the ones who

736
00:41:25,640 --> 00:41:28,840
Speaker 3: were making the money for the publishing houses so that

737
00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:32,480
Speaker 3: they could publish poetry that only ten people buy. And

738
00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:35,480
Speaker 3: and I'm not putting down the poetry that only ten

739
00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:37,799
Speaker 3: people buy. I want the poetry that only ten people

740
00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:40,680
Speaker 3: buy to be published because I think that's super important.

741
00:41:41,239 --> 00:41:43,120
Speaker 3: But I think you are right that there has been

742
00:41:43,120 --> 00:41:46,200
Speaker 3: this kind of new boom where suddenly it is unapologetic.

743
00:41:46,239 --> 00:41:46,680
Speaker 6: It is.

744
00:41:48,239 --> 00:41:51,120
Speaker 3: You know, book talk is this massive thing, and you know,

745
00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:53,960
Speaker 3: I think I think Bridgerton definitely helped with that. But

746
00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:58,560
Speaker 3: what's very interesting is that, you know, the boom that

747
00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:02,720
Speaker 3: romance novels are seeing is not extending to historical romance.

748
00:42:02,719 --> 00:42:05,280
Speaker 3: And I don't really know why, I mean, to be honest,

749
00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:08,799
Speaker 3: except for me, I'll be frank, I'm doing great, but

750
00:42:09,239 --> 00:42:12,919
Speaker 3: it's not extending to other historical romances. And I'm not

751
00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:16,479
Speaker 3: sure why. And I mean that's part of the reason

752
00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:19,360
Speaker 3: why I started JQ additions, so that the people who

753
00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:23,960
Speaker 3: are asking me, like, well, what should I read after Bridgerton?

754
00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:26,719
Speaker 3: I can say, Hey, here you go. This is like

755
00:42:26,760 --> 00:42:28,239
Speaker 3: my book club. These are the best, these are the

756
00:42:28,239 --> 00:42:29,319
Speaker 3: ones I think you will love.

757
00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:33,680
Speaker 1: I think I'm going to come back. It's going to

758
00:42:33,719 --> 00:42:36,319
Speaker 1: be cyclical. I just think like fantasy romance is having

759
00:42:36,360 --> 00:42:38,440
Speaker 1: such a moment right now. It is.

760
00:42:38,719 --> 00:42:42,160
Speaker 3: I am all for anything that gets people to read.

761
00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:46,239
Speaker 3: If it's pulling people in, I think it's great. And

762
00:42:46,520 --> 00:42:48,720
Speaker 3: hopefully it is cyclical, and hopefully we will get people

763
00:42:48,760 --> 00:42:52,920
Speaker 3: back to historical romance again, because as I said, there's

764
00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:56,440
Speaker 3: so many wonderful, wonderful books. And actually I'm going to

765
00:42:56,440 --> 00:42:59,600
Speaker 3: totally tout one of our twenty twenty seven books because

766
00:42:59,600 --> 00:43:04,000
Speaker 3: it is a romanticy kind of It is The Ornithologist

767
00:43:04,160 --> 00:43:06,920
Speaker 3: Field Guide to Love by India Houlton.

768
00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:12,320
Speaker 1: What's an ornithologist at the bird Scientist?

769
00:43:15,719 --> 00:43:17,520
Speaker 3: Isn't this like the coolest title ever?

770
00:43:17,640 --> 00:43:18,919
Speaker 5: And I mean, I.

771
00:43:18,840 --> 00:43:21,320
Speaker 1: Don't know what says hot like ornithologists?

772
00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:33,880
Speaker 5: Okay, right, what would you tell.

773
00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:35,880
Speaker 1: Your two thousand and era of self? Knowing what you

774
00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:36,680
Speaker 1: know now.

775
00:43:39,480 --> 00:43:41,280
Speaker 3: You're not gonna believe what's gonna happen.

776
00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:45,440
Speaker 1: You know, when we had the sisters who created the

777
00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:49,799
Speaker 1: Rip Bodice bookstores on, they spoke really beautifully on the

778
00:43:49,800 --> 00:43:54,319
Speaker 1: community and fandom that comes from romance. I'm curious if

779
00:43:54,320 --> 00:43:57,520
Speaker 1: there's something that has surprised you about the fandom around

780
00:43:57,640 --> 00:43:58,800
Speaker 1: the Bridgerton series.

781
00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:12,000
Speaker 3: You know, I've been in the romance world for thirty

782
00:44:12,120 --> 00:44:16,239
Speaker 3: years now, so I feel like the fandom kind of

783
00:44:16,280 --> 00:44:18,960
Speaker 3: grew up around me because I came in just as

784
00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:21,399
Speaker 3: like the Internet was taking off. I mean literally, when

785
00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:23,279
Speaker 3: I sold my first book, I did not have an

786
00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:27,719
Speaker 3: email address. So, I know, let's take a moment to

787
00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:29,440
Speaker 3: pause and reflect upon how old I am.

788
00:44:29,560 --> 00:44:30,719
Speaker 1: Did you have a BlackBerry?

789
00:44:32,320 --> 00:44:32,520
Speaker 6: No?

790
00:44:33,200 --> 00:44:36,759
Speaker 3: But anyway, so I basically grew up with the romance fandom. So,

791
00:44:37,719 --> 00:44:40,080
Speaker 3: you know, I think nothing really surprised me because I

792
00:44:40,120 --> 00:44:42,239
Speaker 3: was a part of it for so long. But the

793
00:44:42,360 --> 00:44:46,760
Speaker 3: television fandom and the book fandom are a little bit different.

794
00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:50,719
Speaker 3: For the most part, everybody is really really lovely. I

795
00:44:50,760 --> 00:44:54,520
Speaker 3: guess what surprised me was how focused on specific couples

796
00:44:54,520 --> 00:44:58,239
Speaker 3: some people are, and sometimes they get really mad at

797
00:44:58,280 --> 00:45:01,920
Speaker 3: each other. I say that, but at the same time,

798
00:45:01,960 --> 00:45:04,440
Speaker 3: I want to make it clear, like ninety five percent

799
00:45:04,600 --> 00:45:08,200
Speaker 3: of all the fans are just absolutely lovely, wonderful human

800
00:45:08,239 --> 00:45:11,040
Speaker 3: beings who are so sweet, and I love the fan art.

801
00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:12,960
Speaker 3: I try to put that on my Instagram a lot.

802
00:45:13,760 --> 00:45:14,520
Speaker 3: They're just great.

803
00:45:14,880 --> 00:45:18,040
Speaker 1: They are really So you said that romance novels are

804
00:45:18,080 --> 00:45:21,000
Speaker 1: important for two big reasons. One is that it proves

805
00:45:21,040 --> 00:45:24,399
Speaker 1: reading can be easy and just for pleasure, and the

806
00:45:24,440 --> 00:45:28,000
Speaker 1: other is that romance celebrates happy endings and seeking joy

807
00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:31,239
Speaker 1: and happiness in life. And I was wondering if there

808
00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:34,960
Speaker 1: was a moment in time where writing romance or reading

809
00:45:35,080 --> 00:45:38,560
Speaker 1: Romance helped you feel happiness or pleasure when you really

810
00:45:38,600 --> 00:45:39,080
Speaker 1: needed it.

811
00:45:40,040 --> 00:45:44,799
Speaker 3: Absolutely, you know, I, like so many people have in

812
00:45:44,800 --> 00:45:50,239
Speaker 3: my life battle depression and have had moments where the

813
00:45:50,360 --> 00:45:54,239
Speaker 3: only way I could get out of my head was

814
00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:58,359
Speaker 3: reading a book that made me laugh and smile. And

815
00:45:58,719 --> 00:46:01,520
Speaker 3: I have heard from so many readers that they have

816
00:46:01,600 --> 00:46:07,080
Speaker 3: had similar experiences. I get so many letters from readers,

817
00:46:07,160 --> 00:46:09,120
Speaker 3: you know, just saying like your book's helped me through

818
00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:13,400
Speaker 3: a really hard time. Wow, And that is so meaningful

819
00:46:13,640 --> 00:46:19,080
Speaker 3: and and we need joy, we need that, and you know,

820
00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:21,760
Speaker 3: and I'm I'm still here for all the edgy stuff,

821
00:46:21,800 --> 00:46:24,920
Speaker 3: for the hard stuff, for the the tragedies. I mean,

822
00:46:24,960 --> 00:46:29,719
Speaker 3: those are also important, but I think our society has

823
00:46:29,760 --> 00:46:34,200
Speaker 3: difficulty elevating art that celebrates joy. And then also the

824
00:46:34,239 --> 00:46:38,280
Speaker 3: other point that you brought up, I guess that I said, Yami,

825
00:46:39,920 --> 00:46:43,520
Speaker 3: was also that reading for pleasure is so much fun

826
00:46:43,760 --> 00:46:48,319
Speaker 3: and or so important, and I I don't know why

827
00:46:48,360 --> 00:46:49,920
Speaker 3: it is because I feel like we have reached a

828
00:46:49,960 --> 00:46:56,640
Speaker 3: point in society where we accept that, like watching TV

829
00:46:58,800 --> 00:47:02,319
Speaker 3: doesn't have to be like enriching. And I'm doing air

830
00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:04,880
Speaker 3: quotes for everybody here, like we can watch TV just

831
00:47:04,920 --> 00:47:07,839
Speaker 3: for fun and for pleasure and to have a good time,

832
00:47:07,920 --> 00:47:10,160
Speaker 3: and it doesn't have to be hard. But for some reason,

833
00:47:10,200 --> 00:47:11,680
Speaker 3: we feel like if we're going to read a book,

834
00:47:11,719 --> 00:47:16,440
Speaker 3: it has to be hard and it has to be difficult,

835
00:47:16,520 --> 00:47:20,040
Speaker 3: it has to be enriching. And I'm like, no, we

836
00:47:20,120 --> 00:47:23,320
Speaker 3: can read books for the same reason we watch Seinfeld

837
00:47:24,840 --> 00:47:29,480
Speaker 3: because it makes us happy. Right, totally agree, And I

838
00:47:29,520 --> 00:47:32,919
Speaker 3: think that got lost for a long time, Like people

839
00:47:32,920 --> 00:47:34,239
Speaker 3: are like, I don't want to you know, I'm not

840
00:47:34,280 --> 00:47:37,960
Speaker 3: going to read unless like it is you know, teaching

841
00:47:37,960 --> 00:47:43,160
Speaker 3: and rich, deep and meaningful. Yeah, and writing a book

842
00:47:44,040 --> 00:47:48,360
Speaker 3: that is meant to give people pleasure, to give people joy,

843
00:47:48,520 --> 00:47:51,960
Speaker 3: to give people a lovely afternoon is not easy. I

844
00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:54,160
Speaker 3: think people think like it must be easy since it's

845
00:47:54,160 --> 00:47:57,960
Speaker 3: not a hard read, But making something look easy is

846
00:47:58,000 --> 00:47:59,280
Speaker 3: actually quite difficult.

847
00:47:59,440 --> 00:48:02,040
Speaker 1: Julia, what's something that you've bookmarked this week? It can

848
00:48:02,080 --> 00:48:07,320
Speaker 1: be a fun quote or an Instagram post or something

849
00:48:07,360 --> 00:48:10,600
Speaker 1: you texted your best friend about what have you bookmarked?

850
00:48:11,360 --> 00:48:11,680
Speaker 3: Oh?

851
00:48:11,840 --> 00:48:12,200
Speaker 5: It was?

852
00:48:12,320 --> 00:48:15,840
Speaker 3: It actually was an Instagram post and I don't know

853
00:48:15,880 --> 00:48:18,120
Speaker 3: if it's how you actually pronounce your name, but it's

854
00:48:18,200 --> 00:48:25,200
Speaker 3: Katie Aby and she posted like this cartoon and it

855
00:48:25,320 --> 00:48:28,440
Speaker 3: just has this little creature that might be a rabbit,

856
00:48:28,480 --> 00:48:30,479
Speaker 3: I don't know what, and it's holding something that says

857
00:48:30,480 --> 00:48:33,200
Speaker 3: magic and whimsy and political outrage, and it says we

858
00:48:33,280 --> 00:48:36,279
Speaker 3: navigate these times by keeping hold of both. And that's

859
00:48:36,280 --> 00:48:38,239
Speaker 3: really how I feel right now. I think it's the

860
00:48:38,239 --> 00:48:42,040
Speaker 3: only way I'm keeping my sanity is by holding on

861
00:48:42,120 --> 00:48:45,400
Speaker 3: to both my political outrage and my sense of magic

862
00:48:45,440 --> 00:48:46,520
Speaker 3: and whimsy.

863
00:48:46,600 --> 00:48:50,560
Speaker 1: I also am realizing that you really appreciate duality and

864
00:48:50,600 --> 00:48:52,880
Speaker 1: living in the gray space, and that's part of what

865
00:48:52,960 --> 00:48:56,959
Speaker 1: makes Bridgerton so appealing and interesting and complicated.

866
00:48:58,200 --> 00:48:59,799
Speaker 3: I hadn't really thought about it that way.

867
00:49:00,200 --> 00:49:03,000
Speaker 1: I want to segue into something called speed read.

868
00:49:03,600 --> 00:49:05,839
Speaker 3: Oh boy, ok So.

869
00:49:05,840 --> 00:49:07,720
Speaker 1: Here's how it works. We're going to put sixty seconds

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00:49:07,760 --> 00:49:10,600
Speaker 1: on the clock and see how many rapid fire literary

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00:49:10,680 --> 00:49:13,319
Speaker 1: questions you can get through. Are you ready?

872
00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:14,760
Speaker 6: Okay?

873
00:49:15,160 --> 00:49:20,000
Speaker 1: Okay? Three to one? What's one literary trope that you

874
00:49:20,040 --> 00:49:23,880
Speaker 1: would ban forever, age gap and one that you'll defend

875
00:49:23,920 --> 00:49:28,359
Speaker 1: with your life friends to lovers. Which Bridgerton character are

876
00:49:28,360 --> 00:49:35,880
Speaker 1: you secretly least like Anthony? Which Bridgerton character would you

877
00:49:35,880 --> 00:49:37,200
Speaker 1: trade places with for a day?

878
00:49:38,480 --> 00:49:39,240
Speaker 3: Penelope?

879
00:49:39,560 --> 00:49:42,640
Speaker 1: Ooh, what book do you think is on Benedict Bridgerton's

880
00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:43,360
Speaker 1: bedside table?

881
00:49:47,040 --> 00:49:48,040
Speaker 3: A Prayer for own MENI?

882
00:49:48,640 --> 00:49:51,320
Speaker 1: How about Sophie's.

883
00:49:52,719 --> 00:49:54,680
Speaker 3: Uh, prid and Prejudice.

884
00:49:54,960 --> 00:49:56,319
Speaker 1: What book do you wish you could read for the

885
00:49:56,360 --> 00:49:57,120
Speaker 1: first time again?

886
00:49:57,680 --> 00:49:59,359
Speaker 3: Dreaming of You by Lisa Clayvis.

887
00:49:59,640 --> 00:50:01,280
Speaker 1: What's your your favorite book to recommend?

888
00:50:04,040 --> 00:50:06,160
Speaker 3: Well? I guess right now the ornithologists feel Guide to

889
00:50:06,160 --> 00:50:07,160
Speaker 3: Love by India Holton.

890
00:50:07,800 --> 00:50:10,560
Speaker 1: What's your favorite literary love story of all time?

891
00:50:12,320 --> 00:50:14,600
Speaker 3: Not Romeo and Juliet And I'm just gonna say not.

892
00:50:14,760 --> 00:50:15,239
Speaker 3: How about that?

893
00:50:15,800 --> 00:50:17,560
Speaker 1: What's a book that you wish you had written?

894
00:50:20,400 --> 00:50:25,000
Speaker 3: Dreaming of You by Lisa Klavis Julia Quinn Clink.

895
00:50:25,200 --> 00:50:28,880
Speaker 1: Cheers to you, Clink, Cheers to you and all of

896
00:50:28,920 --> 00:50:31,120
Speaker 1: your success and all of your whimsy and all of

897
00:50:31,160 --> 00:50:35,360
Speaker 1: your glory. Thank you for giving us so much joy

898
00:50:35,400 --> 00:50:36,720
Speaker 1: to read about and watch.

899
00:50:37,600 --> 00:50:39,919
Speaker 3: Thank you this has been super fun.

900
00:50:41,640 --> 00:50:43,239
Speaker 1: And if you want a little bit more from us,

901
00:50:43,400 --> 00:50:45,719
Speaker 1: come hang with us on socials. We're at Reese's book

902
00:50:45,719 --> 00:50:49,319
Speaker 1: Club on Instagram, serving up books, vibes and behind the

903
00:50:49,320 --> 00:50:53,200
Speaker 1: scenes magic and I'm at Danielle Robe. Roba y come

904
00:50:53,239 --> 00:50:56,480
Speaker 1: say hi and DM me and if you want to

905
00:50:56,520 --> 00:50:59,759
Speaker 1: go nineties on us, call us. Okay, our phone line

906
00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:03,360
Speaker 1: is open, so call now at one five zero one

907
00:51:03,520 --> 00:51:07,759
Speaker 1: two nine one three three seven nine. That's one five

908
00:51:07,960 --> 00:51:11,760
Speaker 1: oh one two nine one three three seven nine.

909
00:51:12,360 --> 00:51:14,040
Speaker 5: Share your literary.

910
00:51:13,560 --> 00:51:17,880
Speaker 1: Hot takes, book recommendations, questions about the monthly pick, or

911
00:51:17,960 --> 00:51:19,719
Speaker 1: let us know what you think about the episode you

912
00:51:19,880 --> 00:51:23,320
Speaker 1: just heard. And who knows, you might just hear yourself

913
00:51:23,360 --> 00:51:26,680
Speaker 1: in our next episode, So don't be shy, give us

914
00:51:26,680 --> 00:51:29,560
Speaker 1: a ring, and of course, make sure to follow Bookmarked

915
00:51:29,600 --> 00:51:33,160
Speaker 1: by Reese's book Club on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast,

916
00:51:33,320 --> 00:51:37,040
Speaker 1: or wherever you get your shows. Until then, see you

917
00:51:37,080 --> 00:51:41,200
Speaker 1: in the next chapter. Bookmarked is a production of Hello,

918
00:51:41,239 --> 00:51:45,680
Speaker 1: Sunshine and iHeart Podcast. It's executive produced by Reese Witherspoon

919
00:51:45,880 --> 00:51:50,439
Speaker 1: and Me Danielle Robe. Production is by a Cast Creative Studios.

920
00:51:50,800 --> 00:51:54,680
Speaker 1: Our producers are Matty Foley, Britney Martinez, Sarah Schleid and

921
00:51:54,760 --> 00:51:59,720
Speaker 1: Darby Masters. Our production assistant is Avery Loftus, Jenny Kaplin

922
00:52:00,000 --> 00:52:03,480
Speaker 1: Emile Rudder are the executive producers for a Cast Creative Studios.

923
00:52:04,120 --> 00:52:07,360
Speaker 1: Maureene Polo and Reese Witherspoon are the executive producers for

924
00:52:07,400 --> 00:52:12,200
Speaker 1: Hello Sunshine, Olga Kaminwha, Kristin Perla and Ashley Rappaport are

925
00:52:12,239 --> 00:52:16,520
Speaker 1: associate producers for Reese's book Club. Ali Perry and Lauren

926
00:52:16,560 --> 00:52:19,480
Speaker 1: Hansen are the executive producers for iHeart Podcasts.