Latest / Main Chapter / Amazon Top 100 Author Jaqueline Snowe x Main Chapter
Transcript
- 0:01SPEAKER_00: Hello, my book butterflies, and welcome to this week's episode of the Main Chapter Podcast.
- 0:06SPEAKER_00: My name's Brianna, and if you haven't already, please be sure to like and subscribe so we can continue growing and spreading our love of books through the entire world.
- 0:15SPEAKER_00: Now, this week I'm interviewing Jacqueline Snow, a top 100 Amazon author, talking all about her news horse romance on swing and a kiss.
- 0:24SPEAKER_00: It's a fake dating forced proximity romance between an influencer and an NLB pitcher.
- 0:30SPEAKER_00: It follows our FMC Cassidy, who tragically loses her father at the beginning of the book.
- 0:35SPEAKER_00: And to honor his memory, she decides to go on nine dates at nine baseball games of his favorite team.
- 0:41SPEAKER_00: Nine because nine is his favorite player.
- 0:44SPEAKER_00: Nate.
- 0:44SPEAKER_00: And Nate thinks this whole thing is ridiculous, that it's a spectacle.
- 0:48SPEAKER_00: But when the stunt gets a lot of publicity, the team's PR decides to have Nate and Cassidy fake a date.
- 0:56SPEAKER_00: And they come to understand that they initially misunderstood one another and become each other's rock as they both go through different life changes.
- 1:03SPEAKER_00: And it is such a fun read for my sports romance girlies.
- 1:07SPEAKER_00: It is definitely for you.
- 1:08SPEAKER_00: For my baseball fans, it is definitely for you because Jacqueline is a hardcore baseball fan, and we get all into it in the interview.
- 1:16SPEAKER_00: There are some light spoilers.
- 1:25SPEAKER_00: So I hope you enjoy it and let's go ahead and roll the tape.
- 1:28SPEAKER_00: Well, Jaclyn, welcome to main chapter.
- 1:32SPEAKER_00: I am so, so excited to have you and talking about Swingin' a Kiss, your new sports romance, which is so exciting.
- 1:38SPEAKER_00: Yes, thank you.
- 1:39SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to be here.
- 1:41SPEAKER_00: Of course.
- 1:42SPEAKER_00: Of course, happy to have you.
- 1:43SPEAKER_00: So I really just want to get into it because we have this really fun concept of fake dating between an MLB player and an influencer.
- 1:52SPEAKER_00: So take me back.
- 1:53SPEAKER_00: What was that first spark of inspiration that decided you decided that you wanted to put Nate and Cassidy onto paper?
- 2:00SPEAKER_01: No, that's such a fun question.
- 2:02SPEAKER_01: Um, I was recently actually talking to someone about this, is um I talk about it in my acknowledgements and then in the dedication as well.
- 2:08SPEAKER_01: But my husband worked for a major league sports team for 10 years, and during that time, I learned more about the MLB in baseball than I ever wanted to or needed to in my entire life.
- 2:20SPEAKER_01: And so it started on a, we were driving, we were on a family road trip, and I was like, hey, I really want like talk to me about like this old.
- 2:28SPEAKER_01: I knew I wanted to write age gap.
- 2:29SPEAKER_01: I did, but I didn't really know I didn't have the characters yet.
- 2:32SPEAKER_01: I didn't I had no inkling.
- 2:33SPEAKER_01: I was like, I just want to write age gap.
- 2:34SPEAKER_01: I haven't really written that, and I think it would be fun to, you know, try something different.
- 2:38SPEAKER_01: I love reading it.
- 2:39SPEAKER_01: And so started talking about, you know, a veteran pitcher had a year left on his contract.
- 2:45SPEAKER_01: Like, what would what would the realities of that look like?
- 2:47SPEAKER_01: And so it was a five-hour drive that we were on, and we ended up talking the entire time and just created this whole baseball player, this whole thing, like what his wants were his family, what his motivations.
- 2:58SPEAKER_01: And then so I needed to figure out so he was first.
- 3:02SPEAKER_01: Like normally, I would like to, I think that my female main characters, because I to I tend to write female uh main characters first, but Nate came Nate was immediate after that conversation, and then for Cassidy, I there is an influencer.
- 3:15SPEAKER_01: I think her name, I don't I know her name is Bryn, but I think it's Brynn Marie.
- 3:19SPEAKER_01: But she is I've been following her since like the last like four years, like and I'm not on social media a ton, but I just love this influer so much because she was so authentic and talked about the highs and the lows of her life, and it was just so genuine and sometimes messy and sometimes so inspirational.
- 3:35SPEAKER_01: And so it again, just scrolling, you know, we all scroll sometimes, but I kept coming across her page and her feed, and I was like, oh my gosh, I love that the difference of just a young influencer who everyone thinks they kind of know and judge what they think that is, and then everyone thinks, you know, you can think you're the best athlete in the world watching a sport from your TV and couch at home, and so kind of taking those pairs and and making them, you know, force proximity into making them to interact to see what happens.
- 4:03SPEAKER_00: That's so interesting you wrote Nate first, because I feel like everyone I've interviewed always talks about how they write their female characters first and they've got their male main characters around them.
- 4:12SPEAKER_00: So that's a fun little switch.
- 4:13SPEAKER_00: And it's funny you have that inside look really being immersed in the baseball family.
- 4:17SPEAKER_00: I'm a basketball family, I have a family member who works for the clippers, so I feel like I'm like immersed in the basketball world the same way you're immersed in the baseball world.
- 4:26SPEAKER_00: It's always fun kind of getting that inside scoop and the drama behind the scenes that you don't always see on ESPN Sports Center Bleacher Report.
- 4:34SPEAKER_00: So I could definitely appreciate that.
- 4:37SPEAKER_00: And you talked about Cassidy, how she was inspired by one of your uh favorite influencers, and she was such like an influencer archetype to me.
- 4:45SPEAKER_00: Like, she even does things that I feel like leave readers shocked.
- 4:48SPEAKER_00: Like, I know I was shocked, like those first 10 pages, seeing her literally live stream at her dad's funeral.
- 4:53SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh my gosh, like, are there people with influence like this?
- 4:57SPEAKER_00: But of course there are.
- 4:58SPEAKER_00: So I was wondering, what was it like writing Cassidy in situations where you know readers are gonna initially be like, okay, this girl might be a little bit unhinged, she might be a little bit crazy.
- 5:08SPEAKER_01: Uh see, I wanted, like the intent was to everyone to they thought they knew who she was because that is what she projected into the world.
- 5:17SPEAKER_01: And so how Nate is like gruff and grumpy and uses that to keep people at a distance.
- 5:22SPEAKER_01: She used her platform, and I also really wanted to write her like to have quote unquote like the pretty privilege again because she used it as a shield, like she wanted to use the influencer, and just people kind of thought she was like this fun little airhead, and she just really leaned into that because it was easier.
- 5:38SPEAKER_01: Like when people, I mean, even just human nature, right?
- 5:40SPEAKER_01: Is when you kind of make fun of yourself first, it doesn't hurt when someone dismisses you or rejects you.
- 5:46SPEAKER_01: And so she just I really wanted to almost be over the top with her, and just to reflect.
- 5:51SPEAKER_01: I don't know, when I think back of my earliest early 20s, I thought I knew everything.
- 5:55SPEAKER_01: Like, oh, like, look at me, I'm an independent adult, like, oh, I am unstoppable.
- 5:59SPEAKER_01: Well, then now I'm like almost 40.
- 6:01SPEAKER_01: I'm like, okay, yeah, like I was what the hell was I thinking?
- 6:03SPEAKER_01: I knew nothing, and so I wanted again to have that young uh mindset for her to have it almost be in battle with Nate, who is more established further along in his life and his career.
- 6:14SPEAKER_01: So I really wanted it to be opposites in both ways.
- 6:17SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was funny because she kind of reminds me of Paris Hilton a bit, how just she leaned into the airheadedness of this.
- 6:23SPEAKER_00: Because you know, Paris Hilton came out all these three years later, and she was like, actually, I'm not that dumb.
- 6:27SPEAKER_00: I'm pretty smart.
- 6:28SPEAKER_00: I just kind of leaned into what everyone wanted me to be.
- 6:31SPEAKER_00: So you made me think of that.
- 6:33SPEAKER_00: And then she also reminded me of Alex Earl a little bit in terms of like her influence, but now Alex Earl's like really much like kind of putting the shield down and showing a lot of vulnerabilities in her life.
- 6:43SPEAKER_00: So I thought I felt like I was seeing a lot of a lot of public personas when it came to Cassidy's character.
- 6:49SPEAKER_01: Well, and just to the point of like the it's this weird parasocial, unhealthy relationship we have with people who are I don't not even just influence, but anyone who's famous or semi-fameless.
- 7:01SPEAKER_01: It's just this parasocial, not healthy relationship.
- 7:05SPEAKER_01: And so I wanted that to explore what that meant as well as like a famous athlete and then an influencer of like a people think they know them.
- 7:13SPEAKER_01: They think they have the right to know these people just because they're public feature, uh public figures.
- 7:18SPEAKER_00: I know it's just like a debate of like, do people do people have the right to comment on other people's lives just because someone lives a public persona?
- 7:24SPEAKER_00: And it's like obviously you're gonna form opinions when you see someone on your phone or screen, but the amount of comfortability people have with talking about people like they know them and not just through a screen is quite scary.
- 7:35SPEAKER_00: So it was interesting to see kind of the other side of that in this influencer perspective.
- 7:41SPEAKER_00: Now, talking about Nate, especially because you wrote him first, I felt that he was like such a grounding character for Cassidy.
- 7:49SPEAKER_00: And I was originally gonna ask, did you write Nate to be this grounding character for Cassidy?
- 7:53SPEAKER_00: But now knowing that you wrote him first, did you kind of write Cassidy knowing because she was grounding for him too, to kind of be this figure that would balance him out a little bit?
- 8:03SPEAKER_01: So what that's such an interesting question is because he came to me first, like his character, his whole arc was first.
- 8:10SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think for her, I once I figured out that that I wanted to write her and like what she was about, I think to me it was it just takes the right person at the right time.
- 8:20SPEAKER_01: And so her like ball busting techno shit attitude was enough to tear down his walls.
- 8:27SPEAKER_01: And so I think that was the he needed someone, he needed a counterpart who was like not gonna put up with his shit and just relentlessly continue to, you know, to to banter with him because everyone, I mean he scared quote unquote scared people off.
- 8:41SPEAKER_01: He was gruff, he was kind of he's grumpy.
- 8:43SPEAKER_01: Um, and she just was like, I don't care, like I'm just gonna keep poking at because she had nothing to lose.
- 8:47SPEAKER_01: She was like, This guy hates me, like I have nothing to lose.
- 8:50SPEAKER_01: I'm not trying to impress him, where everyone else in his life was always trying to impress him.
- 8:55SPEAKER_01: And then for her, he she a big thing, a big uh a core part of her was like being safe and being seen.
- 9:02SPEAKER_01: And so I really like her dad always made her feel safe and seen.
- 9:05SPEAKER_01: And so I know the story starts with like her dad passing away and she feels lost.
- 9:09SPEAKER_01: Um, and so Nate, again, knowing that I had Nate as a grounding character for her, is the scene where he like helps her out of a crowd and just like checks in on her, even though they don't like each other, but he is just like a decent human being.
- 9:20SPEAKER_01: It was like, oh my gosh, she's clearly having like a panic attack right now.
- 9:23SPEAKER_01: Um, that to me was he could he saw who she really was and then was able to like help her feel safe and and feel protected.
- 9:31SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I loved that scene where he helps her like the crowd, it was such a breakthrough point for their relation, too, where you could tell they were finally seeing each other in a different light.
- 9:41SPEAKER_00: And you mentioned her dad passing away because the book starts out pretty tragically and sad.
- 9:46SPEAKER_00: Her dad like dies in this unexpected car crash.
- 9:49SPEAKER_00: Like, you don't like you never think like something like that's gonna happen to you, and then it happens to her, and there's these heavy themes of grief and healing, but at the same time, this is a rom-com, and it was like a fun, lighthearted book.
- 10:00SPEAKER_00: So, what was it like kind of keeping that balance of like these very important heavy themes, but also a fun contemporary romance?
- 10:08SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
- 10:09SPEAKER_01: What's interesting is when I started, I knew I knew the headline, like I knew I wanted it to be like her dad inspired her to go on these nine dates.
- 10:16SPEAKER_01: Like, I love to me it was like a you know, 2026 spin on like a early 2000s rom-com movie.
- 10:22SPEAKER_01: Like, I was really trying to go for that vibe.
- 10:24SPEAKER_01: But then, and then the second thing I was really trying to hit was you can feel two things at once.
- 10:30SPEAKER_01: And I really tried to explore the you can be sad and grieving and just lost, but then also find sparks of joy and to not feel guilty for being happy while also dealing with grief.
- 10:42SPEAKER_01: And that grief is not linear, like there's not a right or wrong way to grieve things or grieve people, and so again, I I tended to have it be a rom-com, but it just anytime I tried to keep I mean, I did again try to keep it lighthearted, but the grief just kept coming back for her character, and she just really had to navigate and deal with that, and it felt very authentic writing her that way.
- 11:04SPEAKER_01: Some chapters it was just crazy, it was fun, they were, you know, doing wild things, and then the next chapter in her point of view, she was devastated.
- 11:11SPEAKER_01: You know, she should smelled something that was like, Oh my gosh, my dad always talked about this, and so it just I really it I didn't and again, this sounds so weird, but I didn't plan to have grief be that present, but it just so naturally happened when I was in, you know, writing casting in her point of view.
- 11:27SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I feel like it was like realistic too, because anyone who's like dealt with any type of grief knows that it can be like the smallest trigger, or you can be having the best day ever, and then you're lying in bed, and now you're like, oh my gosh, and reflecting.
- 11:38SPEAKER_00: So I felt that that definitely made Cassidy a relatable character.
- 11:41SPEAKER_00: And you talked about kind of like as you were writing her, it just happened to come that way that grief was more present than you initially thought.
- 11:48SPEAKER_00: What was the most surprising thing about writing this book?
- 11:51SPEAKER_01: Ooh, I think oh my gosh, that's a really good question.
- 11:57SPEAKER_01: I think the besides like the grief being more prominent than I originally planned.
- 12:02SPEAKER_01: Um I and so when I started writing this, the intent was for it to be a standalone.
- 12:07SPEAKER_01: There was not meant to be other characters or other stories, and at this time, there's not, but I think what was surprising to me is that this the baseball team in the secondary characters, whether even his sister and some of the guys on the baseball team, like I was surprised by how much I loved writing them, is you know, the cast around them.
- 12:26SPEAKER_01: Where again, I always write side characters.
- 12:28SPEAKER_01: I like side characters like to have a lot of depth and to contribute to the story, but I never really planned to necessarily write them.
- 12:32SPEAKER_01: And then afterwards, I was like, I'm not done.
- 12:35SPEAKER_01: Like, I like the team, I really want to continue having these this this family, this world stay together.
- 12:40SPEAKER_01: And so that was again not the intent to write more of the team stories, but I feel like that's that surprised me.
- 12:47SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was so funny because that actually answers one of my very, very few questions.
- 12:51SPEAKER_00: But I had a question of like, oh, because I've seen you've done other interconnected sports romances, and I was wondering if this was the start of a new series because I felt like there was almost a little bit of a tease between Amanda and Wells because it mentioned texting her, and I was like, oh, is that an Easter egg?
- 13:07SPEAKER_00: But but maybe not, maybe not.
- 13:08SPEAKER_00: We'll see in the future.
- 13:10SPEAKER_01: It's definitely not off the table.
- 13:12SPEAKER_01: So again, it wasn't like the plan necessarily, but it's not, yeah, it's not at this point.
- 13:16SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna have to write it because I just need to get it out.
- 13:19SPEAKER_00: That's real.
- 13:20SPEAKER_00: Like sometimes, like when you're writing and you think like something's just gonna be one project and then it becomes more big than you could ever imagine.
- 13:28SPEAKER_00: Uh, but kind of going back to the grief, I actually had a quote highlighted that really stood out to me.
- 13:34SPEAKER_00: And I was basically when Cassidy was talking about her journey with grief, and she says, How could one feel so lucky for what came from loss but still wish it never happened?
- 13:44SPEAKER_00: Like that was like I think one of the most powerful lines in the book for me.
- 13:47SPEAKER_00: Like, I stopped it because I have a notes app where I keep track of like what I want to talk about, and I was like, I need to immediately write that quote down because I felt like it was such a real experience about how you experience different emotions after a loss and what that can also lead to in your life.
- 14:01SPEAKER_00: So I was wondering when you wrote that quote for you to remember writing that quote, like what did you want to explore kind of with that mindset?
- 14:10SPEAKER_01: I think that so fun fact sometimes when you after I read a story, I forget I forget some of the they're like, Oh, do you remember chapter 20?
- 14:18SPEAKER_01: I was like, No, I sure don't.
- 14:20SPEAKER_01: Um, I think that those feel it like the intention with these quotes, and I think there's something similar to that.
- 14:27SPEAKER_01: There's another quote, again, I'm gonna misquote my own thing that I wrote of like the worst day of my life, the worst thing in my life brought me the best thing in my life.
- 14:35SPEAKER_01: Like, that's one of the ending quote, you know, what they're talking.
- 14:38SPEAKER_01: Um the same concept of if you look for the good in situations, you will find it.
- 14:45SPEAKER_01: And I think that was the whole point of of that feeling and that resonating with folks is like, I mean, life is hard, feelings are hard.
- 14:53SPEAKER_01: Navigating life just is a it's hard, it's challenging.
- 14:57SPEAKER_01: And so if you always are gonna look for focus on the bad, you're gonna miss the good.
- 15:01SPEAKER_01: And so I wanted both of these characters to be like, wow, like they're yeah, I mean, her dad passed away.
- 15:06SPEAKER_01: That is horrendous.
- 15:07SPEAKER_00: Uh, and but if she focuses on the good and can you can still find joy amidst all of that, yeah, because it not only brought her Nate, but it brought her Amanda, and I was like really happy to see that like she was starting to get those friendships because it was sad when she talked about that she didn't have like anyone local or anyone to invite those through those box suites.
- 15:26SPEAKER_00: So then also kind of setting up her own little community was special too.
- 15:31SPEAKER_00: But also what I really liked about Nate and Cassidy's relationship is that they wanted to mutually take care of each other because I feel like it's very common in romance novels where we have like the girl who's like, Oh, I can do it myself, I'm independent, and the guy is like, Oh no, let me take care of you, and the girl lets it happen, and she gives back to the relationship in other ways, but it's not always we see her like reciprocating, trying to help the guy as well.
- 15:53SPEAKER_00: And it felt like a little bit of an equal balance here with him helping her with her grief and then him helping her with like his mindset about his career.
- 16:01SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I was wondering if mutual care was like a theme that you established early on in the book, or if it's something that just kind of had arisen as you were writing through the drafts.
- 16:11SPEAKER_01: I wanted them to be equals, even despite the stage of where they were at in their careers and their age gap.
- 16:17SPEAKER_01: Like that was really big for me, is that I so I that was very intentional once I kind of knew who the characters were, is I wanted them to be exact exactly how you word it.
- 16:26SPEAKER_01: Like I wanted there to be mutual caretaking and mutual leaning.
- 16:30SPEAKER_01: And I one of my I don't know who quoted this or who said this, but one of my favorite quotes is like in any relationship, it's never all 50-50.
- 16:36SPEAKER_01: Sometimes it's 60-40, sometimes it's 90-10, it's always gonna swing back and forth.
- 16:41SPEAKER_01: And I wanted that to feel like that with these characters is when the book ends, you're like, Oh yeah, she's having a bad day, he'll pick up the slack.
- 16:47SPEAKER_01: Or if he has a terrible loss, she'll take the lead and make sure he's okay.
- 16:51SPEAKER_01: But it's it's gonna be mutual, it's not just one or the other.
- 16:54SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love that.
- 16:55SPEAKER_00: I love that quote that you're saying that it's not always 50-50, sometimes 60-40, 90-10.
- 17:00SPEAKER_00: That makes so much sense.
- 17:01SPEAKER_00: And I haven't heard that quote before, but now that I think about relationships and all the relationships, I've seen like, yeah, that's so true with the different types of percentages.
- 17:09SPEAKER_00: So it was nice to see it reflected in that book.
- 17:12SPEAKER_00: I know we've talked about some of like the more heavy stuff in their relationship, so I wanted to also focus on the lighthearted stuff as well, because there's a lot of fun comedy in the book as well.
- 17:22SPEAKER_00: And I have to ask, it's a running joke about how Nate is 36 years old and she keeps calling him old.
- 17:29SPEAKER_00: And when I was looking at your Instagram, I was like, Well, wait, you're pretty close to age in Nate.
- 17:34SPEAKER_00: So why were you constantly calling like a man who is your age, like this old guy, like he's a dinosaur?
- 17:41SPEAKER_00: That's so funny.
- 17:42SPEAKER_01: Also, I just turned 37 last week, so now I am older than Nate.
- 17:46SPEAKER_01: Okay.
- 17:47SPEAKER_01: Um, so for me, that the which is interesting, it's because she's not necessarily a baseball fan, but what I think it was my play on in baseball as a pitcher, when you get to that age, you kind of can be considered a dinosaur because it's such a young man sport.
- 18:02SPEAKER_01: And so for me, it was kind of a play on that, and then she because she is such a like ballbuster, she knew it bothered him.
- 18:10SPEAKER_01: Like she knew it bothered him, and I'm just a fan of anyone like just teasing someone, even like harmless teasing.
- 18:17SPEAKER_01: And to me, I felt it was harmless because again, now that I am you know 37, like I'm pretty content with who I am and like what I'm about.
- 18:25SPEAKER_01: And so teasing like that to me, I'm like, oh, okay.
- 18:28SPEAKER_01: So I wanted it to be like harmless teasing, and then a play on how that age in baseball really is kind of significant.
- 18:34SPEAKER_00: That's fair, that's fair.
- 18:35SPEAKER_00: Like, because I'm closer in age to Cassidy, I'm 25, and at least she was 24, so I'm a year older than her.
- 18:40SPEAKER_00: And I and even I'm like kind of the person where I'm like, oh, if you're over 30, I'm not sure if I seriously want to date you.
- 18:45SPEAKER_00: But then also I was like, dang girl, like give him a break.
- 18:47SPEAKER_00: He's not that old.
- 18:49unknown: That's awesome.
- 18:52SPEAKER_00: I was like, yes, maybe maybe I should like you know, change my hinge range because I was feeling so passionate about her teasing, but it was it was a fun, it was a fun comment.
- 19:01SPEAKER_00: So I just had to ask because I thought it was funny.
- 19:03SPEAKER_00: I was like, you're the same age as Nate, and you're you're making him seem like he's the poor guy's geriatric.
- 19:08SPEAKER_00: But that's I never even thought about that.
- 19:10SPEAKER_01: That is so funny.
- 19:11SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because when I yeah, I was the same age when I was when I was writing him.
- 19:14SPEAKER_01: Didn't it didn't even register in my mind.
- 19:16SPEAKER_01: Wow, that's awesome.
- 19:18SPEAKER_00: So you're you're old in the baseball world, is what you're saying.
- 19:21SPEAKER_00: Oh yes.
- 19:23SPEAKER_01: Whenever they, you know, whenever we would go we we go to games and it says like the year that they were born, like my husband and I'll just look at each other and we're like, oh my gosh, when did this happen?
- 19:31SPEAKER_01: Like, where when did we get this age?
- 19:33SPEAKER_01: Why are we so old?
- 19:34SPEAKER_01: These kids are like 20 years old playing in the major leagues, and we're like, oh my gosh, we're almost 40.
- 19:39SPEAKER_00: So yes, ancient baseball world.
- 19:41SPEAKER_00: That's how I feel about the draft because I first started caring about like basketball in like college, and so like I would see like everyone like, okay, we're like around the same age, and now I'm like, oh my gosh, they're like children playing in playing in the league.
- 19:53SPEAKER_01: You're like, oh yes, good for them, but like, oh my gosh.
- 19:57SPEAKER_00: Exactly, exactly.
- 19:58SPEAKER_00: And one of my favorite scenes between Nate and Cassidy was actually the scene where her ex-boyfriend, I believe his name was Matthew, is that like basically showed up at her doorstep one in her pack, and the second he heard, he basically dropped everything.
- 20:11SPEAKER_00: It was like right after a game, and he ran to check in on her.
- 20:14SPEAKER_00: And I was wondering what your favorite scene was between them.
- 20:18SPEAKER_00: And if you had to pitch your book to someone using like only one scene, being like, This is such a great scene, you should read the rest of the book.
- 20:24SPEAKER_00: What would it be?
- 20:27SPEAKER_01: Oh my goodness.
- 20:29SPEAKER_01: Okay, I have not been asked that question yet.
- 20:31SPEAKER_01: So I don't the the two okay, so one, I love that scene so much because, and I even think when he goes to check on her after that, it wasn't like, oh my gosh, my fake girlfriend, what's the world gonna think?
- 20:45SPEAKER_01: Like he went because he was so worried about how she was feeling.
- 20:48SPEAKER_01: Like it was so not self, like it wasn't selfish at all.
- 20:52SPEAKER_01: It was because he was so worried about her, which I love that.
- 20:55SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think the scene where he goes on a road trip and comes back and like it's super late.
- 21:01SPEAKER_01: Because the other thing, too, which this is a hundred percent, I I don't often put any of my own quirks in books, but the one where she goes to bed so early and is so grumpy if she does not get enough sleep, 100% me.
- 21:13SPEAKER_01: Like if I am not in bed by nine o'clock, I am a monster.
- 21:17SPEAKER_01: I can and so the those scenes where she was like, Why are you calling me an 11?
- 21:21SPEAKER_01: Like, what, like what's happening?
- 21:23SPEAKER_01: 100% uh reality.
- 21:25SPEAKER_01: But when he comes home from a road trip and they did some time apart and he brought her souvenirs from gas stations because he watched old videos that she posted about how much she loves decks of cards and how much she loves little trinkets, and so he did it just as a way, again, to bring her joy.
- 21:41SPEAKER_01: It was so not self serving.
- 21:43SPEAKER_01: I just I love that scene because she's shocked.
- 21:45SPEAKER_01: She like no one had no one in her life besides her dad did small gestures because that weren't like for the public or that weren't for likes or comments, and so to have someone just genuinely give her something and show up late just because they missed her.
- 21:58SPEAKER_01: Like, I love that scene.
- 21:59SPEAKER_01: That scene was.
- 22:00SPEAKER_01: So emotional for me.
- 22:01SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that was a very, very cute scene.
- 22:03SPEAKER_00: They're like Dexter Cards and stuff was so mundane, but sometimes like they mean the most out of everything.
- 22:10SPEAKER_00: And so, see, we already talked about your side characters.
- 22:14SPEAKER_00: Did you have a favorite of the side characters, at least on the team?
- 22:17SPEAKER_00: I know like my favorite was Garcia, but they all have such like flirty personalities.
- 22:22SPEAKER_00: Did you have one like who kind of stole your heart when you were writing it?
- 22:25SPEAKER_01: I love Garcia and then uh Pavin.
- 22:29SPEAKER_00: Paven?
- 22:30SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 22:30SPEAKER_01: So Garcia and Paven are both a two.
- 22:32SPEAKER_01: That's where I was like, again, I just I love having side characters, but now I'm like, mmm, like I they're not done.
- 22:37SPEAKER_01: Like they have some things they they want to say.
- 22:39SPEAKER_01: So I would love to write their stories.
- 22:41SPEAKER_00: Yes, I think they would be very, very fun.
- 22:44SPEAKER_00: And then he was kind of like an honorary character, he was like omnipresent, Yogi Berra.
- 22:49SPEAKER_00: We saw his quotes throughout the book.
- 22:51SPEAKER_00: He that one of his quotes starting each chapter.
- 22:53SPEAKER_00: So I've asked, why Yogi Berra?
- 22:56SPEAKER_00: What made you decide to have this like MLB legend in your book?
- 23:00SPEAKER_01: So part of this story is actually a love letter to baseball.
- 23:05SPEAKER_01: And so, because it is, I think it's the most uh romantic sport, I think it's so demanding.
- 23:10SPEAKER_01: Like being a fan of a sport that's 162 games a year is insane.
- 23:15SPEAKER_01: And the sounds, the smells, like it's one of the most sport.
- 23:20SPEAKER_01: Uh it so to me, it is like filled with memories and core like childhood memories, especially for like me in my family and my husband and his family.
- 23:29SPEAKER_01: And so when I I'm also not someone who d has ever really done chapter quotes before, like it's just not something I've really done.
- 23:36SPEAKER_01: And so when I started writing this, I was like, I just want to talk about, I just want to include these quotes because one, I think they're just so fun and ridiculous.
- 23:44SPEAKER_01: And then because her dad, like if her dad truly was this absolute die hard baseball fan, which again I wrote him to be one, um, he would also, I wanted him to be kind of like that not doorkey, but just like dad jokes.
- 23:57SPEAKER_01: And so for me, it was just perfect, like it basically it came from her dad that I was like, I just I want to honor this real MLB legend, and her dad's character would have had those everywhere.
- 24:06SPEAKER_01: He would have talked about them all the time and just been ridiculous about it.
- 24:09SPEAKER_01: And so it just felt natural to include them.
- 24:11SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I have a very embarrassing confession to make is that I actually had not heard of Yogi Berra before in this book.
- 24:17SPEAKER_00: Of course, I was reading an arc, and so you know, sometimes arcs have typos.
- 24:21SPEAKER_00: So the first time I saw Yogi Berra, I was like, does she mean Yogi Bear?
- 24:23SPEAKER_00: And I thought like it was supposed to be like Yogi Bear quotes.
- 24:27SPEAKER_00: And then I kept seeing it and I was like, oh no, there's actually a Yogi Bear.
- 24:31SPEAKER_00: So I originally thought we were gonna have like a Yogi Bear like cameo throughout the that is amazing.
- 24:36SPEAKER_00: That is awesome.
- 24:39SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I learned someone new.
- 24:40SPEAKER_00: I like with like I did like a dive afterwards.
- 24:42SPEAKER_00: I was like, okay, no, this is a person, and I guess a person I should know if I'm gonna like look into baseball romances at all.
- 24:49SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, that is honestly the best thing ever.
- 24:50SPEAKER_01: I have not heard that before.
- 24:51SPEAKER_01: That is amazing.
- 24:52SPEAKER_01: That just yeah, that's what that was great.
- 24:55SPEAKER_00: I'm glad I'm glad I could I could make a make an impression like that.
- 24:59SPEAKER_00: And so I thought it was really interesting that you said that you think baseball is the most romantic sport because I don't feel like we see that many baseball romances in the sports romance genre, like hockey is really having its moment, and then I think people are starting to kind of bring back football and basketball romances, but it's like hockey's up here, and I feel like F1 is even a little more dominant than all of this, and then we have like everyone else.
- 25:23SPEAKER_00: So, what is it like when you're writing like a baseball romance versus these other sports?
- 25:28SPEAKER_00: Because I have seen that you've written hockey romances and other genres.
- 25:31SPEAKER_00: So, like, what's the difference for you when you're writing a baseball romance?
- 25:34SPEAKER_01: Oh, interesting.
- 25:35SPEAKER_01: Okay, so the the biggest difference is I don't have to do research, I can just go check with my human dictionary, human thesaurus thesaurus, and just be like, hey, explain that to me.
- 25:48SPEAKER_01: What is war?
- 25:49SPEAKER_01: Like, what do what does war mean?
- 25:50SPEAKER_01: Wait, did I get this right?
- 25:51SPEAKER_01: And so I can just brainstorm and I don't have to necessarily I mean I probably should fact check.
- 25:56SPEAKER_01: No, see, I don't, even with him, I'm like, no, of course.
- 25:58SPEAKER_01: He knows so it's it makes the brainstorming part more fun because it's something we both love, where I don't my favorite story about my husband is he has never read anything I have written in romance.
- 26:12SPEAKER_01: And the one time he tried, um, Rounding the Bases is another baseball romance I have out, and like five years ago, and he tried reading it and he was like three to four chapters in, and he's like, all they do is talk.
- 26:23SPEAKER_01: Like, when does he go to the practice facility?
- 26:25SPEAKER_01: Like, when when do games start happening?
- 26:27SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Okay, you are not the audience, please stop.
- 26:31SPEAKER_01: Uh, but it's more fun to have baseball just because I get to kind of share it and talk about it with him.
- 26:36SPEAKER_01: Um, but the sports themselves, honestly, the my my the reason I love writing sports romance so much is I just think I mean, so I was an athlete almost my whole life.
- 26:46SPEAKER_01: I didn't play, I chose not to play in college because I wanted to live abroad, and then I coached for a long time too.
- 26:51SPEAKER_01: So I just think the highs and lows of who you are as a human is when you win and lose.
- 26:56SPEAKER_01: And so I think your character is who you are when you lose.
- 26:59SPEAKER_01: And I think sports, you can just you get to you get to know people exactly who they are after a bad game.
- 27:04SPEAKER_01: And so I just I love writing all sports just because of that.
- 27:07SPEAKER_00: That's fair.
- 27:08SPEAKER_00: That's so exciting that you lived abroad, and I feel like like sports scenes internationally is like so different than American sports.
- 27:15SPEAKER_00: Where did you live?
- 27:16SPEAKER_01: Um, so I lived in Barcelona, Spain for a year, right after Spain won the World Cup.
- 27:20SPEAKER_01: Oh so it was a there was at literally a party or a parade every single weekend the entire year I lived there.
- 27:27SPEAKER_00: Did you become like a soccer or a or a football fan?
- 27:31SPEAKER_01: Oh, for sure.
- 27:32SPEAKER_01: I mean, yeah, it's got to see uh Barcelona.
- 27:35SPEAKER_01: They I got to go to their stadium, I got to see them play, and actually Messi played on the team.
- 27:41SPEAKER_01: Uh uh and for not Real Madrid for Barcelona.
- 27:44SPEAKER_01: And so I got to go see him play when I lived there, and so yeah, definitely not a huge football fan as much now, but when I live there, totally because it's I mean it's part of the culture, it's part of I mean you have yeah, you have no choice.
- 27:57SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you had like, and it was such a rich experience to be able to do that.
- 28:00SPEAKER_00: I know.
- 28:00SPEAKER_00: I was in Mallorca during the World Cup, which is like funny because obviously the World Cup was happening here, but it was always interesting, like when we were walking and there'd be a game all with Spain and hearing everyone cheer in the bars.
- 28:10SPEAKER_00: I was like, I almost got FOMO a little bit.
- 28:11SPEAKER_00: It's like I feel like I should go to like a bar watch party and like immerse myself in the culture because it's such a big, big thing there.
- 28:18SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's awesome.
- 28:19SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, that's you kind of you didn't really have a choice.
- 28:22SPEAKER_01: Anywhere you went, people talked about it, they had it on the T, you know, on the TV, and it was just, I mean, it is really cool.
- 28:27SPEAKER_01: I don't think we necessarily have something like this here where the entire country was locked in.
- 28:33SPEAKER_01: Like it wasn't just you know, 50% or like it was the entire country is locked in, which that was really cool.
- 28:39SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I feel like we don't really have a unifying force like that.
- 28:42SPEAKER_00: Like everyone comes together to watch a Super Bowl, but it's not like everyone's cheering for like the same team or everything.
- 28:49SPEAKER_00: So that's interesting.
- 28:51SPEAKER_00: I feel like next, I feel like that's trap schedule my next travel around like a big sports game so I can get immersed in some international international sports culture.
- 29:00SPEAKER_00: And so, of course, this book we did a lot with fake dating, grumpy sunshine, forced proximity.
- 29:07SPEAKER_00: Do you have like a favorite trope that you go to when you go to writing romance?
- 29:13SPEAKER_01: I it's so fascinating.
- 29:15SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I write a ton of grumpy sunshine and like not full enemies to lovers.
- 29:21SPEAKER_01: I don't know, I think that term could be overused of like actual.
- 29:24SPEAKER_01: So that's where some people are like, no, it's actual enemies to lovers.
- 29:27SPEAKER_01: Mine are just like this like annoyed to lovers.
- 29:29SPEAKER_00: Those are rivals to lovers the other day, and I feel like that's like better sometimes to describe certain enemies to lovers books.
- 29:36SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like there's no, I mean, especially with all the romanticies, there actually are enemies to lovers where they try to get it.
- 29:41SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
- 29:41SPEAKER_01: Like this is just they they're annoyed, they think they're the other is obnoxious.
- 29:45SPEAKER_01: So I love, but I just I love opposites.
- 29:47SPEAKER_01: So sunshine and grump, like misjudgment, like you think you know the person and you don't.
- 29:52SPEAKER_01: And so I I I tend to write that a lot.
- 29:54SPEAKER_01: And then my friends to lovers is my second most, I think I write because I just I love the trust you have with someone with a friend, is just like again, I just think it's so rich to move from like, oh my gosh, like what did that look mean?
- 30:07SPEAKER_01: What like they gave me a hug extra long today, and just like the tension and the yearning.
- 30:11SPEAKER_01: I love that.
- 30:12SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's so funny because that leads me kind of to my next question because it's like a main chapter tradition that I ask every author what their actual like least favorite trope is, and like what a trope that they can never see themselves writing.
- 30:23SPEAKER_00: And I actually get friends to lovers a lot because everyone's like they've been in your life your whole life.
- 30:28SPEAKER_00: Like, why are you all of a sudden attracted to them?
- 30:30SPEAKER_00: It doesn't make sense to me.
- 30:31SPEAKER_00: So it's fun to see someone on the other end of the spectrum actually like friends to lovers.
- 30:36SPEAKER_00: But for you, what is like a trope that you're like, I don't like this?
- 30:40SPEAKER_00: And it can be anything.
- 30:40SPEAKER_00: It can be, I get a lot of like unplanned pregnancies.
- 30:44SPEAKER_00: Someone like a couple weeks ago was like workplace romance because I don't want to read about work.
- 30:48SPEAKER_00: Someone once was like, I hate I hate cancer books, I don't want to see the person dying.
- 30:53SPEAKER_00: So it literally can be anything you want.
- 30:55SPEAKER_00: Like, what's just like a trope or anything in like writing that you're like, I'll never write this and I don't like reading it.
- 31:01SPEAKER_01: So oh, that's so interesting.
- 31:03SPEAKER_01: Oh my goodness.
- 31:04SPEAKER_01: So I think I I don't know if cheating is one, but I can't do people said cheating, yeah.
- 31:09SPEAKER_01: People said cheating.
- 31:10SPEAKER_01: I can't read it.
- 31:12SPEAKER_01: Um, I think I've only read and I can't remember the name, I've only read one cheating romance, and I did end up liking it.
- 31:18SPEAKER_01: So that's the thing is I never want to say never because I love being surprised.
- 31:22SPEAKER_01: I love being incorrect and surprised.
- 31:24SPEAKER_01: Um, but what's really tough for me, and it's a common one, but like uh unplanned pregnancy is really tough for me to to read, and I don't I don't know why, and I've never written one.
- 31:35SPEAKER_01: So that would be one.
- 31:36SPEAKER_01: I'm I I just I don't know.
- 31:38SPEAKER_01: It's not off the table, but it's not actively on the table.
- 31:42SPEAKER_01: Um sometimes my character, my my character might surprise me sometime.
- 31:46SPEAKER_01: So never say never.
- 31:48SPEAKER_00: That's fair.
- 31:49SPEAKER_00: I mean, we had a little bit of unplanned pregnancy a little bit with with Nate's sister, even though we don't know her full story.
- 31:55SPEAKER_00: So, you know, never never say never, but I'm all with you for the cheating one.
- 32:00SPEAKER_00: The only time like I've read a book with like cheating in it is the Magnolia Parks series, and that just feels like more like a true drama than a romance, and it's very much back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, and you almost get exhausted by it, but yeah, still they still suck you in.
- 32:14SPEAKER_00: So I can get on board with with cheating.
- 32:16SPEAKER_00: I don't think I could do it in a cute little contemporary romance.
- 32:20SPEAKER_01: No, I just I yeah, it's just of all the I I can't, it would just cause me so much stress.
- 32:25SPEAKER_01: It would cause me so much stress.
- 32:26SPEAKER_01: No, it's like I just want to yeah, I don't want to put read something that causes me stress unless it's for a class and I'm gonna get a grade and I have to do it.
- 32:33SPEAKER_00: Exactly, exactly.
- 32:35SPEAKER_00: And then I also wanted to bring up that you are also an Amazon Top 100 author, which is so amazing.
- 32:41SPEAKER_00: Congratulations.
- 32:42SPEAKER_00: So, what is that like knowing that people keep coming back to you for like these fun romance stories for these comfort reads, like knowing that when you release a book, like you have an audience who's waiting for it.
- 32:53SPEAKER_01: Oh, I mean, it feels awesome and wonderful, and definitely don't take that for granted because I mean, especially now, like it is the the market is is tough right now, and because we are inundated with a thousand things of all the time, whether it's social media or TV shows or movies, like how we choose to spend our time, there's unlimited options.
- 33:14SPEAKER_01: And so anyone who is taking time to read something I have written is just a gift.
- 33:20SPEAKER_01: So I just it is it is amazing, it is so motivating.
- 33:23SPEAKER_01: And if I almost like I don't think about it, I'm always so much okay, what's next?
- 33:27SPEAKER_01: Like, okay, what's next?
- 33:28SPEAKER_01: But if I I get kind of emotional thinking about there's people who read my work and who have followed me for years and are like, oh, we love like we love reading your stuff, and it's just it's really cool.
- 33:37SPEAKER_01: And so I try to build in time to just sit with that and let myself feel excited and proud instead of just always being like I'm the eldest daughter, so I'm like, oh, okay, cool, check it off my list next book, instead of just like, no, like feel it.
- 33:49SPEAKER_01: Like tomorrow, first swing and a kiss coming out um this week.
- 33:53SPEAKER_01: It's the first time I've had a book done in a hardback.
- 33:56SPEAKER_01: Oh, so you can buy the book in hardback, and they sent me my author copies, and it's like very proudly on our shelf where I've just never I've never had a book at a hardback before.
- 34:06SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
- 34:06SPEAKER_01: Um, and so yeah, that again, just taking in those moments that I I don't ever want to take it for granted.
- 34:12SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's so many cool milestones, and hardbacks are so cool.
- 34:15SPEAKER_00: I would have that like displayed on myself for the whole world to see.
- 34:20SPEAKER_00: So that's super exciting.
- 34:21SPEAKER_00: And it's definitely like you're right, the market is so saturated, especially with book talk.
- 34:26SPEAKER_00: Like you can quite literally find a book for any niche that you may have.
- 34:30SPEAKER_00: I've learned that doing this podcast.
- 34:32SPEAKER_00: There is quite literally a book about everything.
- 34:34SPEAKER_00: So to know that like you have an audience, I can't imagine how amazing that feels.
- 34:40SPEAKER_01: Yep, yeah, well said.
- 34:41SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's awesome.
- 34:42SPEAKER_01: I yeah, I'm very lucky.
- 34:44SPEAKER_00: I know.
- 34:45SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, so we have a little bit of time left.
- 34:47SPEAKER_00: So I have one question left to ask you.
- 34:49SPEAKER_00: And now that swing and a kiss it comes out tomorrow.
- 34:53SPEAKER_00: What do you want people to take away when they are reading this book?
- 34:56SPEAKER_00: Like when they close that final chapter, what do you want them to walk away with?
- 35:03SPEAKER_01: I want them to oh man.
- 35:05SPEAKER_01: I think I I think I said something earlier about um just it's okay to feel two things and if it could be part of I don't know, I want like if someone because grief is different and everyone goes through different sorts of grief, but just for them to be like, oh my gosh, like whatever they're grieving or whatever they miss, whether it's a loved one, a friend, a pet, you know, just whatever it is, like someone to be like, oh my gosh, like I can love life and be happy now while still missing and loving that that person, that animal, because it's not it's not wrong.
- 35:38SPEAKER_01: And so like essentially giving folks permission to be sad and happy at the same time.
- 35:42SPEAKER_01: I think that would be the biggest, biggest takeaway.
- 35:45SPEAKER_01: And then for them to um enjoy baseball and go to a baseball game because I know it's long and I know the games are a commitment, but baseball can be beautiful.
- 35:52SPEAKER_01: And so if they're like me, I did I you're not supposed to, you're not supposed to read reviews, early reviews, and I and I never do, but I need to pull things from them sometimes to like promote.
- 36:03SPEAKER_01: And so I like filter and I'm like, I'm not reading because it says reader business.
- 36:06SPEAKER_01: But some of the things I saw were like, I never like they learned.
- 36:09SPEAKER_01: Like, I didn't even know what this meant.
- 36:10SPEAKER_01: I didn't even know baseball did this.
- 36:12SPEAKER_01: So to me, part that was another part of it.
- 36:13SPEAKER_01: I was like, ooh, got to kind of teach people some things about baseball.
- 36:17SPEAKER_01: Um, and so that that's another thing.
- 36:18SPEAKER_01: It's like maybe they learned something about baseball that I didn't know before.
- 36:21SPEAKER_00: Well, you're creating a new wave of baseball fans right in time for the world world series.
- 36:26SPEAKER_00: I have to ask, who's your team now?
- 36:27SPEAKER_00: I do I didn't realize I didn't ask you this whole time.
- 36:30SPEAKER_01: So this is such a messy question.
- 36:32SPEAKER_01: We just as a family relocated from Phoenix to Chicago about two months ago.
- 36:36SPEAKER_01: Okay, and we have been Diamondback fans for the last 13 years, and we're always gonna root for them.
- 36:42SPEAKER_01: They're kind of so what's interesting about Phoenix is it's a it's a destination town, everyone moves there, and so everyone comes from their hometown with their favorite team.
- 36:51SPEAKER_01: So the Diamondbacks are always everyone's second favorite team, not their first.
- 36:54SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
- 36:55SPEAKER_01: So always gonna have a soft spot for them.
- 36:57SPEAKER_01: But then now being in Chicago, I grew up a Cubs fan, so it's kind of like coming home to root for your hometown team.
- 37:04SPEAKER_01: Um, so we are kind of this year, we're kind of just pausing.
- 37:06SPEAKER_01: Since we moved, we're gonna pause.
- 37:08SPEAKER_01: We're just gonna pause, see what happens, see what happens, exactly.
- 37:11SPEAKER_00: I know I live in LA, so I'm in like Dodger Nation at the moment, which is quite a positive place to be with how the last couple of years have been.
- 37:19SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
- 37:19SPEAKER_00: Yes, but my family, they're Yankees fans, and not as positive of a space to be in.
- 37:25SPEAKER_00: But maybe, maybe it's just like how the team really pulls through in this book.
- 37:29SPEAKER_00: They'll they'll pull full through for us.
- 37:31SPEAKER_00: I have no idea.
- 37:34SPEAKER_00: I actually I yeah, I was like, I don't even know if they have a wild card spot, but hopefully they they I'll that's my dad after this.
- 37:40SPEAKER_00: Now I'm really really happy that I don't know anything about how the Yankees have done, but now I'm going to because this baseball team has inspired me so much.
- 37:48SPEAKER_00: They're uh okay, mission accomplished.
- 37:50SPEAKER_00: Mission accomplished.
- 37:51SPEAKER_00: You you got one baseball fan out of me.
- 37:53SPEAKER_00: So I love it.
- 37:55SPEAKER_00: There you go.
- 37:56SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me.
- 37:59SPEAKER_00: I really, really enjoyed getting to talk about a swing and a kiss, and I can't wait to see all the other baseball fans that are gonna come about it.
- 38:06SPEAKER_01: Oh, well, thank you so much.
- 38:07SPEAKER_01: Yeah, this was so much fun.
- 38:08SPEAKER_01: Of course.
- 38:09SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for listening.
- 38:11SPEAKER_00: I hope you enjoyed that.
- 38:12SPEAKER_00: Be sure to follow Jacqueline on her socials if you haven't already.
- 38:16SPEAKER_00: And read a swing and a kiss if you haven't already.
- 38:19SPEAKER_00: I can't believe next week is already November, but I have some fun interviews planned for the rest of the year.
- 38:25SPEAKER_00: So I hope you stick around for it, my little butterflies.
- 38:28SPEAKER_00: Have a great week, and I'll see you next time.