Latest / Deep Trope Fantasy & Romance Podcast / Conversation with Spicy Fae Romantasy Author Kris K. Haines
Transcript
- Rachel: Welcome to Deep Trope, where we go deep into fantasy and romance books, one trope at a time, we're your two book besties gushing over plot, characters, Easter eggs theories, and of course, our favorite spicy moments. I'm Rachel, Romantasy Theorist. Kate: and I'm Kate, lover of all things dark and spicy. Rachel: And today we are joined by Romantasy author, Kris K. Haines Today's episode will be spoiler free. So don't worry if you haven't finished or started Kris's books yet, though we highly encourage you to since they are awesome. Kris is a fantasy romance author and lover of all stories, stabby, spicy, and swoony especially those featuring foul mouthed hot guys with wings. Kris's books include her original series, The Memory Puller. an almost complete 4.5 book series following Cassandra Fortin, a badass memory pulling nun with a chastity vow, voyeur kink and Robin Hood complex who embarks on a missing person mystery with handsome Fae officer Tristan Saros. Kris's latest book, Hunted by the Fae Duke is a standalone dark romantasy which released on June 4th. Kris has four goals when she writes a book, make you laugh, make you cry. turn you on and blow your mind. A jeopardy silver medalist and self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie, Kris can be found barreling down mountains in the winter and hugging the turns on her motorcycle in the summer. That is, when she doesn't have her nose stuck in a book. Kate: Well, hi Kris, welcome. Thank you for joining us. We're so excited to have you. Kris K. Haines: Guys, thank you so much for having me. This is awesome. Kate: This is a very exciting month for you. You recently released a book, like Rachel said, Hunted by the Fae ⁓ which we both absolutely loved. It's the dark romantasy standalone where a penniless wallflower gets whisked away to the Otherworld for a chance to become Queen of the Fae. If she can charm three dukes, piece together an ancient relic, and not fall head over heels in love with the tatted, pierced, former pleasure-dom knight who's been assigned as her bodyguard. Can you share us your inspiration for this book? Kris K. Haines: That last one's really hard, right? That one sounds like the hardest. Out of all the three things she has to do. So, ⁓ Hunted by the Fae is book four out of a five book collection called the Immortal Hunters Collection. ⁓ A.N. Caudle, who is the author of the in Peril series, her book Worthy of Fate came out ⁓ last ⁓ She approached a group of us. ⁓ Kate: haha Kris K. Haines: Romantasy authors and said hey, do you want to do like an anthology collection together? This was like two years ago And she was like do you want to write a write a book with me and we're all like, yeah, why not? So we all Got together and thought about like what we wanted the theme to be and we decided like who doesn't want to be hunted by some hot immortal guys, so We're like, alright hunted hunted by is gonna be the theme and then from there everybody kind of chose Kate: ⁓ yeah. Kris K. Haines: chose their own story or their own, you know, thing that kind of that matched the theme. Like they didn't have to be in the same world. They're not interconnected. You can read them in any order. You don't have to read all five of them, but I would highly suggest that you do because they're awesome. So once I had that theme, I just I really love writing about Fae And I was really heavily at the time, I was really heavily into like books about knights and I was like, just, have to write a book about a really hot, fae knight. And then it kind of just ⁓ spiraled from ⁓ Kate: I mean, obviously I loved it, but I love that idea of that collection too. ⁓ Like all these standalones that still kind of have that shared theme. I feel like that is such a fun thing because Rachel knows this. I struggle sometimes with like the longer series, you know? So I love having some standalones that I can ⁓ intersperse with some of these longer series. So I love that that idea came together. Kris K. Haines: Totally, and that's exactly, like for me, it was so refreshing for that same reason, right? Because I'm trying to finish my very long series, but I'm like, just need, like, I need a mental break from it. And this was like, this was the perfect mental break from writing the memory puller to just kind of focus on something else and like completely different, completely different characters. Kate: Yeah, that's great. Rachel: Actually, sorry, I'm going off script here, but I had a question. As you're talking about the experience of writing Hunted by the Fae Duke as sort of a break from the Memory Puller series, can you tell us a little bit about your writing process for it and sort of how long it took you and how you wove that into your timeline for the Memory Puller? Kris K. Haines: Sure. the Hunted by the Fae Duke was actually like way harder to write for some reason. Like it definitely took me a lot longer to draft this one than it did for the Memory Puller series. And I think it was because like, it was like. starting from scratch again, right? Because I wrote it after Rebel and the Captive, which is book three in the Memory Puller series. So like I knew those characters so well. I knew the world so well. I didn't have to like do a lot to establish what was happening in that third book because like I knew where it was going. then this was just like blank page start again. So, you know, where where are these? Where are these people? What are the rules of the magic? You know, what are the different? Like what are the different realms? What are the different territories? Like I had to figure that all out again. And normally when I do that, I don't do a lot of planning before I start writing. like, that stuff comes to me just as I'm writing. ⁓ So I, the final book ended up being about a little over a hundred thousand words. I probably wrote like a hundred and eighty thousand words. So like I scrapped a lot. And there were a number of times where I just had to, like I was drafting and I had to stop. And I was like, all right, I need to go back and like, they say don't go back and edit your first chapters. They're like, just finish the draft and you can go back and edit. But I literally couldn't, like I couldn't move forward. So I had to stop and cut a bunch of stuff and start over again. So it was actually really difficult, but very rewarding. I'm really pleased with how this book turned out. Rachel: you I mean, you should be, because like Kate said, we absolutely love it. And really love that it's like a combination of ⁓ genres. Like it's cozy and whimsical and the world you created is, you know, just like lovely to be in. But then there's like this dark side and the whole concept behind the whole thing. And obviously, you know, the spice, which we always love. Kris K. Haines: My favorite part. It's funny, it's like my favorite part to write, but I always am very conscious about like making sure that it doesn't overwhelm the story. Cause that's, mean, that's not the type of stories that I write, right? There's a whole, whole genre of erotica where like the spice is the plot, which is totally fine. ⁓ But that's not necessarily, that's not necessarily the genre that I'm writing in. So. Kate: Always. Right, finding that balance between, know, I mean, because I'm a firm believer that Spice can advance the plot, you know, it's not just like a side quest, but finding that balance is something that can be hard to do, but I feel like you do it very well. Again, we love the Memory Puller series, but the Spice in this one is, it's fun. It's like... Kris K. Haines: Yes. Kate: I don't know, like Rachel said, there's this whimsy in this book that I loved and ⁓ there's this really fun witty banter that is woven throughout this entire book as well. And it's just hilarious. And it made me really like the FMC in this one too. I feel like writing natural dialogue, especially kind of humorous dialogue. seems so difficult to me. How do you go about approaching writing banter that sounds natural and relatable like that? Kris K. Haines: That's a great question. ⁓ I think a lot of it is I'm kind of a sponge in my real life. So I'm constantly like, like when I'm having conversations with people, like, like thinking about my reactions, or if I find something funny, I'm like, well, why did I think that that was funny? And then I try to like, capture that nugget of like, why I thought this particular thing was funny, and then like, twist it into something else. Or even just like, you know, watching other watching movies and and TV shows that I thought were funny or that made me laugh. I'm always checking my own reactions to them. like, well, why did you react that way? And then trying to bake that in. And I'm always very conscious of making sure that the dialogue sounds like something that people would actually say, even if they're not humans, right? They're they're fae. Or they're even some other kind of creature. I always want to make sure that it sounds natural. So there's like, There's pauses, there's interruptions, there's people repeating themselves. Like I want it to sound like actual people talking and not stilted. Because like for me, there's nothing worse than when a book has really unnatural sounding dialogue. It just makes it harder for me to like get into the story. Kate: Yeah, it kind of pulls you out of it a little bit and you get distracted by that rather than being immersed. And yeah, this book was very immersive. Kris K. Haines: Right. Then, yes. And the nice thing about writing, of course, is you write it once and then you edit it like 100 times. was like the dialogue that you're reading has probably gone through so many rounds of edits and I'm like, God, that just doesn't sound right. Let me try this line. Well, no, that doesn't sound right either. ⁓ At the end of the movie Anchorman, remember the bloopers where it's like Will Ferrell just running a million different over and over to see which ones are the funniest Like that's how I write dialogue. ⁓ Kate: mean, it's great that ⁓ your overthinking actually helps you in this case. I feel like that has never been my experience, but I'm really happy for you. Rachel: Also imagining you like with like a little notebook in your back pocket or something when you're in conversations, if that's where you're getting inspiration. Kris K. Haines: Totally. It's on my phone. The notes app on my phone is just full of like dialogue snippets or like plot ideas or a new book, other book ideas. It's just, yeah, it's a bit of chaos in there. Kate: Okay, so I'm writing myself a note to steal your phone because I need to know what's coming next. Kris K. Haines: Thanks. You get spoiled about so many things in the memory puller finale. I have like a really long note on that one. Rachel: So how's that coming along? Kris K. Haines: It's good. It's I'm at I wrote words this morning. I try to get to at least 1000 words a day, sometimes more than that. And ⁓ I just try to be consistent with it. So I just passed I'm at about 120,000 words. And I'm like 65 ish percent through the story, but I'm an overwriter. Like I'll go when I go back and edit my chapters. It's not unheard of for me to delete like, like 40 to 50 percent of the words in a chapter ⁓ because that's how I find the story, right? just, like word vomit onto the page. So it's going, it's going well. I think I know how it's going to end, but who knows, it might change. Rachel: Well, this is interesting. So you haven't mapped the whole thing out to get started. Like it happens as you write. Kris K. Haines: ⁓ I mean, I have some beats and like, think I know how the story is going to end. But sometimes as I'm writing, like another better idea will come along and we're like, ⁓ well, that that has to be how it's how it's going to end. ⁓ For me, it kind of keeps everything a little fresh because then some of the plots twist like they even surprise me. I'm like, ⁓ my gosh, I had no idea that was gonna happen. And then I find out like I've left myself breadcrumbs throughout the series or throughout the book. And I'm like, I'm a genius. Like how did this work? Kate: you Rachel: That is so interesting. mean, we do think that you're a genius, ⁓ but that's so interesting that you're able to create the story that way and like you said, drop those Easter eggs. ⁓ So that might actually get to sort of what I was wanting to learn about your writing process, which is like... Kate: you Rachel: what kind of comes first, ⁓ chicken or the egg? And for you, does the character or the plot, like what started your writing process for these books? Kris K. Haines: Yeah, so I spend a lot of time before I'm writing thinking about who the characters are and what's, what is their journey, like what is their arc, what's their journey that they're gonna go on. So like, I won't say I don't know anything about the end. Like I know who I wanted Cassandra to be on page one. I know who I want her to be on page whatever, 1500, 1600, however many pages the series ends up. Like I know what I want her to be progressing towards. ⁓ And yeah, so for me, it's mostly about the characters, what kind of journey am I going to take them on? And then I spend some time thinking about, well, ⁓ what are their quirks? What are their fears? What are their desires? How am I going to get these two people together in an interesting way and kick off something that's going to keep somebody engaged for five books? So. And it was the same with Duke. Like I spent a lot of time trying to figure out who Charlotte was. I was obsessed with this idea of like the favorite, or I guess it's called, what is it called on Bridgerton? The Diamond of the Season, I think. Yeah, so was like, I know obviously I wasn't gonna use diamonds because I didn't wanna copy that much. So I was like obsessed with this idea of like a woman who is almost a spinster. Rachel: Yes. Kate: Yes, yeah. Kris K. Haines: You know, like she's been through so, she's been through all these seasons. Nobody's ever chosen her because she's a little awkward. She's a little shy. And like, what would happen if she actually became the favorite of the season? And so that was like my original nugget, which was like, she's going to be the favorite, but in the fae world. And then that kind of fell away a little bit. Like that didn't become a huge part of the story, ⁓ it like, that's what got me kind of like into the story of like. All right, this woman that's never been chosen, she's a little bit awkward, she's a little bit shy, but now she has like all these hot, fae men that want to like, marry her? Like how interesting is that? Rachel: That's very interesting that you describe Charlotte as awkward and shy because I feel like she's not, like she's ballsy. She's got... Okay. Kris K. Haines: She's not that in her head. She's totally not that in her head. Like she thinks she's hilarious. Rachel: I mean, she has me convinced, but that yeah, you can definitely tell that you put a lot of thought into who the character is because the book is, ⁓ It's so different from the Memory Puller series and it definitely feels like a very unique voice. So I don't know if there's anything that you can share about that and how you went about kind of crafting these very distinct voices. Kris K. Haines: So one of the things that I wanted to do when I wrote Fae Duke was I wanted to try a different POV tense, because like memory pullers written in third person and this one's written in first person. I was like, ⁓ I loved in the memory puller, I love playing with the dual POV where you're getting like both his and her perspectives. But I was like, how wouldn't it be ⁓ And plenty of other authors do this. So this is not like my epiphany or ⁓ But I was like, how can you build tension or how can you fall in love with a male main character if you're never in his head and you don't know what he's thinking about the FMC. So that was like the challenge that I kind of set for myself with this one. And then, you ⁓ it's very different to write something in first person because it's literally this person is telling you the story. So I think I had to spend a lot of time thinking about... who Charlotte was and how she's gonna react to things and how she's gonna perceive things and how that's to affect ⁓ journey through this ⁓ Kate: I wonder, do you have like character cheat sheets that you create for things like this? Because especially with like a longer series, but even the standalone, like keeping all the little things in mind of like, this is who this person is, this is what they've said that they like, this is, you know, some of the things that they've done. Like, how do you keep all those little details straight and not create like plot holes for yourself as you're writing? Kris K. Haines: I create a ton of plot holes for myself when I'm drafting. That's why I go through like hundred rounds of editing, because I'm like, wait a minute, you said this back in chapter two, you're definitely not gonna react this way in chapter 22. ⁓ But I also, like for some reason, when I'm writing the personality or the way that the character thinks doesn't usually change. Like I'm usually pretty consistent. What does sometimes change is like, oops, the hair color. Kate: Ha Kris K. Haines: oops, the eye color. So I, ⁓ before I write, I always get a lot of like ⁓ reference images for what the characters look like. So I can go back and be like, wait, this is what you said they look like, like make sure that that's consistent throughout the book. Kate: Can you share, is there a particular character that kind of inspired Charlotte? Kris K. Haines: Yeah, so Char, do you know the actress Lucy Boynton? She was in, ⁓ she was on a Netflix show called The Politician with like Ben Platt, Korn, how do you say his name? Corenswet the guy that plays Superman. ⁓ And was also in, ⁓ she was in Bohemian Rhapsody. And she's just, she's beautiful. She has this like, Kate: yes. Rachel: Yes. Kris K. Haines: cherubic face and these like big green eyes and like really pale blonde hair and I just she's beautiful and so like as soon as I thought of the character Charlotte I was like that's who she is I have like I have like a ton of pictures of Lucy Boynton on my computer Kate: I love that and thank you for that visual because I know like Rachel always talks about this movie that plays in her head when she's reading books, but I tend to like the kind of external ⁓ influence of what you visualize as your characters. So I love that and she definitely fits what I would think for Charlotte. Kris K. Haines: It's always so much easier for me to figure out actresses that I think are my female main characters. For the male main characters, I have no idea, like none. I feel like it's so much harder for me to find reference images of them because they like never live up to what I'm seeing in my head. So that's way, that is way, way harder. Rachel: Yeah, that's fair. could that's why you we need character art, right? Because I know that you've you've put out a lot of character art for this book. Kris K. Haines: Yes. I spent way too much money. hopefully my husband will never watch this podcast. Cause it's, it's a very high number, but I can't help it. It's too addicting. There's so many good artists out there. Yeah. Yeah. Rachel: And they all have such a different approach to it as well. Kate: Right, and we very much appreciate you ⁓ supporting these artists rather than, I've seen some pretty bad AI fan art these days, you know, it's everywhere. So I love that you are supporting real artists to make your vision come to life. Kris K. Haines: I made the mistake a couple of weeks ago. Like I was in my Instagram, not the feed, whatever the one is that's kind of like the for you page on TikTok where it's like, here's some things you might like. And it was showing me all this AI slop. And so I clicked on all the accounts to block them. But then of course, the algorithm is so stupid. It thinks now I want to see that. So I just made it worse. So don't do that, PSA. Rachel: That's good advice, yes, because I've definitely found myself watching some of those videos and stuff and then it's my whole feed. Kris K. Haines: Yes! It's like, don't see this, please. don't, like, block, block, block. I'm trying to block it, Instagram. I don't want to see more of it. Kate: Yeah. So I love that you're supporting indie artists. I would love to talk a little bit about your experience as an indie author. I know I'm going to describe a visual for you and I'd like for you to just tell me how close I am to your reality. So I'm imagining that your books are like your babies and we know that to raise a baby, it takes a village. ⁓ So I would assume that the same kind of goes into getting a book published. But since you're an indie author, a lot of the village is just like you in various wigs. Am I close to that? Or like, what does your village look like as an indie author? Kris K. Haines: Yes. Like that scene is that from the office where it's just Dwight ⁓ Kate: Yeah. Exactly. That's literally the visual in my head and you're just... Kris K. Haines: No, mean, luckily, it is definitely like that. ⁓ And it feels like it feels like the to do list is never I mean, you guys probably know even just like hosting a podcast like the to do list is never ending, never ending. Like there's always something I could be doing at every hour of the day to support my indie authoring journey. ⁓ But for me, like Priority number one, obviously, is the writing because if the books don't exist, then I'm not an author. I do luckily have some very good editors that I've worked with that I found to help me with dev edits and copy edits. So luckily, I don't do that part myself. And then, like really fortunate to work with some very talented cover designers and obviously tons of talented artists. But in terms of like the marketing and the visibility, like that's just that the part is a slog. But you have to try to find you have to try to find the joy in that. Like, what is it about? What is it about marketing my books that I love? And let me try to do more of that. And most of the time, it's like just being an unhinged fan. of Like I am the biggest, I am the number one fan of my books, so if I can get that across in my marketing, that's always what I'm trying to do. Kate: the book, ⁓ especially on socials, the book community is very strong. ⁓ And mean, I think we can all agree it's grown quite a lot in the last few years. This is a huge, mostly ⁓ woman-centric community that is usually really positive too, like really encouraging. And I love that I've seen so many more indie authors getting Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kris K. Haines: Yes. Kate: recognition in like the last few years. I mean, you know, some of our favorite books, not only yours, but but other favorite books this year have been from indie authors. And I love that, you know, I agree social media, we're all a slave to the algorithm and promoting yourself on that can be a lot. It's a lot of work. But it also, I love that, you know, when something clicks the community to see the ⁓ support that you can get from that, it is pretty cool to have that avenue to be able to promote yourself. Because like, how did indie authors do it before social media? I don't even know. Kris K. Haines: No, I have no idea. That's a really good question. What did they, you know what they probably did? They went to a ton of events. They went to a ton of in-person events. I find that that's also like, that's a really good way to like, you know, give back to the community or meet the community. I always feel like every time I go to an in-person event and I get to meet readers, I always feel so jazzed and like so inspired when I'm, when I come back from those. So that's probably what they did. Rachel: Can you share with us anything about the events that you attend or that you are planning to attend? Kris K. Haines: Sure. So I've got three more this year. I will be at Midwest Bookish Fest in Minneapolis the third week of June. I think it's like the 19th through the 21st. Then I will be at an event called Forbidden Love hosted by Tea & Tropes that's in Nashville, Tennessee, the last week of July. So it's July 31st through August 1st. And then I will be at Romantasy BookCon in Orlando in October. I think that's like the 22nd or the 24th, something like that. Sometime in October that starts with a two. Nice! Yay! Rachel: think that's about right. Yes, we'll be there too. So we're excited to see you there. you, do ⁓ you have any for like first time attendees on either side, like as an attendee or as an author, ⁓ any tips for that experience? Kris K. Haines: Definitely get a book cart. Everybody will have a book cart. It's a lovely means of self-expression at these shows as well, because people deck them out, deck them out with stickers and in fun colors and get one that you'll be able to have a little bit of a rest on because sometimes the halls get a little crowded and you might need to just take a break. I've also seen people... Get ones that have like a cup holder, so bring water, stay hydrated. ⁓ Or ones that have like little clip-on fans, because sometimes it get a little bit hot in the hall. ⁓ Other than that, like the ones that I've been, I was at Romantasy BookCon ⁓ last and it's just, it's so well run and so well organized. ⁓ You'll just, you'll have a great time. And the other thing that I would say, especially for readers, if you're getting nervous about like approaching authors, like we're just as nervous as you guys are. ⁓ And so don't feel like you can't go up and talk to authors or like don't get nervous because we are too. Rachel: Is there anything that readers should come prepared with if they're meeting with authors? Because I imagine that it's not just an opportunity to meet authors that you're aware of and that you, you know, love and have plenty of things that you want to say to them, but also to meet new authors as well. Kris K. Haines: Thank you. Yeah, I mean, think that's one of the that is one of the best thing about those shows is like discovering authors that you've never that you may have never heard of. So it's always awkward, right? When somebody walks up to your table and you're like, well, do I give them my book pitch? So maybe that like if if the book looks interesting to you or if the artwork that you're seeing at the booth looks interesting, it's always just like, tell me, tell me a little bit what your book is about and like, give them from give them permission to spew at you. Rachel: Okay, so authors have a pitch and they want to give it. Okay, that's good to know. Because I wouldn't want to offend anybody by like, oh, I haven't heard of your book before, coming unprepared. Kris K. Haines: ⁓ yes. ⁓ yes. For sure. Yes. No, No, I mean, we that, right? Unless you're like Rebecca Yarros. Like you assume that a bunch the people that are coming to this probably have never heard of your book. that's one of the reasons a lot of us go is to get FaceTime and hopefully charm some readers into buying our book. ⁓ Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: Well, I find that a lot of the ways that authors kind of pull people in ⁓ is by describing the tropes that they have in their books. And obviously as Deep Trope, we love the tropes. ⁓ We have a few favorites ourselves, but ⁓ can you tell us about some of your favorite or least favorite tropes? How do you decide what you want to include in your stories? Kris K. Haines: Yes. I mean my number one favorite of all time is Forbidden Romance, obviously. Like literally every book that I have written has some form of Forbidden Romance in it and I think ⁓ I think it's because for me, there needs to be some kind of, obviously there needs to be some kind of tension and conflict in the main romantic relationship, right? They can't just get together immediately, that's boring. So there's got to be some kind of drama or conflict and for me I prefer it when that is outside of the relationship between the two people. Like, it's not drama between them. It's not them questioning whether they're into each other. It's like, they literally can't be into each other because of, you know, X, Y, Z. So Forbidden Romance is 100 % my favorite. I love a good one bed trope, right? That's one of my favorites too. Kate: The ultimate tease. Kris K. Haines: Yes, it's so especially when especially a one bed paired with like a true enemies to lovers and like they just can't stand each other but they have to and it just always I always love reading like my fellow authors how creative they get with like why there has to only be one bed right? How can this be possible across so many books that there's only one bed but everybody makes it work. Rachel: Yes. Kate: Yeah, we've seen a lot of very tiny inns where like, well, can touch both walls when I'm standing in the center. So of course there's only room for one bed, you know, so. Kris K. Haines: I Right. Right. mean, should... Right. ⁓ I'll just sleep on the floor. That's silly. You shouldn't sleep on the floor. Just sleep in the bed with me. We're both adults. Yeah, exactly. Rachel: And where will my wings go? Kate: Ha Both very horny adults. Rachel: Ha ha ha. Kate: Are there any tropes that we won't see you touching? Kris K. Haines: You know, this is gonna sound really strange because Cassandra is 21 in the Memory Puller and Tristan is 228, but I am not a fan of the age gap. But to me, the fantasy age gap is not really an age gap. So that doesn't really bother me, but in contemporary romance, there's a major age gap between the MMC and the FMC, I just give... It just gives me the ick a little bit. Like I can't, I can't get into that. And then especially if it's professor student or some kind of like, he has some systemic power over her and he's also 20 years older. Like, I don't know why I just, can't, I get why people are into it because it's very like taboo, but it's just not, I will never write that. I may however, switch it, right? Like she's the older one, like a reverse age gap. I feel like I might be able to get into get into that at some point. It might be it might actually be the trope in the thing that I'm going to write after The Memory Puller. I have I haven't started plotting, but I do have so like in my notes app in my phone, I have this note called Book Ideas, and they're just like little snippets of ideas. And as soon as a book graduates from the Book Ideas note to its own note, Rachel: have you started plotting for it? Kris K. Haines: with a bunch more ideas about that specific story, that's how I know like, okay, I'm ready to start like percolating on this. And that next one has its own note in my phone. Kate: You that's so exciting. I mean, it's got to be bittersweet though to think about finishing the Memory Puller series. How are you feeling about it? Kris K. Haines: It is, it's really, I can't really dwell on it because if I do, I probably won't write. I'm like notorious for, I never finished Lost. I watched the entire series. I've never seen the last episode and I'm afraid to end with this because people are going to come at me with pitchforks. I have not watched the final episode of Heated Rivalry yet. I've read, I know. Kate: Kristen, there's only six. There's only six episodes. How did you do that? Kris K. Haines: I can't. I just can't do it because I hate like I hate the endings. Like I don't want to admit that something is over. So if I start thinking too much about like the Memory Puller series being over, like I literally would just I won't write it. I'm trying not to think about Rachel: Well, Heated Rivalry won't be over because there is a second book and they're making a second season. Kate: That's true. Kris K. Haines: I'll probably watch the finale like right before I start the next season. Kate: Well, it couldn't be me. I've watched the entire season, like, multiple times at this point. Technically, it doesn't end for me either. Yeah. Rachel: Exactly. That just gives you hit you finish. You just hit start over. Kris K. Haines: I have literally watched episodes 1 through 5 probably like 10 times but I not watched the last one. Rachel: Wow. Kate: Honestly, fascinating. ⁓ Kris K. Haines: I feel like it's probably scaring people. They're like, ⁓ my God, this woman doesn't know anything about endings. We're not gonna read the ending of her book. Rachel: mean, this sounds like Kate with every book series though. Kate: Okay, well, that's fair. Rachel: She's like halfway through Throne of glass and just stopped. Kris K. Haines: ⁓ Kate: what do you mean how, Kris? you don't get to ask Kris K. Haines: know, right? I have no legs to stand on in this conversation. Kate: But I don't know, I struggle with, ⁓ like I really love the world building of a series, but I get, ⁓ I don't know, any series longer than like, I don't know, five or six books, it just feels very daunting. you start to get, a lot of times you start to get a little bit further away from the original characters that you kind of fell in love with, you know, they introduce a lot more. new stuff and I don't know, it's just it's harder for me. honestly, I have not felt that way about memory puller. And I feel like you hit the perfect length for me personally, because four books and then you you get the we have the the side book, the book, right. ⁓ But that for is accessible to me, ⁓ especially if I know that that's where we're we're landing. But Kris K. Haines: You'll have fun. Yeah, you'll have fun. Rachel: bonus. Kris K. Haines: exactly. Kate: I don't know, a lot of the Sarah J. Maas ones, they're just, they're so long. And it's very daunting. And there's so much else to read, you know? Kris K. Haines: They are. And that's my biggest problem is I have like TBR ADHD. Like as soon as something new, even if I'm like halfway through a book I am really enjoying, somebody starts talking about something else. I'm like, ⁓ I gotta start that one. So I often find myself reading like three or four books at a time. ⁓ Rachel: Same. Kate: Same. Well, especially when you have audio books and eyeball reading, you know. Kris K. Haines: Yeah. Rachel: Do you do audio books, Kris? Yeah, yeah, makes sense. mean, your books are out on audio books, so I assumed you do, but. Kris K. Haines: I do, yeah. Yes. Yes. I do my audiobooks while I'm doing chores or at the gym and then nighttime is like my eyeball reading. Rachel: Yes. Kate: Yeah, yeah, I spend a lot of time with audiobooks in my car where eyeball reading is very much discouraged while I'm driving. Not that I haven't seen people doing it, which is insane. Like I get if you're at a really like pivotal moment in your book, you don't want to put it down, but please stop driving on 476 with a full novel in your lap, please. Kris K. Haines: Yes. We'll Yes. while driving a tractor trailer, because isn't it always easy? It's usually the tractor trailers that you see like looking at their phones is terrifying. Kate: ⁓ yeah. I know. I know. Rachel: So while we're talking about the Memory Puller series, I do want to just... This is like a formative book in my reading experience because in my romantasy journey, I should say, because I've always been a reader my whole life. the Memory Puller book one was really my introduction to Fairy Smut. And obviously now I'm very immersed in the world. ⁓ And like some background for me, like I was, you know, very excited to read it, but like slightly sus of the whole genre going into it. And I vividly remember sitting in my yard sunbathing for hours because I could not put it down. And it was like my fairy smut conversion moment. ⁓ And so I have some questions about it. regarding like... A, what that moment was for you, or maybe you've always read this type of genre, and B, like what was the trigger that said, okay, I'm gonna write one of my own. Kris K. Haines: Totally, great question. So I had a very similar experience. I have been a reader my whole life, but mostly like horror and sci-fi. Like I was super, I probably read everything that Stephen King ever wrote when I was younger. He was like my favorite author. And I really liked high, high fantasy, like obsessed with the Game of Thrones books. And I very vividly remember in like 2021, I think it was 2021. Yes, it was 2021. I was on vacation. I was on my pandemic vacation. And I started reading From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armantrout. And it was like ⁓ an epiphany revelation, right? I didn't even, I've never read romance before. So I didn't even know that people were writing this kind of thing in books. I just knew that there were some references to romance or love scenes or sex in other books that had titillated me, but like, smut as a genre, I didn't even like know that it existed. So I was like instantly obsessed. So I read her series and then from Blood and Ash, I went to A Court of Thorns and Roses and then I was just like, I'm hooked. it was, I was just like so viscerally obsessed with these. types of stories that I had loved reading, like these high fantasy or even like sci-fi or horror or like these genre stories and then injecting this romance that just like drives the plot as well. Like I want all of this interesting plot stuff to be happening, but I also want two characters that like really, really want to bone each other the whole time because those two things together is like, to me is like chocolate and peanut butter. It's like the perfect combination. And so I just started like, Kate: You Kris K. Haines: I just started thinking about it. I had never written a word in my, well, I mean, obviously I write, but I've never written a novel before. And I was like, well, let me just try this out. And the process is very similar to what I go through today, right? It's like, all right, let me just get to a thousand words a day and see what happens. And here we are. Kate: What does a day of writing look like to you? Kris K. Haines: So I'm pretty good now about not ⁓ editing myself while I'm writing. So to get to thousand words usually only takes me about an hour, but I have to do it first thing in the morning. So like before I get on social media, before I do any kind of other work that gets in my brain, ⁓ like while I have a fresh brain in the morning. I try to get to a thousand words of drafting and then usually I'm drafting and then editing something else. So I spend a little bit more. So I spend like an hour drafting and then usually about another hour like editing or doing admin stuff because an indie author's job is never done. Kate: the morning thing is something that Rachel and have also found as well. ⁓ We definitely record best for the podcast in the morning. ⁓ When we try to do it at night, ⁓ ends up being a lot more work on editing floor. ⁓ Kris K. Haines: And I don't know if it's like I never used to feel I never used to feel like this. I'm so I'll be 45 at the end of this year and I feel like I feel like just recently like in the past couple years I get to three o'clock and I'm just I'm done Like I had like literally cannot do any more thinking I like can't do anything for the rest of the day and I feel I yeah I just so I have to I have to plan out I have to plan out my days for my energy levels a lot more than I feel like I had to do when I was in my 30s and 20s. Rachel: How long did it take you to establish that routine and like really figure out the right rhythm that works for you? Kris K. Haines: It's actually it's funny now that I'm talking about this because I'm remembering that when I wrote the first memory puller book, it was the complete opposite. I did it at nighttime. I would start I would start writing at like 8 p.m. and then like try to get to a thousand words before before the end of the night. So I don't even I guess. So the first the first book, it was like the first thing I'd ever written. And I was just kind of amazed that it was even happening. Right. Like every time I finished it, finished a chapter, I was like, wow. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kris K. Haines: I could do this. could do this. And then, you know, you edit it, you get opinions about it, you realize all the things that you kind of like did wrong and have to fix going forward. And I think the more noise that's in my brain as I've, you know, as I've gone along on this author journey, like that's, I think, when I had to start switching it to the morning of like, all right, well, let me get, let me get all this extra noise out of my brain and I'm going to have to start fresh every day. Rachel: It definitely seems like it would take a decent amount of willpower though. The fact that you're not putting any, like you're not opening your email, you're not opening social media, you're just sitting down and getting to work right away. Kris K. Haines: I have to force myself sometimes. Some days it's easier than others, right? Kate: you ever encountered writer's block? ⁓ mean, you've written so many books at this point, I imagine you probably have at some point, but how do you how do you deal with something like that and keep finding the motivation? Kris K. Haines: I am, and I hate to say this, because I feel like fellow authors are probably gonna be like, that's not true. But I honestly don't think I've ever had writers block, but it's because I just write. I just write words. They could be garbage. They could be garbage words. Like I just have to get sentences on a page. like, if I'm blocked or I don't know where the characters are going, I just start writing what I think is in their head. Like what are they thinking about right now? are they, even if it's trash. And again, like I said, on on Duke, I probably wrote like 180 to 200,000 words for 100,000 word book. Like there was a lot that I ended up scrapping. But for me, the rhythm of just like, okay, well, what are they experiencing in this moment? What are they about to do? It It helps keep me, you know, going going forward. So that's that's my biggest advice for tackling writer's block. And I know it sounds probably sounds way easier to say. ⁓ than to do, especially if you're experiencing it, but I just like, I just write nonsense. I write nonsense and then that like drags me into the non-nonsense. Rachel: So one thing about the memory puller that I did wanna touch on, I think a lot of people tend to shy away from those like urban romantasies because of how complex the world building can be. ⁓ Like for instance, I know we touched on like the Sarah J. Maas books and despite being I would say probably the one of if not the most popular. famous authors in the space, so many people either don't read or don't enjoy her Crescent City books. And I absolutely adored them. And I believe, Kris, you do as well. ⁓ And I think it's just because they find like the world building in these types of books little bit too early, a little bit too overwhelming early on. ⁓ one thing I really liked about the Memory Puller is that I felt like you were able to really easily build the world building into the story where it kind of moved, you learned a little bit more about the world along with the plot and along with the characters. ⁓ And there were some familiar things too, like it was like a modern language. Some of the world felt familiar. Like I think, doesn't Cassandra wear like leggings to train or something? Yeah. So I guess I just curious, like, was this something that was just sort of a natural process for you as you started writing or was this a conscious decision? Kris K. Haines: Yes. It's always so funny to me when people say like, oh God, Crescent City the first Crescent City book, the world building was so overwhelming because I found it so fascinating. Like I was not bored at all. House of Earth and Blood is probably my favorite book of all time. just, so like I was never bored of it. But hearing, like one of the things when I was writing The Memory Puller that I really thought about was like the reader's mental load. And I asked myself, especially because in early drafts, my first chapter specifically, there was a lot of info dumping. And I would go back as I was editing and say, does the reader need this piece of information right now to be invested in this chapter of the story? And if the answer was no, it's like, all right, I'm cutting it and I'll put it somewhere else. ⁓ So that it was, and I'm really pleased to hear you say that because I was very intentional about that in the book of like, don't want, I don't want the reader to get bogged down with like these really long descriptions or like political history, but they need to know this information. like when is, when is like the perfect time in the story to drop this knowledge onto them and in a way that's going to be, in a way that's going to be interesting and keep them engaged rather than like make their eyes glaze over. Rachel: Yeah, I mean, I definitely feel like it was very digestible. Like you said that you loved George R.R. Martin, and that's like my biggest complaint with him is that I feel like he puts more world building than plot, although then you three books later realize, ⁓ that was plot. I just didn't realize it at the time. Kris K. Haines: sorry. Rachel: And then when you're building your magic systems, do you ⁓ of ⁓ with like what the rules are or, ⁓ you have that sort of built in your brain or is that sort of coming along like as the story evolves and as the characters sort of ⁓ different things to get them from point A to point B? ⁓ Kris K. Haines: I mean, I definitely start with like a loose idea of what the magic system was going to be. Like when I started the Memory Puller series, I definitely knew that I wanted elemental magic to be a part of it. ⁓ And then like as you're getting, you know, as I'm writing and going through the plot, I'm thinking about like either my characters need something to get past this challenge or I need something that's going to challenge these characters. And then like little threads of the magic system just get kind of get woven in. woven in as ways to like either further the plot or like make it stand still and stop and there's something that they're something that they're gonna have to be dealing with. So but I don't I like there are there are authors who like write such intricate magic systems which I love to read about but for me ⁓ For me, it always has to, like, I don't wanna get overwhelmed by, like, a bunch of rules in a magic system. I just want it to kind of feel organic. Rachel: Mm-hmm. I really enjoyed that as part of a Hunted by the Fae Duke and just like the whimsy, like being able to twirl your fingers and the food appears or, you know, and then as the story evolved, you learn more and more about people's different powers. But yeah, I really loved the magic that you created there and it felt. it well in both worlds because they just felt so unique from the memory puller, which of course it would. It's a different book and different story, but it just it felt it it felt right to the characters in the world Kris K. Haines: also like, ⁓ I'll so into the characters and the dynamic between them and the romance and I'm like, ⁓ crap, I haven't talked about anything magical in like six chapters. So I better add something else. ⁓ Or my ⁓ dev editor that I work with, she'll be like, this is a magical world, right? I think I need to see a little bit more magic. So sometimes it happens that way too of like, oops, I forgot. ⁓ Rachel: Ha Kris K. Haines: I forgot that these are not like humans and they've got to be doing something, you know, a little bit, a little bit magical. Rachel: So does that mean you have maybe a potential contemporary on the horizon? No magic system? Kris K. Haines: I think, like I said, this one idea that has jumped to its own note in my iPhone ⁓ is gonna be contemporary. I'm just trying to decide if I want to make it, no, I probably will. If I wanna put references in from our specific world or if it's gonna be contemporary, a different world. No, it'll probably just be like. Contemporary and I don't know how that's gonna feel that might feel strange because when you write I guess when you write contemporary if you put like if you put too many Specific references from the time we're living in does it end up feeling dated? I don't know. These are questions I'm gonna have to grapple with when I finally write that one Rachel: ⁓ you have to very vaguely refer to cell phones, because who knows what they'll be like in five years. Kris K. Haines: Yeah. Kate: Ahaha Kris K. Haines: Exactly. Kate: Yeah, and I know people have ⁓ a lot of opinions on the different genres and things, know, fantasy, romance versus contemporary romance. I'm a equal opportunity romance lover. ⁓ Obviously, I lean more towards, you know, fantasy and dark romance and things like that, but I just love a well-written story. So I am really excited. I love that you're gonna... Kris K. Haines: Thank you. Kate: be kind of exploring a different side to the genre. I'm really excited to hear what that is going to be like. And you know, if you need anybody to bounce ideas off of, Rachel and I are always here. Kris K. Haines: amazing. I'm sure that I will. That's the nice thing about being an indie author these days too is I feel like, ⁓ because there are a ton of, I mean, there's, you know, traditionally published authors that do this as well. But I just, feel like even recently, like, instead of having to do like a different pen name, and like write in a completely different genre, like people, you're able to write across a bunch of different genres, you know, these days and, and your readers will go with you. Rachel: Just... Kris K. Haines: which I think is good, or at least hopefully they will. Rachel: I mean, we will, we will for sure. Kate: Yeah, we absolutely will. And I feel like that's another thing ⁓ that social media, I feel like, might be helpful for is like you almost, have more of a direct connection to your readers and to your audience. You can kind of speak to them and be like, this is why I'm doing this. This is where this is coming from. like, you know, kind of bring them along that journey with you. And you're not just like kind of surprising them out of nowhere with something that they are not expecting. Kris K. Haines: And to your point, Kate, if like, if what you're reading for is like a really good love story, and you've proven to your readers that you can do that in fantasy, like, why wouldn't you also be able to do that in like dark romance or contemporary romance or small town romance? Kate: Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, love is love, right? Kris K. Haines: Exactly Kate: All right, so I would love to kind of go through a few quick rapid fire questions if you're up for that ⁓ and just touch on a few things that we're kind of dying to know. So first up, we talked about world building. You've built some great worlds. If you could spend a day in one of your fictional kingdoms as like a background character, which one would it be and why? Kris K. Haines: Absolutely. I think I'm gonna say it would be the Otherworld from Hunted by the Fae Duke just because that one's like fresh in my brain right now and I really wanna meet Vesper. I wanna meet Vesper in the little race of the pixies that think everyone is food and are just like really violent and cute. So I think it would be the Otherworld and also, cause if everybody looks and acts like Lachlans, then it would just be a visual treat. Kate: Yes! Rachel: Ugh. Kate: soon. Yeah. Rachel: Everyone needs to meet Vesper. ⁓ this is a little for anybody who hasn't read it yet. Vesper is, I mean, obviously Lachlan too, but Vesper is probably my favorite part of the book because like it's just this ⁓ pixie that like flies around and says hilarious things. She's always saying ⁓ ⁓ what was it? ⁓ Pretty food, pretty ⁓ Love ⁓ Kris K. Haines: I know. You Kate: All right, next up, what is your must-have writing snack or beverage when you're deep in a deadline? Kris K. Haines: I don't, I never snack. Like, it's so funny, like, I get this question all the time. Like, what's your go-to writing snack? I'm like, I'm never snacking while I'm writing. I'm always, I'm either drinking iced coffee or Waterloo seltzers in some kind of like cherry or berry flavor. Rachel: Well, I guess when you start that early, yeah. Kate: Well, that makes sense. Yeah. Kris K. Haines: Yeah, yeah, exactly. I'm not gonna be drinking like wine at nine o'clock in the morning. Kate: Yeah, no, Rachel and I did a cocktail episode and yeah, I don't know that our state of minds would have been really conducive to productivity. ⁓ All right, how about any side characters from your work that ended up becoming like bigger than you anticipated when you first wrote them? Kris K. Haines: Love it. that's a great question. So well, obviously, Vesper ⁓ huge and hunted by the Fae Duke. But for this one, I'm going to say Ronin. ⁓ So Ronin is for anybody that doesn't know Ronin is a character in the Memory Puller series. gets introduced in book two, The Exile and the Savior. He's this like huge wolf shifter. ⁓ got like messy white hair and an eye patch. ⁓ freaking gorgeous. ⁓ in very early draft, of Book 2, his character was actually female and I was like, well, maybe I want to make it like a really hot guy and then see where he's going to go. So I turned him into a male, with like major tattoos and then I was so intrigued by him that that's basically what inspired Book 2.5, which is Butcher and the Ballerina. I'm like, this guy is gorgeous. Why is he wearing an eye patch? How did he get that? that's how the story of Butcher and the Ballerina was birthed because ⁓ was just too hot and I needed to figure out like what his love story was gonna be. ⁓ Kate: I love that you can, as an author, yes, thank you for that. I love that, and I love that you can just decide like, you know what? I could use another book boyfriend. I'm gonna go ahead and write one for myself. Like that's, that's so much fun. Rachel: And thank you for that. We love Ronin. Kris K. Haines: You Yeah. And I felt kind of bad about it because I mean, guys know, like Exile ends on this like massive cliffhanger. I mean, yeah, it's a cliffhanger. I nobody's like clinging to life or anything like that. But it is like, ⁓ my God, what is going to happen next? And then I'm like, nope, sorry, guys, I'm just going to write you the backstory of this other character. So I felt a little bad about it. But it was similar to how I was feeling about Hunted by the Fae Duke, right? Which is like, Okay, the main story in memory puller, massive cliffhanger on exile in the savior. And then I was like, I need a break from this. I have to go write something else. And then it ended up weaving together so perfectly. And for anybody listening now, Rebel in the Captive is out. So you don't have to suffer that cliffhanger right now. You'll find out what happens. Kate: We love all the descriptive scents in Romantasy series. It's something that we see all the time. We always know exactly how the MMC smells somehow. And ⁓ if your latest book, Hunted by the Fae Duke, had a scent profile, what do you think it would be? Kris K. Haines: Hmm. Well, I'm going to make it the scent profile of Lachlan because I did think about that as I was writing. And he smells like, he smells like smoky and sweet. So it's like wood smoke and figs is how I described it in the book. ⁓ And it's really funny because I thought about a little bit where you were going with that is like, why the heck would he smell like that? Like, is he wearing cologne? Like, why does he smell? And I never address it. It's just like, that's what he smells like. So he's magic. Why not? Why couldn't he smell like that? Kate: Yeah, you can smell however he wants. You know, I guess that's just something that it doesn't need to be explained, especially because that's like what readers are expecting now. You know, like we expect to hear what they smell like and they're very rarely explained. So. Kris K. Haines: Right, exactly. Thank Rachel: And I definitely highlighted that one reading. I definitely highlighted a scent. How do you get there? Do you go to like home goods and sniff the candles or do you just come up with it in your mind? Kris K. Haines: So when I was writing the memory pillar, so Tristan's scent in the memory pillar is ⁓ like spicy woodsy. And I think I described it ⁓ like burnt wood and pepper or something. And so for that one, I actually did go to Sephora and I smelled a bunch of cologne. And there was one called Bad Boy by Carolina Herrera at the time. I don't even know if that still exists. Maybe it does. Rachel: Ha ha ha. Kris K. Haines: But I was like obsessed with that sense. went and then I googled like, are the notes in this scent? And that's how Tristan's was born. And then but for Lachlan's, was more just like, people end up starting, people use the same sense kind of like over and over and over again. So was like, what could be a little bit unique, but still like sounds like it would smell sexy. Rachel: Yeah, that's a good one. And it definitely is unique. I wouldn't have thought of Figs, but it smells great. Smells great from that movie that's playing. Kate: I love it. Kris K. Haines: in your hands, We're gonna throw candle someday and we're gonna be like, God, that's horrible. What was Kris thinking? ⁓ Kate: All right, last question from me. Rachel and I have just been reading your book, but what are you reading right now when you're not writing? Kris K. Haines: So I am reading, I'm reading book two of the lioness trilogy by Sierra Simone. Have you guys ever read any of her stuff? She's definitely more like contemporary, contemporary erotica. Like it's very spicy. ⁓ But her books are like, if you like, if the things that you like about my book are well, A, the spice, but B, like just like really getting into the characters heads, like, Rachel: No. Kris K. Haines: her. She has a book called Priest, which I highly recommend, especially the audiobook. Jacob Morgan, who did the Lights Out audiobook, he narrates Priest. It's so good. And so the one that I'm reading now is book two in the Lioness trilogy is called Honeycut. And it's like spicy MMF retelling of the story of Tristan and Isolde Rachel: heard of that. Kate: I have heard of that one. Kris K. Haines: So it's like the main guy, he has a bodyguard named Tristan, which is obvious. It's also a little weird because Tristan is one of my male main characters, but they end up getting together in book one and Mark sends Tristan to Ireland to fetch his arranged bride. And then Tristan and the bride, whose name is Isolde. end up having a little affair and it's very like, it's very angsty. There's like, it's like secret societies, the guy Mark, that's the main character, he owns a sex club in DC. So it's like, you know, secrets and secrets and lies and lots of spice and really, really heavy character development. It's really good. Kate: That sounds amazing. That sounds right up our alley. Kris K. Haines: It's really hard for me to read Romantasy while I'm writing Romantasy. usually, usually while I'm, while specifically while I'm drafting something I read in like completely different genres. Rachel: Yeah. makes sense. I mean, it's even hard to read multiple romantasies at the same time because of the different worlds and getting things mixed up, so it definitely makes sense that it would be even harder to write a romantasy while reading one. Kate: That makes sense. ⁓ yeah. Yeah, I've definitely ⁓ found myself mixing up plots between the different books that I'm reading at one time. And especially on the podcast, sometimes I have to remind myself, like, is this something that happened in this book or am I bringing in a totally different world that doesn't exist here? Rachel: Yeah, yesterday she thought that somebody had six abs when they were actually described as having 40. And I said, wrong book, Kate. Kris K. Haines: You're a major. ⁓ Kate: Okay, but I think the context I was questioning whether it sense to describe somebody's abs in like romantasy book as being a six pack if the ⁓ origin of a six pack is like beers, right? So that was the And I think that the fact that it was described as being a 40 pack Kris K. Haines: If it is, yeah. Yeah, good points. Good. Kate: still works in my context because what does that mean? What does that mean in that world? I don't know. Kris K. Haines: That's hilarious. See, these are the things that I think about too, when I'm writing. I'm like, does this make sense in this world? Like there's times where, especially in Hunted by the Fae Duke, right? Because it's supposed to be, it's inspired by Regency era England. So I have an entire Google history of like, did this exist in Regency England? Like, especially because Charlotte drinks coffee in the morning instead of tea. And I was like, is this legit? Would this have happened? Kate: haha Kris K. Haines: And coffee did exist. They had coffee houses in Regency England, I checked. Rachel: You're doing the research. Kris K. Haines: I'm like... Rachel: It's historically accurate. Love it. ⁓ All right. Well, great. Thank you so much for joining us. This has been definitely, ⁓ you know, it's just been great to learn more about your writing process and also, you know, little hints about maybe what's to come. ⁓ So you mentioned, you know, your notes section ⁓ and, you know, possible books on the way, any projects that you wanted to, new projects on the horizon outside of that. Kris K. Haines: No, mean, I definitely, want to, obviously I'm going to finish the Memory Puller series because I've promised everyone that it will be out this year and it will be out this year. And hopefully I'll have a title reveal soon. So that's the other kind of annoying thing about the way that I write is I only have the bones of the story. I don't even know what... officially the title is going to be yet and I don't want to call it something and then have it go in a completely different direction. So like I think I know what the title is but I don't want to I want to reveal it until I'm until I'm sure that that's what it's going to be. ⁓ Which also makes like working with my cover designer difficult because she's ready to go and I'm like I don't know what it's called yet. So I want to finish that. I'm pretty sure that the next one will be contemporary. And then I have this other just like idea that's been like eating at the back of my mind that at some point I'm sure I'm going to write that's like, it's going to be like Kill Bill meets vampires. And it's going to be like a, it's going to be like major female rage revenge story. And I think it's going to be a duology and I haven't figured everything. I haven't figured everything about it, but like. Rachel: ⁓ Kate: Say less Kris K. Haines: Every once in a while, like a line of dialogue or a scene will come into my brain. But yeah, I think I feel like I need to have a vampire era after, you know, may be in 2027. ⁓ Rachel: We agree. Kate: Yeah, that sounds amazing. I'm here for it. Rachel: Yes. Kris K. Haines: you Rachel: ⁓ this is awesome. Well, again, we love talking with you. ⁓ Where can people find you if they want to follow along with your author journey? Kris K. Haines: thing. I'm most active on Instagram. ⁓ So there as ⁓ K. books. ⁓ I do go over tiktok occasionally, although it's getting it's getting harder and to be over there. ⁓ But it's the same Kris K. Haines books and then my website is ⁓ Kris K. Haines books.com. Kris K. Haines books, just look that up somewhere on the internet and you will find me ⁓ Kate: Easy enough. Rachel: Well, if you can't wait to keep yapping about Kris's books, we are going to be covering Hunted by the Fae Duke in next week's episode. This will be a single episode mini deep dive covering all of the tropes, our favorite banter, and of course, fangirling over every single spicy scene. It will include spoilers, so if you haven't finished the book yet, you've got one more week to read it. And if you want to stay connected with Deep Trope, be sure to like and subscribe so you never miss an episode. And you can find us on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook at Deep Trope Podcast. All right, let's get out of here and get back to reading. See you next week. Kate: Bye.