Interview w/Meg Acuna

Join Dev and Jordan as they talk with Meg Acuna about her new self published book, The Crown Prophecy. Learn about the journey she took writing her own novel, the publishing choices she had to make, and what you can look forward to throughout her new romantasy series. We're sure you'll enjoy her as much as we do!

The Crown Prophecy is the perfect read if you want cozy fantasy, but you thought Legends and Lattes was too boring and needed romance and a more interesting plot. Expected publication October 28, 2024

Transcript

Intro and Quotes

Devonnie 0:03

Welcome to Romance Recs, where book besties explore the world of romance novels and encourage you to expand your TBR. Join us as we dive into the hottest releases and hidden gems of the genre. You can find us on Instagram and Tik TOK at romance Recs pod. Hi guys. This is your favorite. It's Dev. I know. Hold your applause, babes.

Jordan 0:29

Wow.

Devonnie 0:29

here too.

Jordan 0:30

Shots. And our guest, but shots fired. Jesus. Don't mind us. We're all

Meg 0:36

okay, you're both my favorite.

Devonnie 0:37

All right. It's the Dev Show. Welcome, everybody. Thanks for being here. JK. All right. So right now this is very exciting because the book that I am about at the midway point of actually belongs to our esteemed guest of the evening. And we'll go into that later, but I am currently reading the crown prophecy by Meg Acuna. And I just finished right before starting this daydream by Hannah Grace. That's where I'm at.

Jordan 1:07

And I'm Jordan, your real favorite. I am currently reading, To Carve a Fae Heart by Tessonia Odette, and I am just starting an advanced listener copy of The Dissection and Reassembly of Coen Horde by Alessa Hagberg.

Devonnie 1:28

Interesting.

Jordan 1:30

It's sci fi, so we'll see.

Devonnie 1:31

Oh,

Meg 1:32

Fi romance? Hi!

Jordan 1:34

Or so it says. We'll see. You never know. And we have a guest! You can go ahead and introduce yourself. Hi.

Meg 1:42

Hi, I am the aforementioned Megacunya. I will not attempt to return shots because y'all probably don't know who I am, so I'm not anybody's favorite yet. I'm so happy to be here. I've been a listener for a very long time. And my current read is Measure of a Man by Anadeis 22 on AL3. It's a germani fic.

Jordan 2:00

Yes! We'd love to hear that. We'd love to hear AO3, Rex. And, yeah.

Devonnie 2:06

First of all, we're going to take it back to where I mispronounced your last name, Meg, it's a Kunya, not

Meg 2:12

Nobody ever gets it. It's fine. I like to say Petunia, but I did not give that spiel to you before we started recording, so now you're fault.

Devonnie 2:20

I actually love that. That's really cute, but thank you for saying it the correct way. So I now know how your last name is said, because I like to

Meg 2:26

Oh, no worries.

Devonnie 2:27

the right way. So thank you. Also Yeah, on the book you're reading. Very interested. I feel like I've seen that around.

Meg 2:37

I am on like a Dramini binge right now, so I read a dozen of them this year. I'm only like 20 percent into this one, but so far it's really good. It's definitely very slow burn. It's a long one and I just love them because you've got seven books of history. before you even start on page one of whatever the fanfic is. So it's just, there's so much depth, you know, to the

Jordan 2:56

And because it's fanfic, you truly don't know where it's going. I feel like that's the fun part, is because you don't know this author.

Devonnie 3:03

Yes that's,

Jordan 3:04

anything.

Devonnie 3:06

I know. Christina would eat this up. She loves AO3, so.

Meg 3:09

Shout out to Christina.

Jordan 3:10

Yeah,

Devonnie 3:11

shout out. Shout out to Christina. I don't have a quote for you guys. I apologize. However, I do have a rave. I am going to rave about the fact that I am the luckiest princess in the world. And

Jordan 3:27

you are hyped up on yourself tonight. This is just wonderful. No, I'm here for it. I'm just

Devonnie 3:35

I, I'm just so lucky. Okay, guys, if you follow me on socials, you know that the last, I would say like the last two weeks or so, I've received arcs of some of my most anticipated reads, like things that I will, I might sell my left leg for you know, but I've gotten them for free. So like we don't need to sell body parts. Cool. I have an arc of out of the woods by Hannah Bonham Young. Y'all know that's my girl.

Jordan 3:59

I forgot you got that! Fuck,

Devonnie 4:02

that I see. And you know, that is yeah, I'm talking about it. I'm getting hot. So I'm really excited about that. And then I also have spiral by Bal Cabra, which is the second book in her series. The first was collide. I am so to read that. Like y'all have no idea. I'm currently waiting on somebody to approve my lost and lassoed request, but

Jordan 4:24

Just give it to the pod. We'll take it.

Devonnie 4:26

that would make my day. So yeah, that is my rave. I'm just really thankful and lucky that authors make it so, authors and the publishing houses that they're with make it so easy for us to access their books before they come out. So shout out to NetGalley, shout out to the publishing houses and shout out to the authors. And just thank you for doing what you do because you make people like me. So happy to read your work. That's my rave.

Jordan 4:50

That's a good rave. It's a good problem to have. Too many good arcs that you're looking forward to. I was gonna do a rant, but I'm gonna save my rant. I actually found a quote from one of my favorite reads of the year, and I was just like, I just have to read it because it makes me so happy. And also, this is an author goal of someone else I would love to have on the pod, so. This is from Leather and Lark by Brynne Weaver. A snow globe, I say slowly, waiting for her to look up, which she doesn't do. You made a severed finger into a feckin snow globe. It was almost Christmas, she says with a shrug. It felt festive. It's a finger. It's a finger in a snow globe with glitter.

Meg 5:34

I have to know a real finger.

Jordan 5:36

Yes,

Devonnie 5:36

Yes.

Meg 5:37

my

Jordan 5:38

she has, he found it in a hidden spot in her home and just, yeah, it was felt festive. She just put the finger in a snow globe and

Devonnie 5:47

There was

Meg 5:48

that into evidence.

Devonnie 5:49

Yeah.

Jordan 5:50

I just love it because it, just, he slowly Mentioning this and she just refuses to look at him. That's my favorite part though.

Devonnie 5:59

Huh.

Jordan 6:00

That's my Bryn Weaver quote from Leather and Lark. Meg. I don't know Did you bring a quote or do you have a rant or anything? Yes

Devonnie 6:08

Yay. Yes.

Meg 6:10

is short and sweet. It's from A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid. And I just think that this is a message that's in a lot of books, but it isn't said outright. But I love this. It's You don't have to take up a sword. Survival is bravery too. I gave it

Devonnie 6:25

Okay. So I've been dying to read a study in drowning. So how did you like that book?

Meg 6:32

a four out of five. The writing is beautiful. The author is so incredibly talented. I felt like I wasn't invested enough in the characters, especially because it's a standalone, which I'm sure we'll talk about later. I struggle with standalones, but the writing, I mean, she's so, so talented and the prose was just beautiful.

Devonnie 6:49

Yeah. Okay.

Jordan 6:50

was a beautiful quote though

Who is Meg?

Devonnie 6:52

Yeah. So yes, guys, as you can tell by our long winded intro, but also the things we were talking about, we have Meg here to talk about all things, the crown prophecy, what she's reading, what she's doing, what it's like being an author, a content creator, a mom, all the things. So we're really excited that you're on the podcast today, Meg, thank you so much for being here and yeah, of course. Of course.

Jordan 7:17

we met Meg this summer at our book meetup, which is how we discovered her and her book

Devonnie 7:25

Book. Yeah.

Jordan 7:26

We've been anxiously awaiting this. And so

Meg 7:28

Most fun event. I remember at the meetup I was talking to somebody else who was also writing and I was like, oh, yeah Like I'm working on you know Getting my book out into the world and I like pulled it out and I can't remember who was one of you guys like took It out of my hands and ran and was like everybody look

Devonnie 7:46

That sounds

Meg 7:46

that was like

Jordan 7:47

That was

Meg 7:48

Thank you for being my hype woman because I was like, I don't I wouldn't do that for myself, but it was so funny.

Jordan 7:54

Oh, we will hype you up.

Devonnie 7:56

Oh, yeah. Look no further. The cheer section is right here, babe. Like we will hype you up. And that is definitely a dev move to yank something out of someone's hand and take off to show it to someone else.

Meg 8:06

It was awesome.

Jordan 8:08

It was, that was the first event we've done and it was so fun. Like I have to say, thank you for appreciating it, but we had so much fun too. and I think the other author was Eliza Leone, I've been slowly going through her book. Her book is amazing. It's cozy, and so I to read it before bed when I'm not super immersed in books I have to finish, so I've been going through hers too, we were fortunate with our awesome the awesome people that came out, I know, it was,

Devonnie 8:36

Meeting all of those cool people. It was really nice. We'll be having another event.

Jordan 8:40

yeah, it's in the

Devonnie 8:41

heard it here first.

Meg 8:42

be there.

Jordan 8:43

This one should be, I'm really excited for the next one. I'm, I like, I have to admit I'm pretty

Devonnie 8:47

We're pumped about the theme for the next one. So yeah before we get distracted and carried away We are going to open up the floor to you meg and basically yeah, tell us about yourself and your upcoming release and any other announcements that you kind of want to make or talk about but yeah This is like your stage right now to just talk about yourself, which I know is really hard We will help, but just say all the things.

Meg 9:10

no pressure. No pressure. You would think I would be used to this because I am a YouTuber. That's like my full time job, but every time I'm still nervous every time after seven years. My name is Meg. I am a YouTuber and a mom of two. I am a lover of all things cottagecore, so you can usually find me gardening, baking, at the thrift store, basically doing anything that your grandma would do. I am about to release my debut novel and I'm so excited and I'm freaking out and I'm just so stoked to share with the world.

The Crown Prophecy

Jordan 9:39

Well, tell us, you know, it's so cute and I've, Watch some of your stuff, but it's I just love it. It's so cute. And having met you, it matches up with exactly what I see. And you're just so, so kind. And I was so excited to read this book. Can you tell us a little bit about The Crown Prophecy, your new novel? Maybe, like, where did this idea come from? Like where it's at now, like just kind of

Meg 10:04

Yeah, absolutely. So this actually started as a NaNoWriMo project, funnily enough and it was one of those things, well before NaNoWriMo got into all the hot water with the AI stuff, this was not this year disclaimer. But yeah, I just, I've been writing and binding my own fantasy novels since I was like eight or nine years old. I would take cardboard and painter's tape and enter them at the young author's fair. And I just, I've been writing forever. I wrote my first full length novel when I was like 15. I'm sure it's garbage. But this story in particular just kind of lodged itself in my brain and was like I am not leaving until you write the whole thing. So that is kind of how it got started.

Devonnie 10:44

I love that. I love that. And I love that you've been in this world of writing and wanting to write for so long because that just shows like how your book comes out at the end of this month. Right.

Meg 10:56

It does, yes. October 28th.

Devonnie 10:58

is Right. This has been in the works for years. You've been building up to this moment for years. So I love that. I love that for you.

Meg 11:06

The imposter syndrome is like nuts for, I think, all authors. I don't know, maybe Sarah J Maas doesn't get it, but I feel like I literally have a degree in English Literature and I'm still sitting here oh my gosh, who am I to do this? And it's I have a piece of paper that says I can.

Jordan 11:20

I am not surprised after reading Your story. I am not surprised. I love the way you write like I love I was telling this to Dev, I was like, there's something about, I could really tell you have an ama like, this sounds weird, but an amazing vocabulary. Like to me, I'm like some books I read, I'm like, this author is using a thesaurus a lot. Like they've never used this word in their life. But I read your book and I'm just like, this girl is educated. She knows what she's writing about. She is well informed. She knows, like it, it comes through in the writing. It feels genuine too. So I just,

Meg 11:56

Thank you. I think one of the great things about it being a nano project is that I had no intention of publishing it when I started it. And so I really just got to write what I wanted to write and not what I thought was marketable. And then I, you know, through the process of sharing it with, I think I, over time I've had a dozen beta readers and a developmental editor and a copy in line editor. And eventually it got to the point where I was like, I think I actually want to share this. But it was something that I wrote for me and it just kind of feels. Like me in a book, which I think was really cool and fun

Jordan 12:31

Yeah, that

Devonnie 12:31

Yes. I will agree that comes through for sure. After, like Jordan said, just meeting you and then reading your words, reading the story and you know, I'm only halfway through, but I feel like you show up in your work and Not a lot of people can pull that off without it being like super cringy or just I don't want to read this. Is this your life story? Which, you know, this may not be your life story, but I just feel like there are

Meg 12:52

Thankfully not

Devonnie 12:55

Well, I don't know

Meg 12:56

Sorry, no spoilers.

Jordan 12:58

Yeah.

Devonnie 12:58

Everybody.

Jordan 12:59

Dev's not there yet. I'm like, no.

Devonnie 13:01

no.

Meg 13:02

summary for the people who are listening?

Devonnie 13:04

What? Oh, is there one?

Meg 13:07

I have just a couple of sentences basically the story is about Quinn who is this like hot headed but non magical palace baker who gets caught up in the affairs of the crown prince. And the prince is like begrudgingly holding this competition to choose a magic wielding bride, and it kind of looks like that's all it is at surface level, and then Quinn slowly finds out that the contest is masking a darker truth. And she finds herself helping him to decipher this cryptic prophecy that might be their only chance of saving the kingdom. They're thrown together a lot, obviously. It's high stakes but cozy vibes and it's got all my favorite tropes like found family and who did this to you and mutual pining and forbidden romance and fated mates and if you like a dark haired love interest whose preferred manner of flirting is banter, this is the book for you.

Jordan 13:53

Yeah.

Devonnie 13:54

we do. We do love all those things actually. We do love. It could never be a blonde. It could never be a blonde

Meg 13:59

No. Oh, Draco's the only one allowed. Maybe Peta.

Jordan 14:03

Well, I could do PETA, I could do PETA but that's

Meg 14:06

Oh, Aaron

Jordan 14:07

up against Gale, so,

Devonnie 14:09

I haven't read Aaron Warner. I know the

Meg 14:11

Oh my god, you have to read Jeremy. It's so good.

Devonnie 14:15

I

Jordan 14:15

Okay, I gotta give it another chance then. I think I just wasn't in the mood when I tried

Devonnie 14:19

You wasn't in the mood? Yeah. The

Jordan 14:21

Well, I didn't Huh, I don't know. It was It's a heavy one. It's a

Devonnie 14:25

Is

Meg 14:25

far did you get into it?

Jordan 14:27

I don't rem I was listening to it on Libby and I was like, this is too heavy for me right now.

Devonnie 14:32

Really? I thought it

Meg 14:34

I mean, it starts with her in an asylum,

Jordan 14:36

Yeah. Like in, in a, like I, Anyways, we're getting away from Crown Prophecy. Let's bring it all

Devonnie 14:44

interesting. Yeah. Okay, but thank you.

Meg 14:45

about shatter me forever, but I won't, I will zip it.

Jordan 14:48

Okay, I think I remember, I think I remember from our meeting too I think you were talking with Christina. Was it you about the selection?

Meg 14:56

I did bring the selection to

Jordan 14:58

Okay, because I was reading this, I was like, This is giving selection vibes like

Devonnie 15:04

Oh, I

Jordan 15:06

not enough to where i'd be like, oh, she wrote this like the selection. I wouldn't like it's not like that it's just I mean there's a competition for what it's not really a competition like that I don't know if it's because I heard you talking about it. So I put that together but I was like, okay. Okay.

Meg 15:20

though. I did love that

Jordan 15:21

like it.

Meg 15:23

I loved it. And I was like, what if the, it was the selection but spicy and what if the person. The main character is not one of the contestants.

Devonnie 15:32

Yeah, I love that. I can't wait to get to the end of the book to see how Quinn fits into this because obviously going in, I know she's the main character. I know she's the main love interest, but I'm like, baby, where's your magic? You can't enter this contest. What are you doing? You better get to the kitchen. Speaking of, sorry, before we dive too much I know

Jordan 15:51

Girl, get

Meg 15:52

way, just in a She's a Baker way.

Devonnie 15:54

Yeah, right. Sorry guys. Quinn is a baker. Okay. I am not like downing where she belongs. There is no space. A woman belongs. Okay. We belong everywhere.

Jordan 16:05

I'm going to, that, I'm gonna just clip just you saying get back to the kitchen and I'm just gonna

Devonnie 16:13

Just blast that. I love that.

Jordan 16:15

That's my blackmail to you if you ever need it, like it's,

Devonnie 16:18

Yeah, Dev said get back to the kitchen.

Jordan 16:21

Girl,

Devonnie 16:21

But the reason I even bring up the kitchen is because so i'm a chef and Every time I read like fantasy books, romance books, I'm constantly looking at the food that they're making because my dream would be to recreate some of my favorite dishes from books that I've read and movies and stuff like that. And put them in a book Ooh, I read this book. They made this meal. Like I'm obsessed with that. So what I really love about Quinn being a baker and like being in the kitchens, is that you're very descriptive of the baking process. Your description of laminating, like the lamination process for croissants, chef's fucking kiss. Let me tell you something.

Jordan 17:01

without being boring. Without being boring.

Devonnie 17:04

yes, it didn't feel like Yeah, right. So as a chef, I understand why I like it, but then think of it as just a reader. I'm like this. Yeah, I'd be writing this down. Like I'd be like, so interested in what she's doing next. It didn't feel like frivolous content or like something you just stuck in there because we know Quinn's a baker. It was very intentional. And I absolutely loved how like Correct. You were one in that process, right? Because not a lot of people think that you just put some dough and some sugar together and you have a croissant. No, croissants are like hard. Croissants are fricking hard. Okay. She's over there whipping meringues. Like these are hard tasks to do. But yeah, I just, I really love that. So as a foodie, as a chef, I really appreciate the way you describe the food in the series or in the book, especially

Jordan 17:49

the kitchen dynamic.

Devonnie 17:51

Yes.

Jordan 17:51

dynamic of earning your respect and feel like people feeling like they jumped the line and

Devonnie 17:57

Yes. I love that. Love that.

Meg 18:00

you. You should see my Chrome tabs. I have a whole recipe or I have a whole folder of so many recipes that I would like literally go through all the steps because I really like adding texture to a story. So I want the smells and the tastes like I want you to feel like you're there. But I also really wanted to get it right. So I wrote everything and then I actually hired a chef to go through it and make sure everything was correct. And luckily I actually only made one mistake. So I was pretty proud of that. I do a lot of baking, but I made sure that it was really authentic to what it was.

Jordan 18:28

Yeah, you did

Devonnie 18:29

at you. You, and it shows. It really does show. You did a great job there. So now that we've talked about what the Crown Prophecy is about, who our characters are, what's at stake here, the food. What's the process of publishing been like for you? So like we know it's not officially out yet, but you've had to get to quite a few steps to get to it coming out at the end of this month. So yeah. Walk us through what it's been like for you, especially being an indie author. Like how has that process been?

Meg 19:01

Gosh, it has been crazy. And there's so many things that I wish I could go back and tell myself a year ago. I actually started the traditional querying process and went through that whole thing. And I actually was lucky enough to get a lot of interest from agents and from smaller publishing houses, I think partially because I do have a social media following since that's my job. But ultimately the wall that I ran into is nobody. is really willing to take on the financial risk of a duology for a debut novel, and I just felt like I couldn't do Coen and Evander's story justice in one book. I don't really read standalones. I, especially for fantasy, I'm like, it kind of has to be a series. So ultimately, I actually pulled all of my submissions from the people who were considering the full manuscript who had requested it, and decided to go the self publishing route, which. is scary and a lot of work, but ultimately I think it was the right decision for the story and I'm really excited to get to write another one because I can do that. I'm giving myself permission.

Jordan 20:00

Wow. You're way to go. You're so brave. Look

Devonnie 20:04

Yeah.

Jordan 20:04

I mean,

Meg 20:05

it scared. I'm doing it scared.

Jordan 20:07

amazing though. I love that

Devonnie 20:10

my motto. I do love that. Especially because so many people think that once you start querying, like that's the end all be all, like you have to wait for someone to accept you, whether you get rejections or people's interests, like that doesn't have to be the end. You can literally say, you know what, this is not right for this story because that's the truth. You may write another book that you're like, okay, yeah. Fine, I'll give it to a traditional publisher, but like knowing that you're sticking to the story that you have in your head and Quinn and Evander's story just makes it so much more wholesome that you're doing this for this book, for the characters and for how you want that to reach your readers. So that's really impressive. You see what I'm saying about the mixing words? That's really impressive. I'm so proud of you.

Meg 20:58

Oh, I am blushing. Yeah, I didn't want to nerf half the story. I was like, this is not I don't want to water it down. I don't want to nerf half the story just to get this out in the world. So, I just decided to do it. And I'm really excited about how it's turned out. I've had, of course, hired lots of help along the way. Editors and cover designers and all that. But it's been definitely a growing process of learning. I mean, even just the file formatting, I had no idea. How much I would get hung up in file formatting like it's nuts, but we did it. We're there. It's available for pre order So we got there eventually

Jordan 21:32

Oh,

Devonnie 21:32

Yes, y'all heard that right out right now. Pause the episode pause it quickly. Hurry up. We'll wait Okay, go pre order hurry up and come back.

Meg 21:42

Amazon target Barnes Noble signed copies at my website.

Devonnie 21:47

Yeah. I need a physical. I need a barnes and noble I love that. I just that just caught up to me.

Jordan 21:53

I have to say, I did see there's a giveaway on Goodreads.

Devonnie 21:57

I've already

Meg 21:58

ooh, you

Devonnie 21:59

i've already submitted

Jordan 22:00

go follow,

Meg 22:02

send it to you guys. Let me send you the

Jordan 22:03

No, I want to pay for, I want to

Devonnie 22:05

We're gonna buy it yeah, we're gonna

Jordan 22:08

to buy it. And then at the next event, I want you to sign it.

Devonnie 22:12

Yes,

Meg 22:12

my goodness

Jordan 22:13

So I want to buy it because I want, I mean, of course, if you want to send if you do special editions in the future, I'll let you send me that. But for now, I want to give you what you are owed.

Devonnie 22:24

What you deserve.

Jordan 22:25

me, yes, what you deserve. You put so much into this. I really appreciate you wanting to send it.

Devonnie 22:31

Yes.

Jordan 22:32

I will accept the payment in form of a signature later

Meg 22:35

know what I'll bring you to at the next event is I'm developing Quinn's cardamom button candles. So I will bring you guys the candles. Actually my YouTube manager used to do candle making and she and I are working on it together. And I was like, I'm going to put them for sale or anything, but I'm just sending them with the arcs. So I'll bring you guys.

Devonnie 22:52

Are

Jordan 22:52

I will also accept

Devonnie 22:53

for the ARCs?

Meg 22:54

I am very small only to a handful of influencers, but I wanted to

Jordan 22:59

Oh, okay. That's

Meg 23:01

it's, I wanted to do it big. I'll bring you all the stuff. It's really, it's cute. It's like I've got like a crown and character art and a candle and a bug.

Jordan 23:12

Okay.

Devonnie 23:13

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Meg, which way shift to your right a little bit. Just move to your right for me. I noticed the That's the book!

Meg 23:22

it's sitting

Devonnie 23:23

I know, I just, I literally just looked beyond you and I was like, wait a minute I spy with my little eye. Oh, that is so cute. I love that you have it right there. Yeah, I'm so proud of you. Honestly, I'm just so happy. See, this is honestly, okay, rant, rant coming in. Sound, sound the bells in the sirens. Jordan.

Jordan 23:40

Sound the

Devonnie 23:40

you. Yeah, I love supporting indie authors, whether you start indie and like launch into like trad publishing or you remain in the whole time. I love supporting indie authors because this is it. This is the vibe. Okay. The excitement, the community, like those are my Favorite but yes, I'm like I'm really excited. I'm really excited and I'm so grateful that you're here to share and talk about this journey with us. Like I, I just love it. I love getting the behind the scenes. I just love learning about the processing and knowing like what it takes to get the book that I'm reading in front of me. And I am obsessed with arcs. Give me an advanced reader, anything. Give me something before everybody else. And yeah, I love

Meg 24:24

got you,

Devonnie 24:25

so excited. Yeah. Well, you gave it to me already. Like I have

Meg 24:29

but I gave you the e book. Let me give you the fun little

Devonnie 24:33

I'm buying this

Jordan 24:33

to give in. Maybe we, I, yeah.

Devonnie 24:35

I know she keeps saying she's gonna send it to us, right?

Meg 24:37

Everyone needs another crown, I think.

Devonnie 24:41

Oh

Jordan 24:41

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah,

Devonnie 24:43

I love that. That's like a life message. Wow

Meg 24:47

Ooh, yeah, deeper than I meant.

The Writing Process

Devonnie 24:48

yeah Okay, so yes moving along

Jordan 24:56

I do have a question. So, you said you've been working on this book for a long time, right? This was your own project. So, do you see the whole story before you write it? Do you kind of make it up as you write it? What is your process like? of plotting wise, like how does that story form for you?

Devonnie 25:17

good

Meg 25:17

Oh, okay. I gotta do this without giving away any spoilers because I am a climax first kind of girly.

Jordan 25:25

me too.

Devonnie 25:26

are we all

Meg 25:27

Oh my god! Shout out to Peyton! Oh

Jordan 25:33

sorry. Without giving it away, you see the whole, like, how do you see the story?

Meg 25:37

So, the like, main conflict came to me first. And that was the scene that I just couldn't get out of my head. And I kind of plotted around it. I like to use this writing app called Motif. It's new ish. I think it only came out like a year or two ago. But it's really incredible because it's you So you can go in and you can choose, okay, do I want to do save the cat? Do I want to do hear a journey? Do I want to do 3x structure, 5x structure, whatever, and then it will give you the blocks to like outline in that structure, which I think is really incredible. And you can like literally just go through and fill it in. And then I write chronologically. I have to write start to end. I can't jump around scenes the way that some people can. I just can't hold that in my head. But yeah, I this one in particular, I did the five act structure. And I already have the next one plotted out, which is exciting. I got my little stack of note cards, and I'm excited to dive into it. I'll probably do another writing challenge at some point at the end of this year to just kind of jumpstart me.

Jordan 26:34

Okay. Okay, good. Because I have questions.

Meg 26:38

I want to know all your

Jordan 26:39

I need to know if they get answered in the next book. And if not, I need you to add it because I need to know. So.

Meg 26:47

I'm excited!

Devonnie 26:49

I am. I'm actually writing down the app you just mentioned because I know about motif, but I've never used it. And I think I might write the same way as you. And that would be really helpful because I use Scrivener and plotter, but

Meg 27:02

okay. Scrivener's also great. I just really Motif.

Jordan 27:05

So if anyone doesn't know,

Devonnie 27:07

Thank you.

Jordan 27:08

Dev, if anyone doesn't know already, if you haven't caught it, Dev already has a book of poetry that's out in the world. So one, go get that. Just to help support her. Ah,

Devonnie 27:20

Hey, shut up

Meg 27:21

I literally, it's upstairs in my room right now, I literally bought it right after the meetup.

Jordan 27:26

I see. We love her. Yeah. And, but for, to add onto that, Dev is working. She, yeah, I'll give her a moment. Dev is also,

Meg 27:35

we have beef now.

Devonnie 27:41

Like that is so sweet. Thank you.

Meg 27:42

Oh no, now I'm making you cry. Okay, wait, now we don't have beef. I'm sorry, I take it

Devonnie 27:45

to keep

Jordan 27:48

but

Devonnie 27:49

talking.

Jordan 27:50

Dev is, I'm going to hype you up some more. Dev is also working on her own romance novel right now.

Meg 27:58

Know

Jordan 27:58

deep in the trenches of it. She's started other ones in the past, and then this one came to her as a series, and she has been in it, it's really fun to hear about her characters too, so, that's why I like asking you, Meg, about, like, how you view this, cause as someone that's never written outside of school, or having students write it, as a teacher it's so interesting to me to hear how different authors See their characters or their world like what comes and so with that adding on to that makes you saw the conflict was it more like the characters were more clear or the world was more clear because this is a fantasy world So like how did you flesh out the world? Was it just like obvious to you or were you like did you kind of have to figure some parts out?

Meg 28:45

I definitely had to figure some parts out and some things about the big thing in this book for me is secrets, and who knows what and when do they know it. And so the biggest struggle for me as I went through writing this was figuring out When certain things get revealed to the audience and when they get revealed to the characters and many rewrites of okay, well, he knows this here, but he doesn't know it here. And then changing it around and making it later to build the fence. One thing that I really liked doing was in motif. You can do these character pages and also settings and objects. And they have these like templates where you put in like the character's name and then you can do they have like different, like almost think of them like cards and it'll be like, okay, physical appearance and it'll be like childhood wound or whatever. And so I did that for all my characters, all of my settings, all of my like important spoilers, but. You probably can guess what those are. And it slowly came together, but I will say that the last draft is very different than the first draft.

Jordan 29:45

You thought about croissants, didn't you? You thought about croissants, didn't you?

Meg 29:48

rolling pin! Oh no. The rolling pin that she threatens to hit him with, cause she

Jordan 30:07

No, no comment. No comment.

Meg 30:10

my gosh.

Jordan 30:12

Book two, use a rolling pin. She's writing

Devonnie 30:14

Right, right, right. Just, yeah, I love that. And so there is something about I do want to know, similar to your plotting process the characters, do any of them are any of these characters based on real people or you it's really easy as authors for us to put ourselves into the work, but Are these characters actually based on anyone, you know, or like parts of you or are they just like fully made up? Like you were like, oh, yeah, that sounds nice.

Meg 30:43

They're fully made up. I mean there's definitely, I think you can't help but put parts of yourself into the main character and especially I think that Quinn is neurodivergent because I'm neurodivergent and it just happened and so I see things in the writing where she Does things like forgetting to turn the oven off or she's impulsive and blurts something out and over shares. Yeah. And I'm like, I, you also have ADHD because that's how my brain works and I wrote it like it's in first person. So it's like I wrote your brain. So I think in that sense, like there's definitely parts of yourself that will always make it into your main character, but it's largely fictional.

Devonnie 31:20

yeah, okay

Meg 31:22

I will say my one accidental oopsie was I had like almost finished writing the book and then my son, who's four, got really into Phineas and Ferb and I was watching Phineas and Ferb with him and Doofenshmirtz's daughter, Vanessa, looks exactly like Vanessa in my book and I was like, oh no. And I kept it because I was like, well, oops.

Devonnie 31:43

That's actually so hilarious because vanessa so far is like one of my favorite characters I just i've had cut dry like just dry and like just like it is what it is Yeah, like

Meg 31:53

I love her. I have a soft spot for her.

Jordan 31:56

love her.

Devonnie 31:57

Yeah,

Meg 31:58

collect.

Devonnie 32:00

give that in a way, but I hope she's there forever Hope you're not

Meg 32:04

I say

Devonnie 32:04

off

Meg 32:05

I say nothing.

Devonnie 32:07

Okay. Well, surprise. What time is it, Jordan? I love

This or That Game

Jordan 32:18

So we are, in case you have not listened to a previous interview. we play this or that with our guests, so we're gonna rapid fire questions. And all of these are in relation to the romance genre. So your personal preference is not necessarily what you write, but just what you

Devonnie 32:37

As a reader.

Meg 32:38

Oh, okay. I'm so indecisive, but I will try my best

Jordan 32:41

okay, just the first thing that comes to your mind. And you can love both of them. It doesn't mean you dislike the other one,

Devonnie 32:46

Yes.

Jordan 32:47

everybody. She's not hating on anything.

Meg 32:50

The internet gets confused about that sometimes.

Devonnie 32:52

Yes,

Jordan 32:53

I'll start and then I'll have Dev do the last bit. Okay. In your romance, contemporary or fantasy?

Meg 33:00

Fantasy.

Jordan 33:02

One bed or who did this to you?

Meg 33:05

Who did this to you?

Jordan 33:06

Yeah. Audio or physical?

Meg 33:09

Physical.

Jordan 33:11

Small town or sports romance?

Meg 33:14

Ooh, sports.

Jordan 33:17

Okay. Surprising. I like it.

Meg 33:19

Romance.

Jordan 33:20

I know. They're so

Devonnie 33:21

Yeah, can't we all?

Jordan 33:24

or series?

Meg 33:26

Series.

Jordan 33:27

Yeah. Dev, take it away.

Devonnie 33:28

yep paperback or hardcover.

Meg 33:33

cover but with the dust jacket off.

Jordan 33:35

Yes.

Devonnie 33:36

Oh, I like

Jordan 33:37

correct answer.

Devonnie 33:38

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, of course second chance or friends to lovers

Meg 33:42

Friends to lovers.

Devonnie 33:45

Okay, we're reading. We're relaxed our beverage choice. Is it hot or iced? Yeah, correct answer. Okay. Discrete cover or cartoon cover?

Meg 34:00

Discreet.

Devonnie 34:02

Yeah, I feel that. I feel that. Sometimes I don't want to be too upfront, you know? I want to have a little mystery. I like that. Okay.

Jordan 34:09

They look, it's a

Devonnie 34:10

Yeah. Yeah,

Meg 34:10

I haven't seen a fantasy cartoon cover do it super well, and I mostly read fantasy, so that skews my

Devonnie 34:15

Oh that is true. And that's fair. Yeah. Okay. Last one. I'm not giving you any time to think about this. Quick! Name your top three book boyfriends!

Meg 34:22

Oh god. Draco. Oh. Aaron and Rhysand.

Jordan 34:27

Yeah!

Meg 34:28

Oh god, I said Rhysand! Rhysand! I know

Jordan 34:31

Can we please have the Sarah J. Maas, can we have the Maas first please come for her now? Just

Devonnie 34:37

Yeah, for rice and

Meg 34:39

Okay, but you know what, I do say Manon, and I also get absolutely mocked for that, even though it is in the pronunciation guide.

Devonnie 34:46

no, it is Manon. It is Manon. Yeah. Manon and up.

Jordan 34:52

Manamana.

Meg 34:53

Do!

Devonnie 34:54

It's the worst name ever, but it Manon is correct. So all of you calling her Manon, unfortunately, my loves you're wrong. Okay.

Jordan 35:01

But also if it's in your brain, who cares?

Devonnie 35:05

I care.

Jordan 35:07

Well, I mean, yeah, I do when I hear it. Irks me. It's like gif or jif. It's not a jif. This is not peanut butter.

Devonnie 35:14

I hate when people say Jif. No, I don't say Jif. Cause Jif immediately takes me to Jiffy. Or, what's the cord bread?

Jordan 35:22

No, Jiffy.

Devonnie 35:23

right out of the conversation.

Jordan 35:24

that's the peanut butter.

Meg 35:25

Graphics, interchange, format. Graphics is, it's not draftics.

Devonnie 35:31

Yeah. No.

Meg 35:32

Okay, but now I'm being hypocritical. No, but that's what it would be if it was GIF. It would have, the acronym would have to start with a J, which

Jordan 35:41

Ignorant sluts. Ignorant

Devonnie 35:43

We're going to listen to you because you've got the degree. You've got the degree. So, whatever you say, babe. Yeah, I'm down. Okay.

Meg 35:50

I say ReSan. No, I'm just kidding.

Devonnie 35:52

Yeah

Meg 35:52

I did not say that.

Jordan 35:55

Oh, that

Devonnie 35:56

I love that's like this or that is always like one of my favorite parts of the interview because like we can really see when people like freak out because they don't know. Oh god What's my answer?

Meg 36:04

Yeah, that was stressful.

Devonnie 36:06

us. And yeah, it

Jordan 36:07

You had it. That was pretty good That was the fastest we've heard so far. We had one

Devonnie 36:10

I think

Jordan 36:11

to answer. So I mean that was really good

Devonnie 36:13

Yeah. So you did great. So far you're, you killed this or that.

Jordan 36:19

So But then I'm curious, so you said is that what you mostly read then also? Is it mostly just fantasy, like fantasy,

Meg 36:26

I'd

Jordan 36:27

like what do you mostly read?

Meg 36:29

read 90 percent romanticy. And I have since I was a kid. I mean, when I was a kid it was fantasy. I used to read a lot of Dragon stuff, so. Iron Flame and Fourth Wing are like, right up my alley. But yeah, I mostly read fantasy. I've dabbled in contemporary romance. I've read some Emily Henry, but I don't know. I just, there's something Where it's if I wanted to read about having to charge my cell phone, I would just go live my life, you know? The mundane things. I'm like, I want to read about people whose problems are like, a cryptic prophecy, or how to mount a dragon without falling off.

Devonnie 37:01

Yeah. Yeah.

Jordan 37:03

I love it where there's no wrong

Devonnie 37:05

love that.

Jordan 37:06

Where there's no wrong answers. You can

Meg 37:07

Yeah.

Devonnie 37:08

I

Jordan 37:08

I love that description. Once again, you pass. Good job. You're winning right now.

Devonnie 37:14

You're killing it, Meg. You're killing it.

Jordan 37:16

Who are some of your favorite fantasy authors then? What are your like, right now, kind of your following must read?

Meg 37:24

Okay, so I have to drop an indie author first. Katie Wismer, who wrote the Marionette series. Absolutely fantastic, if you haven't read it. It's on Kindle Unlimited. It is so good. It's a vampire one, which isn't typically my cup of tea, but her Stuff is so good. And also maybe Katie Wismer? Wismer? I hope I'm saying it right. But her books are so good. I love Carrie Menescalco. I love Rebecca Yaros, obviously. Sarah J Maas. Anything that's like a good Dermine y fanfic. We all know that Sen Lin Yu is like, queen. So those would be the first ones that come to mind.

Devonnie 38:01

yeah, I love that. That's a good range too. And I love that you include the AO3 fanfic stuff because people don't forget to read your fanfics. I am guilty. I, Christina has sent me so many fanfics that she thinks I would love. And when I tell you, I've cracked them open and haven't gotten like too into them. And not because I'm not into them, but I just forget that they exist. So yeah, I love that you're shouting that out because we all definitely need to support our fanfics. Authors, because they are doing big things.

Jordan 38:30

Hey, Sarah J Maas started as fanfic, so,

Devonnie 38:33

Correct.

Jordan 38:34

on Wattpad, or she started her

Devonnie 38:36

She was just

Meg 38:36

Yeah, when she was like, 16, I think.

Jordan 38:38

yeah, go find, I mean, you never know whose work you'll later see,

Devonnie 38:44

See,

Jordan 38:45

and center in Barnes Noble just go find it. Be the person to find it.

Meg 38:50

sure read fanfic that is way better than some of the most highly anticipated tribe published novels that have come out this year. For

Jordan 38:58

Oh, absolutely. I've read some of the stuff, I'm like,

Meg 39:01

Because there's no limits. There's no bounds. They're not writing to market or to sell and I think that a lot of times that comes through more authentic and like cuts to the core of it rather than okay, what is what can I put in my query letter? That's going to make it seem interesting.

Devonnie 39:15

Yeah. They're writing just for the story and just to get that story out to people. That, that reads different. Okay, with everything you've read this year, What has been your favorite read?

Meg 39:27

Oh

Jordan 39:27

or top, whatever you have to

Devonnie 39:30

Yeah, if you have a top three, I won't deny

Meg 39:33

Oh gosh. Okay. Okay. Should I do a, an indie, a trad pub and a fanfic?

Jordan 39:38

Sure.

Meg 39:39

Give us a good

Devonnie 39:40

Yes.

Jordan 39:41

girl did her homework. I just,

Devonnie 39:42

Yeah.

Meg 39:43

For indie, I have to go with the last book in the marionette series, which I believe is Ruthless Ends. That one is incredible. I think it actually came out at the end of last year, but. For Trad Published, I really like The Honey Witch by Sidney Shields.

Devonnie 40:02

Oh, okay.

Meg 40:03

And then fan sake, I'm gonna say an oldie buddy. Good, but a goodie. It was new to me. Rosemary for remembrance?

Devonnie 40:09

Okay.

Jordan 40:10

Yeah, she's of course it was

Devonnie 40:12

Right.

Meg 40:12

it was. I told you I'm in a phase. I have a DH, adhd. I'm in my hyper fixation era.

Jordan 40:17

no, I sometimes wonder if I'm undiagnosed because

Devonnie 40:19

Yeah, so I feel like

Jordan 40:22

weird I'm, not a neurodivergent, but I do all those things too weird

Meg 40:26

Yeah. TikTok. TikTok figured it out before I did. I will say that.

Jordan 40:30

Yeah, I

Meg 40:31

My algorithm

Jordan 40:31

that to my husband and he's yeah, honey. Yeah you yeah,

Devonnie 40:34

Yeah, you might be I know my son has autism and his dad is always looking at me like you too

Meg 40:43

Touch of the Chisholm.

Devonnie 40:45

If this thing is genetic if it's coming from people if one of us gave it to him you, babe. So yeah, I'm down. I love it. Hey, we just think a little differently, you know? But yeah, I love that. Thank you for sharing. I love that you also did your homework enough to Share three different things. Like you're just, Oh, I could kiss you. That's perfect. Love that. So yeah, that, and that's good. Cause you've just also given like our listeners three recs. So appreciate that. Thank you.

Meg's Future Projects

Jordan 41:14

Moving forward, you said you have the second one. This is going to be a duology because that was one of my questions. Like going into this, I didn't actually know, I almost, okay, I was at the, I think it was 48 percent and I remember thinking, You Is this gonna wrap up in this book? I was like, I should reach out to Mike. No, I want to be surprised. Is this gonna be cliffhanger or not? I don't know. I'm gonna wait and see. I decided just to be shooketh, and I was. So, this is gonna be a duology. You said you have it all mapped out. You're ready to go. You're ready to write. Do you already see yourself continuing with the doing something new? Do you see do you have ideas or are you just going to focus on the next book and then you want to come up with fresh ideas? Like, where is, where are you going with the writing career?

Meg 42:02

I love that question. I definitely have a million ideas. I have three or four specifically that I feel are fleshed out enough that I could sit down and start. To write them nothing that's plotted out the way that the second one in duology is. One concept that I would love to play around with one day, and who knows if I'll write it or not, but I would love to do fourth wing but for the coquette girlies and it's all Pegasus. I think that would

Devonnie 42:25

actually so cute. That is actually so cute and cozy.

Meg 42:29

I think that would be really fun, but I would like to stay in the realm of cozy but still high stakes.

Devonnie 42:34

Okay. All right. So like cozy, that's like your niche. That's where you like to write in.

Meg 42:40

I'm a cottagecore girly, so you write what you know. And I just, I have too many grandma hobbies for them to not make it into my books. Oh

More Crown Prophecy Details

Jordan 42:46

Like we said earlier, It comes through that you know what you're talking about like with the things that are relatable in a fantasy world Do you know what I mean? Like that's the thing about this Because you feel at home in a world that isn't your own. Because of the way you write the things that people are familiar with, even if they don't know the whole process, they're like, Oh, yeah, I understand this all. So, yeah, I mean,

Meg 43:10

Please go put that on Goodreads.

Jordan 43:12

That was a good one, right? That was a good way to

Meg 43:14

That was a beautiful, yeah, wordsmith over here.

Jordan 43:18

It happens every once in a while. I

Devonnie 43:20

no, but Jordan's right. You are so descriptive. Like you feel like you're there at my, one of my favorite scenes. Well, you know, I'm not too far into it. Like I'm only at the halfway point. So aside from all the kitchen scenes, cause I love those, but When Quinn is going through the market and she's describing like the vendors and like the different stalls and the wielders and what they're doing, that's one of my favorite things. Because as I was reading that I could literally picture it. And I know that some readers have a hard time imagining what they're seeing, but I feel like you, Do such a great job with your writing and just painting, literally painting the scenery in a way that you can, you feel like you're there. So that walk without getting bored, you know, like you're, it felt like I was just like, Ooh, and Oh, what's over there? And Oh look, what's down there. I don't know. It just, it was very like It felt good to read. I felt like I was there and I love when that happens in books. So yeah, you're just, I mean, I don't know. There's just something about your writing style that I really enjoy. I, like I said, I love your writer voice. I love the way you bring the words into my imagination because I have no problem picturing things. And so when I read something and it makes sense and it flows and I'm not just wait, what just happened? I really appreciate that. So you're like, you're killing it. Truly.

Meg 44:38

Gosh, thank you so much.

Jordan 44:40

I do want to, let's keep talking about the book because I can't believe I haven't said this before, because this was like the biggest thing for me when I read it.

Devonnie 44:48

Mhm, mhm.

Jordan 44:50

The relationship with her mother and I'll stick to like what we know in the beginning. Like to me, that was just as well written as like your description of the scenery and the kitchen stuff. I. I don't have that relationship with my mother, but I've seen it in people I know. I am very familiar with it and the kind of emotional manipulation and abuse, It was so well written. I think like to me that was, this is gonna sound weird, but that was my favorite relationship in the book. Not in that like I enjoyed it. Like I didn't love the relationship itself, but the way it was presented was so apt. And The way you wrote it was perfect. The complex emotions that she feels towards her mother, I think, were so well stated, and as the reader, you're frustrated, you want to say the obvious and just get out of there, but, because, That's what the emotional manipulation is, right? That's part of the web. And The feeling of still needing to feel like you owe her something or that you owe her even your existence in her life. Like it, it was so perfectly done, I think. Yeah, it was my favorite relationship in that it felt the most significant because I mean that was her mom, so I like how it wasn't swept behind as a lot of other series do and it's oh, I had this trauma from my parent. It's no, this is a real, like the biggest part of her life. And it kept being a part of a big part of her life in the story without it being the main focus. So I just think the balance you put on that was perfect. Yeah.

Meg 46:32

Thank you. I think that's the fun thing about fantasy is you get to explore real deep problems in a fantastical setting. And one of the things that I really wanted to do in this book is A, to show a main character who's a little bit older, like my MC is not a teenager. And to show someone who's struggling with breaking generational trauma because I think so many people out there have that mother wound. And, you know, it's people joke about it in fantasy books, like one parent's always dead. Or you know, you've got like evil stepmother vibes, but it's often so much more nuanced than that. And I wanted to explore that in a fantasy setting. And show how, you know, The way that people love us doesn't equate to our worth, but it can help us to become the most powerful and idealized version of ourselves.

Devonnie 47:20

I like Jordan said I agree because I even messaged Jordan. I was like, I can't stand the mom. I was like I can't stand her.

Jordan 47:27

I had to be like, Dev, that's the point. You're not supposed to like her. No one's rooting for the mom. No one's

Meg 47:34

Listen, man, some of the time I was writing her, I was so mad at my fingers for what I was writing, but I was like,

Jordan 47:41

But it was a perfect representation of an emotionally manipulative person. It was, I

Meg 47:50

She gaslights the heck out of her.

Jordan 47:52

Absolutely every decision throughout the day is Bracing herself for the consequence of that and weighing if I do this I'll face this is this action worth what I'll face later like constantly that is it was the perfect representation of that manipulation and Yeah, Dev has to finish like all of you have to go finish this book so we can talk more in depth about

Meg 48:17

I know, spoiler, there's so many spoilers,

Jordan 48:19

I know

Devonnie 48:21

Don't spoil it for me. I'll be done tonight. Hopefully if not tomorrow morning. But yeah, I know I'm going to finish. Okay. I can't, I'm excited.

Jordan 48:31

But quick talk about the smut

Devonnie 48:33

Yeah. I will say I have not reached any smut, so don't give away too much.

Jordan 48:40

never mind

Meg 48:41

halfway through. We love a slow burn.

Devonnie 48:45

Yeah. They, where I have been, they have kissed. So that's like a thing that has happened, but they've done nothing else. So don't give it away for

Jordan 48:54

The kiss and runaway. The kiss and

Devonnie 48:56

Yeah, you know, I text Jordan. I said, did she turn the oven off?

Jordan 49:01

goes, no, she's is the whole kitchen on fire right now? She's is there a giant fire?

Meg 49:08

End of novel, The Castle Burndown, the end.

Devonnie 49:13

I was like this girl burnt her tart and then took off after a kiss. You don't get your ass back in this kitchen and turn this oven off with this burnt tarts.

Meg 49:22

Look, he's a grown man. He can see what's in front of him. He can fix the

Devonnie 49:25

Right. Yeah. And he did end up washing the dishes. That's not

Jordan 49:29

yeah, that was so cute. That was so cute.

Devonnie 49:32

was so, I was like, oh, what a man. I love that. Yeah.

Meg 49:38

That was a fun one to write.

Devonnie 49:39

That was very tender. Very nice. I like

Meg 49:41

So you said talk about the smut. What do you want to know?

Jordan 49:44

Oh no, I was just trying to change the subject away from the seriousness. I was

Meg 49:47

Oh yeah.

Jordan 49:48

I don't need to know anything other than more.

Devonnie 49:53

Jordan's

Meg 49:53

it's open door.

Jordan 49:55

No,

Meg 49:55

It's open door. It's

Jordan 49:56

know what it is. No, I

Meg 49:57

vanilla, but it's open door.

Devonnie 50:01

Okay. Okay. I love open door. Ha.

Jordan 50:06

it open. Just keep it

Meg 50:08

That's

Devonnie 50:09

good. And that's good for

Meg 50:10

things about publishing. It's oh god, anyone I know who reads this is gonna know that I wrote it.

Devonnie 50:16

Yeah. That's

Meg 50:18

That's a complicated feeling. My mother in law actually helped me with some of my coffee editing.

Jordan 50:22

Oh, I saw that in your the afterwards notes. I saw that and I was

Meg 50:25

She was my final grammar check, but I literally turned all the text to white in the five or six more smutty scenes that there are. And I was like, don't read this. Your son is my husband. Do not. Please. I'm gonna walk into traffic if you read this. So if there's an extra comma in the smut, that's why. Horrifying.

Jordan 50:43

that's hilarious because I can, I'm not a writer, but like I said in past episodes I found out my dad listens to all of these.

Devonnie 50:52

He does. I'm sure he's listening to this one.

Jordan 50:55

And also though, I can see where people listen, so shout out to my mother in law. I'm pretty sure you're secretly listening to these. Hey, Lorelai, what's up?

Meg 51:08

She's

Devonnie 51:08

Oh my gosh. I know Jordan. You have to tell me where everyone's listening. Cause I wonder if my family's listening. I have an aunt who she supports everything I do.

Jordan 51:16

Where's she at? Where's she

Devonnie 51:18

She's in Jamaica. So if you have

Jordan 51:20

I don't think we do much. I don't think we do.

Devonnie 51:23

I'm happy because that's really where the fear. If any, if we ever get a pop

Jordan 51:27

We have New York, but not

Devonnie 51:29

I will. New York is also terrifying. Cause

Jordan 51:31

you also never know. Yeah, that's

Devonnie 51:33

that's suspicious.

Jordan 51:34

An old

Devonnie 51:35

but yeah, right. Well, so that's just wants to hear my voice. Well, suck it. You're lost. Get out of here. Scram. Yeah. Oh my gosh. No, this is so fun. Okay. So Crown Prophecy is coming out October 28th. Know that it will be a duology. So maybe a cliffhanger like you guys know, like I've said a million times so far. I have not finished it. So if it is a cliffhanger, make sure you stay tuned. Follow Meg

Jordan 52:05

it, I'd call it a soft cliffhanger. You want to know what happens next, but it's not like we're actively dangling from a ledge.

Devonnie 52:13

okay. Okay. That

Jordan 52:14

that's, Meg, how do you feel about that? That's how I feel like it is. It's it's a cliffhanger. You want to know more, but also you're not literally with an axe

Meg 52:22

There's a lot of stuff that's unresolved.

Jordan 52:26

Ha

Meg 52:27

But yeah, I mean, I did the the cliche writer thing of the last four words.

Jordan 52:32

ha, yeah,

Meg 52:32

last four words, or like they, I remember them talking about this when the Gilmore Girls revival came out. And it was like, Mom, what? You know, and then insert the line, I don't want to spoil it. I mean, presumably people have seen it by now. But yeah there's a lot of unresolved stuff, a lot of open plot lines, but I, it's, it doesn't stop at the climax, if that makes sense.

Devonnie 52:49

Okay.

Jordan 52:50

don't stop there,

Devonnie 52:51

Yeah. Jordan.

Meg 52:55

That one's just kind of a soft, ugh.

Devonnie 52:58

And now we walk by it. We're just gonna walk by it like it's just laying on the street, okay?

Jordan 53:03

Talking about it, not me. That's fine.

Devonnie 53:08

Guys, I had a Pinot Noir. This is my first wine in like months, so please bear with me.

Closing

Jordan 53:13

Before we close out, Meg, If there was, like, One or two things you want people to know about your book short, sweet, What would you want them to know? And then after that, also make sure to drop your socials.

Devonnie 53:27

Socials? Yes.

Meg 53:29

Ooh, okay. I would say that this is the perfect cozy read if you get bored by cozy reads. And you want something a little more, but you want something atmospheric. If you want a protagonist who is not a teenager, who is dealing with generational trauma who is a little bit of a hothead and maybe doesn't know when to shut her mouth and a dark haired love interest who is snarky and flirty and honestly a little bit selfish. This is the book for you. Gosh, I'm trying to think. I think I said, I think I said all the tropes. We do have a, we do have a few side couples it's Oh, what's the word that I'm trying to think of right now? The opposite of heteronormative. Queernormative. It's a queernormative world. So there is some representation in there. Oh, Dev just put it together. Oh

Devonnie 54:16

Yeah.

Meg 54:17

watched it happen on her face. Yeah.

Devonnie 54:24

Okay. Sorry. I'm excited. Okay.

Jordan 54:26

she feels validated.

Devonnie 54:27

Yeah,

Meg 54:28

Yeah you figured it out. Yeah, and I just, I hope that this story finds the right people, the people who need it, and the people who it will speak to. There is another one coming, so you can follow me on YouTube. com slash Megan Acuna or Instagram. com slash Meg dot Acuna. And thecrownprophecy. com if you want more news and updates.

Jordan 54:49

Thank you so much, Meg. And bye! Thanks for listening to us ramble about The Crown Prophecy by Meg Acuna. Whoo! If you're looking for more Romance Recs, be sure to follow us on Instagram and TikTok and over in Discord at Romance Recs Pod. You can find our favorite book Recs from our episodes as well as behind the scenes content. And now, Interviews. Again, that's at romancerecspod, so make sure to give us a follow, and we'll be back next week. With another episode. Thanks. And thank you Meg. Again. A thousand times over. Heh

Meg 55:34

Bye!