Alice Feeney Is Barely Famous

Alice Feeney Is Barely Famous

January 17, 2025 1h 4m Explicit

This week Kail sits down with Alice Feeney on the launch day of her latest release Beautiful Ugly. She got insight into how she writes her iconic novels, what is the inspiration behind her dark and twisty stories AND we found out which of her books is coming to the big screen! 

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Full Transcript

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Things are going to get weird. It's your fave

villain, Kale Lowry. And you're listening to Barely Famous Podcast.
Thank you for being here. Thank you so much for having me.
And you said this was your first podcast. Yes.
This is your first podcast. I'm very excited about that.
I have been so immersed into the book world that I'm so excited that you agreed to come on I just think it's a great podcast I listened it's the first podcast I've listened to all the way through I was hooked I thought I have been missing out I'm basically an old lady trapped in a slightly younger woman's body and um this book I've been doing all this time this is the place to be it's better late than never right So we're here to talk about Beautiful Ugly, your new book. And this book I've been doing all this time.
This is the place to be. It's better late than never, right? Definitely.
So we're here to talk about Beautiful Ugly, your new book. And if you're going to get this on Amazon, you're going to have to pre-order it for the next launch because it's sold out.
Yes, it's sold out already. I can't believe it.
It's launch day. Yes.
One day in. What an amazing problem to have.
What a lovely problem to have. How do you feel? I'm so excited.
This book was so long in the making and i loved writing this one you know i've written seven i've had seven books published now i've written a few more that have not been published um but for it to finally be out in the world just feels like magic and i love that readers can finally enjoy this story about grady green honestly though the i even if i didn't have you here today i would have bought this book solely for the cover because the cover is stunning and it has like a little a little um shimmer to it I absolutely love it I love the little like rip through here I think it's so good they've done such a terrific job I love it and I love that this is the first time I have the same cover everywhere so the same cover in America will be be in England. It's in Australia.
It's in India. Everywhere it's the same cover coming out.
So why do you know what the reasoning is for different covers in different countries? I asked for it to be the same cover everywhere this time. Oh, you did? Because I just fell in love with it.
It was designed for the American cover. And I thought it was so perfect for the book.
So beautiful. So not ugly at all, actually, for a book called Beautiful, Ugly, just beautiful.
And I thought it'd be fun to have the same cover everywhere this time around. And I love actually seeing all the different covers in different countries.
We're in 40 countries now and it's so fun. You know, a box arrives at the house and I open it like a kid at Christmas, going, oh my goodness, which one is this? But it's also really fun, I think, because so many readers now are on social media and they'll all say, oh no, I wish I could get this cover.
I wish I could get the other cover. Or if only I could have the British version.
And this time everyone can enjoy the same one and we can all share and talk about the same book. There is something special too, though, about collecting the same book from different countries.
I just never understood what the reasoning was. Or is there no rhyme or reason rhyme or reason they just do it I think people just do it I think they fall in love with a story and they want every different edition of the same story and why not it's fun seeing them all on the shelf together I absolutely love that and so do you get a say in how this gets um designed because I've talked to other authors on the podcast and they say they have nothing to do with the cover but you get get, you sort of got to say, right? Like you were like, I want the same thing across the board.
I said, I wanted the same thing this time. And I said, please, could we have foil? I think I'm secretly a magpie.
I like shiny things. And not only did they give me foil, they gave me holographic foil.
I think it's the best thing ever. I love my publishers.
So it's so pretty. And there are other pretty things inside as well.
I drew a map when I handed the book in. Every year I like to surprise them with something.
Sometimes I have little illustrations. This year I had a map and even my editor was very nice on the phone.
But she said, just to clarify, you want a map at the start of a thriller? Because normally you might find them in fantasy books. And I thought,

yes, why not? I want everyone to picture the Isle of Amberley. So they said yes,

but then they called me back and said, we'll do it, but we'll get a professional artist to do it.

So it's not your map.

It's not my version. My version is not nearly as good as the beautiful version inside the book.

So I think it was a good call. That's so funny because when my friend who you were commenting on had tap this is Emily's copy um and she tabbed it all and she's like if she could sign this one she opened it and she said is this fantasy and I said I don't think so I don't think Alice writes fantasy that I'm aware of no no I no I don't they're all quite dark and twisty I think I write sometimes the books are quite different from each other um Daisy Darker for example felt very different to this book I think if people enjoyed Rock Paper Scissors I was just about to say that I think they'll like this one I don't know if you have this same experience when you read but sometimes like you'll remember the story but maybe not always the characters names and so I was like wait a minute what so when I started reading it I was like okay if um I thought maybe Henry I forgot Henry's name and I was like wait is this the same cabin from rock paper scissors and then with the red jacket so I was like hold on so I had to go back and see but it's not the same but if you like rock paper scissors you will love beautiful ugly you will absolutely love it they've definitely got a few things definitely got a few things in common.
We've got Scotland again. It's about a writer again who disappears to Scotland.
And of course, there's a dog. And I always feel very sorry for my mother-in-law, who is one of my number one fans, because I keep writing about unhappy marriages and I'm actually very happily married.
But when I write about authors who have a black Labrador, and I have black Labrador who go to Scotland to write and I go to Scotland to write right I know that as soon as it's UK publication day she'll be on the phone saying is my son okay um so so yes it's always it's always fun when people think is she the character in this book um uh but no I'm not I'm not Grady Green but maybe some parts of you are in the characters oh yes there are definitely a few bits of me sprinkled between the pages in this one in a way that I almost didn't realize when I was writing it yeah um and it was actually only when we were doing the audiobook um which came so much later after the edits a few months gone by. I was working on another book by then.

And I was listening to Richard Armitage narrate the audiobook. And he did a terrific job, by the way.
There are parts where I feel like we've got a cast of 20 people because Richard can be an elderly Scottish woman. Richard can be a 40-year-old man.
Richard can be an East End pub landlord. And you think you're listening to it.
He's terrific. And he sounds like he's having fun when he's doing it.
But there are a few bits when I was listening to the audio book where I thought, crikey.

Yeah, that's very similar to things that have happened to me as an author.

I wonder where I got that idea from.

So there are a few bits like that.

When you walked into, you know, the space to podcast, you said something along the lines of not having an Uber in your head, right?

Like you just don't do Uber.

Oh, I don't do Uber, no.

There is no Uber on Amberley. No, I think Amberley sounds like a perfect place.
And unfortunately, it's just in my head. But it's this place where you're a little bit cut off, but in a nice way, I think.
Not everybody in the book would agree with me. Yeah, I mean, it probably sounds like my worst nightmare, not having Uber when I need it.
it I like the idea of like the quiet secluded place but it also the whole plot or I guess the setting is not too far off right like it doesn't sound so outlandish that it couldn't be true which is what I like about it and there are tiny islands in the Scottish Hebrides that are a little bit like Amberley where some of the ideas came from from, where there really is just a ferry twice a week. And if you miss it, or if there's a storm, you're not getting on and off the island.
And the same with the doctor. I remember reading about this tiny island where the doctor only visits on Tuesdays.
Imagine that you can only get ill on a Tuesday, or you're going to be in big trouble. But I love these tiny places where there's this real sense of community.

But if it's not something you're used to,

or if you're someone who's quite private,

it could be your worst nightmare

because rural community-based places that are in the middle of nowhere

are sometimes not the isolated havens that you think they are.

Everyone knows everyone and everyone knows everyone else's business

and everyone probably knows more about you than you realise.

And I think in the book if I remember correctly it's 25 people on the island yes yeah I could not imagine like it sounds good

in theory but then when you need something and you have to walk two miles or one mile to get to

the nearest road to be picked up to even get to a ferry I don't know it sounds like the perfect plot

in the perfect setting for a thriller which it it is. Yes.
So I love that. Oh, thank you.
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So you worked as a journalist before becoming an author. So what was that transition like? It was really interesting and very different.
So I went from working in the middle of the world's busiest newsroom at the BBC in London to working all day in my shed with my dog. So I had so many people that I was working with, hundreds of people within the newsroom to just me and my dog.
It was very different, but I dreamed of being an author for so long. It took me a really long time.
I spent almost 10 years writing books, sending them off, collecting multiple rejection letters. I just could not get an agent.
And sometimes the rejection letters would be really lovely. Very polite nose.
Okay, I was gonna say, what do you what is what is lovely mean? Because I feel like a no is kind of terrifying. Sometimes they would say that they liked the book, but it wasn't quite right for them.
Or they enjoyed it, but it wasn't the right book to try and launch a new author. And could I maybe send them my next book? And my favourite ever rejection came from a really lovely agent who I did not know, who I had submitted one book to, who wrote me this, I think, lovely rejection letter.
But at the end, she said, I think you can do better. And I remember feeling a little bit beaten up because, you know, rejection is also I thought well how do you know you don't know me maybe this is as good as I've got I've been trying for years to do this but something about that particular letter made me think yeah I can and I will and then I'll send another book to you and by the time I actually managed to get published she had retired that's how long it took me but she was so kind and she remembered me and she actually got in touch when I did my first deal to say I thought you'd do this one day so so it's funny how rejection sometimes can be a good thing you know it just it makes you want to try even harder to get that thing that you've always dreamed of and eventually I wrote a book called sometimes I lie and then everything changed everything changed I just read it um not too long ago but that is so interesting because I just feel like after a couple of no's I would have just said okay I guess this isn't for me but for some reason for you it just propelled you to work even harder I think I've just always had this slight obsession with stories okay even as a child sure you know if the real world felt too loud or too dark I would hide inside a book and I would read a book and I think for me even though now I'm a lot older I'm the same in that way I still hide inside a story if I think the world is too loud and for me the world is always a little bit too loud especially now so I've gone from hiding inside books by reading them to reading them and writing them but it's the same with all forms of escapism in terms of stories I love watching tv shows I love watching movies and I think we all need that sometimes just to disappear down the rabbit hole to get away from reality and that's not too far off from Grady Green because Grady Green says that he pushed away he basically pushed away all these relationships yes because he was writing yes obsessed with his books and I've definitely gone through phases in my career this is book seven for me and I've just handed in book eight um which was really scary it's always so scary handing in a new book um but I remember with his and hers in particular I spent nearly a year writing a book and then and I loved the book and then I decided that I couldn't let anybody read it there was something wrong with it and I didn't know what was wrong with it.
But I'm very secretive as an author. I don't tell anyone, even my agents, my publishers.
Nobody knows what I'm writing until I finish the book. So I sent an email to my agent.
I remember I was in Wales. I was in a horrible Airbnb.
It stank of damp. There was a terrible storm.
There were dead seals on the beach. It was a really horrible trip.
And then I sat in the window of this horrible airbnb writing an email to my agent saying I'm so sorry I feel like I've let you and everyone down I can't send the book in and he said just send it I'm sure it's not as bad as you think and I said no there's something wrong but don't worry I'm going to write another one and he said let me talk to your publishers we can push back the deadline it's going to be fine I said no no know the whole book is in my head I just need to write it I can do it in three months and um I always do three drafts before anyone reads it so I did three drafts in three months and I hit send which is as terrifying now as it was then and everyone loved the book and that book was his and hers which is my best behaved book what is best behaved um it just wrote itself um I just sat in the shed with my dog I had no social life whatsoever for three months but I got the book done and I think those are my grady green moments when everything else just stops life stops the house turns into a giant mess my hair I've curly hair. In situations like that, it grows sideways.
There'll be robins nesting in the background. So I understand Grey's obsession with when you get a story in your head and you have to write it.
So that was definitely his and hers for me. And the badly behaved book, the one I couldn't figure out how to fix, I came back to it maybe a year later and I could see what was wrong finally, but I didn't know how to fix it.
So I wrote a book called Rock, Paper, Scissors. Then I came back to the naughty one again and I read it again and now I knew how to fix it.
And the solution was really actually very simple. I just needed to delete 80,000 words.
So simple, no big deal, just 90% of the book. Yeah, I mean, my books tend to be about 80, 85.
So I had 5000 left. So that felt quite positive.
Something to work with. It was at least something to the starting point was there.
And I wrote the book again, same book, same story, same characters. This time it worked.
And that was Daisy Darker. So all of the books have behaved differently.
But you do I think as an author get a little bit obsessed with the story the characters I mean I hear them in my head they're talking to me now without wishing to sound too crazy but um yeah do you remember them oh yes they feel like family because in some ways I spend more time with the characters than I do with anyone real in my life.

They're there all the time. They wake me up at 3 a.m.
And you're like, hold on, I have to type this really quick or it's going to be out of my brain. When you said that the badly behaved one, when you said then you wrote Rock, Paper, Scissors, I thought you were going to say that Rock, Paper, Scissors was the badly behaved one.
rock paper scissors is one of my favorite um thriller suspense novels because it is so

different than any other one that I've read. Thank you.
And it was our book club of the month pick in, I think, November was last year, was obsessed with the ending because I do not like books that explain everything at the end and give you a play by play of what it is that happened. It's like you're supposed to figure that out on your own like kind of deduce down what you want and so I some people love it and some people hate it.
I loved it. I ate it up.
It was so good. Thank you.
It was it was another one where I submitted the book and this time I had little drawings at the top of the chapters. Do you remember? Yeah yeah like the little the little sketches.
Yeah. So every character had their own little drawing at the top.
That's so funny. Again, not normal for a thriller, but I like to do things a little bit differently.
No, and I love, I mean, the same thing for this because you have the little map. Yeah.
And I love it. I got the PR box from Beautiful Ugly and I about died because it has like the painting with their, not the painting, the pottery.
The pottery. And the Bob Myrtle team.
I love love my team they come up with all these brilliant fun things it's such a good idea it's like Christmas they send me these gifts they sent me a um a magic eight ball because that was in the book too I feel like I must add you know if there's something I want as a present I need to put it in the next book so that the lovely team will get it for you make up something for a press kit and send me one. That's so funny.
So for when you're describing the first book that you wrote, did you ever come back to it and publish it? The first book that you wrote, did it ever get published or would you ever go back to it to try to publish it? No, it's terrible. Is it bad? I mean, thank goodness it didn't get published.
I just think. That's so funny, though.
I talked to Frieda McFadden a couple weeks ago and she was telling me about how she had to redo an entire book she started um it was called Suicide Med and then she changed it years and years and years and years later now I told you I've only listened to one podcast that was the one that is the one so where she's talking about the but I think the but I I mean I I had to pause it and think did I misunderstand no no

I mean I just thought that was the best writer story I've ever heard ever I loved that I love that well you know all respect to her that's fantastic it's so maybe I didn't have a but I in my first book I sort of wish I did because it's a brilliant story isn't it um it's good for story yes um no it was um it was a bit too happy if I'm honest okay I think that I'm I I think I prefer writing and reading and watching quite dark and twisty stories I think I was scared of doing that okay and I think I was scared that perhaps I wasn't clever enough to do that so in all way um well I think when you're growing up for me I imagined authors as these supreme magical beings that's how I feel um you know there are these magicians of words and so although it was something I would have loved to have become I couldn't imagine how someone like me could be um and even you know people would say I even when I wanted to work for the BBC people would say you'll never work at the BBC someone how would someone like you work at the BBC so it was um there were these dreams of mine that seemed so difficult to achieve and yet I don't know I think I think there's something about me when someone tells me I can't do something it makes me really really want to do it even more and I felt like that about journalism and I felt like that about becoming an author but I was just always scared that I wasn't good enough and even just now you know very recently I submitted book eight you would think that I might have more confidence now but I don't when I send that novel in for the first time it's pure terror that I experience that I'm scared that it isn't good enough or that I might let people down because let's face it there are lots of brilliant books in the world I don't want to inflict a bad one on anybody so no no I don't think anyone would think that your books are bad I also think I mean they speak for themselves you go on Barnes & Noble and I think you you said that it's listed as a bestseller already. Yes, which is incredible.
I've never seen so far in my, you know, reading journey, I have never seen on publish day, the book be out of stock on Amazon. Yeah, it is incredible.
It blows my mind to know that there are so many people around the world reading books that I've written in my shed. Oh my hairstylist was like I cannot wait to talk about Rock Paper Scissors with you we have to talk about the ending when I see you.
Like that we're having conversations about your book. I guess I spend so much time on my own that I don't always understand what is going on in the outside world to do with the books.
I really do only come out for two or three weeks to do tour once a year and then I go back to the shed again um I'm a bit of a hermit I suppose I am a bit like Grady Green in that way too yeah but it's always a surprise you know when we go to um events and there are so many people I remember we went to an event in St. Louis a couple of years ago and we arrived and my lovely publicist Claire who is here today um said to the lady when we arrived is anyone here yet and she said yes don't worry we've already got 20 people and I thought oh thank goodness you know everyone as authors you're always scared of turning up to an event and either nobody's there or one man and his dog is there or someone turns up and it turns out really they wanted to meet Ruth Ware and they thought I was her and they're disappointed it's never happened yet but it might you never know You never know, do you? Did she comment on the book? No, I don't think she did, but we got lots of other lovely comments.
But this event where they said there's 20 people, I was so relieved. And it turned out I hadn't heard her.
She said there's already 220 people. when we walked in I was so confused I thought maybe they turned up for another author and that they'd be disappointed it was me but then they all held up my books and they really were there to see me and um and this this year we've got events where there are over 400 people coming along and I just I think it's amazing oh I bought tickets for your event as soon as I saw it I just can't believe it I said oh we're going I still sometimes think maybe this is a dream um no somebody needs to pinch you because it's very real it's very real I always remember with Sometimes I Lie my first book that was published yeah the first ever newspaper review of the book got the names in a muddle so the book was about a character called amber reynolds who is in a coma but the newspaper review the first one i'd ever seen of my writing didn't say amber reynolds it said this book is by amber reynolds and it's about alice feeney who is in a coma and i think since then i've wondered am i am i just making am i lying in a hospital room somewhere with machines keeping me because how else did I get an agent and publishers and all these wonderful things? They mixed up the names.
Yes. Yes.
Did you clip out the article? Did you have that? Oh, yes. You framed it.
I kept it anyway. It was the first one.
Yes. That's really fun.
I mean, that's just as good as Frida's story about the butt eye. Is it? Yes.
That's good. I've got to say I'm still jealous of the butt eye, but you know, you should film something for TikTok or Instagram about that.
My first ever review. Because that is funny.
I mean, at least it made it in the article, right? Yes, exactly. I mean, that's what's most important.
It's like, we're featuring the work. All publicity is good publicity, according to my publicist.
So here we are. Claire is like, this is good.
This is fine. Location, The Lab.
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From England?

Yes.

Okay, so is TikTok big over there?

Well, now, you know how we've been talking about Uber and podcasts? TikTok is a bit of a mystery to me as well. Oh, it is.
I understand what it is. It's videos on the phone.
Yeah. I did look at it once.
It made my brain melt a little bit, I thought. Yeah, it'll definitely change that you think about like shorten your attention span yes but I only bring it up because I think that book talk partially inspired me to read and so I just was gonna want I was gonna ask you about how I love that on Instagram is the one I do do a little bit I like Instagram pretty pictures I'm there for it all day long.
But sometimes people will tag things on Instagram and they'll say that it's on BookTok as well. And I know that Rock, Paper, Scissors was a book of BookTok, which sounds very fun.
Yes, it went viral. That's incredible, isn't it? Again, amazing.
Things happen. I have for my book club this BookTok sticker that I did.
That's my BookTok sticker. I'm obsessed because I'll go look for recommendations.
And if it's on book talk, then you it has to be good, right? If you thought that book talk, book talk contributed to, you know, maybe new author success or or anything like that. I know that Barnes and Noble is opening a bunch of new stores by the end of this year.
And I thought that maybe, I don't know this for sure, but maybe BookTok contribute to that a little bit. I think all reading is good reading.
Yeah, absolutely. Sometimes I think there can be some snobbery in this business.
And I think if people are reading, to me, that's fantastic. And however they can hear about books and however we can spread the word about books is also fantastic.
and I love that I have a lot of young readers um who are much cleverer at all this technical stuff

than I am but sometimes very young I was I had an event in Macedonia last year and there was a 12 year old in the audience with all of my books and came up to sign them um at the end of the event and I did wonder if 12 was a little bit a smidgen a smidgen too young perhaps to be reading my books um but then it reminded me that i used to read stephen king at that age and yeah i think i sort of turned out okay i think you turned out okay but yes it was interesting meeting that 12 year old actually changed the ending of this book um really yes in what way um i really loved her i loved her energy I loved how enthusiastic she was about all reading it makes me really happy when children are reading I get so scared that everyone is living inside screens these days including me I spend too long looking at screens for everything um so to see this kid who is so into her books and so eloquent about stories and what they meant to her and how they had helped her and changed her life just made me so happy and I was worried she might misinterpret how I wanted the ending to be read how I wanted people to feel about the women um on the island did you see me pause there to try and avoid spoilers no spoilers here it's so tricksy because I know what happens um but yeah so I did I tweaked the ending a little bit because of meeting a reader who I'm mentioning because she was talking about TikTok so clearly it's a it's a it's a big thing for young readers especially out there and I think anything that spreads the word about good books is a great thing it would be cool if 10 years from now you see her writing her own books. Yes, wouldn't it? And maybe you were the inspiration behind her.
I just, I find it so fascinating meeting people. We had our first event last night and one of the readers who came along made me a hat to match the book.
Stop. She knitted an actual beautiful, ugly hat in the same colors and things like that just blow my mind or sometimes people

turn up with lucky Kit Kats to the events which is just I've had Kit Kats from every country and

they really they all taste different so you eat them they all taste good oh yes she's like I'm

eating all the Kit Kats every time yes I absolutely love this though like I think that you are

inspiring young readers I I can't I don't know that 12 is too young.

I have an 11-year-old.

I have a 15-year-old.

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Are we allowed to talk about the Netflix? Oh, yes. Okay.
So His and Hers is going to be a Netflix movie or show? Movie show this summer. It'll be out.
The filming's all done and it'll be on our screens this summer, which is just incredibly exciting. I still can't quite believe that's true either.
I can't believe that's incredible. And I also just think that it's so nice to see all of the, you know, Hulu, Netflix wanting to do the adaptations to books now because so many people are reading these books.
We want to see them on our screens. Yes.
And sometimes you read books like I really liked this but it could be better on it on a screen yes and I mean I love it I mean I love reading books like this I love watching tv shows like this I love watching films like this I feel like I can't get enough and I think there are lots of other people out there who feel the same you know we've got this desire for some reason we're all obsessed with these dark twisty stories and we love playing the game of who did it and trying to solve the mystery. So, no, it's been a fantastic experience.
A few of my books have been optioned. But that's the first one.
This is the first one that's actually been filmed. And I got to visit the set.
And my characters, who've lived inside my head for years, came to life. And we're walking and talking.
His and Hers is the first one that you published? It was book number three. Book number three.
Book number three. It was the well-behaved one that was three months in the making.
And you were like, that's why I got option first. Yes, because it was such a well-behaved book child.
No, it's fantastic. And the TV show is actually very true to the book.
They've done the most incredible job. I think the scripts fantastic there's a twist or two in there that i wish i'd written um i sort of want to go back and do it another version because it's so clever what they've done and uh the whole cast were just fantastic um john bernthor who was in the walking dead and more recently the bear he's jack harper and i confess my eyes leaked a little bit the first time he was walking towards me because for me now he is forever Jack.
Yeah. And so to see Jack come to life and to see all these scenes where he's saying things that I wrote and oh, it was just there's nothing like it.
They were so sweet to me. It was my birthday while we were there.
Oh, stop. They made a birthday cake.
They all sang happy birthday. I really loved the school uniforms in the show for the school that's called St.
Hillary's. And I told the costume designer, the uniform is so similar to how it was in my head.
So they made me a uniform to fit me. I've got my own St.
Hillary's school uniform to take home. No, I loved it.
And they gave me a friendship, a friendship bracelet when I first arrived, which for anyone who's read the book is actually a bad sign. But I'm still here.
I'm still here. It's just for showbiz.
It's just a nice little touch. So no, I've had such a fantastic experience and I can't wait for people to see it.
So when you get optioned for a movie or a TV show, do you end up getting to choose whether it's a movie or TV show? Or is that sort of up to like, the director, based on the script, because I did have Colleen Hoover on and she was telling me how, you know, if she got a movie for one of her books, you know, you go from 300 pages to a 100 page script for a movie. And so it's a little bit different where I, and I don't know this for sure, because she didn't say that.
But for a TV show, you have a little bit more time. Yes, it's almost the other way around.
You're almost trying to expand the story in certain ways, but also find neat little ways to break it into, say, six or eight episodes. OK.
And I think my books lend themselves quite well to that because I like having lots of twists. So there are twists to choose from in terms of, you know, having a nice cliffhanger to end an episode on hopefully so the people want to watch the next one straight away but how it's always worked for me is that um the new book will go out um to the industry before it gets published and then um I've been very lucky touchwood we always seem to have quite a few people interested so I'll meet with different people and sometimes they might want to make a movie or they might want to make a tv show but um I'll always base it more on the people or the producer or the sometimes it'd been an actor who has come forward with the offer and for me I just want them to love the book and look after it the same way that I would you know the books are my children I always want them to be in safe hands so I've only ever said yes to people who I think are going to do a good job of it um and they they all have you know everyone I've worked with has just been so fantastic and we've got we've got his and hers coming out this summer but we've also got sometimes I lie in the pipeline I thought I don't if I heard that or not.
I think there's, I think there has, I always worry about what's the secret, and there's so many secrets. That's why I looked at Claire, because I don't know if it's not out yet.
No, it's okay. It's okay.
So I think we've had a press release about the early stages of that. So it's a producer called Tommy Harper, who did Top Gun Maverick.
Oh, I think I did hear this. And Wednesday, and he just did Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.
And he's working with a couple of people in the UK as well. And so that's going out soon.
So there are other things I can't say about it. But again, amazing scripts.
And all of these people have been honestly such fun to work with. It's been a really pleasant experience for me.
So so I'm all for adaptations so you said that the manuscript goes out to these the people goes out to lots of different people and if producers or actors before it hits the public yes yeah oh wow I always wondered that part because I don't know you know if sometimes the book will come out and then a show or movie won't come out for years and years. So I didn't know if it, you know, they pick it up after all the buzz that it gets.
There are so many secrets. Nobody told me before I became an author that you had to keep so many secrets.
So there is lovely, beautiful, ugly screen shape news as well that I'm not allowed to share yet, for example. But yes, I'm sure one day we're going to see Grady Green on screen too.
I can't wait if you need a can anyone to make a cameo I'm available excellent so I can be um I can be anybody you want in this book you could have a podcast perfect you could have a podcast on the on the Isle of Amberley perfect I love that idea that's so funny so I know who you are was written and well let me not say written but it was published in 2019. Will we see that on our big screens anywhere? I don't think so.
I've always said no. Okay.
I don't really know why. I just never particularly wanted to see that story on screen.
Okay. And the only other book that I've always said no to in terms of screen adaptations so far is Daisy Darker I think because I love her too much you don't want to share her with the screens Daisy honestly felt like family to me and I remember when we went to the printers I cried partly because it's such a beautiful book and I was so happy to see it finally published but also because it if you're at the printers you can't do any more edits you know it's too late yeah so I was really saying goodbye to Daisy after five years of writing her finally

and um I felt really sad about it so I think one day I hope Daisy Darker would be made into

um a tv show or a movie but it would have to be set in the UK it would have to be true very true-ish

I think to the story whereas for some of my books I think it's more about the characters and the story and you could almost set it anywhere if you wanted to um with Beautiful Ugly for me Scotland almost played a character in itself in why Scotland I think the honest truth is because I go there every year.

I'm just obsessed with the place.

I think if there's a more beautiful place in the world, I've yet to find it.

It's so unspoilt.

It's so rugged and beautiful and perfect. And you can walk for miles and miles for hours with your dog.

I am so much like Grady.

Every time I say something to you about the book, I think, oh gosh, yes, we have that in common too. But yeah, I think it's just this magical, magical place for me.
And I've had so many happy things happen to me in Scotland that I now feel like it's just linked to my writing. you know I finished writing Sometimes I Lie in Scotland and then I finally got an agent I remember being up in Scotland in a terrible snowstorm

we really shouldn't have travelled it was was so unsafe. Nobody else was on the roads.
We drove for eight hours from London up to Scotland. We ended up arriving at this very rural house that we'd rented that was honestly so creepy and in the middle of nowhere.
We went inside the house. There was no no water the pipes were frozen because of the storm uh there was no power there was nothing we thought maybe we should get back in the car the car by then was totally snowed in couldn't leave so we thought we'll make the most of it you know we'll we'll light a fire we'll open some wine this sounds like rock paper scissors yes and then just before bedtime there was a face in the window and i've never screamed so loud we were nowhere near anyone we were in the middle of a valley and in real life it was just a caretaker who came to check that we were okay because everyone thought we were crazy still going to this house when there was a terrible storm but why did they go to the window why exactly because apparently apparently he said he apparently said oh i knocked on door and you didn't hear me but I felt like I was in a horror film um but you know then my imagination turned it into rock paper scissors so again Scotland delivered this amazing story for me and I've had so many happy experiences like that I feel like it inspires stories in my head I feel like I get so much writing done when I'm there it It's like the speed increases by double.
So no, I'm just in love with the place. So if I sit for a year writing about it, it means I get to be there even when I'm not.
I think that's part of it too. I've never been to Scotland, but I would absolutely, now I want to go.
Now we have to go. Yeah, we have to go.
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So the only thing on your mind is having nothing on your mind moen then i know who you are did i say i know who you are yes okay daisy darker you said you don't really want to bring on screen right now that's okay i i'm excited for rock paper scissors is that going to come out one day i hope yeah it's very slow i feel like um what is the book no oh no the book's super fast um that was a that was a i enjoyed that one i feel like because i worked in journalism for so long um working for the bbc in the newsroom everything is fast a story breaks in the morning i've got it on air by lunchtime yeah publishing i write the book sometimes it isn't out for a year or a year and a half later and you've already finished the next I'm already I've already finished the next one I'm onto the two books ahead and television in my experience so far takes even longer but I'm kind of I've made peace with that now because now I've seen them actually film my tv show I'm like it is worth the wait guys it's worth the wait yeah I'm so excited let's do it again it's great and you've already finished the next one after this yes I have is there a publishing date I think it will probably end up being this time next year okay so um not not too long to wait no it's not too long I think the years go by really fast I mean I don't know if it's because I have seven kids or what it is but I feel like the years years just go by so fast. They do, don't they? I mean, everything I think just keeps coming around so quickly.
Suddenly it's birthdays and Christmases and Halloween. It's like we just did this five minutes ago.
Yeah. Would you ever do a book about your life or a character sort of like your life working for the BBC? Like have a main character that worked for...
No, I'm just not that interesting in real life. I just, you know, sometimes people say, why don't you narrate your own audio books? I'm like, oh gosh, I don't like the sound of my own voice.
Do you pick who narrates them? Yes, I do. Oh, you do? Oh, interesting.
I think I'm a bit of a control freak in some ways because they are my children. Yeah.
You know know I really care about them all deeply and I get so scared you know when it's publication day for example because it's like I'm sending my children out into the world for the first time by themselves and I just hope everyone's going to be kind to them and take care of them and if anyone isn't kind to them I hope they're strong enough to take care of themselves well those strange sort of feelings you know that you might have about sending a child out to school for the first time or something but I think that's pretty normal though because you just never know how people are gonna you know feel about them you don't go on good reads though right no you shouldn't no I try to um the only I read I read reviews when they're good and people send them to me so my team my family my friends will send me the good ones yeah um and I think you've got to be quite um you've got to just kind of roll with the punches a little bit with that it's not possible to write a book that everyone is going to love it's simply not possible and I remember even in year one I learned very early on don't read reviews but also I learned not to pay too much attention to reviews I remember my favorite Amazon review is a five-star review on Amazon and then the description just says great and below that it says this is the best dog brush I've ever used on my husky it gets rid of all the dead fur and I just I just thought, well, I'll take it. That's still a five star review.
I still worry that somewhere there is a really brilliant dog brush out there with a one star review that says this book sucks. But, you know, because clearly they got them in a muddle.
So no, the reviews I mostly care about, honestly, across my heart, are reader reviews. When people post a review on Instagram or something like that and they tag me in it, I read all of those.
I look at the beautiful pictures they take of my books all around the world. And it brings me so much joy when a reader has genuinely loved reading one of my books.
When they get it, you know, it's the best feeling in the world. I'll call her my co-host for book club I mean she ate it she texted me she's like this is so good thank you and I was like I'm sure she'll love that and I'll tell her that you said that um when you start writing do you plan your twists out ahead of time sort of before you have the full story or do the twists come as you go most of it is there so I tend to think about the books for one or two years before I start.
So even when I'm working on one book, my head is already planning the next one. It's always very noisy up here.
There's all these voices all the time. I wish they'd shush.
And unfortunately, a lot of one of my good ideas tend to happen at 3am in the morning. And we've established I'm not great at technology.
So I sometimes forget how to make the phone go into silent. So my poor husband at 3am will just hear tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
Because sometimes, you know, you think you might forget the idea if you don't write it down. So I tend to put it all together in pieces like that.
Then I have a giant board, giant white board. I think because'm so old-fashioned and not down with the kids at all for years I did everything on an actual giant cardboard board which would have tiny little bits of different colored card stuck to it with blue tack do you have blue tack in America it's like it's like chewing gum but it's but it's for sticking the things together.
I don i'm not sure but i remember i used to um sort of thing kids take it from my first grade class yes exactly because i want i just wanted it for whatever reason so i did it like a child basically putting together a sticky board and then um one year my husband said this is ridiculous you're actually yeah you're actually like a professional author now i think we need to up your game so I have the same thing but it's a whiteboard with magnets and still the same different colored cards but it looks slightly better I suppose it doesn't look like my nine year old niece's artwork project I just watched um a good girl's guide to murder by Holly Jackson she has the show on Netflix and one of the main characters is trying to solve the crime. And she has like a marker that she's like drawing on the wall with like pictures and arrows and sort of like what you're describing.
Yes. And it just looks to us like a mess.
But to her, it made sense. Exactly.
I think I need to see the whole book in one place. Yeah.
So I need to see all the chapters, all the characters characters and just see it all together and then once I've got the board I even call it board day um once I've got this is like a special day because it's it's like me committing to writing the book I've never done the board and then not written the book so that's when I'm sure it's a book it's something I want to write something I want to commit at least a year of my life to. And then I have all these strange little traditions.
So after board day, I'm telling you far too much. It's because it feels like we're just having a nice fun chat.
I forget that anyone else is going to hear all my madness later on. They're going to love it though because there are people that listen that are like, we want to write a book.
What do we do? Well, you need a board. need to have a board day um and then um I normally treat myself to a very nice bottle of champagne and I write the book number and the date and I put it in the fridge straight after board day um and then I'm not allowed to drink the champagne until my agent has read the book once I finished it and says it's good so for the following year I will open the fridge several times a day and see the champagne and think, not yet, not yet.
So it's so special when I get the phone call from my agent to say, I've read it. It's good.
You've done it. Well done.
And then I drink the champagne and then we start all over again. And sooner or later, there's another bored day.
Isn't my life fun? No, I actually actually love it because I'm like this is and you have like the writing shed I love that yeah I think everyone has their little quirks and I have the um the jar of lucky kit kats on my desk as well so if if it's a slow writing day if it's taking me a while to get to my 2000 words then I have a lucky kit Kat um and I always I always whenever I come to America I remember that here you have six finger Kit Kats because at home there's only two finger Kit Kats you know the ones here would not fit in my special lucky Kit Kat jar but I always wonder if I lived in America with the giant Kit Kats I could probably write two books a year I'd probably here. We could also get you, in America, everything I feel like is bigger.
So we could also get you a bigger jar. So the six finger ones would be able to fit in the jar.
Yes. I'm sure there is a jar out there that we could use to accommodate this.
We could definitely do that. I don't know that you'll be able to get it back on your plane, but.
You have such different confectionery here. It always amazes me.
And on the film set for His and Hers, they had this area every day, wherever we were, whether we were on set, called Crafty, with all these different amazing snacks. Just everything.
Everything. So Jessica Chastain is producing the show and she was rather partial to something I'd never heard of before, which was a lollipop with bubble gum in the middle.
You don't have that? No, I've never heard of such a thing. A blow pop? That's what she called it.
That's what it was. Because when she first said it, it sounded a little bit rude, if I'm honest.
I didn't know what was going on. You know, if someone says they want one of those, I just think, crikey, I thought we're here to film a show but um no and so she was explaining to me um that that's what they are and it's a thing and she she loved these things and I I don't know what my face did I think my face sometimes does things I don't know it's doing and she understood that I wasn't that impressed with this particular lollipop with bubble gum in the middle and she said what what's wrong with that and I said well either it should either be a lollipop with bubblegum in the middle.
And she said, what's wrong with that? And I said, well, it should either be a lollipop or it should be bubblegum. And I told her the story of the time I nearly divorced my husband, who I've been with for 20 years because of a Yorkie bar.
Do you have Yorkie bars here? No, no, see, this is the problem. You have all these different things and we have different things at home.
But at home, we have this thing yorkie bar and when i was a child the advert the tv advert for it said these are not for girls which again when someone says i can't do something i can't i wanted it so i always wanted the yorkie bar but then they messed it up by having a special version which had raisins inside it you know and i think chocolate should be chocolate raisins I've got no problem with them but they should just be raisins and I felt really sad that first day I met Jessica Chastain that instead of having a deep and meaningful conversation with her I spent most of it talking about raisins and chocolate and lollipops and bubblegum bits in the middle but we got to know each other the next day on set a bit better so it's all good I'm sure she'll remember that forever too but I just have to ask then do you know what a Tootsie Pop is oh my goodness again I'm worried it sounds so rude doesn't it I mean what on earth could that be in my opinion they're better than a blow pop they have a Tootsie Roll which is chewy chocolate in the middle and then a lollipop on the outside they're so good. Okay.
Well, I'm going to make it my mission to find one while I'm here in America. I'm going to bring one to your event and I'll sneak it to, if I see Claire, I'll sneak it to Claire so she can give it to you.
Amazing. That can be my thing to look forward to.
Yes. But you have to promise you're going to try it.
I will. I'll try it today.
But you'll have to try it another, you know, whenever you're out of your event. But I would argue that a Tootsie Pop is better than a Blow Pop because the the thing about the Blow Pops is that the gum gets really

hard really fast. All these things I never knew.
Yeah. Yes.
I'm worried that you've missed out a

little bit. I think I think I could have this very sheltered life I've had in Britain where we don't

have these magical things that are here. The Tootsie Pop is good though.
Okay I'm gonna give it a whirl.

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Oh, well, it's always different. Sometimes I just know their names.
So with Sometimes I Lie, I remember waking up again between three and four, which I think is my magical watching hour. And I just knew three things.
I had this story in my head that I woke up with and I thought I've got to write it down straight away I'm going to forget and so I had this very cheap strange little board from a shop called Woolworths that we used to have in the UK which mostly sold sweets I'm obsessed with talking about sweets today um but I remember writing on it in my sort of half asleep dazed state um that the main character's name was Amber Reynolds I just knew it from my dream and there were three things I had to remember about her that number one she was in a coma number two her husband didn't love her anymore and number three sometimes she lies and that became the book I mean that became the opening and it was the crux of the story so I literally woke up with that name in my head um for Grady Green I think I just really like um names with a smidgen of alliteration so I've you know I've had a Priya Patel in his and hers or um yeah Grady Green in in this particular book and I have a future book so a book that won't be out next year a book that will be out the year after two of the main characters in that are actually names of people who came to a book signing at a tiny little bookshop in Cornwall in England you know because I see all these names when I'm signing books for people in the queue after events and sometimes people have these amazing beautiful names I've never heard of before and I remember meeting this very sweet girl at this bookshop a few years ago when we were promoting Daisy Darker and I just stopped what I was doing and that's not a good idea when you've got a long queue of people waiting for signatures I said oh my goodness that's just the most amazing name I've ever heard would you mind if I used that in a book because she was a fan she had all the books I knew she would read it one day she's gonna freak out and it's an unusual name so it would be a huge coincidence if I'd chosen it any other way and she said I'd be so thrilled if you did that and she left the queue and then she ran back she said by the way just in case my sister's called and I won't say what it is this other name and my goodness their parents were really on it so they were two fantastic names and I said I'm going to use them both one day I don't know when but I will and I I have so in a couple of years time that very sweet girl I met in a queue a few years ago in line in a bookshop in Cornwall we'll see her name in one of the books that is amazing so yes people should come to the events because you might end up in a book you never know you never know that's incredible and she they're gonna love that you just made their whole year I'm sure when that book're going to be so excited. I mean, I'm not always nice about it.
We renovated a very old batch cottage a few years ago. And we had an awful plumber.
I really, really did not like this man. You know, we turned on the new system for the first time.
And the walls actually were crying. You know, there was water running out everywhere, floods everywhere.
And he was such a, he was was not a good person he was he was he was not a goodie so I murdered him in a book and I felt so much better that's the best thing I ever heard I felt so much better afterwards suddenly I you know he was all forgiven and I felt I felt better again and he'll never read it so it's fine so I get the names from he might after hearing this podcast he might he might I get the names from all over the place um yes I mean I think that's funny do you get any inspiration from any other authors or have you ever oh yes um I mean too many to mention probably but as a child I was a bit obsessed with Stephen King books um I was I was good at school academically um really bad at sport could not catch a ball still can't you know we do netball and someone throw a ball just hit me I couldn't catch it what is netball oh my goodness you do all these things that are different no um you throw you throw the ball and if you're not me you catch it and then you it's a bit like basketball as in there's a net and you throw it. Yeah, there you go.
Is that only in the UK? I don't think so. I didn't used to think so.
But when you catch the ball, you have to stand still. But even that wasn't a problem for me because I could never catch it.
So no good at sports. Really slow at running.
And I'm quite short. I find it really comical that my feet actually don't touch the ground here.
wow they really don't yeah no they really don't i'm very i'm really short so i'm sitting i feel like a child or like an oompa loompa i'm from from willy wonkerland um uh no but so you know they'd ask you things like the hurdles at school i can't jump over things for goodness sakes got little stumpy legs here um so uh no no good at sport but academically. So we'd have these prize givings at the end of the school year.
Nothing for the sports side, but I could write, I could do English and I could add things up in math. So I'd win at that and I'd get like the prize you would get would be book tokens.
And then you could choose your book and then you'd go up on stage, meet a local celebrity, shake their hands. You know, the headmaster would read something out about you, get your book.
All the other kids would go up on stage, collect a giant atlas or a special encyclopedia. I spend my vouchers on as many Stephen King paperbacks as I could.
Have you ever met him? No, I would so love to meet him. I think he's like, I have so many heroes, but he's my number one hero.
And I think I'm a writer because of him. I think me love to meet him I think he's like I have so many heroes but he's my number one hero and I think I'm a writer because of him I think me disappearing inside of his stories when I was a little girl is what made me fall in love with stories so much um so no I think I owe him so many things but also his book on writing um that's my go-to yeah you know if I'm having a badly behaved I, I have no idea how many times I have read the book, um, as in read the physical book, but also listened to the audio book because he narrates it himself.
So I feel like sometimes Stephen King is in my shed with me, guiding me if I get stuck, reminding me that I have written a few books before and of course we can write another one and this is how we do it. So there have been lots of authors and there are authors around, you know, who every year I'm so excited to read their books.
Lisa Jewel is a big favourite of mine. We share an agent.
So one of the best perks of my job now is that I get sent her books early every year. I'm so excited for that.
I mean, that's enough for me to want to carry on being an author forever. I get to read her books early every year that's awesome so no I'm a huge fan of lots of authors and I read a lot still Frida also told me that she like she was listening at the time of the interview she was listening to a Stephen King book so that's funny that you guys both really yes and I um his I listened to Holly quite recently as well that he had a book called Holly.
Yes. Yeah.
Which was, um, fantastic. I think audio books these days have come on in such an incredible way.
The beautiful, the beautiful, ugly audio book has all these amazing sound effects. Oh, I love that.
That really bring the story to life. So there's a crackle of a walkie talkie or, um, there are the sounds of the waves.
It just adds to everything. It really does.
And the thing is, sometimes and I don't I can't speak for all readers, but sometimes I'm in the car a lot. So I was telling you before we started podcasting it, you know, I drive to New York several times a month.
And so sometimes I'll start a book like a physical copy or on my Kindle. And then I you know, if I'm in the car for three hours, I'll listen to the same book.
So I'll buy the physical book, but I'll also buy the audio. And so when sometimes when you do that and you hear the sound effects and everything, it is either exactly what you thought it, what you pictured for the physical book when you're reading it, or it'll change it a little bit.
And so then you have like an even better idea because of the sound effects that are in an audio book. It's really fun, isn't it? And I just I just think again anything that's getting people into reading and stories in whatever format is yeah it's fantastic and Richard Armitage narrates this one you know I would forget listening to it that it was it was just him doing about 20 different voices so we've got Richard Armitage and we've got Tuppence Middleton but Richard in all of his chapters you'll hear about 10 different versions Richard can be a 40 year old man he can be an elderly woman from Scotland he can be the East End pub landlord and I was like how is he doing he sounds like he's having such fun in it so um it was a real joy um to listen to and I think readers are going to enjoy that version too good I did try to get it before I didn't try to get it I went to go download it um but it wasn't out yet because I forgot that today's publication day yeah so it's like okay we'll get it reading it just reading it I think is also I mean that's my favorite way of reading because then you get your own version don't you yeah you picture it all in in your own head yes how it's going to look and who they are and what they sound like and because I was telling you earlier my son and I watched a good girl's guide to murder which is YA it was like right up his alley.
But he was I didn't read it. I had only seen the show and he was telling me, oh, that, you know, that wasn't the way that I pictured it in my head or,

you know, something like that. And so I think audio is a little bit different because you can

still picture it in your head the way you want, but it's still like a fun way to to do it. Rapid

fire really quick. Is that would that be fine? Oh, yes.
I don't know what that is, is but let's do it but what is the best piece of advice that you received as a writer I think you can do better from that lady yeah I think it probably probably was I mean when people ask me you know what should I do if I want to become a writer I always say read a lot write a lot and never give up because if you don't give up, you can't fail.

And I think that's probably, you know, what I was telling myself at the time during those

almost 10 years of keep writing books and keep collecting the rejection letters. So

yeah, I think the best piece of advice I did get was you can do better.

I love that. Coffee or tea while writing?

Neither.

Neither.

I don't drink hot drinks. Oh, okay.
I don't know. there's iced coffee and iced tea oh neither okay no um i don't know why i think i'm a bit of a child in that way too something fizzy oh same yeah i do love a good coke what's the coke like in england okay i think it will taste the same doesn't it there's absolutely not oh no okay the best coke you can ever get on the planet is in disney world in florida oh and then i would say second to that is mcdonald's coke i did not know in america i did not know this yeah i think they do add a little bit extra syrup i don't know that for sure don't sue me but i would guess that they add a little razzle dazzle to it i like a lemonade oh okay i love yes or without pulp um with either actually i like both but maybe without i love with and a straw i like a straw okay but i don't like a straw with soda because i feel like the paper straws specifically that are better for the environment they take the fizz out of the drink yes and then they go a bit soggy don't they yeah you know because you got to drink it quickly you got to just get on with that yes what is one thing that you cannot write without my dog yes which is also there's a dog in beautiful ugly there's also a dog in rock paper scissors I don't remember a dog in sometimes I lie no I don't think I don't think I was doing the dog thing at that stage.
There's always a dog now because I spend all day with my dog. And so he's sitting on my feet.
And I really wanted to call out, our dog now is two years old. So he's still a bit of a big puppy and he's called Boots.
Not Columbo. No.
But it's funny because in my next book, I called the dog in my next book what I really wanted to call Boots.

So in the next book, there you go, there's a bit of a hint of the book that's to come.

There's a dog in the next book called Sunday.

And I really wanted to call my dog Sunday.

But my husband pointed out that we might be up in the woods or up a mountain one day going Sunday, Sunday.

And someone would think, what weirdos, it's Friday.

So I wasn't allowed to call Boots Sunday. So I called a dog in a book Sunday instead.
I actually know someone who named their child Sunday. I think it's a lovely name.
I think Sunday is my favorite day of the week. I think Sunday is a great day.
And dogs are great. It's a chill day.
Okay. And where is your favorite place to write? Scotland.
Orland or the shed or the yeah okay which there is it a shed here yeah not a shed but there's he's always writing a cabin yeah yes and same for um henry winter and rock paper scissors yes right yes he likes the yes i think i definitely whenever i write about writers i guess they do tend to have more in common with me in that way.

I know that some writers like to write in cafes and I think they are an alien species to me.

I need quiet. And yeah, the shed somewhere remote, somewhere in the corner of Scotland with no phone signal.

Perfect. My idea of heaven.

My worst nightmare.

Yeah. Yeah.
We we'd have to meet somewhere in the middle.

Yes. And so where can people get get beautiful ugly or any of your books i think beautiful ugly is everywhere today it seems to be everywhere i keep you know i keep opening up instagram and i see more more beautiful pictures taken by readers which makes me honestly so giddy with joy actually to see people reading it and enjoying it so i think it's out everywhere that you can buy books today sold out temporarily I think because so many people have ordered it from Amazon but it'll be back in stock soon I'm sure so no I'm just so grateful to everyone who's been talking about the book spreading the news about the book and it's finally out hooray congratulations thank you so much and where can you on social media? Oh, Instagram is the best one for me.
That's my happy place. I always try and see all the pictures that I'm tagged in.
And I really love seeing them. And people go to such incredible lengths to take beautiful pictures of the book.
They do. I saw the collage you posted of all the, I think that you posted it.
Yes, I did. And it was a collage of every single one that you probably had seen, or maybe they didn't fit all in there.
But I was like, wow, that's incredible. Yes, I just, I really love seeing them.
So if I see ones that I love, I save them onto my phone. I thought, I want to celebrate this.
And I want my readers to know that I am looking at this stuff and I really appreciate it. So no, I think, you know, writers are nothing without readers and I have the best ones.
So I'm so grateful. Well, well thank you and I will see you at your event later tonight at Barnes and Noble thank you so much for talking to me and I can't wait to see you again later it's been so much fun yes thank you I'm Caitlin Bristow host of Off the Vine podcast where I get real maybe a little too real sometimes with my friends and celeb guests from Bachelor Franchise and beyond.
I'm Caitlin Bristow, host of Off the Vine podcast, where I get real, maybe a little too real sometimes, with my friends and celeb guests from Bachelor Franchise and beyond. I'm talking guests like Jonathan Van Ness.
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na. Nikki Glaser, Wells Adams, Elise Myers.
Just like in this like business jacket, like I would love some tacos. Heidi D'Amelio, Big Brothers, Taylor Hale.

I have to bring it up because it happened and we're going to get through it.

What'd I do?

And so many more.

So come hang out with us, hear ridiculous confessions and get a little vulnerable because

you know what?

We're all just floating on this weird little planet together.

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