S5 EP231 | Falling in Love Between Innings with Cassie Miller

Hello My Happy People,

This week on Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt—Book Talk Podcast, I welcome Cassie Miller, the debut author of Meet Me Under the Lights, available on PenguinTeen.com. We discuss her journey to publication and the story behind her first novel. 

Set in a small North Carolina town where baseball and tradition go hand in hand, Meet Me Under the Lights follows two childhood friends whose families have spent decades on opposite sides of a bitter feud. As first love, community theater, and championship baseball collide, Eliza and Reed must decide whether love is worth risking everything they've ever known. 

Cassie also shares how her years as a high school English teacher, her family's rich theatrical history, and her own experiences behind the scenes have shaped her writing. Plus, she gives listeners a preview of her upcoming Christmas novel, Meet Me on Mistletoe Lane, talks about her love of cardigans, and reveals why the Percy Jackson television series is one of her favorite adaptations.

As of this writing, Meet Me Under the Lights is listed with a #1 banner on Amazon.com for Teen & Young Adult Baseball & Softball Fiction 

For more fun moments from our conversation, visit today's blog

Cassie's Website

Cassie on Instagram

Cassie on Threads

Cassie on Goodreads

Buy Meet Me Under the Lights

Order Signed Christmas Book

Aqua Notes 

Transcript

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Dianne Burckhardt 0:01

You're listening to BookBanter with Diane Burkhart, your Book Talk podcast. Join me every Wednesday for real conversations with authors and publishing insiders, where you get to connect with the humans behind the books you love. Let's get on with our show today. Well, hello, my happy people. Today is July 15th, 2026, and have I got a fantastic author for you today? You know, as always. If you've ever found yourself cheering for the underdog, rooting for first love, or wondering if two people can overcome a family feud that's lasted for decades, then today's episode is for you. Add in small town baseball, community theater, Broadway dreams, and characters you'll be thinking about long after the last page, and you've got a story that's sure to steal your heart. But before we get to today's interview, I just want to remind you to be sure to stick around until the very end because I've got some exciting news for Burkhart books and Bookbanter productions that I'd really like to share with all of you. But for now, let's get right to today's author. Please welcome to BookBanter with Diane Burkhart, young adult romance author, Cassie Miller. Please tell everyone who you are and what you do.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Hi, my name is Cassie Miller. I am a young adult romance writer, and I work as an elementary school librarian full-time. I am a mom of two kiddos. And then, as I mentioned before, I love to write books about love for teens.

Dianne Burckhardt 1:38

One of the things that always surprises me is sometimes we get people who started out in, I don't know, financial investment, and now they write romance books. And I could never understand. It's like you have to explain the transition in there. For you though, there seems to be a more logical transition from your main job to becoming an author.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Yes. So for me, it's funny. Um, I've been in the public education atmosphere for 19 years. Um I've been teaching for 19 years here in Virginia. And I started as a high school English and creative writing teacher. And so that I think definitely was the spark that ignited those teen voices in my head and just wouldn't shut them up, you know, as teachers would so often say. But mine was actually in a really beneficial way. So the creative writing classroom really gave me the outlet and opportunity to start writing with my students. I have a philosophy that if my students are reading for sustained silent reading, if they're writing, I always tried to model it with them. I think it's important that that students see that. It's kind of like a buy-in factor.

Dianne Burckhardt 2:47

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:47

I started writing when they were writing, and that's when a couple of ideas kind of popped into my head and and meet me under the lights. My debut was one of them. And it was a great opportunity for me to kind of bargain with my kids. I'd be like, all right, I'll share you some of this, you know, some of my work if you share some of yours, just to kind of get them out of those introverted shells. And uh, once it really started taking off, I realized I didn't have time to do the writing and revising at home because as a high school English teacher, I would argue I took home probably more work than any other subject, you know, when you think of grading. So yeah, I started looking at other opportunities. I looked at becoming a reading specialist. And then I was like, what are you doing, Cassie? You love books, you're you're a voracious reader, and I loved giving book recommendations. So I went back to school and got my endorsement in library media and made the switch to elementary school, which has been a lot of fun. It's definitely a lot of work, but I don't take that work home with me. And so that freed up my headspace and my like actual physical time to work on my books.

Dianne Burckhardt 4:00

I can definitely understand the desire to work in an environment like that. I worked for like 13 and a half years for a large chain bookstore.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Oh gosh, that sounds lovely.

Dianne Burckhardt 4:11

Being around those books and the customers and getting to talk to people about books every single day was fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

It's magic. Like you just walk in and you breathe in that bookish smell. And you know, being in an elementary school, you breathe in a lot of other smells as well. But yeah, I try to focus and hold on to the uh to the bookish smell, but it it is a place of inspiration for sure. And my husband is also a high school teacher. He does band, he's a band director. So I am still surrounded by those teen voices. I have two boys, myself, as I mentioned earlier, and and they're teenagers. So it's something that has kind of stayed with me and hopefully will continue to stay with me, I'm sure.

Dianne Burckhardt 4:53

At this point, I don't see how you could get away from it.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

It seems like it's clearly ingrained in your life. It is. I've had people who've been like, are you gonna write adult romance? And I was like, yeah, no, I don't think so. I think if I were to make the jump anywhere, I would go down to middle grade or even children's books, but I I don't see that happening anytime in the near future. Um I've really latched on to teen voices, and and I feel like I'm on a mission in that sense. So, you know, until I completely run out of things to say, and I'm pretty long-winded, uh, I don't I don't think that I'm gonna exhaust that, I hope, anytime soon.

Dianne Burckhardt 5:31

You've talked about how much you love escaping into fictual worlds, your own and created by other people. What is it about the community and the characters in Fairfield that made you want to create this world in particular?

SPEAKER_00 5:45

Yeah, so Fairfield for uh Meet Me Under the Lights, fictional town in North Carolina. I think for me, I just wanted to write number one, what I've always known, what I've lived, and number two, what I would love to live again and to experience again. You know, small town worlds are this beautiful romantic idea that I think everybody just aspires to. They watch Gilmore Girls and some of these other shows and they think, oh, I wish I could live there. And so I just thought, well, I can live there in my own sense. And so why not create it, Cassie? And so with Fairfield, I just loved the idea of a summer baseball story. We have a really beautiful minor league ballpark down the road from me, Diane, that's um called uh, let's see, it's Calfi Park and it's the Pulaski River Turtles. And it's this gem of a stadium that I kid you not is just plopped down right there, out right there in their town. I don't know how they managed to fit it, but it's surrounded by mountains. And we just we've gone to games there for ages. And I don't know, several years ago, I just kind of, while I was watching the game, I I had this light bulb moment of what would it be like to live in a town like this, to hear that echo of the stadium from my front porch, you know, and you know, I have nothing going on. I'm gonna walk over and and take in a ball game. And so I just I really love the idea of a small town in the south rallying around this one spot, this this baseball stadium. And it just kind of took off from there, I guess.

Dianne Burckhardt 7:32

You've already mentioned the baseball. Meet me under the lights also blends theater, family rivalry, and romance. That seems kind of an interesting combination of elements. How did you bring these together in one story?

SPEAKER_00 7:47

So I get this question a lot when it comes to how did you think of weaving theater and baseball together? And it actually came together more seamlessly than I expected it to. I knew I wanted Meet Me Under the Lights to be dual point of view. And so Reed was always going to be a pitcher for me. I wanted to have a baseball player who had a lot on his shoulders, and I felt like putting someone on the mound was the ultimate, penultimate spotlight for an athlete. So Reed would was always going to be my star pitcher. And for Eliza, rather than making her someone competitively on the field as maybe like the only girl on her father's team, I decided to again pull in another topic that I'm very familiar with, which was theater. So my grandparents, they had they erected and built a costume shop in the 1940s in New York. And I've just been surrounded by theater my entire life. When I was a teacher at the high school, I directed several musicals, I did set design, and I learned lighting design. And so that kind of opened up this entire world that I really didn't pay attention to. Like most theater goers and even moviegoers, I was captivated by what was on the stage, not what was going on behind the stage. And so when I started working with lighting and sitting next to people who were doing sound, I realized, wow, there's a lot of cool stories here, but I noticed they weren't being told on the shelves. So for me, making Eliza in charge of lighting was an easy thing for me to do. I wrote from experience and I loved the idea of showing someone who had no desire to be on the stage or under the spotlight because she already felt like she was in her personal life, being the daughter of the wealthiest family in town. She wanted to shed that light onto someone else. And so that just kind of gave a nice contrast of the light and the spotlight and you know where we fit in in our world. Do we want to be front and center? Do we want to be more in the backseat?

Dianne Burckhardt 10:08

And I do love that you have Eliza dreaming of becoming a lighting designer on Broadway. And that kind of, you know, definitely goes along with your own history. And I don't think people realize how much actually goes into doing lighting for stage production. People think you have a spotlight, you put it on the person talking, you're done. It's like there's so much that you have to do for lighting.

SPEAKER_00 10:32

And it's it's a technical speak. You know, I tried to show that a couple of times. Truly, everything you see with Eliza, for the most part, especially in and around that lighting booth, is a firsthand experience from me. When the board crashes, when you get a technical failure, when you set these cues, basically you're you're cueing up the lights on the stage, you're saving it so that you can click a button. And for a certain scene, it goes to these presets that you already have. And if I had a nickel for every time the board crashed or froze or glitched, I could have retired 10 years ago comfortably. Um it's it's a nightmare. But man, when it comes together, that shaky hand feeling you get when you press that first cue when you when you put that blackout in at the end. Oh man, it's it's such a rush. And I I really wanted my readers to experience that. Um, and to, you know, maybe think about the next time I go and see a play, I want them looking around and trying to figure out, well, where's the lighting? Where's the lighting here? You know, where's that pit orchestra? So I I hope that they take away a little bit more of an appreciation for the work, like you said, that goes on behind the scenes.

Dianne Burckhardt 11:49

So do you think it's fair to say that you put a lot of yourself in your main character?

SPEAKER_00 11:54

I do, yeah. I was told years ago, you know, Cassie, you need to write what you know. So I I'm trying to, in every single one of my books, infuse bits of myself, my family history, um, and you know, seasons that have since passed but have stayed with me. I think that's important. And I think that's what makes for a more organic experience and a voice that can connect with your readers. Readers are intelligent, and I know as a reader, and I'm sure it's the same for you, we know when we're reading something, I do at least. I can tell if it's something that the author experienced versus something the author researched. I do think there's a difference there.

Dianne Burckhardt 12:38

Yeah. After spending years teaching English and encouraging students to find their own voices, what has it been like for you stepping onto the other side of that as an experienced published author now?

SPEAKER_00 12:53

It's been a roller coaster. I actually had a really cool full circle moment about a month ago. I was invited to a high school, a local high school, not the one that I taught at, but another one. I was invited by their creative writing teacher to come in and talk to those kids. And oh my gosh, walking into that classroom and seeing those faces, and this was a large creative writing class, was incredible because they were asking me a lot of the questions that, you know, 10 years ago I would not have had an answer to. But to speak, not as an expert, but definitely not as a novice, to speak as someone who was experienced and who knew those answers without having to say, I'll look that up, I'll I'll ask my agent. Or it it was a really cool experience. I I think me starting in the classroom with teenagers allowed me to one, appreciate every single step of this journey, even the small ones that someone might not have gotten excited about. I was able to get excited about all of it. So it just allowed me to have a sense of appreciation and you know, I think to not forget where I came from.

Dianne Burckhardt 14:13

So you have described yourself as a heavy plotter who outlines extensively before drafting.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

Oh yeah.

Dianne Burckhardt 14:21

Oh yeah. What does your outlining process actually look like before you do you do this for the entire book or do you go chapter by chapter?

SPEAKER_00 14:31

Brace yourself because I I've been told that my my process can be a little intimidating. Um yeah, I am 100% a plotter. And I think I've been doing this honestly since academic papers in high school, maybe even college. But what I do, Diane, is I write down a loose kind of synopsis. When I get an idea in my head and it sticks with me, I just kind of do what I call as a brain dump, like a stream of conscious free write in one of my journals. And I go as much as I can. I don't worry about character names or settings unless something's already popped in. I'll write things like girl one, guy two, kiss here, blah, blah. And you know, I just kind of keep going until I run out of things to say. And then when I look at it, I go, oh, okay, I might be able to work with this. Um, from there, I try to take that gosh, four and five pages of brain dum. And I like to condense it down into an elevator pitch of sorts. My rule is if I can't condense it down to an elevator pitch, I am not ready to outline. I have to know my who's, my what's, my whys, you know? So from the elevator pitch, I then start with some index cards, and each index card is the equivalent of a chapter, and I'll just write some beats on there. I will write down some ideas about what's going to happen, and it's not super detailed, but it just kind of gives me a visual map. Um, I don't really have the space in my house to put it up on a fancy whiteboard or bulletin board like some of my writer friends do. But I do have the floor space, so it looks like a convalided puzzle on the floor. And once I feel like I've got a decent map, I then go back to my computer and I will physically start typing an outline for the entire book, chapter by chapter. I'm actually looking at my outline for my third book that I'm drafting right now. It's it's to my left as I speak to you. And this is like an 18-page document. Um editor and I realized that if I do this kind of detailed copious outline and I send it to her, she can give me feedback. It makes my first draft so much cleaner. And I'm able to type and knock out a first draft pretty quickly. My Christmas book that comes out in October, I was able to draft that book in just over three weeks. And I'm hoping, yeah, I'm hoping that this third book, I've already got a few chapters down, but yeah, I'll probably, it'll, it'll be about a month before I turn it in. So I do a lot of work kind of in the on the back end there as far as you know, front-loading that information, and then I'm able to to rock and roll. And I don't follow it to a T. I, you know, I use it as guidelines. And sometimes when I'm writing, I think, oh, I'm not, I don't want to introduce that yet. This chapter's already X pages long. So I'll just make notes as I go, physical notes on my printed out copy, and and we'll just kind of go from there.

Dianne Burckhardt 17:43

Wow, that's incredible. I I couldn't do that if my life was on the line.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

I have a lot of friends who are like you, and they're like, I just can't. And that's I I I totally get that. I know it's strange, but that's just who I am.

Dianne Burckhardt 18:00

No, I am always so impressed with people who can do that. I have tried. I even have software to help me do it. And I just cannot. It does not work that way for me.

SPEAKER_00 18:13

Yeah, no, I get it. I just I don't know. There's my husband always likes to tease me if he sees me kind of staring off into space. He's kind of looks at me and he's like, Is it the voices?

unknown 18:24

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 18:24

And I just kind of have to hold up a hand because you know, someone's speaking to me. Okay, I gotta write it down. So I even have, did you know, Diane, that they make waterproof notepads? Have you heard of these?

Dianne Burckhardt 18:36

No.

SPEAKER_00 18:36

Oh my god. You can take notes in the shower or the bath? I'm not even joking. Yes, it's called aqua notes. Look on Amazon, they are worth every penny. They even have a pencil that suction cups to the wall. But if I had, and again, I'm sure it's the same for you. What there is something about water. We always get ideas, even when we're trying to relax in the water. And so I always know when it's drafting season because I will go through multiple aquanotes pads. Because sure enough, I'm trying to relax and shut off my brain, but my brain activates when the shower water hits it. And so the aquanotes are another thing that I use a lot when I'm drafting. So there you go.

Dianne Burckhardt 19:21

Yeah, I have got to get some of those.

SPEAKER_00 19:23

Yeah, they're great.

Dianne Burckhardt 19:26

Yeah, because it it never fails. You go in, you take a shower, you start washing your hair, and then all of a sudden it's like, oh my god, that's how I fix that plot problem. Yes, yes, and then there's nothing to write it down with.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

No, or oh, I need this for my groceries. I forgot to get this. And then I'll you just kind of keep saying it over and over so you don't forget. No, you forget. The water goes off, and so does your brain. You are you are done. Yeah.

Dianne Burckhardt 19:50

Absolutely. Every time. Yep. So since you have some experience now, you have one book that is out, one book that is getting ready to come out in October, and you're already drafting your third one. Yeah. What has surprised you the most, either you know, positive or negative, about becoming a published author? Or I suppose I should I should preference this, a traditionally published author. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 20:17

Um, I think what's surprised me the most is oh gosh, this is gonna sound like um there is so much that's out of your hands. So I think for me, it was how long it takes everything to to kind of process. Yeah, you know, so authors, at least traditionally published authors, we see that cover art and we're like, yes, can I share it? And they're like, no, you can't share it for three months, and it's just agony. So, you know, you you find out these delicious, wonderful secrets, and then you can't share them for forever. And it's just really difficult. So that's a positive and a negative if you think about it. Um, but also for me, I've had a a really wonderful positive experience so far with Penguin Teen. I think, and I, and that just goes to say that their marketing department is their PR department is just top-notch. So I have been pleasantly surprised, and it's just shocked me how much they do to promote their author's works, you know, when they've got these cute little kits that they're sending out. Meet Me Under the Lights was sent out um last year with this summer reading box, and it was adorable. It had like Team Conrad and Jeremiah from The Summer I Turned Pretty stickers and all kinds of fun summary things. And I just, you know, I'm watching them online do this with other books as well, and escape rooms with books, and it's just it's so cool that there are so many people. People that are rallying behind someone's books. You know, you hear that phrase, it takes a village, and it really does. I I feel very, I feel very blessed that I have such a strong team behind me because I didn't know how many hands went into creating that project. And I'm not just talking about cover art and page designs, but truly the marketing aspect has been the biggest shock for me. It's it's been wonderful to see an extremely illuminating, to really see that power behind the online book community, whether it's book talk or Instagram. It's it really is a driving force, I think, with with sales.

Dianne Burckhardt 22:43

And it's so great working with a group like the Penguin Teen and Penguin Young Adult and all of their other departments. Yeah. Because they make it so easy for people like me to promote people like you. They have the whole promo kit ready. They've got your author photo, they've got the book synopsis, they've got your bio. I don't have to sit there and hunt for this stuff. They just give it to me in a folder and I'm done. I'm ready to go.

SPEAKER_00 23:10

Yeah. And that's one of one of the many reasons why, you know, I get this question, especially I got this a couple of times from students when they were asking me when I was visiting that classroom, why didn't you self-publish? And, you know, I said I have friends who self-publish and they do very, very well. But I knew early on that that just wasn't in the cards for me from a financial standpoint. You know, I'm a teacher, married to a teacher. I have two young boys. We just didn't have the money for me to to really promote the book that the in a way that I wanted it to be promoted. I I needed that expertise and that help, like you said, that would think about these things ahead of time. I wouldn't have thought about those things, you know, these these marketing packages that wasn't even on my radar until until I got published. So I'm I'm very thankful that the powers that be have that forethought to, you know, that that mindset to have all of those things ready to go. It's it's truly awesome.

Dianne Burckhardt 24:14

Yeah, they make things easy for us to be able to promote authors.

SPEAKER_00 24:18

Yes. I love that.

Dianne Burckhardt 24:21

Now you already have your next book coming up in October, The Meet Me on Mistletoe Lane. Do you want to give our listeners a quick teaser about that book?

SPEAKER_00 24:30

Sure. Meet Me on Mistletoe Lane. I call it your favorite Hallmark Christmas movie meets my Big Fat Greek Wedding.

SPEAKER_01 24:37

Oh, nice.

SPEAKER_00 24:38

So, oh yeah. I love My Big Fat Greek Wedding is one of my favorite movies. And I think I've always loved it simply because it reminded me of my family and my husband's family. We're both Italian, though, not Greek. But there are very similar, very similar aspects between those two as far as how that extended family treats you, how they treat outsiders, um, you know, that well-meaning but sometimes overbearing sense and protective sense. So uh Mistletoe Lane is about a girl named Gianna Mancini, who lives again in a in a small, beautiful town called Mullings Creek, and they are known for their Christmas time festivities. And when everything is set and ready to rock and roll, and she thinks this is gonna be the Christmas to beat all Christmases, the owner of their beloved farmers market passes away unexpectedly. And unfortunately, he did not leave this market to anyone in his will. He didn't have any family. So in swoops, this hoity-toity lawyer from the big city who wants to basically sell it off in pieces. And Gianna and the town is, you know, no, please, you can't do this. Our whole life just revolves around this market. You know, let us let us convince you to to sell it to us, the town. And so he gives them kind of 30 days to get their affairs in order. And during those 30 days, rather than just throwing in the towel, uh, Gianna and her family and friends decide, well, we're gonna do these, we're gonna, we're gonna really amp up Christmas and show them that it's worth keeping. And part of that also comes into this fake dating plot because this lawyer brings his son with him, and the son would love nothing more than for dad to to have a reality check and to lose. So he says, Hey, how about you and I fake date so that you can bring that Christmas flair a little bit closer to him? But her best guy friend, of course, is like, um, no. So there's this wonderful love triangle, there's fake dating. I tried to throw in every possible trope. Um, and it's it's Christmas chaos. And I I hope that there are a lot of scenes that make people people laugh and think of their you know favorite Christmas movies too. So it's it's a lot of fun. I think it's gonna be a really fun and heart squeezy kind of book to bring in the holidays.

Dianne Burckhardt 27:20

Oh, yeah, that's already going on my to be red list. That sounds fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 27:24

Yay! Awesome. Thank you.

Dianne Burckhardt 27:25

That that is the kind of stuff that I love. When I have a weekend that I just want to chill and relax. Yeah. And just have something enjoyable. That's the kind of stuff I want to read.

SPEAKER_00 27:35

Me too. I I don't want something that's gonna make me stop every two seconds and go, wait, who is this person and where am I? I I just want to be swept away and think, oh, this would be nice. I wish I could visit this place in real life. Yeah, I'm with you.

Dianne Burckhardt 27:51

Now, this seems like the perfect time to do our five quick questions that never turn out to be quick, but I'm just too nosy and refuse to give up. Oh, I love it. Let's go. So now you have said that your home is constantly filled with music, good food, and laughter. So I have a few questions about this. Sure. Question one What kind of music do you listen to? And who is your favorite artist?

SPEAKER_00 28:16

Oh my gosh. Okay, so the kind of music that's normally playing in our house would be classic rock or soft rock. So we're very big right now. My boys are super into Michael Jackson. Um, so we've got that, Billy Joel, we love the Eagles here. My husband's big into country. So we are a very eclectic family. But for me personally, I'm a big Swifty. So I have the life of the showgirl on repeat, usually in my car. Although I've I've made the nostalgic playlist recently. I saw something online that was like, you don't need therapy, you just need to make a nostalgic playlist. And I'm like, well, I'm already in counseling, but I'll try this. So I went back and made a playlist of all of my favorite hits from the 80s and 90s growing up. And I have to say it's been wonderful. Like I put it on and I'm just transported back to simpler times. And that's got a lot of boy bands and you know, Gloria Estefan and some fun stuff on there.

Dianne Burckhardt 29:17

So it sounds like a fantastic playlist. Very good choices in the groups, but I have to say, every time I hear somebody refer to music from my teen years as classical. It makes my heart tighten.

SPEAKER_00 29:32

I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better when my students ask if I was, you know, when were you born? And I don't tell them, but they'll be like, She was born in the 1900s. It makes me feel like I was born in the 1700s. So you start imagining covered wagons and pretty much long. Yeah, we didn't even have electricity. I was going out and pumping water, and if we ran out of oil in our lamps, we were just out of luck, kids. Like, oh, good lord.

Dianne Burckhardt 29:58

Oh, so funny. Now, question two.

unknown 30:03

Okay.

Dianne Burckhardt 30:04

Regarding the good food in your house, what is the best dish that you make that your family loves?

SPEAKER_00 30:11

Ooh, I feel like they would each say something different. My husband likes the fajitas that I make. I make a really good chicken fajita that's got an awesome marinade that does best when it sits all day. But we are an Italian family. We do love our pasta. And so my husband and I will make a pasta. We build it from the ground up and with the beef and the sauce and the seasonings. So I do love a slow simmer of pasta sauce on and meatballs on the stove. And, you know, we grill a lot too. So this time of year, we're always looking forward to burgers or Italian sausages on the grill. But I would say chicken fajitas as far as my dish and probably that pasta sauce.

Dianne Burckhardt 30:58

My husband swears that it's not a good pasta sauce unless it is simmered at least six hours. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 31:04

Yes, 100%. And that that goes into that mistletoe book as well because it's it's Italian. And so, you know, when Ciana goes over to Nona's, she always expects something to be in the fridge or on the stove. And because that's how it was for me and my husband growing up, you know, you just knew you could open the fridge and get a meatball, eat it cold, delicious.

Dianne Burckhardt 31:27

Question three. Sure. I did a little bit of snooping on your Goodreads page too. So the question is how many cardigans do you own?

SPEAKER_00 31:39

Oh my gosh, don't make me couch. I don't know that I could couch, Diane. Oh, cardigans, golly.

Dianne Burckhardt 31:45

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I can tell you just sitting here at my desk, I can see about eight of my own.

SPEAKER_00 31:52

Oh, that's fair. I was gonna say I probably have eight to ten. So we're in the same frame of, you know, librarians, we have to have our cardigans. I will say, I think my book themed shirts have finally surpassed my cardigans. Nice. So yeah, this is this is a big development in the Miller wardrobe. But, you know, it's something that my husband just rolls his eyes, like, really, Cassie? Another book shirt. Like, but they're seasonal. I have a handful of Christmas ones. I have my cute little Halloween ones. I I need some spring ones. So I do probably have a good eight to ten cardigans, though, no lie, of varying colors and and long-sleeved three-quarter sleeves. I just love my cardigans.

Dianne Burckhardt 32:36

Yep. It's like there's light ones for summer, there's heavy ones for winter. There's some that just, you know, come down to your waist, some that come down to your knees. I mean, you have to you have to have a full wardrobe of them.

SPEAKER_00 32:48

Yes, they're easy and the much easier and kinder to our hair. And you know, I wear glasses, so putting things on and over my head, I love a good hoodie.

Dianne Burckhardt 32:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:57

But it's just the cardigans are just easier all around for people like me.

Dianne Burckhardt 33:01

Yeah, absolutely. Now, question four. You've said you've always loved escaping into worlds that you've created and worlds created by other authors. So, what is one world you love escaping into that was created by another author?

SPEAKER_00 33:16

Hmm, my gut one that just always pops into my mind. Someone else had asked me this question if I could live in any other world, and I said Rivendell from Lord of the Rings. She was like, Oh, I didn't expect that. Most people would say Hogwarts or this or Narnia. So, yeah, for me, it would just be the world of Tolkien. I I love Lord of the Rings. We're a very big Tolkien family here. And uh, if I could escape into Rivendell and live with the elves and be in that beautiful enchanted forest and castle-like structure that seems to just melt into the forest, I would be a very happy person.

Dianne Burckhardt 33:55

See, and I think I would definitely be good in a hobbit hole.

SPEAKER_00 33:59

Oh, I love the books. Yes, I saw something the other day and I was like, Yep, that's me. And it was something like I just how did it phrase it? It was about aspiring to be a hobbit because of my tea, barefoot in the grass, um, multiple dinners and potatoes. I said, Yes, yes, that's all I need potatoes, tea, and my garden. Yeah. So I'm good.

Dianne Burckhardt 34:27

That sounds perfect.

SPEAKER_00 34:28

Yes. I would happily live in a hobbit hole. I would live in Hobbiton with you, and we would be excellent neighbors. We can share tea. Yes.

Dianne Burckhardt 34:37

Now, question five. We're asking everyone the same question this year because we're coming up with a list to put in our year-end book buying guide that we publish in November to help people to fill out their shopping list for others. So question five is what book to movie adaptation do you think is the best that you have seen so far?

SPEAKER_00 34:58

Ooh, book to movie. Can I change it from book to show? Sure. Can I do that? Okay, it can be TV show, streaming, whatever. Perfect. So I recently finished the Percy Jackson series. As I mentioned before, I'm a kid librarian. So my elementary school is grades three through five. Both of my boys had read all of the Percy Jackson books. My oldest went through like the sequel series and the series after that and just loved Rick Riordan. So I figured, well, you know what? I had read the first Percy Jackson book with them individually as like a read aloud in the evenings before bed years ago, but I never continued the series because, you know, life. So I started, I think it was after Christmas. I sat down, I was like, you know what? I'm gonna just I'm gonna start at book one and I'm gonna read the whole thing again. I loved those books. The way that that man captured the unique and wonderful middle grade voice was just chef's kiss. And during this time, we were watching the Percy Jackson series on Disney Plus. I had seen the movies, and sorry, not sorry, the movies are terrible, like the characters are too old, and it's just not it, it was like Hunger Games-esque, but for Greek mythology, and that's not why he wrote those books. Those are for younger tweens. So I was pleasantly surprised and so happy that Disney got it right with the casting. So I would say even if you're someone who reads primarily adult lit, do not shut the door on middle grade writing. Middle grade writers, I think, are some of the most talented writers in the business because they take big concepts and themes and they condense it into something that is easy to digest and approachable. And it's not a lesser form of writing. I think it's actually a stronger form of writing for it. And I was very, very pleased with the Percy Jackson series and how well it connects with the show on Disney Plus. And I know season three is about to air this year. So if you have time, I would really encourage you to look at those books, especially if you have teenagers or tweens, and you can read them and watch the show too. It's a great, great connection. I I've been very pleased with what they decided to do with it.

Dianne Burckhardt 37:39

See, one of the reasons why we're building this list is I think it would be a great idea that for all of these books that they did do a good job doing a adaptation. It would be such a good gift for somebody at Christmas to give them like the copy of the first book, the copy of or download code to get the series, and like some popcorn and MMs or something, and put that together in a gift for Christmas. Or whatever holiday that you would give gifts for.

SPEAKER_00 38:08

Yep, I agree. And you know, it's hard. I wish, you know, I understand the way that things work now, and we're not gonna see as many things on DVD, but I do remember, and I'm sure you do as well, it was so much fun going to the movie store and and buying those or you know, borrowing those DVDs or VHSs. And so when we when we put together these, like you said, these gift baskets and ideas and stuff, it's not the same when you can't physically put that movie or show in that basket. You know, you have to stream it. But I do love that idea of creating something like a a staying in basket with those things. That's that's awesome.

Dianne Burckhardt 38:51

And there's a lot of those places that you can buy a gift card to, you know, with a code to buy the streaming. So you could put that in there with the the book. Shoot, you could use that as the bookmark for the book.

SPEAKER_00 39:03

Yes, that's actually a great idea.

Dianne Burckhardt 39:05

This has been absolutely fantastic. You are so much fun to talk to. Let's remind everybody who you are and where they can find your books.

SPEAKER_00 39:14

Sure, yeah. Thank you for having me on. I've I've loved chatting with you, Diane. Again, my name is Cassie Miller, and the best place you can find me is on Instagram at Cassie MillerRights. And my debut, Meet Me Under the Lights, is a YA baseball romance that came out March 3rd, and you can buy it wherever books are sold. And Meet Me on Mistletoe Lane, my YA Christmas rom com comes out on October 6th and will also be available wherever books are sold as well.

Dianne Burckhardt 39:47

And whenever your third book gets ready to come out, you have to come back.

SPEAKER_00 39:51

Oh, I would love that. That would be great. I'd absolutely love to chat with you again.

Dianne Burckhardt 39:55

That would be so much fun. So there you have it, folks. That was my interview with the amazing Cassie Miller. If you'd like to learn more about Cassie and her debut young adult romance, Meet Me Under the Lights, you'll find all the important links in the description of today's podcast. And be sure to keep an eye out for her upcoming young adult holiday rom-com coming out in October. Meet me on Mistletoe Lane. I mean, come on, she describes it as the Hallmark Channel Meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Who wouldn't want to read something like that? I have a feeling you're going to want to add this to one of your Christmas to be read lists. Now, don't forget to come back next week when I'll be talking to award-winning author CC Robinson. We'll be discussing her Pencraft award-winning series Divided, a gripping young adult dystopian story set in a future America where technology has collapsed and freedom comes at a very high price. If you enjoy fast-paced adventures that make you stop and think, I think you're really going to enjoy this conversation. I know I did when we had it. And of course, we have a few updates for Burkhart Books and Bookband Productions, like I promised you at the beginning. Now with Burkhart Books, we're continuing to work on our new paranormal romance series, The Haunted Heart series. The first book, Lanks to Watch Hotel, is currently on track for release later this year. But I've decided to make a pretty big change to the cover art. The original artwork just wasn't capturing my characters the way I wanted. So I've dusted off my old graphic design skills and connected my iPad to my computer, picked up my Apple Pencil, and I'm teaching myself some new illustration software so I can actually hand draw a brand new couple for the cover. If you'd like to follow along and see the progress, or just watch to see if I truly botch this, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter at BurkhartBooks.com slash subscribe and follow along at BookBanta Productions on Facebook, where you'll find our weekly Spectre Sunday posts. Now, if you don't know what Spectre is, it's the name of the fictional ghost hunting reality TV show in this book series. On Spectre Sundays, we share posts featuring character dossiers, information on the real-life ghost hunting adventures that inspired the series, emails between characters, and a lot of other exclusive behind-the-scenes content to help bring this series to life for you. Now, over at Bookbench Productions, we are busy writing the scripts for our new media training courses for authors or basically anybody who needs to promote themselves. These mini courses will cover topics like writing a sample press release, creating a media package the media actually wants to receive, and other practical tools to help authors promote themselves with confidence. We're hoping to have our first mini course available very soon. So be sure to join our mailing list to stay up to date on all of this. You'll find a link in the description of today's podcast. And don't forget to check out our brand new Zazzle store, where you can find swag for our different book series, podcast and magazine merch, and general items for authors, readers, and anyone who loves books. You'll find a link to our store in the description of today's podcast with everything else, and also in our newsletter. Okay, well that's definitely enough for today, folks. So you know what that means. It's that time. It's time for you all to go forth and be really happy that we'll be back again next week. Thank you for joining us today. Be sure to subscribe to BookBanter with Diane Burkhart on your favorite podcast streaming service. Because if you love books like we do, you do not want to miss a single episode of this podcast.