Where I Left Off

Stealing You with Author Mollie Goins

• Kristen Bahls

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 36:25

Send us Fan Mail

Thanks to Author Mollie Goins for joining me to talk about the third book in the Boston Blues series, Stealing You.

Support Mollie:

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

For links to the books discussed in this episode, click the link here to take you to the Google Doc to view the list. 

For episode feedback, future reading and author recommendations, you can text the podcast by clicking the "Send us a message button" above. 

For more, follow along on Instagram @whereileftoffpod.

SPEAKER_01

Welcome back. I'm Kristen Balls, and you're listening to Where I Left Off, a Bookish Podcast. And today I'm joined by the author of the Boston Blues series, Molly Goins, and we are talking about her latest novel in the series, Stealing You. Thank you so much for joining me today, Molly. Thank you so much for having me, Kristen.

SPEAKER_00

This is a long time coming.

SPEAKER_01

I'm so excited. Yeah. So, okay, we were actually supposed to talk at Ink at Indie. And then now we get to talk again. So thank you for taking the time.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you for having me and adjusting to our group my crazy schedule.

Comfort Re-Reads And Mood Reading

SPEAKER_01

Oh, yeah, no problem. So the first question that I always ask all the authors, because they just they have really good recommendations. I have to add to my own TBR while I'm doing this too. Yeah. What are you currently reading right now?

SPEAKER_00

Okay, so I actually just am like in between, but I just finished my reread of the Clover, Cloverly Farms with Melanie Harlow, The Next Gen. Those are my favorite. I love them. And then like I did, they're my comfort series. So I reread it whenever I'm like, things have just been so much. And we've been trapped with the snow, which finally we're getting past all of that. And the kids are finally back in school. So I was like, I'm just gonna reread the cozy feel good. I also just finished um High Sticking the Heart by Marie M. Also 10 out of 10 with the audio. Oh, it's so good. Those are in between up next. I'm not sure. I have like a I'm usually such a mood reader that I'm usually like, oh, what am I feeling? But I think where I've gotten so into like I'm in the trenches of the first draft that really it's hard for me to like land on a specific mood. So I think I'm gonna put all of my TBR into a spin wheel and then just let it pick for me, which I've never done before because I'm usually such a mood reader, but I'm like, I'm in the trenches. So all of my mood is going into the book. All of my mood's going into my draft, but I've got to have something to pick up. So we'll see what the wheel delivers.

SPEAKER_01

Nice. Is your TBR uh normally all romance or do you like to read other genres too? I am an all-romance girl.

SPEAKER_00

I am all romance. I a contemporary romance, that's me. But I'm I don't really venture. Hey, you like what you like. You like what you like. I and it's so funny because my sister is usually primarily like a soul suspense thriller only person, like reader. And so whenever I started really doing this, she's like, I guess I have to read more romance now. And I'm like, Yes, yes, I do. Which she's like, I love romance. She's like, but my preferred reading is just thriller. Um, so she does read me now.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I used to read a lot of thrillers, like almost exclusively, and then I switched over to romance. So I'm a romance girl, have been, always will be. What is your favorite book in uh Melanie's series, or do you not have a favorite?

SPEAKER_00

So in that one, it would probably be Ignite. Okay. But that whole series is just so good. I love it. It's such a comfort. Just pick it up, reread, which I'm a big rereader. I love reread, re-listen, read it again. Uh, so that one I can always pick up on repeat and do it over and over and over. The whole series, beginning to end.

SPEAKER_01

I need to get better about rereading, so you're inspiring me.

SPEAKER_00

I love a reread. I love a reread so much.

SPEAKER_01

I've been really happy with everything I've reread. Like I didn't realize that you could basically kind of read it again, and you're not probably going to remember a lot of the nuances. And so it's like, you get the book again.

SPEAKER_00

I and one of my favorite this is probably Friend Opponents, because I'm like, okay, well, I know what happens in this chapter. I want to get to the good stuff. So I'm just like that through. Like I know what happens. It's the anxieties. Tell us that you have anxiety. But when you're like, I love a reread. Hey, I mean it's like comfort TV shows only cover books. Yeah, same thing. I that's I'm like, have I watched New Girl 10 times? Yeah, I've also reread this series 10 times.

SPEAKER_01

I was gonna say, I know that um Sarah Adams always talks about like she has anxiety, and that's why she wrote hers like so chill and just fun, but not um not like crazy ups and downs.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. And that's usually I would call mine the same too, of like usually going into that very chill, low angst. I have a few that you would probably call a little bit higher angst, a little bit more emotional, um, which stealing you would probably be one that qualifies as a more emotional roller coaster. But overall, I would probably consider myself very much that sit calm, chill, low angst, sit down. I always call it like junk food for the brain, and which some people are always like, well, you know, has that ever bothered you? And I'm like, no, because I look for I'm a mommoth too. So at the end of every day, I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm ready for my tub of ice cream and just eat it alone without the like my guilty pleasure. And so I'm like, oh, the idea that someone's thinking, oh, I can't wait to get to my sweet little treat of this book just makes me so happy. I'm like, yeah, shut off your brain, enjoy your sweet treat. So I love that.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly. I was gonna say, I have um a really hard job and I got done with like a crazy day at work, and the last thing I want to do is like read a historical fiction where I have to concentrate. Like, no, I want a fun romance.

SPEAKER_00

I want a fun romance where I turn off my brain for a bit and I just kind of get to enjoy these two. I also have like a it's always so funny to me, I have a high visual brain. So I always like picture them as a movie in my head. So I'm like, I get my own little movie.

unknown

It's perfect.

SPEAKER_00

It's perfect for me.

SPEAKER_01

So, what can you tell us about your current work in progress um in the next book in the series? And if there are any tropes you can share.

WIP Update

SPEAKER_00

I can. I can share a few. I'm excited. We are going into book four, catching mine, which will be Adam. I know. It's so wild to me. It'll be Adam and Mia, and I'm so excited for them. They are an accidental pregnancy, marriage of convenience, and I just it's so funny because everyone has Adam's been pretty much a fan favorite since the beginning. Um, and to dive into his book is absolutely wild to me. Uh, but from the beginning, I've always called him Daddy Adam, and it's just because, like, oh, he's like the really big muscular, and he's just, you know, always in charge. And uh, when I finally like told my team, my influencer team that it's going to be an accidental pregnancy, they were like, oh, so you meant Daddy Adam. I was like, I've been saying this from the beginning.

SPEAKER_01

There was a lot of foreshadowing that we just didn't catch on.

SPEAKER_00

I love an Easter egg. I love it. I'm like, yeah, I've said that before.

SPEAKER_01

So are some of okay, so like as far as timelines go, are some of the things that are happening in this book, are they overlapping when the next one?

SPEAKER_00

This one will pick up, like it. I'm trying to think of how to describe the timeline of when it picks up. It picks up at the beginning, like as Stealing You ends, this book starts.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, okay. Because there was some conversations between Adam and Mia. So, okay, this is going, this is all before what happens with them. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00

It's kind of at the end. I I will say the like party at the end of Stealing You is in like the middle of January. And so there's been a few interactions between Adam and Mia at that point. Yeah. That you have so pretty much it picks up around the same. You'll see similarly to the way you saw the party from book two and book three, you'll see a very similar kind of like overlapping scene from book three and book four.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00

Most likely be some quad some overlapping timelines between four and five.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. Good to know. I'm keeping this all in mind for the future. It's all it's all up here.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Well, whenever you're deciding which tropes um are gonna go to characters, like how how do you come about that, especially because they're all so intertwined? Is it like by the time you get to the end of writing the book you're on, you're like, okay, I see where they're going, or do you kind of already have it planned out and it twists and turns as needed?

SPEAKER_00

A little bit of both. So when I sat down, it was really kind of concrete of book one is very concrete. And then like I had a list of things that I wanted to really write and kind of put the ones I wanted to prioritize, the tropes I wanted to prioritize and put them all in a list. And I was like, okay, if I were to do a series and match all of these up, these are the ones that I would want to pick from at the top. Um, and then when I really started digging into the plotting of book one, I started doing all of their kind of like character charts, in which I still leave room to adjust. Like you said, as we really get into it, I call myself kind of like a plancer because I plot just enough to where all the bones are there. Um, but I leave plenty of room for my ADHD brain to like have enough function to really kind of go into. And I knew whenever I laid out the series, I was like, how wild would it be for people who have read Despite It All, where Jet, his best friend, is having a surprise baby, and then he himself is accidental pregnancy. I'm like, that just had to happen because I'm like, how wild would that be? And then on the best part, it's like he gets to call his best friend and we get to see Jet and Lyla from the other series all over again. So I kind of knew that one was going into place. I didn't anticipate marriage of convenience, well, not anticipate, but that one kind of slid in the marriage of convenience side of it. But when I really got into his character, I was like, oh, this man needs to be just so possessive and ready. Like he's I love him and I think it'll play out really well with their characters. Mia was a bit of a development as well. Um, so her the marriage of convenience really came in from her characteristic as I really dove a little deeper into her writing book three and then going into the idea of book four. So that one kind of was like the plansing thick, the pantsing part that came into it, other than like there was that skeleton base already there.

SPEAKER_01

Then that we have room for both.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, you have a plan, but then you still get to have fun. You the there's a plan, but you have to have an idea. I'm like, I have to have a little bit of freedom, or else I'd be like, ah, they're all written in my head. And how many books are you planning uh for the series overall? It'll be five. Okay. So after Adam and Mia will be Trip and Emma. And I'm excited for them. They're fake dating. And so I'm so excited. I've been wanting to do fake dating for so long now, and I'm so excited.

SPEAKER_01

It's gonna say I'm partial to fake dating. It's always fun.

SPEAKER_00

I think it'll be really, really fun.

SPEAKER_01

Talking a little bit more about stealing you specifically. So, what made this couple the right choice for book three? How'd you know that you wanted to get to them next?

SPEAKER_00

I it was so because so many people had asked me going in, because Beck is again a fan favorite from book. I can see why because he's adorable. He's adorable. He's that golden retriever. And I knew because there was at one point, whenever I laid them all out, when I finished book, when I finished Picture Us, there was a moment where I was like, ooh, Beck was so fun as a side character. Do I put him as book two? But at that point, I had already knew that Dex and Lucy were going to be the story that they were for Coach Me. A moment where I had to sit back and reflect and be like, no, they have to have book two for book three to really solidify the way that I want it to. And which, of course, you can read them in any order. I like that you can have them as standalones, but I do think there's something special about going in, especially from Coach Me specifically to Stealing Gill because of the buildup and the banter between Beck and Jensen and Book Two. I was like, this has got to build. This tension for them has got to build. So that's where that part had really came from. And I it was almost a play of all of them. Like I said, when I sat down and did the all, technically it was only gonna be four. But whenever I wrote Picture Us, I my alpha readers were like, so tripp's getting a book, correct? And I was like, well, they're like, no, no, no, no, no. It wasn't a question mark at the end, it was a period. And I was like, okay. And that's what I was like, I have really wanted to do fake dating. So whenever that came into play, too, I really looked at all of them. And every single setup comes through like bricks laying down. I always imagine in my head, I don't know if you've seen those like videos where it's like they knock the cinder blocks down and then they all come back and everything just lines up perfectly. That's how this series feels to me, that it'll fall the way it falls because of like how each one has set up. And so I'm so it just makes me so excited to really part of me is so ready to like get y'all book four, get you book five, so you get the whole picture, but I'm already so sad to say goodbye and I'm not even done yet.

SPEAKER_01

I know. I was gonna say, then then you'll have to plan what you're doing after that, and that's a whole nother We do have plans.

SPEAKER_00

Oh nice. We do have plans up in my head, and I see potentially a four a four book series after this one.

SPEAKER_01

Oh wow. Do you think you want to stay in sports or go go a different direction?

SPEAKER_00

It's while I have the character in mind, the theme could adjust a little bit. I think that will really solidify in book four.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

I'm like, I have again, I have the list of tropes. And then you'll see where I have the plans, but I'm like, the ADHD brain cannot get too attached to one theme.

Stealing You by Mollie Goins

SPEAKER_01

So since you knew um that you really wanted to write Beck and Jensen and you were kind of looking forward to this book, did it make the third book easier or did it make it harder because you kind of put so much on these characters?

SPEAKER_00

A little bit of both. I think Beck and Jensen on one hand was the easiest book that I had written, but I it was also the one I was the hardest on myself on as well, because I wanted to do this book justice so bad. Just every single stage I was agonized over. And so that part where it's like, oh, their story felt like it came really naturally, which it did. I I mean, they are such fun characters. Every step I'm like really going deeper into who they are and like making sure I the care of them. And it's like, it's not that I don't treat all of my characters the same. It was it was something about them too that really I was like, I have to go hard. And I think it was also just the setup from book two that really pushed that in because I was like, I'm as much as I've gotten feedback from readers being so excited for this, I'm so excited for this. And so it was a little bit of both, the easiest and the hardest. That makes sense.

SPEAKER_01

So it is dual POV. Which character's POV was the most fun to write, and then which one was kind of the most difficult to write?

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yeah. I would say Jensen's was something about both POVs had the same element of like fun versus difficult. But I would say I I loved Jensen's slightly just because she's a girl's girl. She's who I would aspire to be as a person in general, who I would want as a friend. She was just everything that Beck needed, but I think she's someone that anyone reading it who could relate to Beck got that level of comfort from Jensen. And then going, Beck obviously was dealing with some very heavy things. And it's not that Jensen wasn't dealing with heavy things, but Beck's stuff was happening at the time where I feel like Jensen was a little bit more equipped the way she handles things and the way she carries herself. So he was a little bit more emotional. And I actually just posted something on my stories on the lighter side where it's a little funny. Anytime I'm in a man's POV, I do sometimes I'm like, I'm not a man, but I know men aren't thinking the way that we're thinking. And so, like, there's always this extra layer of the man's POV where I'm like wanting to describe the woman's outfit. And I'm like, they don't know what proper color this is, they don't know how to describe the way this outfit looks properly to like really get this in your head. So it is always a bit of like easier to do the FMC's point of view, but overall, as far as like the emotional impact, Beck's Beck's was a journey.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, Beck was going through a lot.

SPEAKER_00

Man, Beck was going through it.

SPEAKER_01

A lot of things hit him at once. He's an angel. So how um how does baseball really shape the story in kind of ways that another sport wouldn't have been able to?

SPEAKER_00

I whenever it really sat down, and this again all started with despite it all, I really agonized over which sport to pick. And lost baseball, they play all the time. All the time. I often will have like the Red Sox schedule pulled up in order for me to keep like a good similar basis. And but obviously this is a fictional world, so I'm like, yeah, they have a random set off. Um, but I think there was something about baseball that did feel so fun and appealing of just watching whenever I went in to study all of the videos and the sports, and I listened to podcasts from everyone. I watched several of their like I stopped some of their like Instagrams and things, and not that I based them off, but try to get like the mannerisms of how they hung out with each other. And there was just something about how I felt like they were so goofy and playful. And since they are with each other so often, I was like, this really gets the found family. This is where I had the opportunity also to really mesh that force proximity because everyone's together all the time.

unknown

Yep.

SPEAKER_00

And for like nine months out of the year, they're playing baseball. But it's also very fast paced, and that is me. I love a fast-paced setting. So I really just thought when it came down to the sport, I was like, this is the sport, one that I find the most enjoyable to watch, that sparks the joy in me. And then it just set up so much to really my two favorite things in the world to write are found family and force proximity. And so I was like, this, this is it. This this sets me up so perfectly. And which book three really it takes off during the offseason. So like there's not as much baseball in book three, but as a whole, we're we're packed, it packs a baseball punch. Oh, yeah. I I like to think.

SPEAKER_01

I was just gonna say that my favorite thing about sports romance is found family. Like that's that's the best part. That's why I keep coming back to it. For sure.

SPEAKER_00

I I think there is something really special about found family and sports romance in general. Um, it's it's easily a trope that you can find in all of them. But there's just something about baseball that that piqued me. It's like, it's fun.

SPEAKER_01

And here we are. I was gonna ask if you watched it a lot beforehand or just decided that it fit your story better and then kind of I it's always so funny to me.

SPEAKER_00

I am through and through someone who is like, I just want everyone to have fun and I want to watch a good game. So I'm always people will always ask, and a lot of times I I get funny looks at that. I'm like, in ja I'm telling you, I follow this through every single sport that I watch. I just want a good game. I I that is all I'm here for is something fun that we get to cheer and enjoy and watch. I that's what I love about watching sports. At Stealing E's release party, we actually went out to eat afterwards. And I can't remember who was playing. I think it was the Broncos. Our waiter was like so into it. He was like taking our order, like looking over his shoulder, and he's like, I just really want them to win. And I said, I just really hope they're having a good time. And he started busting out laughing. And he was like, you know what? That made me feel so much better. He's like, Yeah, they're having a good time. He's like, you know what, I'm having a good time. I'm like, see? Didn't that help? He was like, I actually feel a whole lot better. He's like, that's the lightheartedness I needed. I'm like, if everyone just had that. Did they win that game? You know, I don't remember. They had fun, though. They had fun, I was about to say, but at least they had fun. The waiter had fun, I had fun. And that's all I remember.

SPEAKER_01

So with sports romance in general, I feel like this is a huge debate and it's always hard to decide, and every reader has a different preference. But as you're writing, how do you determine like how much on-field action is going to happen versus like how much off-field stuff is going to happen? Because obviously, you know, like the um FMCs really for the whole series, most of them work adjacent to baseball, but they're not going to be able to talk to them necessarily during a game. But that seems like a hard balance to try to find of how much is in the sport and then how much is not on the field.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely. And that I think that's a really tricky thing for any author to really kind of get into. And there is many great opportunities, especially book one and two, for me to kind of mesh both of those, work since they do work so closely onto the field. But one thing that I have always stuck with, this was a piece of advice that I got from like a writing seminar I took and I've carried it with me through every single thing. It's like no matter what, because a lot of people will say like fluff or like filler chapters sometimes just have to happen. And they said, while that's true, it has to come with a purpose, and the purpose must be clear. So anytime that I look into in-field, off-field, I'm like, where, what is the purpose of this scene? Because there are definitely dynamics where it comes to the on-field that gives that purpose without it being very romance-driven or plot-driven. It still serves as a purpose because a lot of it could come to the characters, the found family dynamic. So anytime I do lay that out, and I like I said, I'll plot like 75 to 80% before I actually write a word. And in that layout, there's usually like small things of like, okay, needs to have baseball moment. And depending on when I really grab into it, what we've been dealing with, that's where it kind of goes into deeper. I'm like, does this character need some fun baseball career moments in order for him to like think about what he's feeling? Or does it need to be something that ties in the FMC with the baseball somehow? How can I do that? Um, so often those come to me in a very planting moment. It'll just say like baseball moment needs to happen. I'd like to think that I do a good job of having a balance of both to where it shows enough of the sport. But I'm sure there's definitely people who would feel it needs a little bit more. Um, and I feel like that's still a very valid feeling whenever it comes to it. Most of the time I just try to make sure that the sport is clear and handled with a purpose. And that's kind of my main. I'm like, is there a purpose for it being here? Great, let's go. Um, but I take that in the same of like this the spice scenes. I'm like, what's the purpose of this spice being here? And taking that throughout every single scene.

SPEAKER_01

I was gonna say that's also probably a little bit of the same balance of of course you have people that love baseball that are reading it because it's baseball, but then then you have some people that are like, I don't care, I'm just reading sports romance. So like you also have to balance, yeah, baseball lovers and those who really have no idea what's going on.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and that is totally fair too. Um, I know there's definitely some things where it's like, ah, with this, like I said, it is fictional. So sometimes there are small things. So there is that, there is that balance that we have to play with in sports. Um, but I think it's also fun.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, I was gonna ask, like, how do you decide whenever you're going to take like a creative liberty with the role for the story versus going with what would be more realistic for the sport?

SPEAKER_00

It really comes down to a plot point at that point where it's like, is it this even a further step from the purpose? Is it clear to the plot? And does it support the plot? Like it has to take one step further than just a simple purpose. For me, where it is that kind of like a little bend and break, it's like, will this like small little change really heavily impact the plot? Is that worth it in the end? Um, so that's where I usually take those small little liberties where it's like, okay, I do have this option, but to respect the game and to respect my readers, it has to come from a place where it's like drives the plot. This is unavoidable type of situation.

SPEAKER_01

Do you tend to have like beta readers that like some of them know baseball really well and then some don't? So that way you can get like both sides.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. I think I've crafted so many. I think I've crafted such an amazing team, but I always like to mix it up a little bit with a few people and have people that are focusing on baseball, then they focus on different aspects. I like to have someone usually come in who hasn't read me at all um or hasn't read me since or any of the baseball series, come in and kind of get a feel for that because I do like the uh appeal of being able to read the series out of order. Um, that's always something that I am a big out-of-order reader. I was gonna say I'm an out-of-order reader too. I am an out-of-order reader grilling. Um, so having someone come in and be like, yes, I was easily able to understand all of that. If we have sensitivity readers, dev editors, uh three, I have like three different editorial phases. So I'm like, it's all and each of them kind of focus on different aspects. So we're all in a lot of a lot of eyes go on these books before they get published. How do you find your beta readers? Uh, they have mostly come from just over the years. Um, my alpha team has been like carefully curated from my small town series. Same with editors, they've been with me for a while. When it comes to beta, I often and sensitivity will come from like author referrals because those are pretty, I take sensitivity reading very seriously. So those usually come from like authors or my editors will have recommendations. But then betas I will pick from my influencer team upon occasion. I try not to have, I usually pick like two or three just to give me a quick read through. Um, but I think my alpha team is about six or seven people, and then the editors, and then I usually have anywhere between, depending on the topics. I think I had five to six sensitivity readers on stealing you. And then about three to four betas.

SPEAKER_01

So then is your order like while you're writing it alphas, then sensitivity, then betas, or is it or does it just depend on where you're at and what?

SPEAKER_00

It's a crazy process. So I will have um in the beginning, my dev um developmental editor will start along with some alphas. I usually break up my alpha group um and break up them. We'll make a few adjustments, have another round of alphas come in. And then depending on people's schedules, I'll usually work in sensitivity readers that kind of go into the line of copy, because I do two rounds of copy edits, and then another batch of sensitivity reading, and then another batch of copy edits, and then I have beta readers, and then I have proofreading.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, okay, okay, got it. So you're putting the betas at the very end. Okay, okay. That that makes more sense. Okay, got it. No, it's just everyone has a different process. So that's why I was like, wait a minute, how do how does your process work? Because that's a lot of rounds.

SPEAKER_00

It's a lot of rounds, and it's a you know, I say that and it's by the end of it, it's gotten through so many people, so many rounds of edits, and there's always a typo. Yeah, unavoidable. Unavoidable. And here I'm reading it at like the end for the 15th time, and I'm like, I have this book memorized.

SPEAKER_01

Yep. At that point, I'm like, I can't, I can't look at it anymore. I cannot just look at it. Someone look at the blurb, someone look at everything, can't even look at it. Don't give me a blurb. I don't want to blurbs the worst thing. I did see a meme the other day that was like, would rather write another book and then write the blurb. It's like, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I a few people I know write them before they even start a book.

SPEAKER_01

Smart. I've heard that.

SPEAKER_00

And I'm like, I think that's so smart of you. Every time I'm like, I'm gonna do it first, I don't. I don't wanna I will avoid the blurb until I absolutely can no longer avoid it.

SPEAKER_01

Do you have anything else that you would like readers to know about uh Stealing You or the series overall?

SPEAKER_00

I'm just so excited. I'm like, how many times have I said excited? Everyone drinking, non-drinking game. I love this series. It feels like such a soul series for me. Going into this, I would have to say it's the most I've challenged myself, but it's the most that I felt at home. Um, and the more confident I have gotten in being like, yes, I am an author. That is my job. Um, you know, I don't shy away from that. Sometimes there's, you know, walking through. I I live in a very small town. It's like, oh, what do you do? And you're like, I didn't do this. But I'm very much like, I am a romance author now. I I think there is something that has ignited something writing the series that has just felt like I'm at home. So with them, it's formed this world, and I just can't see myself doing anything else. So I'm so proud of it. And I hope everyone loves it again. I hope everyone, when they finish any of my books, they feel like they've gotten a sweet little treat. Even if it was emotional, I hope that they feel like they got a hug because that's that's what writing the series has also been for me. I do love a hug in a book. I love a hug. Love a hug. Which is oddly, I am not a touch love language person. I'm like, sometimes you need a hug. That's like the hugs from the books are the best.

SPEAKER_01

It's not actual physical touch. Nice. Have a lot of people in your real life um read read the book, like friends and family and just acquaintances or okay. Oh, my family reads all of my books.

SPEAKER_00

My mom is often a beta reader, um, most of the time. Um, and she's probably my biggest critic for sure. I believe. And the second one, Coach Me is like dedicated to my grandmother because she's like, Do you have to say the F-word so many times? And I'm like, Heaven forbid a girl have a favorite word.

SPEAKER_01

Um, but that's hilarious that you dedicated it.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, uh, it is quite the dedication. It says something like um like I'm gonna have to go back and read it. Hold on, I got it. I got it over here because it is, I think it would have to be my favorite dedication so far. Um, and I really thought she was gonna be mad at me, but she wasn't. It says to my Grammy who said the smut was good, but please have an FMC that doesn't curse so much. So that was for her. She did think that that was amazing. She loved it. She was like, see, see? I'm like, oh goodness. But it is so funny to me because she says that, and I'm like, some people didn't relate to Lucy because we all love a good curse word. She's like, Well, I don't love a curse word. I'm like, okay, Grammy. So maybe you'll get another one one day, but not for this series. I need to be able to curse.

SPEAKER_01

That's hilarious. She's a mess. So you know you have the stamp of approval on every book.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yep. Uh coming from them, I almost all of my family has read it, I think, except for my dad and my stepdad. And they need to stay that way. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Totally fine. I know like Lila Sage like redacts her books and then gives it to her family.

SPEAKER_00

It's like, here you go. I I do have a list of the spicy chapters in mind, so they can which all of my family, they like, we do read spice, but they're like, we might skim yours just a little just because it is so personal. Um, they know me, they know me so well. I'm like, that's fine. I've got the chapters listed for you. You're good.

SPEAKER_01

And closed door readers appreciate that as well.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. I've gotten a lot of people who reach out about having those. Um, and I think it is it is nice to have because I'm like, okay, you can pass through them or you can find them. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01

Either, either way. I was gonna say, yeah, I have a lot of friends that I modify for. So it's way easier to hand them a book and be like, hey, just look in the author's note.

SPEAKER_00

Just look there, they're there, which I'm like, there's it the indo windows carry through all the way out.

SPEAKER_01

A little something, but not the full spice.

SPEAKER_00

So not the full spice, just just a little bit, just a smidgeon.

SPEAKER_01

I was gonna say, most of the closed door readers that I know, they're fine with that. They're like, uh, I don't care about that.

SPEAKER_00

We can skip a sentence or two.

SPEAKER_01

Or they're like, as long as I can skip it, like as long as it's easily skippable and I can tell when it's gonna happen, and then I can just skip it. They're like the lead up.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yes, yeah, yes. That's how I'm like, I I've really enjoyed having that. I think and I think it's useful because before I'd also gotten a lot of DMs from people being like, Well, where are the spicy chapters? I'm like, hold on. Let me look.

SPEAKER_01

As if you're supposed to remember off of memory.

SPEAKER_00

I know I'm like, oh, I don't know. I'm afraid that was three books ago. Oh yeah. Three books ago. Um, I too, I'm like, I always afraid every time I go in, I'm like, have I forgotten one? Like, have I forgotten one that I've not put in this one? I'm sure you'd get a DM if you did.

SPEAKER_01

I'm sure. I'm sure. Well, thank you so much for joining me today.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_01

It was so nice to talk to you. Same. Thanks for listening to Where I Left Off, a bookish podcast. You can visit Molly's site and you can follow her on social media and purchase her novels through the link in the show notes, or you can always find them on Kindle Unlimited.