Where I Left Off

The Roommate Rule with Author Georgia Stone

• Kristen Bahls • Season 3 • Episode 14

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Thank you to the HarperCollins Team and Author Georgia Stone for talking to me about her latest release, The Roommate Rule.

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Welcome + Current Reads + WIP

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 Friendship Fling, Georgia Stone, and we are talking about her upcoming release, The Roommate Rule. Thank you so much for being on, Georgia. Hey, thank you for having me. I'm excited. Me too. So the first thing that I always ask every author is what are you currently reading or watching? And for those that are listening, you have a lot of really amazing books in the background, and we have some similar favorite books. So I'm very interested in your answer.

SPEAKER_00

I'm reading Never Over by Claire Gilmore. Ooh, yes. I read her, I I just I knew I would like her books, but she, I believe, only has US deals, so I've had to get them from the US. And yeah, I've been making my way through them this year, and now yeah, I'm on her most recent one and I'm enjoying it.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, now I'm gonna move my copy over to a D VR shop and scoot it up a little bit more. So what can you tell us currently about your work in progress right now?

SPEAKER_00

So what I'm working on like right this second.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_00

I kind of have multiple things on the go, but the one that I've most recently been working on is not set in the UK. All of my other books I've written so far have been set in the UK. It's set somewhere else that is very special to me. And it is my first dual timeline, which I'm not gonna lie, I've been finding uh difficult, but it's a challenge. And it's uh kind of childhood friends to lovers vibe. So I it did occur to me that in writing this past timeline, I've been like essentially writing a YA. And I was like, I've never written YA, but these guys are teenagers. This is this is I'm basically writing a YA. But yeah, I I haven't got super far on that yet. But that's I mean, who knows if that will ever be published, but it's just something I'm working on.

SPEAKER_01

So, what made you want to go with dual timeline? Was it the childhood friends to lovers aspect of it and kind of the trope that drove that?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so I mean, I can just say it's it's set in Switzerland, which is where I grew up. And so because all of my memories of Switzerland, I mean my parents still live there, but most of my memories of Switzerland are from my childhood and from growing up there. I think I just wanted to put that into the book, and therefore I was like, I need this to be set when they were maybe like not actual children, children, but teenagers to really make it work.

SPEAKER_01

And with traditional publishing, if like once you finish your book, isn't it about like a year or so that then it gets published, or it's kind of like you write it almost a year ahead, technically?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's usually pretty far ahead. Like it depends. Sometimes people get a deal, and then like two years later is when they get published. Maybe I I've heard up to like three years. Oh wow. Then you have like crush titles, which are super fast releases. Mine, I've until this point have I've written them quite far in advance. So I've actually ended up having quite a long stretch of time between writing it and publishing. So it's kind of varied, to be honest. It's been like the roommate rule, for instance, I wrote in 2023, and it's only just being published now.

SPEAKER_01

Do you like having a longer stretch?

SPEAKER_00

I think it's definitely easier when you've written something and then you can just kind of hand it over and be like, hey, I wrote this by the way. Here's something I had in my back pocket, um, rather than writing to a deadline, which is kind of what I'm doing now. Yeah, uh, like that's definitely harder because there's more pressure on it. Whereas when you're just writing for yourself. That makes sense. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So um talking a little bit more about the roommate rule, how did writing your sophomore novel feel different than your debut? And since you wrote it ahead of time, maybe less pressure.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I I wrote both the friendship and the roommate rule before I I will like talk a bit more about it later, but I originally self-published the friendship, but I'd intended to self-publish both of them. So by the time I got my first book deal, which my first one was with the UK, I'd already written both books. So that was nice because I was not actually that's amazing. Like, here you go, I wrote this. So in that way, there was there was no pressure on me because I was just still writing just for me and just for fun, because I hadn't even self-published by that point. I was I was just writing for myself. But in terms of the difference, I guess it still was different in the sense that I knew I could do it because the friendship thing was the first time I'd ever tried to write a book, at least with the room at rule. I was like, oh, okay, well, you've done this before, you can hopefully do this again. And then in some ways it was easier because I had certain things already, like I had the sibling dynamic that was laid out already because I'd already referenced it in the friendship thing. And then I knew Max a little bit, so I had a bit of a foundation to work with. But then it was harder just because it's another book and different books are harder and easier in different ways. So yeah, it was it was definitely harder in the sense that the character dynamic was different and it wasn't what I was used to. I was like, I have to make these people different. I have to, the settings are different, and I was like, I don't know if I can do it.

SPEAKER_01

Um, what did you do to kind of help you through it? Did you just write it or kind of lean on author friends or how how did you get through that?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I just I wrote it. I have a a good group of friends who read my stuff early. And I have two friends who read it when it was the messiest first draft ever. Um so the two of them, they saw it, they saw it when uh it all it had was potential. I just write for myself and then send it out to friends to get some input. I tend to know what is wrong with it, and sometimes when I send it to friends, it's more like I'm just getting their confirmation that what I thought was wrong with it is wrong with it. And yeah, I think that was the case with the roommate rule.

SPEAKER_01

So speaking of Avan Finn, who makes some cameos in the roommate rule from the friendship fling, how did you kind of decide how much or how often to include them without making it too much? But it it struck a really good balance of being fun and you got to see them, but it it wasn't about them. It was, of course, Max and Dylan's story.

SPEAKER_00

Honestly, every draft I think they were in it a different amount. Like, so now the book starts with Dylan's point of view, but originally it started with Max's point of view on kind of on the same day. So Aver and Finn were like fully in that scene, they were there from the start, and then they were also in a scene at the end, as in like the very last chapter, and then I ended up changing the ending, so they weren't. So yeah, they were definitely on page more at first, and then I had to kind of pull it back. I probably put them in it more at first because I was used to writing them and they were like easy for me, and I was like, I know they're dynamic, it's fine, I can I can write these guys. Um I don't know about feeling yet. But yeah, we slowly paired it down and paired it back, I guess, through each round of edits. I wanted it to make sense for new readers, like I didn't want them to just be on page and new readers who hadn't read the friendship to be like, who are these guys? I wanted it to strike the balance, like you said, like so people who'd read the first one would see them and be like, ah, there they are. That's how they do it.

SPEAKER_01

I like it. I thought it was great. So romance as a genre is huge, and there's so many different niches and aspects and areas of it. So, which romance readers specifically do you think will really connect with the story?

SPEAKER_00

I think that I tend to write the books that I like to read the most. So I like Jessica Joyce, as we've spoken about before we started recording. I like PK Morrison, Emily Henry, basically this entire shelf behind me. I have like Maya Ariel, I have Ali Hazelwood, like people who write, I call it subgenraless contemporary romance, even though contemporary romance is a subgenre, but in a sense that it's just like regular people living regular lives. It's not specific to it's not necessarily a sports romance or a cowboy romance, it's just kind of people living their lives and like going through real life problems. And so I think it would appeal to people who like kind of emotional grit in their romances, but they don't necessarily want the book to be too heavy, like generally it's tonally quite light, but there is still some heavier stuff in it without making the book feel heavy, if that makes sense. Yes.

unknown

I totally agree.

SPEAKER_01

And what made you decide to write Max and Dylan together? Did you kind of know as you were writing the friendship fling that they were gonna end up together as you introduced them both?

SPEAKER_00

So I knew I was gonna write about Max. Um I wasn't sure initially who he was gonna be with. I initially had the idea that oh, Max, maybe he's a travel influencer and he will go on a trip and it was gonna be it was gonna revolve around that. And then while I was writing, Dylan kind of appears in the friendship fling like halfway through. She's very quiet, and I'm not gonna lie, in part that was because I didn't want to give her too much page time in case I like overcommitted to something that she said or did in the friendship fling. That's married. Yeah. I was like, I'm gonna keep your personality kind of quiet and like in the background in this first book, just in case. And then I can like explore it more in the second book. I figured when I knew who Max was, I was like, okay, I want someone who's the complete opposite, because for some reason I seem to only write opposites attract. Um I was like, who would he need or want? And who, therefore, would she need and want, and how would they work together? Also, how would they clash? Like, what kind of things would they both have to work through? And yeah, I think it was honestly just I really wanted to write another opposites attract. So I'm the opposite person to Max in every way.

SPEAKER_01

Well, and then the added bonus is that if your personality as a reader is a little bit more take no nonsense, then you can obviously really relate to Ava. But then if you're a little bit more on the quiet side, then you can relate to Dylan. So you get a little bit of oath.

SPEAKER_00

A little bit of both. That's honestly what I found harder about writing Dylan because I'm much more similar to Ava. And so one of the two friends I mentioned who read it early, in fact, both of them are way more like Dylan. And so I was like, I need you guys, I need your input to see if she feels like a real person or not. Yeah, I'm definitely more like Dylan.

SPEAKER_01

So, what aspects of Max and Dylan's personality, really personalities really kind of stand out to you the most as you were writing?

SPEAKER_00

Always say that I think Max is really direct. Like the only thing he really kind of hides is his increasing feelings for Dylan. But everything else he's pretty upfront about. He's like, I know what I want, I'll take it. And I kind of like that. And it was also, it was kind of weird that there was like no mystery around whether he likes Dylan or not. He's like, Yeah, I do. And he has like deeper feelings, obviously he's he keeps to himself. But yeah, um, I like that he's direct and I like that he kind of stands up for himself. Like occasionally Dylan will say, like, I don't know, an offhand comment, and he's like, No, that's not true. And it's sort of he's not like saying it in a mean way, he just like yeah, he's he's just self-assured and he he can stand up for himself. And then for Dylan, I just love how like kind and generous she is to her detriment, honestly. But I liked honestly, I really liked watching her grow throughout the book from being this kind of people pleaser who like thinks about everyone else to slowly becoming someone who puts herself first. And yeah, I liked I won't say what happens, but there is a part like at the end where they have an argument and she I think maybe stands up for herself in a way that I don't think people would expect. So yeah, I just I liked seeing that whole that whole arc.

SPEAKER_01

And Max being able to course correct her without ever being mean, just kind of trying to push her out without like bullying her. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

He's like on the cusp.

unknown

Yeah. True.

SPEAKER_00

I think between Max and Ava are siblings, they're both just like kind of bullheaded.

SPEAKER_01

But I feel like a lot of times, especially with Ava, everyone has her clocked on her big heart, whereas like Max might kind of slide under the radar until you realize that, oh, he's mushy too. He is, he can't be. Yeah. Um, what's your favorite part of writing about forced proximity and like that kind of whole roommate trope?

SPEAKER_00

You can have like the okay, spoiler alert, they share a bed. Oh my god, there's only one bed. Um, you have I love those moments where it's like, oh, it's not supposed to be sexual, but like, oh no, they're sharing a bed, they're so physically close. What can happen? Um, I love like those moments, but then I also love the the quiet domesticity, so where they have their routines. Like Max always gets in the shower first, Dylan always makes the coffee, they have these little routines that they start to build because they're living together. And I really like watching those quiet moments, probably more than than the louder, like spicier moments. Yeah, I just I like watching them slowly kind of have their lives weave together, even if it's only in this six-week time frame.

SPEAKER_01

And the bug brownies are always fun. Yeah. So if the roommate role were adapted into a movie, uh, what scene do you think would absolutely have to make it into the trailer?

SPEAKER_00

I have two. Um, one of them I think is the first time they kiss, which like it starts to rain at the end, and I just feel like that would be a great, like, sweeping shot of them like in the rain. Um, but then on like a funnier note, when they there's a scene where they are in a canoe with Bertie, and I feel like there could be some funny moments from that scene as they're like traveling down the river in the trailer.

SPEAKER_01

Those are both good. And a lot of uh romance books have been getting adaptations, so throwing it out into the world. Um, so listeners specifically really always request to hear about just traditionally published authors' journeys. And so I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit more kind of about your querying experience, how you found your agent, and going from self-published to traditionally published.

SPEAKER_00

Because I was self-published, my experience was a bit different. But full context, I did actually query, I want to say it was summer 2023, but I basically I wasn't sure whether I wanted to traditionally publish or self-publish. And because I knew that I would need a lot of time to edit if I was going to self-publish, I was like, okay, I'm just gonna query a handful of agents in the summer, and if nothing happens, it's fine, I'll just self-publish. Like I really was not tied to either option. So I did query, I think I queried like five agents and then two like agencies as a whole, and they all either like ignored me or rejected me, which I kind of expected in retrospect. Um, the book was very long for a romance, especially one that like hadn't been proven, hadn't gone viral or anything. So I think that was probably where they turned me down because they saw that work out and they were like, no.

SPEAKER_01

You're telling me that the friendship pre plane could have been longer, what? I mean longer. Oh my gosh. Okay.

SPEAKER_00

There's more. You get a hold of the the indie version, there's a little bit more. But yeah, so I ended up self-publishing the friendship plane under a different title called A Collision of Stars originally. That was in February 2024, and basically on my publication day, I went out to the pub to celebrate with my friends and family. And I came home and I checked my author email for the first time in a couple of days, and I saw in my inbox there was an email from my now agent saying, Hey, I saw your book on Instagram and it sounds like something I might be interested in. Can I read it? And I was like, Yeah, you can. Um because I honestly was not thinking about this because it wasn't like the book hadn't even come out when she'd emailed me. It was it was two days before, technically. But basically, I found out uh what happened was she was stalking the Instagram of one of her other authors, or like the tagged photos of one of her other authors, and she saw that one of her other authors was tagged in like a monthly reading roundup. And in this roundup, she'd read the other author's book and she'd also read my book, this one particular reader. And the other book was, I think it's literary fiction, and it's quite like dark. And my agent was like, How has this reader enjoyed both this literary fiction and this romance? I really want to know what this romance is like to appeal to this same reader, and it yeah, it ended up just going from there, basically. I signed with her a month later, and then I got a book deal a month later. It was very fast and very strange because even amongst other self-published authors who go trad, my experience was different because usually, usually people get picked up because they draw the attention of an agent or a publisher because their book has got a lot of buzz, it's gone viral, it's just it's getting a lot of hype on on the internet. But that was just not the case for me. It was genuinely just my agent happened to stumble upon this one post, and then she happened to like my book, and she was like, Yeah, I'll take it at 130,000 words, and then she sent it out and sold it to the UK and the US. Wow, that's kismet. Yeah, it's wild. I I know the person who made the post as well. So every time I'm like, Thank you, Harriet, for making that because I would not shout out to Harriet.

SPEAKER_01

So, what's something about traditional publishing that you kind of wish more authors knew going in?

SPEAKER_00

I have like two things in my head, and one of them, I think there's a lot of misinformation out there in terms of, I mean, a lot of things around publishing. So I think first of all, make sure you're like listening to people who have credentials and like credentials you can actually source and and see proof of. But I think one of the big pieces of misinformation is that if you traditionally publish your book, all of your control is taken away and you have no say in anything ever. And I've just not found that to be the case. And I'm sure maybe it's different from author to author, but amongst all of my author friends, no one's editor has gone, no, um, this book is gonna be written my way, and you have to do all of my suggestions. Like, no, that's not how it worked. In part because the editors, they don't have time, they can't rewrite your book. So, yeah, that's one big thing. I think there's this huge idea for some reason that editors just suddenly rewrite your book, basically, which is not the case at all. You don't even have to listen to anything they suggest. Ideally, you do listen to some of it. Um, otherwise, what was the point in taking the book deal? But you you don't have to. And sometimes you don't have to, but you can say, I don't want to do this, but I'll do this thing instead. Hopefully that will like achieve the same result. So yeah, that's that's my one thing. And then another thing, it's kind of I guess it's also for self-published authors, but I think about it specifically for traditionally published authors, is that it is way more important for your book to be read than to be liked. So like do not spend time, well, try not to spend time, worrying about whether people are gonna like your book because first of all, you can't please everyone. Second of all, it's genuinely like when it comes to your actual career, way more important for people to buy your book and read it than just to like it in general. Like you have a thousand people liking your book, great, or you have ten thousand people reading it and like maybe two thousand of those dislike it, like it's but it's just so much better to have people read it than like it.

SPEAKER_01

I feel like that's probably very freeing for a lot of others.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, plenty of things to worry about when you're traditionally published, but don't worry about people liking your book. It's like not that important when it comes to your career.

SPEAKER_01

And is there anything else that you would like readers to know about the roommate role?

SPEAKER_00

Ooh, it's set in Wales, which I think is fun. I feel like obviously there are a lot of books set in the UK, but most of them are London, which is where I live. So I did set one in London, and then others are set in Scotland and various places. But there aren't that many that set in Wales, and I just felt like Wales deserved a little bit of attention. So if you want to learn about a new place, maybe you don't know much about Wales, even though this place that I've written is completely fictional. Maybe this will be your exposure to Wales.

SPEAKER_01

That's it for today. Thanks for listening to Where I Left Off, a bookish podcast. You can visit Georgia's site, add her book on Goodreads, and follow her on social media. And of course, you can purchase her novels anywhere books are sold. And the roommate rule is available July 7th. Or for US and Canadian listeners, you can read the ebook now on Kindle Unlimited.