Book Shop Chats:
Welcome to Book Shop Chats, your go to podcast for indie authors and learning insight into what it takes to write a book (HINT: You can do it too!!)
Join authors as they share their personal journeys, successes, and challenges, providing you with unique insights into the writing process. The discussions explore into various aspects of storytelling, from character development to plot structuring, ensuring you have a well-rounded understanding of the craft.
Whether you're just starting out or have published multiple works, this podcast is your companion in the pursuit of storytelling excellence. Tune in, gather inspiration, and let your passion for writing flourish alongside a community that celebrates the art of the written word.
Book Shop Chats:
From Fandoms to Romance: Writing Love Stories for Geeks and Nerds with Jasmine C. Caldwell
Victoria welcomes Jasmine C Caldwell to discuss her eleven published books and her mission to flip tired romance tropes on their head. Jasmine shares how frustration with the "nerdy girl makeover" narrative inspired her Geek Girl Squad series featuring confident women with their own fandoms who expect men to prove they're "nerdy enough" to date them.
• Writing romance for "geeks and nerds" across multiple subgenres including contemporary, fantasy, and romantic suspense
• Creating characters who embrace their authentic interests rather than changing to find love
• How Jasmine incorporates different fandoms (anime, D&D, comics, video games) into her storytelling
• The advantages of self-publishing, especially for authors who value creative control
• Navigating cover design and finding the right publishing partners as an indie author
• Marketing strategies including illustrated covers that accurately represent character descriptions
• How life events and personal challenges influenced Jasmine's publishing journey
• Writing advice: "Write what you want to write and worry about marketing later"
Author Bio:
Jasmine is a lover of all things romance. When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her baking or playing board games with her friends and family. She lives in Pennsylvania with her patient husband and too many books.
Series Blurb for The Geek Girl Squad:
Introducing the Geek Girl Squad! They’re smart, they’re sweet, and they’d burn the world down for each other. Best friends since college, they find themselves navigating the rough waters of adulthood, career, and love. Read the whole series to find out how romance finds each of them!
Thief's Bodyguard:
She's the one night stand he can't forget. Now he's her bodyguard, and she's keeping a secret that could get them both killed.
Links:
https://www.jasmineccaldwell.com/
https://www.facebook.com/jasmineccaldwell
https://www.instagram.com/jccaldwellromance/
https://www.tiktok.com/@jasminecaldwell701
About Victoria:
Hey there, I’m Victoria! As a writer and developmental editor, I specialize in helping busy writers bring their publishing dreams to life without the overwhelm. Editing doesn’t have to feel like pulling teeth—it's the magic that transforms your story from “meh” to masterpiece!
Here’s how I can help:
📖 FREE Manuscript Prep Workbook: Take the stress out of editing with simple steps to organize your revisions.
Grab it HERE
📝 Developmental Editing: Get expert feedback that elevates your manuscript, strengthens your story, and polishes your characters.
✍️ 1:1 monthly support Writer's Haven: Revitalize your creativity, map out your novel, and unleash your authentic voice.
Your story deserves to shine, and I’m here to make it happen. Let’s turn your writing dreams into a reality!
📱 IG: @editsbyvictoria
🌐 Website: https://www.victoriajaneeditorial.com/links
Oh hey, it's Victoria from Victoria Jane Editorial and your host of Bookshop Chats. This podcast is all about authors, writing and the magic that goes into storytelling. We cover all of the things that go into writing a book, from the creative process, from taking your idea to a first draft, creating and cultivating community within the author space, marketing all of the fun things. If you are a reader, a wannabe writer or an author, you will find tips and tricks that suit whatever level you are at. So I hope that you enjoy and you are unfortunately, or fortunately going to find many more books to add to your TBR, so I will invite you to sit back and listen to the episode. Welcome back to Bookshop Chats. In today's episode, I am chatting with Jasmine C Caldwell. I swear that's not quite. That's right, okay, gosh, gosh.
Speaker 2:I haven't.
Speaker 1:I haven't had enough coffee today. I'm so excited to be chatting with you. You have 11 books out in the world, which is, I feel, is amazing. So we are just going to dive right in and I'm going to let you kind of share. Maybe if there's one book in particular that's like calling you, or maybe it's a couple, but I would love to hear more about the stories that you write.
Speaker 2:So I write steamy romance for geeks and nerds a lot. Um, growing up in the there was a lot of media that centered around the, the nerd girl makeover trope, where nerdy girl gets a makeover and suddenly the, the, the quarterback or the hot guy at school, he, suddenly he wants to date her and it always ticked me off. So I had this nebulous idea. I I have a standalone. That was my debut novel and while I was working on the edits I got this nebulous idea um, where you would have the, where the, the guy would have to prove he was nerdy enough for the girl in order to you know interest her kind of thing. And that's what sparked my first series was is just the geek girl squad. It centers around these five friends. They got real close in college, kind of based on my own friends maybe not I.
Speaker 2:We're like we're tight, we're like this, it, it centers around them and they each have what I like to call their primary fandom. You know, one girl likes anime, one girl likes high fantasy and Dungeons and Dragons, and she LARPs with her brothers, if you're familiar with that term. One girl likes science fiction, one girl likes gay video games, another one likes comic books. Um, and that's kind of that was how the whole idea came about and it just sort of I ran it by my editor and she was like do it. I'm like okay I love that.
Speaker 1:That. That's so I I feel that I get growing up in in like the late 90s. There's definitely many of those, you know. It's kind of that story obviously.
Speaker 2:The late nineties 2000s was was rough as a as a teenager team girl.
Speaker 1:Ooh, yeah, it was. It was not fun times, let me tell you and I am, I'm so happy that things have shifted a lot when it comes to especially like books that are out in the world for kids, obviously, teens and adults too. That are the things that we wish that we had Right when we were that age of like, oh like, I wish that this was like normalized back then. Age of like, oh like. I wish that this was like normalized back then and instead of feeling like I was constantly less than uh, but I, yeah, I just I am so happy with that sort of shift in in storytelling that's happening. I feel like, in part due to like, uh, indie publishers self-publishing is getting those stories out that wouldn't have otherwise been able to get out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's a phrase that uh comes to mind you know be who you needed when you were a kid, something along those lines, yeah 100, and often there is that you know the quote of like write the story that you know you wanted to read or you wished that you had when you were maybe a teenager or young adult or whatever, and I think that there's something to be said about that, because it just makes that experience just richer with the characters and you're like I've lived this, so I'm going to show how it it could be. That's, that's amazing. I, I love that, uh, and I I just it's so, it's quirky, it's cute, it's, it's different, which is always I love that. Fresh, fresh, fun ideas and I.
Speaker 2:I'm a Gemini, I have a lot of interest. So being able to work all my various interests into the books that I write is a lot of fun for me. It's just there's a lot of me in every character. There's me in every character. So people have asked you know is so is your character based on? You know so, and so I'm like no, there's a bit of me in everybody. My experiences, you know, end up in the books in little, you know, in various ways and I expand on them and all that jazz. But, um, I will say, the one character, the my gamer girl, is kind of like a almost a split between two of my friends. But there's still me in there too. But I love that.
Speaker 1:I think that's that. It just it's wild how healing writing is. I didn't quite realize that, like going into writing a book of just like these pieces that you get to put in and, like you said, in each character. I would love to hear a little bit more about like, obviously, writing book one versus book 11, like how has that been for you?
Speaker 2:um in terms of the writing process.
Speaker 2:I think every series gets its own energy. I read a lot of different subgenres of romance. I'll read almost anything except the really dark stuff, and I write in various subgenres. Currently I have three different subgenres represented in my books Contemporary, new adult romance. In the Geek Girl Squad, um, I have a standalone contemporary romance which was my debut, and then I have a standalone fantasy romance which was one of those books that just sort of had to get written. He's just like I have to write this and um, yes, which I'm. I don't see myself doing fantasy very often because world building is insane. Fantasy, sci-fi authors they're a different breed. A hundred percent.
Speaker 1:I've chatted with a number of them. I'm like I don't know how you do it. I could do like the fantasy that exists in this world, where I don't create things or there may be like basic magic, but anything beyond that. We're not creating new languages. I am not. I do not have the capacity for that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then I also have romantic suspense. That's a fun. That actually is an interesting which that actually is an interesting. So the, the character that does live action role play with her brothers, nadia, um, her brothers were um big. The readers really liked her brothers. They were, you know, various flavors of military over the top, raw, protect a little sister, um, which is why she is the way she is and that she will kick your butt because, while they may be over the top and protective, they also taught her how to protect herself because they're not stupid. Um, but they were very popular and I kept getting questions are the brothers going to get their own series? And I was like, okay. So then, when I was developing that series, that turned into romantic suspense because the oldest brother has a security.
Speaker 2:I love that, so that's why the pivot into the other subgenre, and I'm really enjoying it.
Speaker 1:I feel that, like the, just the, the ability to kind of like play, and I feel like each character really becomes their own unique entity, like the stories, like it has a very unique energy to it, which is really really hard to put into words sometimes, of like just how unique it is, even if I haven't written the book, and it's just the idea I'm like, oh, like this feels so different from the other. One same concept, like obviously it whatever, it's like romance or whatever, but in terms of how it all plays out feels so different. And I think that's the really cool part of of writing in. Like you just get to, yeah, just to meet these characters and learn all about them and probably get frustrated at why they're doing some of the things they're doing I book two of the hunt security series was um has was the more difficult of the three that are out to write um.
Speaker 2:Part of that was lack of planning on my own part and me attempting to do rapid release, which is not for the faint of heart.
Speaker 2:No, that feels very terrifying props to you so I have a publishing coach who's also my critique partner, maria she's uh, she challenged me to do rapid release with that series and because she was also doing rapid release with her heading her rapid release for her own series, and I said, okay, yeah, let's do this. And well, I got book one out on time, because that one was basically already done when she told me this. The problem was getting book two out and then that pushed me back for book three, so, but I did get the first three out before the end of the year. So that was what I wanted to happen. I had to put I wanted book three to come out in November, but it wasn't done.
Speaker 1:So I would rather. I would rather push a release back than put out an inferior product 100%, and I think that's a really great part of the self-publishing indie like world is that you do have that control, which is uh cool but also scary, because that means it's just you uh doing all of the things. So how has, like, the marketing side of things gone for you? I know many authors are like this is this, is not it for me. I really don't like this. This is really uncomfortable, uh.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I always love to hear how, yeah, how others navigate that uh, and sometimes it gives me ideas of like, oh, I never thought to try that so when I was a kid, um, I either wanted to be an author or an artist and the marketing side I end up relying on that visual art part of my brain a lot, um, in order to create ad, creative and content and that kind of thing. Um, the covers, um, I actually used to do and it like I have, since I have a little bit of a dabbling that I used to do with digital art I actually did the covers for my contemporary series myself, which you're not supposed to do. No, it's a lot, it's a lot and he's like, you're not supposed to do it. But it was 2020. No one could like no one was to find the characters that I needed, because I had a pretty diverse cast and I was. I had been unhappy with my debut novel's cover because no one could. I couldn't get stock photo of models that looked like my characters, and we ended up going with something else. Oh, of models that looked like my characters and we ended up going with something else. So I wanted, again, control.
Speaker 2:Like you mentioned, I'm a bit of a control freak. I think all the indie authors are, to some extent, people like to. I like to see things about. Oh well, if you can't get Trad Pub, that's why you're indie. I'm like no, trad was never an option. Trad was never going to happen for me because I'm too much of a control freak and we have so back it up a little bit.
Speaker 2:When I was Olivia, the first book of the geek girl squad was my second book that I finished. As I sent it to beta readers, we got a message from a doctor or one of my family members that no one ever wants to get and I realized I was going to have to push the book release back six months. I didn't know when I was going to be able to do it. And then someone close to me had had cancer, had recovered, and it was back and I was like and this is all getting pushed aside because now I got to deal with this, and so in the traditional publishing world I don't want to risk someone like breathing down my neck wanting to know when the next book is done. If something like that is going to happen, they're fine. Now, fyi, amazing three years, three years, no sign of it. But that that would have really been detrimental had I been on a deadline with a publisher. But because I'm indie, I can control it yeah, so yeah, I don't, I wouldn't have gone traditional right.
Speaker 1:I think that there's. There's definitely like, obviously it's really ultimately like a pro and con and both of them have pros and cons and it's a matter of like what works best for you. It's not. Especially now, I feel like the caliber of work that gets put out is just it. It doesn't like there's still great books and so many amazing like. There's no comparison, right like it's. It's just like it's. You do it this way, you do it that way, you like there's it. Do what works best for you and I think that that's great.
Speaker 1:Um, and I think, yeah, there is still some misconceptions around like self-publishing of like, oh, like it's kind of like a second choice option. But a lot of the authors I've connected with they're like yeah, it was the first choice, like I wanted that, like that's what I went for. So I think it's really ultimately down to your journey as a writer and author of what works for you and what makes most sense for your season of life as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and with the marketing. Going back to the covers, I was looking at trends in the market and that's why I designed the covers the way I did, which they're going to be getting an update once they get the second editions done this year. The illustrated cover trend was really working in my favor at that point, because I could send reference photos to the artists and say this is what this character is supposed to look like with, like this outfit, this hair, that kind of thing, and then they put it all together into something that was unique and actually fit the story. Cause I don't know if this is, you know, one of your pit peeves, but I know one of mine is when the cover model on the front doesn't match the description in the book.
Speaker 1:It doesn't quite like I'm like, but wait, wait a minute here. Was this intent, like, intentional, like are we? Yeah, I definitely I feel that. Um, I do, I do love the illustrated covers, like, I feel like they are lovely and they do, like they hit the story, like you can get the characters on point, I feel like in that way, versus trying to find like a real person that matches yeah, who, who your character looks like, because that's hard I did, I the.
Speaker 2:And then the covers between the geek girl squad and hunt security are very different because they're different subgenres. So before hunt security I have been working with a cover designer, mostly because I was scrolling through her pre-made sale and I literally stopped and said, holy crap, that's roger. I love that. I was just like I was looking for something for the fantasy romance and I'm like it's Roger. I haven't even outlined the book yet. It's Roger. What?
Speaker 1:That's so cool. It's so fun when that happens. I've definitely seen that. Or even with like actors, I'm like, oh my gosh, this is my character. I I like that's how I pictured him right there.
Speaker 2:Uh, so I had I had posted, uh, one of those cap cut videos. Um, talking about how, because the girl in the cap cut video looked like olivia and she's making this blink, these blinking faces. And I talked about one of the things that happens in my book is the jock from when the guy who gave you his number at the anime convention turns out to be the jock from work. And someone commented underneath oh so he's Henry Cavill. And I'm like, basically, I mean that's not a bad thing, it's not a bad thing, it's not a bad thing. And as I thought about it, I was like actually, yeah, kind of, because they both have dark brown hair.
Speaker 1:I love that. That's so fun it's. It's, I feel like this this part I kind of geek out about of just being able to bring the vision to life and to like see, like your story, the characters kind of come out into the world, uh, like from what you think they look like, to like actually seeing them is such a cool part of it, and then getting to share it with the world and hope that they love your characters as much as you do is such a such a trip yeah, it's been, it's.
Speaker 2:I love working with sarah kill. She is my cover designer for hunt security. Yeah, going back and forth trying to find the right, right, right picture for the cover, it was like I with hackers accomplice. I set her a really hot, a really difficult task and she nailed it amazing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it just it's all comes down to like have finding those people that just see the vision like you do, and that's such an important piece of the puzzle because I feel like you can't really do it alone. Having like people, critique partners, like writing community, you know, illustratorsrators, like all that stuff. It it really is an important piece of the puzzle and, yeah, I don't think I could do it all by myself without going insane yeah, and I've worked with um.
Speaker 2:I've gotten really lucky on finding my editor, uh, jennifer Harrington. She's worked in the trad pub world for like a decade and, um, we've worked. She's worked on every one of my books.
Speaker 1:Um, I think you know, having an editor that listens to you and can see the vision and understands where you're coming from is so helpful where you're coming from is so helpful, such a huge so yeah, it's, it's really is paramount, especially, I feel like, well, obviously at any point in your writing career, but like in the early stages of really just making sure that you have someone that can kind of like help, like, with the journey and that will support you, hype you up and also provide feedback that's like gonna make the story shine the way that you want it to, so that readers love it right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, and she was. I definitely went with her because she she was more of a hand holder for my first novel and then we just clicked. So I've been, I'm still using her.
Speaker 1:I love that. I think that's that's amazing. And you find what works and it works. And I am the same I've been. I'm still using her. I love that. I think that's that's amazing. And you find what works and it works. And I am the same. I'm like we're going to keep. We're keeping on this train here because it makes sense and we're not going to fix what's what's not broken Awesome. Well, I would love to hear what would be maybe one piece of advice that you would have for somebody who is just starting out their writing journey.
Speaker 2:I always say to write what you want to write and then worry about the marketing later. Like there's, I don't mix a lot of sub genres together because people will get confused. Worry about the marketing after you get the book out, because if you want to read it, it chances are somebody else does too 100.
Speaker 1:I feel like that's so true and plus you're going to be reading it a thousand times, so if you don't like it, um 20 drafts of my first book.
Speaker 1:I feel that I, yeah, I'm like right there with you of like, oh boy, where it started, where it's going Two vastly different stories but you had to start at that one to get to like the final and it takes time to like flesh out, write, write the story first and then go back and see if you need to shift or change or whatever needs to happen. If there is a specific genre or sub genre that you are like, oh, this really fits, but I need to make sure it has this thing that like is kind of readers expect or whatever, but or not, sometimes that you're like I'm just gonna challenge it and see what happens and do it kind of my way. So I think it it's, it's a really fun.
Speaker 1:I love subverting stuff like that right like, just do it like it's. I think that's cool, right like you gotta like you gotta tell the story, and that sometimes requires pushing the envelope a little bit.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Amazing, awesome. Well, finally, I would love for you to share where people can connect with you and find all of your books, and now I have like too many more to add to my list. This is, it's a terribly wonderful um downside of this podcast. So, yeah, uh, where can, where can people connect with you?
Speaker 2:Oh, so my website is wwwJasmineCCaldwellcom. Um, I am on Facebook, I'm on Instagram, which is JC Caldwell romance, and I am on Tik TOK. I'm trying to get better at being consistent on Tik TOK. Um the my books are available wide across all retailers Um and in the the different library apps.
Speaker 1:Amazing, that's like. That's perfect. Uh, everything will be linked in the show notes, so it'll be super easy for people to click through, find the book that they want to start with and, uh, yeah, learn all about you and follow along on your journey, because I'm assuming you're gonna have more books, so they're going to need to be up up to date on that working, working on book four of hunt security.
Speaker 2:Now, oh amazing, the last brother needs his book.
Speaker 1:Well, you can't, you can't be left out right like that obviously yeah and um.
Speaker 2:So the geek girl squad is all interconnected standalones and the hunt security series has an overarching plot. Um, and this is the big. This should be the big wrap up for that exciting, very exciting.
Speaker 1:I, I'm, I'm, intrigued, I you hooked me, which is always a win. Well, I had a lovely time chatting with you, uh, and I learned a lot and I always love to hear more about, like other authors, and their process and writing journeys and all of the fun things.
Speaker 2:It's been great talking to you. Thank you so much for having me on.
Speaker 1:Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. I would love if you would leave a review. And also, if you loved the author that we chatted with, go find them on social media and hype them up, comment on their stuff, share their work. Even if you loved the author that we chatted with, go find them on social media and hype them up, comment on their stuff, share their work, even if you can't buy the book. These kind of things are great ways of supporting indie authors and getting their book in front of new readers. And if you are a writer or author in need of a developmental editor, please reach out. I would love to chat. Everything is linked in the show notes. Reach out, I would love to chat. Everything is linked in the show notes and it would be an absolute honor to be able to get eyes on your novel. So thanks again and listen to the next episode.
