Bookcast Episode 136: Sunday is Pajama-shaped

Why get dressed when Sunday is pajama-shaped? That’s all I have to say about that. 

In Episode 136 of The Bookcast, I’m talking through my January reading, checking in on the book that is BOOKING, and sharing a few updates and thoughts that came up along the way. It’s a quiet, at-home episode, recorded without much planning and very much in the spirit of a monthly check-in.

Books Mentioned in Episode 136

Am Reading: 

• Nobody Heard a Thing — Angela Henry
• Mr. and Mrs. Taylor: A Toxic Love Story — Shea Sanders

January Reads

• Kin — Tayari Jones
• No One Knew — Kendra Elliott
• Champagne Taste on a Bad Boy Budget — Zuri Day
• Behind These Four Walls — Yasmin Angoe
• Seven Daughters of Dupree — Nikisha Elise Williams
• The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust — Diana B. Henriques
• The Smartest Guys in the Room — Bethany McLean & Peter Elkind
• Groove — Bernice L. McFadden
• If I Ruled the World — Janelle Williams (Amy DuBois Barnett)
• The Wilderness — Angela Flournoy
• Inside Man — John McMahon
• In Black and White — Nia Forrester
• Her Cold Justice — Robert Dugoni
• The Fire That Burns — Kay Sine
• Before the Streetlights Come On — Ashley Antoinette
• Sundown Girls — L.S. Stratton
• Yours Forever — Farrah Rochon
• I Don’t Wish You Well — Jumata Emill

Upcoming Appearances 

• Black Romance Book Fest — Atlanta — May (pre-orders open on Beventi)
• Wine with Writers — Baltimore — June (Preorders coming soon!) 

Transcript

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Bye.

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Hi, hello, how are you?

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Welcome back to the podcast.

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I am your host.

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I am D.L.

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White.

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I write black romance and romantic suspense slash mystery and women's fiction,

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and I read a lot of books.

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So this is episode 136 of the book cast.

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It's part reading journal, part writing check-in, part me talking out

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loud about what it's like to make books and try to make a little bit of a living at it.

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We start with what I've been reading, then we move into what I've been writing.

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We might talk about topics of the day or events coming up or sales that you should

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take advantage of,

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and then we just see where the conversation takes us.

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If you have enjoyed this show in the past or would like to enjoy it in the future,

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the easiest way to support this work is to follow or subscribe wherever you're

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listening.

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Pick me up at bookcast.buzzsprout.com or your favorite podcast app or my website at

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booksbydlwhite.com slash bookcast or my Substack is author dlwhite.substack.com.

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You can also just leave a quick review on the episode and share with someone who

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loves books or books.

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writing.

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You can also support me more directly by buying my books,

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booksbydlwhite.com slash books,

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has them all there for you,

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ebook,

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print,

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audio where available.

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You can also join the newsletter at booksbydlwhite.com slash newsletter,

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or you can follow my substack.

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Again, that's authortlwhite.substack.com.

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You can also become a supporter at bookcast.buzzsprout.com.

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That support is what really keeps this podcast going and makes me find the closet.

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at least once a month.

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So I'm being really like loose and kind of,

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I don't want to use the buzzword intentional about this podcast,

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but seriously,

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if I don't have anything to say,

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I will not drag myself to this closet to yammer for a half hour about nothing.

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And so we're kind of leveling out to about once a month.

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I come in, I talk about what I read in the month, what I wrote in the month,

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I think that's a good rhythm,

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but I will come in more often when I have more exciting things going on,

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like books dropping and me being at festivals and making appearances.

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Or, you know, when there's something going on, I need to yap at y'all about it.

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So here we are.

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It's February 1, which is a really good day to review our January reads.

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So I'm going to pop here real quick to Goodreads.

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Of course, I didn't prep anything at all.

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I had the window open and I closed it.

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I read 17 books in January.

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And by read, I've got that in quotes, of course, because I'm real big on audio.

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So I listen to a lot of books or I ask the Kindle-assisted reader to read it out

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loud while I work or fold laundry or whatever.

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But for all intents and purposes, I put words into my face holes and I ingest books.

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got 17 of those suckers down in January.

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I thoroughly enjoyed my month of reading.

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I'm five books ahead of my schedule,

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and I aim to read 150 books in 2026,

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and that's not really a difficult task for me.

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I read a lot of books.

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I am currently reading Nobody Heard a Thing by Angela Henry.

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She is a Black

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thriller author, have enjoyed her work in the past.

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And then Shea Sanders just dropped Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, a toxic love story.

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And y'all know this is a Shea Sanders stan account over here.

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So let's talk about what we got read in January.

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So I am popping back super quick to my Goodreads here.

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I got one of those, I'm trying actually out one of those books

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uh, uh, stands that people buy where you, you clip your iPad in it, it holds it up.

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And then I got one of those clicker remote clicker things.

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And I figure it will help me record audio books easier because I can just like prop

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it up to be looking at it.

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I need,

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I need my face,

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um,

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to be angled up while I'm reading audio books and not down while I'm reading audio

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books.

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So, um,

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If I was on video, that would have made tons more sense.

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Anyway,

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so the 17 books that I read in January 1st book I read of the year was Kin by

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Tayari Jones.

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To know me is to know she is one of my most favorite, favorite authors.

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Absolutely adore her.

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I've been waiting for a new book from Tayari for some time.

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Kin was excellent.

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I gave it four stars.

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Now, y'all know I don't do a whole lot of five-starring.

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It's a very emotional rating, but I did truly, truly enjoy this novel.

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You'll have to look it up because, you know, it's been a month now since I read it.

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But I do know it is about two women who have known each other their whole lives and

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they consider themselves sisters.

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Sort of like goes through the course of their life.

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Bernice and Annie,

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two motherless daughters raised in Honeysuckle,

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Louisiana,

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have been best friends and neighbors since earliest childhood but are fated to live

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starkly different lives.

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Raised by a fierce aunt determined to give her a stable home in the wake of her

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mother's death,

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Bernice leaves Honeysuckle at 18 Forrest Bellman College,

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where she joins a sisterhood of powerfully connected Black women and discovers a

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world of affluence,

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manners,

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aspiration,

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and inequality.

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Annie,

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abandoned by her mother as a child and fixated on the idea of finding her and

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filling the bottomless hole left by her absence,

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sets off on a journey that will take her into a world of peril and adversity,

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as well as love and adventure,

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culminating in a battle for her life.

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This is a novel about mothers and daughters,

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friendship and sisterhood,

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and the complexities of being a woman in the American South.

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Excellent.

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Really well done.

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You should definitely grab it.

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I am waiting for the audiobook to drop, and I'm hoping I get an advanced copy from Libro.

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I have not checked the ALCs, but I'm fantastically excited about this book.

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I haven't rated it yet because I want to listen to it, but I did read it, and it's good.

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The next one was No One Knew, which is Noelle Marshall No.

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2 by Kendra Elliott.

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Really well-written, emotional, action-packed.

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It kind of drags here and there, but after 30%, it gets real interesting.

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There's like the lightest thread of romance, but very closed door.

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Now, Kendra Elliott knows she can write a book.

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She's an auto-buy author for me at this point.

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And then Champagne Taste on a Bad Boy Budget by Zuride.

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I really enjoyed this one.

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Audio was a little bit stiff, but overall a very, very good story.

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Like fun, uplifting.

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I really liked it.

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Behind These Four Walls by Yasmin Ango.

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If I'm being honest,

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this book was a really good read that moved a little bit slower than I like for a

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thriller,

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but also it had this one thread running through it that I just had to see it

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through,

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my boy.

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I had to see it through.

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I just wanted to know what happened to Edie.

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Tell me what happened to Edie.

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And so I suppose that is the trick of a book to like drag you through no matter

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what's happening.

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I just need to know what happened.

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Seven Daughters of Dupree, which was absolutely fantastic by Nikisha Elise Williams.

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And I remember being embarrassed because I thought this was a debut.

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And then I looked her up, and this is not a debut.

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It's her trad debut,

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but she did have some self-published novels before that I want to go back and read.

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But this is just a really wonderful,

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multi-generational,

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epic story following seven generations to pre-women as they navigate love,

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loss,

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and the unyielding ties of family and their tradition of home-going history.

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and the love songs of W.E.B.

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Du Bois.

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It's 1995,

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and 14-year-old Tati is determined to uncover the identity of her father,

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but her mother,

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Nadia,

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keeps her secrets close while her grandmother,

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Gladys,

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remains silent about the family's past,

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including why she left Land's End,

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Alabama,

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in 1953.

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As Toddy digs deeper,

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she uncovers a legacy of family secrets where every generation of Dupree women has

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posed more questions than answers.

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A really fabulous novel.

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You should pick it up today and put it into your face.

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I absolutely adored it.

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Between Ken and The Seven Dollars of Dupree, I was absolutely spoiled.

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Really, really good, good reading there.

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And then I read Wizard of Lies, Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust.

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This was the first book that I read as part of the 12 Lives Challenge,

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which is being led by Dr.

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Raymond T.

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Williams.

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I've decided I'm just going to enjoy this challenge.

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I'm

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crooked people on the planet, and I'm going to really enjoy it.

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That's the kind of nonfiction I like to read.

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And so loved this.

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I'm obsessed with Bernie Madoff.

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And so this month, I am reading about the three gentlemen at the head of the Enron collapse.

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Can't remember their names, but it's called The Smartest Guys in the Room.

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I have watched the film, the documentary film, multiple times.

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So I'm interested in actually

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reading the book.

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I feel like there'll be more in it than was in the film.

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So truly enjoying it.

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So I'm going to pull out The Smartest Guys in the Room at some point this week and

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get started on that.

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I think I've decided like the first week of the month is when I'm going to dig into

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my 12 Lives Challenge book and not try to shove them all in.

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And I'm just going to pace it and enjoy myself.

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Then I read Groove by Bernice L. McBadden.

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This is pure 90s nostalgic throwback.

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I think these are being republished under Bernice McBadden instead of her pseudonym

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Geneva Holiday book.

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These people were a mess.

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These people were a mess, and I loved every minute of it.

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I'm definitely gonna,

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I need to like dig into more of the 90s style novel,

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the Terry McMillan,

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the Geneva Holiday,

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the,

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you know,

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the older,

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older in quotes,

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novelists,

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just to like sort of relive that 90s period.

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Another book that I read last month that you should get into is If I Ruled the World,

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by Amy something Dubois, Dubois.

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Anyway, it's really good, but it's very 90s essence magazine, complex magazine throwback type

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It's very soapy.

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It's delicious.

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I think you really enjoyed it.

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I read it in December and it recently just came out and Hulu has already picked it

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up for adaptation.

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So, you know, it is good.

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I'm looking forward to that.

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Then I read Wilderness by Angela Flournoy.

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It held my attention from start to finish, but also left me a little bit unsatisfied.

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I think I spoke recently about this at

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Angela knows how to write a book.

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The Turner House was a banger, so duh.

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But the novel tracks a group of Black women across years of adulthood,

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grief,

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shifting relationships.

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I feel like her writing is very poetic,

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and it has become more so in the time that she has been away from the page.

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I just feel like I didn't get the whole story, and it was sad.

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Yeah.

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It's really sad.

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This was a sad novel.

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You should pick this up if you want to read a sad novel.

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And then Inside Man by John McMahon.

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I got an arc of this.

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It looked good.

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It wasn't.

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That's all I got to say.

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Probably would have gone better if I'd read book one.

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That's on me.

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He reminded me of Vincent D'Onofrio's character in Law and Order Criminal Intent,

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just like impossibly smart,

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not really very personable.

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The story was mildly interesting.

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I stayed through the end since it was an audiobook, but not really my speed at all.

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Probably not going to pick up any more books in this series.

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I reread In Black and White by Nia Forrester because it's out in audio and

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Absolutely another hit.

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Do not sleep on Miss Nia Forrester, another really superbly written emotional tale.

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It's really realistic.

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Um,

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I still want to string a couple of characters up by their fingernails.

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Nia is re-releasing a lot of her titles in audio,

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which is making me go back and enjoy them again.

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And I got a little bit of Nia Forrester news coming up after I talk about the books.

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So remind me.

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Yeah.

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Her Cold Justice.

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This is Kira Duggan number three by Robert Dugoni.

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Now, I love me some Robert Dugoni.

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I did blow through the entire Tracy Crosswhite series, which was at the time like 10 books and

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in like a couple of weeks.

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They were really good.

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Kira Duggan is great.

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This is a good read.

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If this is the only Dugoni series you've read,

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if this is the only Dugoni books you've read,

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I just realized that I just simply enjoy his standalones and the Tracy Crosswhite

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series more.

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Tracy is impulsive.

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She's obsessive.

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She's willing to do just about anything to solve a case I actually really love when she gets

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on her captain's nerves and there's a bit of a volatility to her that creates

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tension in the book.

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She has already lived the worst day of her life and she's really kind of like,

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hey,

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like guns blazing,

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whatever.

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Kira is a defense attorney and she's just a different character.

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She is more constrained.

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She's bound by ethics and procedure and professionalism, which makes the tension...

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more cerebral,

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like she has to win this case with just her brain,

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which where the suspense come in,

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which I get it.

(00:14:14):
It just is not my cup of tea anymore,

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especially after reading a lot of Steve Kavanaugh's Eddie Flynn books.

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And now Eddie Flynn is an attorney.

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He's a criminal attorney,

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and he is very Tracy Crosswhite in his execution from the other side of the law.

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It's a perfectly fine novel that does some interesting work.

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There's great courtroom drama.

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I just...

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I think I connect more with emotional urgency and risk-taking in a different kind of thriller.

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Is it a good book?

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Yes.

(00:14:45):
I read The Fire That Burns by Kay Sine.

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I didn't take any notes on this book, so Sine Burns has shied away from love and

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anything resembling a relationship.

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She's content with her career as a traveling nurse and occasional dinners and or

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hookups with male suitors.

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When she's offered a six-month-long assignment over 2,000 miles away from her

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hometown of Chicago,

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she's excited.

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However,

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when she finds out that she's working with a man who skewed her view of love and

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broke her heart,

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her excitement turns into

(00:15:18):
It took every ounce of courage in him for Fire Jordan to stand up to his parents,

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but in the end,

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he still lost the woman who continues to have a chokehold on his heart.

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It's been over a decade, but she's still all he sees when he closes his eyes.

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When he finds out she's been assigned to work with him for the next six months,

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he immediately begins to make plans to win her back.

(00:15:39):
This was a very good novel about a man who's been set up to marry someone.

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It's sort of an arranged marriage, but he revolts against his parents.

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He's like, no, I want to marry for love, except the woman he's

(00:15:59):
the relationship sort of breaks apart at that point.

(00:16:02):
It's been 10 years since they saw each other.

(00:16:03):
And now here they are and they work together, etc.

(00:16:07):
Very good.

(00:16:08):
Very good novel.

(00:16:09):
I didn't rate this.

(00:16:09):
Let me go ahead and read this.

(00:16:10):
That's a four-star read.

(00:16:12):
It was very good.

(00:16:13):
I wanted to read more medical romances since I am newsflash writing one.

(00:16:21):
We'll talk more about that later when I'm ready to announce a title and such.

(00:16:27):
So where was I?

(00:16:30):
Before the Streetlights Come On by Ashley Antoinette.

(00:16:32):
This is my first Ashley Antoinette.

(00:16:34):
I listened to it in audio.

(00:16:35):
Very good.

(00:16:36):
Super, super, very good.

(00:16:37):
Now,

(00:16:38):
y'all know I love a story about women,

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friends,

(00:16:41):
and their relationships and the ins and outs of life.

(00:16:45):
I had this on my TBR for some time.

(00:16:49):
Finally got to it.

(00:16:51):
Regret waiting so long.

(00:16:53):
very well done.

(00:16:55):
If you hear like banging and such, no, you don't.

(00:16:58):
I'm doing laundry, but hopefully it's cut out.

(00:17:01):
And then I read Sundown Girls by my girl, my writing-ass writer friend, L.S.

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Stratton.

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This is her first YA and her first paranormal, I think.

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Now, do I read YA or paranormal?

(00:17:11):
Absolutely not.

(00:17:12):
Do not send me your YA or paranormal books.

(00:17:14):
I probably won't read them.

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But

(00:17:16):
but was I letting an Ellis Stratton book go unread?

(00:17:19):
Absolutely not.

(00:17:21):
This book was completely out of my wheelhouse and also extremely well done.

(00:17:25):
No matter what genre Ellis is writing,

(00:17:28):
there are certain patterns I'm always going to pick up,

(00:17:30):
and that's why I read whatever she writes.

(00:17:32):
She's always going to bring a book that zigs where you're expecting zag.

(00:17:37):
There's always like a twist you don't see.

(00:17:39):
I'm always in her DMs and her

(00:17:42):
email inbox like, girl, tell me, tell me what happened.

(00:17:45):
She will not tell me.

(00:17:45):
She will not spoil the story.

(00:17:47):
And I just don't think that's fair.

(00:17:49):
The drama is always going to be on that soapy,

(00:17:51):
I need some popcorn and a glass of something bubbly while I read this kind of

(00:17:56):
level.

(00:17:57):
So the main character in this book is most definitely a YA heroine.

(00:18:02):
But she stood her ground even when it meant a risk to her life and her health.

(00:18:06):
There's a twist in this book that kind of took me out.

(00:18:08):
Couldn't put it down.

(00:18:09):
I listened to this in audio.

(00:18:11):
Very well done.

(00:18:12):
Really very well done.

(00:18:13):
Then I listened to Yours Forever by Your Dreams, book three by Farah Rashawn.

(00:18:17):
I read these books a long time ago, like 2018.

(00:18:20):
Like they were the first Farah Rashawn books I read when they were on the Kimani romance line.

(00:18:27):
She has since got her rights back and they're being re-

(00:18:30):
They're being re-released through Honey Blossom Press.

(00:18:35):
They have done such a good job with the covers on this book.

(00:18:39):
I love that they're now out in audio.

(00:18:41):
Like, I hope they do her entire backlist.

(00:18:44):
I can't, I just cannot wait.

(00:18:46):
The narrator on this book was a little flat.

(00:18:49):
She was, she was a little flat, especially during the love scenes.

(00:18:52):
But I mean, a Farah Rashan book in audio.

(00:18:57):
Um, uh,

(00:18:59):
I'm going to go for it every time.

(00:19:01):
And then I read, I'm getting a text from Erin at the Spine Collectors.

(00:19:08):
I'm going to be, I'm a featured guest on the Spine Collectors book club this afternoon.

(00:19:12):
We're talking about The Never List.

(00:19:14):
And I'm very excited.

(00:19:15):
And I told her I'm going to do the book club in my pajamas and robe because I'm lazy.

(00:19:20):
I'm also recording this podcast in my pajamas and robe because why get dressed up?

(00:19:26):
Why?

(00:19:27):
Why put on clothes when Sunday is pajama shaped?

(00:19:31):
So she just sent me a text to tell me, girl, come on, sign on in whatever you're wearing.

(00:19:36):
So I'm doing it.

(00:19:38):
I Don't Wish You Well by Jumada Emil, I think is his name.

(00:19:42):
This was fabulous.

(00:19:44):
This was fabulous.

(00:19:46):
Jumada is a journalist who has covered crime and local politics in Mississippi and

(00:19:50):
parts of Louisiana.

(00:19:53):
This novel is a thriller.

(00:19:55):
I kind of shy away from the whole podcaster solves a crime genre.

(00:20:01):
It's a little bit why I don't read a lot of cozies because like amateurs getting in the way of

(00:20:09):
professionals trying to solve a crime actually actively gets on my nerves,

(00:20:12):
but also some of them are so cute,

(00:20:14):
I can't help it.

(00:20:16):
I thought this was very good.

(00:20:18):
So a teen investigative podcaster decides to dig into the truth behind a grisly

(00:20:23):
murder spree that rocked his hometown five years ago,

(00:20:26):
but soon discovers that this cold case is still hiding deadly secrets in this

(00:20:30):
chilling thriller perfect for fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.

(00:20:34):
Five years ago,

(00:20:35):
the infamous Trojan murders turned the small town of Moss Point,

(00:20:38):
Louisiana,

(00:20:38):
into a living nightmare.

(00:20:40):
Fourteen boys,

(00:20:41):
all-star players on Moss Point High's football team,

(00:20:46):
were murdered one after the other by a Trojan mask-wearing killer.

(00:20:50):
Eventually,

(00:20:50):
the murder was unmasked,

(00:20:52):
but the community has never forgotten,

(00:20:53):
and some folks in town still wonder whether the police got it right.

(00:20:58):
I'm going to stop there because I don't want to spoil it.

(00:21:01):
I listened to this on audio.

(00:21:02):
It's super, super, super well done.

(00:21:04):
Now, do I want to know about the killer and that whole thing?

(00:21:10):
Yes, but also I like drama.

(00:21:13):
So the character in this story is gay, and

(00:21:17):
And he is closeted.

(00:21:19):
His parents do not know.

(00:21:20):
And so I'm also very interested in him going through life as a person who is hiding

(00:21:26):
a large part of himself.

(00:21:27):
And once his parents find out about this and how they react,

(00:21:31):
because the way his parents react when he talks about doing this podcast,

(00:21:36):
I'm a little concerned.

(00:21:38):
I'm a little concerned for my boy.

(00:21:39):
So this is very well done.

(00:21:41):
Really, really, really, really enjoyed that.

(00:21:43):
Highly recommend it.

(00:21:44):
I gave that four stars.

(00:21:46):
So those were my 17 reads in January.

(00:21:49):
So I'm going to pop right over here real quick to dabble so we can talk a little

(00:21:53):
bit about what I'm writing.

(00:21:54):
I don't want to talk about... For some reason, I want to keep the title of this book secret.

(00:22:01):
It's not a huge deal.

(00:22:03):
I just want to piecemeal things out and not...

(00:22:07):
not just throw things out, you know, to people.

(00:22:10):
I don't know.

(00:22:13):
I don't know.

(00:22:14):
I'm holding it close to myself for a minute.

(00:22:16):
I want to get through the glut of the novel and know that I'm going to be able to

(00:22:21):
finish and it's going to be off to my editor soon before I start yapping about it.

(00:22:25):
But the book is

(00:22:28):
is going.

(00:22:30):
The book is booking.

(00:22:31):
I'm actually at like 36,000 words.

(00:22:34):
I started this in late January.

(00:22:36):
Your girl has been type, type, typing.

(00:22:39):
I actually started mid-January, like Martin Luther King Day.

(00:22:45):
If I know where I'm going, I can write fast.

(00:22:47):
So I've got to know where I'm going.

(00:22:50):
I did a lot of planning starting the beginning of January on who are my characters,

(00:22:56):
who are my inspirations,

(00:22:59):
what is their wound,

(00:23:01):
goal,

(00:23:02):
motivation,

(00:23:03):
conflict.

(00:23:04):
I did the romancing the beat sheets and sort of just like...

(00:23:09):
this relentless pounding on this story because it's got to make sense beginning to

(00:23:13):
end and who are the important people in their lives and what is the conflict in

(00:23:17):
this story what's the romance conflict and what's the external conflict because I

(00:23:21):
like to have a central story that's you know dragging you on and on it can't just

(00:23:26):
be these two people talking about their relationship and how they want to be in

(00:23:29):
love but they can't be in love and

(00:23:31):
That gets boring after a while,

(00:23:32):
the back and forth and the staring out the window and a soliloquy about how you

(00:23:36):
want them,

(00:23:37):
but you can't have them.

(00:23:38):
Yawn.

(00:23:39):
Boring.

(00:23:40):
I need an external conflict.

(00:23:42):
I need something that's driving this story.

(00:23:44):
And among this story also is the romance,

(00:23:50):
which is like the central point of the whole reason I'm writing the story.

(00:23:55):
That's writing along top of that external conflict.

(00:23:57):
So I create a lot of work for myself.

(00:24:00):
Okay.

(00:24:01):
But also, I really feel like the look is going to be good.

(00:24:05):
So I'm like, I'm 36,000 words in.

(00:24:08):
I know I'm going to cut at least 10K before it hits my editor.

(00:24:12):
So if Editor Kai is listening, just relax.

(00:24:17):
Relax.

(00:24:18):
I feel like

(00:24:21):
feel like I'm about halfway done,

(00:24:22):
which is going to put this novel at about 50,000 to 60,000 words.

(00:24:26):
But I have also written novels that thought were going to be short,

(00:24:30):
novella-type things,

(00:24:30):
and they topped 75,000 words.

(00:24:33):
So the faster I finish,

(00:24:34):
the faster I can get it to her,

(00:24:36):
which gives her a lot more time to go through our two

(00:24:41):
Editing drafts.

(00:24:43):
I wish I could be like I'm reading A Soft Place to Land.

(00:24:47):
Tasha L.

(00:24:48):
Harrison is on Substack and she is writing a weekly serial and she has these

(00:24:53):
episodes that are basically here's what happened in the story and here's what I'm

(00:24:56):
trying to write and here's what it means and here's,

(00:24:59):
you know,

(00:24:59):
like all this introspective.

(00:25:01):
I'm just I'm not that deep.

(00:25:03):
I'm just I'm just not that deep.

(00:25:06):
And,

(00:25:06):
like,

(00:25:06):
maybe at some point,

(00:25:08):
like,

(00:25:08):
once I am done,

(00:25:10):
I can,

(00:25:10):
like,

(00:25:11):
talk about the themes and the story arc and here's what this means,

(00:25:17):
the symbolism,

(00:25:18):
etc.

(00:25:19):
But, like, it's there, but not, it's not, I can't quite put it into words right now.

(00:25:26):
So, just know that I want to, oop.

(00:25:33):
Drop the microphone.

(00:25:34):
Just know that it's definitely a goal to be able to talk about this novel in more

(00:25:40):
than like,

(00:25:42):
oh,

(00:25:42):
my God,

(00:25:42):
he's so cute type of language.

(00:25:46):
But also it's just it's a fun novel.

(00:25:49):
Yeah.

(00:25:50):
It's a tiny,

(00:25:51):
tiny,

(00:25:52):
tiny bit of a slow burn,

(00:25:53):
but I'm really trying hard to not make it so slow of a burn.

(00:25:59):
So, you know, I'm working on it.

(00:26:03):
Anyway, so the book is coming.

(00:26:05):
The book is booking.

(00:26:06):
I'm having issues with my windscreen.

(00:26:09):
It won't stay up.

(00:26:13):
Come on.

(00:26:14):
Good gracious.

(00:26:18):
Really?

(00:26:19):
I'm leaving all that in.

(00:26:22):
Because you guys need to know what I go through to record this podcast.

(00:26:27):
My left leg is asleep because of the way I sit in this chair.

(00:26:31):
And it's hot because the fan makes a weird noise and I don't want to have to cut it out.

(00:26:37):
And the dryer is going and the washer is going.

(00:26:40):
And I am in this thick winter robe because it's currently like 18 degrees outside.

(00:26:46):
Why is this not charging?

(00:26:48):
Also, my iPad is not charging.

(00:26:51):
I just need y'all to understand the difficulties that I face every week when I come

(00:27:00):
to record this podcast.

(00:27:02):
So, yeah, it's important.

(00:27:05):
More later, hopefully by the next time I am able to find the podcast booth.

(00:27:12):
I will have more to share.

(00:27:13):
I'm sure that I will, but I'm going to try to take today off of writing.

(00:27:18):
I do know that I need to go back to the two chapters I wrote this week and sort of

(00:27:23):
fluff them up and thin them out.

(00:27:25):
And like a lot of times I just,

(00:27:28):
he did this,

(00:27:29):
she did that,

(00:27:30):
and they did this,

(00:27:31):
and then a thing,

(00:27:32):
and then they went over here.

(00:27:34):
But I also need to roll back and

(00:27:37):
put my novel writer hat on and my cinema fan hat on and just be thinking more about it.

(00:27:47):
It needs to be novelistic.

(00:27:48):
It should sound like a novel and where are your senses?

(00:27:52):
And,

(00:27:53):
you know,

(00:27:53):
let's,

(00:27:54):
you know,

(00:27:55):
use,

(00:27:56):
not use a little bit of magic,

(00:27:57):
but it just,

(00:27:59):
I know what a good novel sounds like.

(00:28:01):
And at this point, I wouldn't release it, but also it's darn good.

(00:28:06):
So,

(00:28:07):
That's the latest on that.

(00:28:08):
That's all I have been working on at the moment.

(00:28:11):
But I do have a couple of goals that I want to hit for upcoming events.

(00:28:17):
You guys know I'll be at Black Romance Book Fest in May.

(00:28:21):
That is here in Atlanta.

(00:28:23):
It is sold out.

(00:28:24):
But if you join the Facebook group,

(00:28:26):
I believe we're in the last days of people being able to resell their passes.

(00:28:31):
So hop on in there.

(00:28:32):
You might get a chance to buy a ticket or add an add-on.

(00:28:39):
So I am hoping to have this book available at Black Romance Book Fest.

(00:28:44):
I'm hoping to actually launch it at Black Romance Book Fest and have it up for sale

(00:28:50):
in print,

(00:28:51):
in person,

(00:28:52):
and also in e-book and audio.

(00:28:56):
So...

(00:28:57):
We'll see how that goes.

(00:28:59):
That is the plan.

(00:29:00):
I do like to stress myself out.

(00:29:02):
Why, yes.

(00:29:02):
Yes, I do like to stress myself out.

(00:29:04):
But,

(00:29:04):
you know,

(00:29:05):
the more projects I give myself,

(00:29:06):
the less time I have to sit on the Internet and doom scroll and cry about people

(00:29:14):
being murdered on the street.

(00:29:16):
You know,

(00:29:17):
so anyhow,

(00:29:18):
also on that note,

(00:29:19):
I see a lot of people talking about if you're not saying anything,

(00:29:22):
I just don't know if I can be friends with you.

(00:29:24):
And OK,

(00:29:25):
you're just going to have to unfollow me because I am not going to watch a dumpster

(00:29:28):
burn.

(00:29:29):
I don't need to play.

(00:29:31):
I don't need to perform for anybody.

(00:29:33):
And if you don't know where I stand on things, you are not paying any attention.

(00:29:38):
And so you do what you got to do.

(00:29:39):
And I'm going to do what I've got to do.

(00:29:42):
You can say I'm...

(00:29:44):
Put my head in sand if you want.

(00:29:47):
That's a you thing.

(00:29:48):
I got to do what I got to do because I got to get up and go to work every day.

(00:29:52):
It's just me,

(00:29:53):
you know,

(00:29:53):
in this house where I have a mortgage and the house makes noise and every noise

(00:29:58):
makes me think something is breaking.

(00:30:00):
I really feel like my nerves is too bad to be a homeowner.

(00:30:04):
I have other things I'm worried about.

(00:30:08):
So there.

(00:30:09):
The other thing I wanted to tell y'all is that I don't know if you heard,

(00:30:13):
but Wine with Writers is back.

(00:30:15):
And this is one of my favorite, favorite, favorite, favorite events ever.

(00:30:18):
I've been begging them to bring back Wine with Writers.

(00:30:21):
Do I drink wine?

(00:30:23):
No.

(00:30:24):
Absolutely not.

(00:30:24):
But I love the atmosphere.

(00:30:26):
I love a group,

(00:30:28):
like a room full of women talking about books and writing and just basically like

(00:30:35):
starting the revolution with a glass of something in your hand and just talking

(00:30:41):
books.

(00:30:41):
Love it.

(00:30:42):
So Wine with Writers is back.

(00:30:43):
It's going to be in Baltimore and it's going to be in June.

(00:30:47):
And I'm wicked excited about it.

(00:30:51):
I don't know why I just said Wicked.

(00:30:52):
I am not from Rhode Island, but I just be saying things.

(00:30:57):
Yeah, things come out of my mouth.

(00:30:58):
I don't plan this podcast anymore.

(00:31:01):
I just sit down with my laptop open and I start talking.

(00:31:05):
So things like Wicked come out of my mouth.

(00:31:09):
Anyway, I'm very excited.

(00:31:10):
I will have, if it's not already up, it will be up a pre-order for that podcast.

(00:31:17):
event.

(00:31:18):
I don't know what I'm selling,

(00:31:20):
but probably not a whole lot because I'm going to have to ship books to that event.

(00:31:24):
So if there are books you plan on buying at that event,

(00:31:29):
it would behoove you to pre-order them or at least send me a message and be like,

(00:31:33):
girl,

(00:31:33):
I'm coming.

(00:31:33):
I need this book.

(00:31:34):
I can't buy it right now.

(00:31:36):
But let a sister know how I can get that book because I'm not going to be bringing

(00:31:42):
a ton of books to that event.

(00:31:44):
But I do plan to have New Book.

(00:31:46):
I do plan to have Missing Persons.

(00:31:48):
I do plan to have Neverlist and like maybe Hey Lover.

(00:31:51):
Just a few.

(00:31:53):
Just a few.

(00:31:54):
But anyhow, I'm very excited about Wine with Writers.

(00:31:58):
I do have a couple of like newsletter type events.

(00:32:02):
Like here's a free book.

(00:32:04):
if you sign up for the newsletter type things.

(00:32:07):
Watch my socials.

(00:32:08):
I'll have links out and I'll just like glom them all together and put them on the

(00:32:12):
newsletter if you are looking for new books to pick up that you don't have time to

(00:32:18):
read but you should buy them.

(00:32:20):
I'm only ever concerned about buying books.

(00:32:22):
I'm never concerned about reading them because at some point I am going to have

(00:32:26):
time to read books and I will have a glut of books to read.

(00:32:31):
So

(00:32:32):
I think that's all I have for today.

(00:32:35):
Happy Sunday.

(00:32:36):
I truly hope you are doing the very best that you can and you are taking care of

(00:32:42):
yourself and doing what you got to do because it's got to get done.

(00:32:47):
Do not forget to follow me on everywhere you see author DL White.

(00:32:52):
I'm there.

(00:32:52):
There is another, there's like a DL White underscore author and it's like a white man.

(00:32:58):
And he trips me out because I feel like I'd be seeing myself saying stuff,

(00:33:01):
and I didn't say that.

(00:33:02):
It's author underscore D.L.

(00:33:04):
White.

(00:33:05):
At some point, I might change my sign-on name because he's too close.

(00:33:10):
You need to back up.

(00:33:12):
Back up.

(00:33:15):
You can pick up this episode.

(00:33:17):
It's booksbydlwhite.com slash bookcast slash 136, I believe.

(00:33:23):
Yes.

(00:33:23):
Yes.

(00:33:25):
That's where you'll find it on my website or bookcast.buzzsprout.com on the

(00:33:30):
interwebs or via your favorite podcast app,

(00:33:33):
of course,

(00:33:34):
or my sub stack,

(00:33:35):
authordly.substack.com.

(00:33:37):
You can subscribe to my ramblings there.

(00:33:40):
I also am posting short fiction and fan fiction at shortfictionbydly.substack.com.

(00:33:47):
I so thank you for dropping in and giving me part of your day and listening to me ramble.

(00:33:52):
with no preparation whatsoever, and I say stuff like wicked.

(00:33:55):
It's just who I am.

(00:34:00):
Thank you for joining me.

(00:34:01):
I am off to have a fantastic Sunday, and I hope you are as well.

(00:34:06):
Have a superlative week.

(00:34:08):
Find a good book, put it into your face, and we'll talk again soon.

(00:34:10):
Bye-bye.

(00:34:25):
Bye.