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When Girls Talk Books
Are you ready for story time? When Girls Talks Books is a podcast with two best friends bonding between the pages. They give comprehensive reviews of books where even if you haven't read the book, you can still enjoy the story. Brace yourselves for a tornado of laughter and literary love! When Girls Talk Books is here.
When Girls Talk Books
Author Interview with Jessica Everly Book Bites
We sit down with Jessica Everly to explore Roses in Rome, a tender, emotionally intelligent romance where grief, forgiveness, and agency shape a love story rooted in place. Rome becomes a mirror for healing as Joey and Sienna choose each other without cheap drama or shortcuts.
• choosing Rome as a living catalyst for Sienna’s healing
• why Joey is a steady, emotionally present hero
• alternative endings cut in development
• crafting Father Fiore as a true spiritual guide
• Giuseppe as the road not taken
• hospital and Pietà scenes as grief touchstones
• adoption and pregnancy as a full family arc
• the sister dynamic and learning to show up
• querying rejections and the self‑publishing pivot
• cover design choices and author process
• what Jessica is writing next
Make sure to like, subscribe, share, follow. And also do the same for Jessica here so you can keep track on what she's gonna work on next
Editing done by Connor Luther @clfilms.co
Music by @thundercatlouis
Merch Here
Hi everybody, welcome back to another episode of Book Bites with When Girls Talk Books. I'm Susie. I'm Kylie. And today we are doing another author interview. So today we are interviewing Jessica Everly. Jessica, thank you so much for joining us and taking time out of your day to talk to us about this.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.
SPEAKER_02:I'm very excited.
SPEAKER_06:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:So Jessica. I'm bouncing around like a puppy.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, I'm so excited. Jessica's book, uh Roses in Rome, recently came out. What was the publication date on that? October 8th. October 8th. And so we will be having a full-length episode. If you haven't watched it, you can go back and watch that and then watch the author interview if you would like. You can also purchase it. It is on Kindle Unlimited as well. That's where I read it. But you can also get the physical form on Amazon. Who's ready for some questions? Me. Okay. Do you want to go first?
SPEAKER_06:Sure. Yes, I'll start. Okay. Um, it's a difficult question to ask, I guess. Do you have a like favorite character or one that you connected with more than the others?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, that is a difficult question. Um, well, Joey, I think you guys also really adored Joey in this book. Um, he's a pretty great guy. I really liked him. And there are hints of my husband in him. So I'm gonna have to go with Joey. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:I would say I relate to that on like so many levels. I, of course, you already know this. Adored Joey, and I was so scared that he did something bad. But I see a lot of Justin, my husband, in him, and just like the patience and the sweetness of him. Oh, he I have to tell you, he like probably top five book boyfriends. I adored him. Yeah, that's a great compliment. He was so good. I've read a lot. I read a lot.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, true.
SPEAKER_02:So I was like, I love him. Um, so what made you choose Rome specifically for kind of the setup on Sienna's healing arc? Like, why was it Rome that you decided that she would go to?
SPEAKER_01:So, Rome for me personally is a place that is special in my heart. It was the first place I'd ever traveled to outside of the United States. And um, I went on a class trip in high school, and that was the first stop. We did a whole, a whole tour of Europe, but we stopped in Rome first, and I just fell in love with the culture and the history, and you just, you know, you're walking around the streets, and then there's this ancient ruin out of nowhere. It was just so you know, nothing like we have here in the United States. And so I fell in love with that city. And um, when I was writing the book, I pants it. I don't I don't know if you guys um are familiar with that term, but it basically it means as a writer, um, some people like to plot, they like to decide what's gonna happen from the beginning to the end. Other people pants it and they don't know what's gonna happen. So um I tried to pants, or I did pants this one, and um the only things I knew about the book were the mom's name was gonna be Catherine and the daughter's name was gonna be Sienna, and maybe they would travel somewhere. And I thought, why not Italy? And that was all that I knew. And then as the story evolved, Rome was the place I wanted them to be because it held such a special place in my heart.
SPEAKER_02:That's fair. You did a really good job like describing. I I will say, because I'm obviously, well, not obviously, I've just never been to Rome. And so I'm like, okay, reading. I'm like, let me see what that looks like. And it was described well, but I I needed to get like a uh okay, what is this? So like the cafe and the stairs and all that stuff. I looked all of that up. So I thought that was really cool that these were real places that you had put into there. I thought that was really nice.
SPEAKER_06:I want to make it very clear that I loved everything about this book, especially the ending.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Okay. All the tears. It was all the tears.
SPEAKER_06:Oh, it was so good. Did you consider any other alternative endings before choosing this one, or was this the only one you wrote?
SPEAKER_01:I wrote, I wrote one other ending. Okay, and I considered another, another ending.
SPEAKER_02:Oh yeah. I cried at the end of the, and it was just like, oh my gosh. Like my I could just, I could feel it in my chest, like everything, and I was like, oh my gosh. Which, as you know, I was very nervous throughout the book that something had happened. Or for a minute there, I thought Joey had died. And I was like, I don't think I'm gonna be able to get through this.
SPEAKER_06:That's I kept being very nervous. And I do have another comment, not a question. You wrote it so perfectly with all of the conflicting feelings that a woman would be going through. Oh, yeah. Without it being irritating, without it being like, oh my god, girl. It just no, it made so much sense every time. It was so valid. It was so oh, it was just so perfect.
SPEAKER_02:I I felt very sympathetic towards her. Yes. Which, like, this is just us complimenting you, but it was so well written where I agree. Like, I never felt annoyed about like, oh my gosh, like Archer doing this, or like it was so like okay, yeah, like your life just fell apart. Of course, you're not gonna know what you're doing, or like even the point where she felt like he was moving on and she wasn't, and it was so, yeah. I have to tell you, this was a five-star read for me. This was a five-star read. Yeah, I know everyone's a I'm a pretty harsh raider. This was a five-star read. I like any book that'll make me cry. I'm like, that was good, but I I ate everything about this up. Oh, thank you. Was there a real life person or experience that kind of inspired your the I would say guru, the father Fiore, like all his wisdom and stuff like that?
SPEAKER_01:You know, there wasn't any one person, but I I'm a practicing Catholic, and I feel like a lot of times priests are portrayed as not what they really are, and they're kind of villainized. And I wanted to see someone that was like who priests are supposed to be, like a guidance, uh, someone who who accompanies you on a healing path and and helps you grow closer to God as opposed to you know, whatever other people are writing in thrillers and that kind of thing.
SPEAKER_02:So fair, fair. I I loved him. I was like, oh I lived in so much amateur to fancast him.
SPEAKER_01:Like yeah, I he was so sweet. Um did you fancast him? Who did you who did you think of?
SPEAKER_06:Uh Eugene Levy from Schitz Creek.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, that would be so good. Oh, it would be so good.
SPEAKER_02:Just while we're on the topic of fan cast, if you had to fan cast Joey and Sienna, who would you pick?
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so I have thought about this a long time. Um, because throughout the entire process of writing the book, I have always thought Austin Butler for Joey. Elvis, wait, what do you think of Antonio? Oh, okay. So Austin, if you're free, we will if you're free. That's amazing. You know, if you don't fit time in your schedule, let us know. He, yes, he is who I thought of the entire time. I thought he would he'd look, that's just how he looks. Um, although an alternative, if Austin is not available, is um the guy who plays Jeremiah in um The Summer. I could be younger, so you know, maybe he could be him. Um and then for Sienna Lily Collins, do you know who she is? Yeah. Yeah, I felt I feel like she has like the look, like kind of Italian sort of looking. I think she'd be good. I'm curious.
SPEAKER_02:I aged mine up a little bit. So I did Sam Claflin for Joey. Yeah. Oh I feel so like who do it's Finnick from Hunger Games. He's also in Love Rosie. I don't know if you've been seen that movie.
SPEAKER_03:Great choice, great choice.
SPEAKER_02:I love that. Uh so specifically, I went through a phase of watching Love Rosie like every week. And in that movie, he's like a yearner. Like he's he's in love with Lily Collins, uh, actually, is who the girl is. It's so good. And I was just like, I adore him, and I adore Joey. So I was like, I think I'm gonna go with that. I'm gonna go with Mickey. Yeah, and then for Sienna, I did um Phoebe Tonkin, and she um she's in H2O underwater, but she was also in uh Vampire Diaries and the Originals, and she's been in a lot of that stuff. So the I aged them up a little bit, but those were mine. Who was your character? I had Minka Kelly. Oh, yeah, that's good.
SPEAKER_06:I had just watched Ransom Canyon, so it was funny in my head.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_06:What character was the most difficult for you to write or imagine?
SPEAKER_01:You know, funny enough, Sienna was hard for me to really picture her when I was writing her. Like I knew, like, almost like I was in her body, but I couldn't see her. Like Joey, I could see interacting with, but she was difficult to really figure out. It took a number of drafts for me to finally get in her head. And I think in part it's because her character is kind of in the real world, kind of quieter, but sarcastic in her mind. Like she's really kind of sarcastic and funny in her head. And we see that as the readers, but people on the outside don't ever really get to know her. She, I don't know if you noticed in the book, she doesn't really have any girlfriends that she's really close to. It's kind of just Joey and her little family. Um, and so she was a little bit harder to get to know until honestly, like maybe four or five drafts in. And then I was like, oh, this girl, she's been through so much.
SPEAKER_02:I do think she's very complex. Like she's in her head a lot. So that would make sense. Like you're kind of two different sides of the coin here, what she presents in her head and what she presents to everybody else are pretty, pretty different. Yeah. Did you know the moment where Sienna and Joey would reconnect? Like, had you kind of because you said you did it as it goes. Was there a moment where you decided that they were gonna reconnect? Or did you kind of know that from the beginning?
SPEAKER_01:Or so uh, like I said, when I just kind of pants it, yeah. The one of the alternative endings was that Joey wouldn't be there. And so um I mean a minute. And then I talked to, I hired a developmental editor who helped me with the process of the story. And um, I was talking to her about it, and she's like, no, we've done Joey. So um, so then I re I kind of reworked everything to make sure that it all fit. But I wrote the last two chapters and then rewrote kind of the drama that happens before those two chapters. So one of the alternative and the alternative ending that I wrote was um there was kind of another woman, like there wasn't, but she was kind of like a client. She was a tennis player, and she was a tennis player. One of the tennis players. Yeah. So she was kind of like like she was into him, and he was kind of like trying to please her because he's trying to get clients. And my editor was like, absolutely not, not Joey. Fair, fair. But I do see, man, that would be good.
SPEAKER_07:I would be heartbroken.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, I like the way it ended up. So I ended up switching and making it more um about Sienna and her career, and she really pushed him out as opposed to her leaving him because there potentially was someone else.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. And I thought that was well done because I personally am that person where I kind of like shut down and I do push away, and I think you're very similar. Um so, like, for me, that felt like really nice to read of like kind of a self-sabotage of she obviously know Joey loves her and would do anything for her, but like she just can't handle what's going on, and so she's shutting down and then lashing out on him.
SPEAKER_06:Have you thought about writing any more updates about Sienna's mom and her time choosing to stay in Rome, like a short story or anything like that? No, but that's a great idea. I mean please do it. Yeah, take it and run with it. I loved her character, it was really fun.
SPEAKER_02:I would love to see her find a hot Italian man. Like exactly like she said she was going to. Yes, I would love to see that.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, that's a great idea. I'm definitely putting that on my short story list.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, but like it's one of the flower, the flower shop. It's like one of those kids. Yeah, something like that.
SPEAKER_04:Something things.
SPEAKER_02:Well, if you do, let us know. Yeah, I'll be very excited. Um, so it's no secret now. A lot of times a male lead in romance books are kind of like emotionally unavailable. They're pretty toxic, things like that. I feel like Joey was very grounded and very emotionally present. Um and I think that sets him apart a lot from a different romance where he's very present, but he's not boring. If that makes sense. Yep. Um while you were riding him, like was he always gonna be like this kind of knight in shining armor?
SPEAKER_03:He's Connie Baby.
SPEAKER_02:Did you did you ever think of like kind of twisting it a little bit? Because I don't well, his family is nice, but his dad's not the best. And I was kind of curious if that was ever gonna like seep into his personality. Did you ever kind of think about that, or was he always just gonna be wholesome?
SPEAKER_01:I I think I'd always imagined him as wholesome with Sienna. And I think the the character arc that I maybe could have gone more into with Joey was him overcoming his dad, kind of being like the the controller of their family and of him and his career and all the things. So he kind of has a small character arc where he has to break away from that because he is kind of uh uh he's not an alpha, he is kind of a beta. Yeah. And um, but in a way that's very respectful. So I feel like that worked with Sienna's character who was very headstrong. Um, but he had to learn to be really kind of break away and be strong on his own when it came to like his family and his dad and that sort of thing. But yeah, to answer your question, he was always kind of just like the good give you the shirt off your back kind of guy. Yeah. Really sweet and yeah. I loved him so much.
SPEAKER_06:I've never I too have never found such a perfect like book boyfriend.
SPEAKER_02:A perfect book boyfriend for me in real life. Yeah. For real life me, this is my husband's.
SPEAKER_06:We finally found one that's not a fairy king or a half dragon slinger or something, you know, like is there anything specific that you hope readers take away from this story? It I know that's a very broad statement, but it seemed like like forgiveness and second chances and stuff like that was a common theme.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, absolutely. Definitely forgiveness. That's the I think the biggest part of um of the book. Um, and then just being able to kind of be with someone when they're going through something, if that makes sense. So um I thought that we hadn't talked about her sister Grace, who was like really not there for her sister when she needed her, and then was able to redeem herself later on and really be there when she when she did need her in the end. And I think that we can be that way with some people. We get busy in our lives, we're not, you know, oh I'm I'm so sorry that's happening to you, but I got a a I don't know, a book fair run.
SPEAKER_02:The kids are vomiting everywhere. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I'm busy or whatever. And then, you know, you kind of can leave, you don't understand maybe how that affects people or or that not saying anything at all is also maybe not always the right thing to do. Um, so I think that you know, just recognizing when to be there for people and how to be there for them is also a takeaway from the book.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. I think I definitely like I related a lot to Grace in a way of like that. I feel like my life is so chaotic and I'm always on the go and I'm always on the move. And so like I took that away on a personal level of like, oh, like what if I'm so busy, but then what if something really awful is happening and I can't take the time to do it because the kids are throwing up or whatever it is. Yeah. So like I took that away in the book, like as myself, of like, oh, okay, like, and it was kind of two sides of the same coin at the same time because also Sienna didn't realize that, like, also Grace was struggling with a lot of things, and so I thought that was really well done. Uh, and it made you think about it for sure. Right. And then on the same note, also like Joey being like, I just wanted to be there for you and help you, and you wouldn't let me. So I got it.
SPEAKER_06:Hard with that. Like, yeah. And I thought, I need to start being nicer to my sweet husband.
SPEAKER_02:To my sweet Joey. Yeah. Um, did you ever toy with the idea of Giuseppe being more of a serious romantic option?
SPEAKER_01:Yes. Yes, I did. Yeah. And the draft. Um, I was real, I really didn't know. Like, was she who she was gonna end up with? Oh, was Joey gonna be there at the end? I was stressed. So, yes, I really I I but I was like, I just love her and Joey together so much. I was like, they have to be together. I can't, you know. But Giuseppe is so great to, you know, he's great in his own way, but he's gonna find someone. He will.
SPEAKER_02:He was very much like, what could be? So, what could this different future be? And um I was just kind of curious, like when you are writing him, he very much has like this healing energy around her. So, how did you write that without making him seem like he was just gonna be a rebound? Because I feel like that could have also it could have gone that way as well. So easy. But it didn't feel like that.
SPEAKER_01:I think you nailed it when you said he this was what could have been because so Giuseppe in Italian is Joseph, and I knew and that's Joey. So um I would like he was kind of her alternate reality. Like this could be your life too. And I wanted to make him different from Joey in that, you know, he was really into art, he was really into the things that she liked, and that's was different than Joey because that was something that was a wedge between them. So I wanted to make him attractive to her in a way that Joey wasn't. And this is how your life could be if you stayed here in Rome. Perfect. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I went about, you know, some way so I was like, I just I'm so sorry. I just love Joey. I don't just have to get out of here. And then when they were dancing and then they kissed, and she's like, I'm just not feeling. I was like, oh thank goodness. I was still worried, so I'm a big.
SPEAKER_06:Like, yeah, me too, girl. I feel it.
SPEAKER_02:I'm a big uh The Summer I Turn Pretty fan. So I very much felt like it was kind of similar to like Belly, and I did not want her to get with whatever his move was.
SPEAKER_04:I was like, yeah, no. Conrad, go get your girl. I can't wait. Like, shall we get off the plane, just land, like show up with the roses? I wanted him to show up so bad.
SPEAKER_02:But I'm glad it ended the way it is. Because it had to be her choice. Yes. He can't keep chasing and chasing and trying and trying. It had to always be her choice.
SPEAKER_06:It was perfection. If you're not writing a book that's literal, literally the perfect love story, what do you like to do?
SPEAKER_01:Uh well, I have three kids, so a lot of my life is centered around what they're doing and and that kind of thing. But my husband and I like to travel. We like to take off like once a year and go on a trip together. Oh, that's cool. Yeah, yeah. And you know what? Something else that we also do that I feel like probably your readers will like is we try to read a book together once a year. Um Joey. Well, it's it's not usually like a love story. Yeah, fair. But still, read a book together. Oh yeah. So we so our most recent book was Shutter Island. If you've seen that movie or read the book, yeah. Okay. So we hadn't seen the movie. So we read the book, and I had all these theories that were wrong about what was going on. And so you like thought that was hilarious. That I I like wrote them down and put them in an envelope and sealed it. I was like, I know I'm so right, and you're gonna know that I wasn't cheating and like reading ahead or saw the movie. And then we opened it up and they're all wrong.
SPEAKER_02:That's a good idea to like write down what you think is going to be, especially in something like that, like which is just crazy. That'd be good. Yeah, that's a good idea.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, take that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, we should make more than that. Read a book together, any book that you both will enjoy, and it's it's a good way to talk about something else outside of you know, regular life.
SPEAKER_02:But that's just our our relationship bombing.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Um, okay, so I do think it's important to talk about more of the heavier parts in the book because there are quite a lot. And I think a big part, well, I guess kind of it is a big part of it, but it is kind of in the background is kind of the generational grief of uh, you know, everybody goes through something and kind of her connection with her grandma or her great grandma and how she had miscarried as well. Um which scene of everything do you think was like the most emotional for you to write? Because I do feel like there is a lot. Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Um, the scene where uh she's in the hospital with Joey after she's just lost the baby. I cried like every single time I even read it, I would cry. Um, that scene was really hard to write. I think I had to like take a day or two off of writing after I did that scene. And then um where she's in the pieta with her sister, um, that scene was was hard to write and um and definitely made me cry. And actually, um originally Father Fiore was there with her in that scene. Okay, and then I decided, no, this has to be Grace, it has to be her that's that's there. So I switched the characters in that scene. But um, yeah, both of those were really hard for obvious reasons. It was hard to write those two.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. That mine, well, I cried at the end. The end was what really got me with the oh gosh, with the adoption. And then they got mine. And I was just like, I was looking at it, oh my, I cannot live in my life. And then he brings roses now, oh handle it. Um, but uh when they're in the hospital and he says, it's okay, you know, we'll have more babies, and she's like, I don't want more babies, I wanted this baby. I'm sorry, how I felt. Oh, it was yeah, that was so good. That was so sad. It was so sad. So it was good, but it was sad. But the ending really got me. Um, did you ever think about because I did like at the end that they did adopt. I thought that was very like made sense. Did you ever think to have her just not actually be able to ever have kids and they just went the adoption route?
SPEAKER_01:Um I you know, I always thought that they would end up with one because you know, you hear that so often that, oh, we couldn't have kids forever and then we adopted and then we got pregnant. I feel like that's a common thing that you hear, and I really love that. I think that's so it's such a full family when you hear about that. And I wanted them to have like the fullest family where they have someone that they brought into their family, someone who is, you know, biologically theirs as well. And I just I really loved how that fit all together, and especially that it was a girl. Because I love that it was a girl. Yeah, yeah. I was so happy.
SPEAKER_02:Like, yeah, I just thought it was so sweet. It was so sweet. Oh. Well, first I guess I should ask, are you writing anything else at the moment?
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_02:Are you writing a sequel?
SPEAKER_01:I am not going to do a sequel. Okay. Although, well, I've had a couple of people say, What we need Bo's story. We want to hear both stories.
SPEAKER_03:Sweet. Yes, let's hear about it.
SPEAKER_01:So, um, so I don't have plans for a sequel right now. Um, but what I am working on is so while I was waiting for developmental edits for this one, I wrote another book. Um, and it's a first draft um that's just really messy. So I'm I'm going to start working on that one again. And then this fall, I was trying to get into that book and I just couldn't. So I was like, I'm gonna write a rom-com. So I wrote one, but I was like, I don't know if I'm that funny. So I don't know if it will turn out or not. But um, I just finished that this week. So I have two that's exciting that I can see potential series with them, both, um, but they'll be separate series. So they're both book one and two separate series. So I'll keep it posted.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I'll read it, obviously. Obviously. Um, I was gonna say we want a little companion novel with Bo. I'd be into that. Because especially in the scene where he's at the house and he's and Joey says, you know, when he finds his person, it'll everything he won't let her go. And I'm like, give it to me now. Oh goodness. You have a real life, Joey. What parts of your spouse did you kind of pull from to make him this lovable character, which we adore?
SPEAKER_06:That these two man haters find perfect.
SPEAKER_07:Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So um the biggest compliment of all. So, first, my husband and I met in Chicago. That's where we met each other and started our lives together. So, Chicago was really special to me because a lot of the places they go were places that we would go or we'd order pizza from Luminati's or whatever. So, if if you're from Chicago or you're familiar with Chicago, you'll recognize the restaurants and the places. George Street Pub, where they have beers before they're gonna do their marathon, was our favorite pub of all time. So I was like, Oh, I have to put, I don't even know if it's still open, but we had to put it in. That's neat. So that's one thing. Um, but my husband is a huge sports fan, and he was born in Chicago, and so he, you know, it's always socks versus Cubs, and he actually is a Sox fan.
SPEAKER_07:That's funny.
SPEAKER_01:So the sports are definitely him. Um alternatively, he is the Italian one, and his family is of Italian descent, so he's a lot like Sienna in that he's very blunt, very bold, very like that is him. And I'm kind of more of the Joey where I'm like interesting, okay, honey. Yeah, sure, sure. So yeah, it was kind of like I I guess it he was a mix of both, but definitely the sports. That's my husband. Um, and the patience, like he is so patient. Yeah, so yeah, yeah, that's also him, too. You need patience, you need patience.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, thank god Eric is a patient man. Yeah, mine's basketball. I know like this much about sports, so I'm always like, go sports!
SPEAKER_02:Literally, I do love the thing of like, he's like, you're not actually a socks fan, are you? She's like Yes. What gave it away? Yeah.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Oh man. Well, I have to say, I I don't understand. I I was thinking about this when I was reading it. How did this not get picked up? Like, how did you have to self-publish? Yeah. Like respect. Respectfully, what are raising people thinking? I thought that was crazy.
SPEAKER_01:Um, well, I can kind of tell you guys a little bit about that journey, that part of it. So I sent uh my manuscript to 13 agents last fall, and one asked for the full manuscript, and she said uh she uh uh passed on it, obviously. But what she said to me is feedback was uh the Italy stuff was too boring. She didn't think it was interesting enough. And the book that you guys read though is not the same book that I sent to her. So um another agent had suggested I do developmental edits, which means that they help rework the story, make it more interesting, make it more page turning. And so um, I so then I did all of those changes and then I sent it out to 50 agents, like total, including the other 13. And none of all of them passed. And so I just think it's really hard to break in and especially a new author. It's really hard. And I had like no platform, it was like my personal Instagram with my kids, and so I had to make an Instagram with all my author stuff and you know, make myself more marketable that way, I guess.
SPEAKER_06:They're lost, they're they're going to be kicking themselves.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I said I read a lot of books, and I've read a lot of bad books. Like I was, I like I said, I was like, how did this not get picked up? Like it went quick. I loved it. I loved the characters. I enjoyed the Italy stuff. I really felt like in it, you know.
SPEAKER_06:You would never guess that you'd never written a book before, but yeah, no, it was great.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Well, yeah, I mean, and I will say I had a lot of help from the editors, they really made it shine. I had um uh uh line editor who just was like a friend of a friend who who used to be an English teacher and she just enjoyed doing it. She did it for me for free. I was she didn't did my whole book for free. She's the most darling person. Her name is Nancy, and she has a um now she's started a business in it because she's good at it. Nice. But um, but yeah, I just it was like it was almost like once I decided to do the self-publishing route, all these people started to come together and like really make it work. And it's just been an amazing journey. So, although, I mean, I I would have loved to have had an agent in the traditional route and whatever, but the downside to that is it might not ever get published. Like, even if you get picked up, it may not ever get published. And I knew that when I had been rejected by all these agents, that my only other option was to write another book or to self-publish. And I was like, I just love this story so much. I can't, I don't, I don't want people to not know it. Yeah. And so I was like, Well, my well, my husband and I talked a lot about it. He was like, Why don't you just self-publish? I was like, Oh, because it's so easy. Sure. Yeah, okay, honey. It's like the other classic, just don't worry about it. Yeah. So I researched all of that. And then um, the good thing about it is you get control. So, like the cover I got to help design, um, or I hired a designer to do it and got to pick the one I liked. Um, I got to work with all the people I wanted to as far as editors go, because I hired them. So, anyway, so it was great. It was a great experience, really, being an independent. So, I may try again in the future to do traditional. I'm open to it if it comes along. But yeah, the upside of self-publishing is your your own boss, your own schedule, your own everything, and with a family, like that's huge. So I love that.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, she uh oh Connor had a question. Yes, Connor had a question.
SPEAKER_00:Uh my question was about the cover. Uh Jennifer Stimpson designed it. Does she does Jessica know that person? How does that come? How did that come about? The cover.
SPEAKER_02:Do you know the person who made the cover?
SPEAKER_01:So the so this is interesting. Um, I was on Instagram and I saw a cover for another book that was just released, uh, Christy Macaulay. It's called Um Thinking About Forever was her book, and it's gorgeous. You'll have to look up the cover. It's so beautiful. And so I reached out to her. I was like, oh my gosh, I love your cover. Who designed it if you don't mind me asking? And she gave me her contact information. Um, the design Maven, I think is what her business is called. Okay. And so she designed the, she just, you know, talked to me, worked through the cover. I gave her all the ideas, told her all about the book, and she came up with that cover. It is beautiful.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, it's great. Put it back up here on the screen for everybody. It's really good. I loved it.
SPEAKER_02:Alrighty.
SPEAKER_05:Well, I think that'll be it from us. Yeah, I think that's all the man. I asked you, sorry, yeah, I asked you a lot of questions.
SPEAKER_06:Thank you so much for just taking time out of your day to discuss this with us. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you, you guys. I'm so thankful that you guys wanted me to come on here and talk about it and that you love the book. And yeah, genuinely.
SPEAKER_02:I did read it on Goodreads. I gave you a five-star, so it's official. It was it was on Goodreads. Thank you.
SPEAKER_07:I appreciate that so much.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Alrighty, that'll be it from us, guys. Yeah, make sure to uh like, subscribe, share, follow. And also do the same for Jessica here so you can keep track on what she's gonna work on next. Yep. Okay. And we'll see you next time. Bye.
