The Mythic Mic Podcast

S.2 Ep. 111: Louisa Carmody on The Shadows That Listen

• Season 2 • Episode 111

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👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📚 Louisa Carmody – @LouisaCarmodyBooks

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SPEAKER_03

Welcome to the Mythic Mike Podcast, where myths, magic, and legendary stories come to life. Join your hosts, Bethany Amanda and Sarah Santillon, passionate authors, book collectors, and lovers of all things fantasy and romantic as they dive into epic worlds, enchanting tropes, and the books that leave us breathless. The Mythic Mike is your getaway to the magic of fantasy fiction. So grab your favorite bookish beverage. Settle in, and let's step into the extraordinary.

SPEAKER_00

Now, here are your hosts. Hey everyone, welcome to this episode of the Mythic Mike Podcast. I am so excited to be joined today by the incredible Louisa Carmody, who is author of the amazing book, The Shadows That Listen. Welcome, Louisa. Hello, thank you for having me. Oh my goodness, I am so excited to talk about this because I have seen this book everywhere. It is so adorably, like the cover is so adorable. Plus, the book itself is so well written. I have just been diving into it and I have loved it. So thank you for joining us. Thank you so much again for having me in Feel Kind Words. That's very sweet. And joining me for today's episode is my co-host, Britt. Hey Britt. Hi there. I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me. Always, always. Louisa, we are so excited to talk about your book. But before we do, we always love to get to know the author behind the story first. So tell us a little bit about yourself. For example, where did you grow up? What do you love doing outside of writing?

SPEAKER_01

My so I'm from Australia. I grew up in Sydney. I currently live in Melbourne, but I'm also moving back to Sydney in two months. So it's very complicated. But Sydney is essentially where I am from and based. I lived there my whole life. And yeah, I love the sun and I love the beach. And that is pretty much what I do outside of work. I will spend as much time in the sun as possible. My husband calls me a sunflower because he says pretty much every time I'm in a bad mood, he just has to like go put me in the sun and then I'm instantly better. So living in Melbourne for the past year, you guys wouldn't know this, but it's a very non-sunny place. So he doesn't know what to do with me now, but I'm in a bad mood. He's like, I can't just recharge your battery in the sun. Don't know what to do. It's usually chocolate instead or cheese. That also works. But yeah, that's pretty much me outside of work is I like going for walks outside and spending time outside and usually by the beach when I can. But yeah, other than that, that's pretty much all I do with myself and read, of course.

SPEAKER_02

Hey, those are those are great pastimes. I love the beach too. Although is it chilly at the beach right now where you live?

SPEAKER_01

It's freezing. It is, I think this morning like three degrees or something, three degrees Celsius near in uh Melbourne. So it's very cold and not beach weather, and it's wet and cloudy outside. So there will be no beach visits.

SPEAKER_02

You're needing to be in the sun. That doesn't help when it's a uh quite a chilly beach experience.

SPEAKER_01

I know, I know, but it's okay. We're almost we're in August now. We're almost done with winter. The sun will be back, and then they I'll be okay. All right. So I keep telling myself.

SPEAKER_02

We'll we'll send some warm vibes your way because where we are, Bethany's, I don't know about about where she's at, but where I live, it's currently about 105 Fahrenheit. So, you know, I'll send some beautiful heat wave down your way.

SPEAKER_01

So that sounds so beautiful.

SPEAKER_02

Here's a beach question for you, Louisa. Is the beach a place to read, or do you leave your books at home so that the beach, you know, the atmosphere, the sand, the water don't don't damage your your beloved books? Where do you fall?

SPEAKER_01

I it depends. It depends on what beach I'm going to. It depends on who I'm going with. And also like I think if I'm going to be laying on the sun just on a towel, I'm a Kindle girl. But if I I have like this retractable, it's kind of like a semi-beach chair. So it's only like this oval, and it kind of folds up so that you can just prop yourself up. And if I'm taking that with me, then I'm all for it because you can actually sit up properly and read. But if not, otherwise, too much sand in the book. And it's yeah, it's a nightmare. So I it really depends.

SPEAKER_02

No, I love that. So it my understanding is that you got an early start to writing when you were about 19, and then you kind of had a little bit of time where you stopped writing. So what got you back into writing and and why was that time the turning point where you decided to begin writing again?

SPEAKER_01

I think look, I I always kind of went back and forth to this book throughout that time between when I originally wrote it at 19 and when I officially went back at 26. I think I just I was busy off doing my career stuff, trying to, you know, build a career and figure out what I was doing with my life, that I only ever went back to it as like uh dunno what to do with this, and you know, not really taking it seriously. And then when I was, I think I think like 26. It's hard to keep up now. I think it was around 2023, and I had quit the job that I had been doing, which was the career that I thought was gonna be my life, but post-COVID, I wasn't enjoying it anymore. And so I uh quit and I went to a new job, which was horrible. I was found myself very directionless, and I quit this other new job that I had without anything as a backup. And I was, I mean, I was studying at the time, so I kind of was headed in a new career direction, but I was still feeling I was feeling very like I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life and and very lost. And so I while I was studying full-time and not working, I decided to pick it up again. I was traveling in Europe for a month and we were doing purely train travel when internally, like obviously had to fly there because there's no trains across the ocean. But then within Europe, we took so many trains over the past like over four weeks that I was like, I need something to do. So I decided to try and have another crack at this book. And I really, I just really loved it. And I I started thinking that maybe it actually could be something. And so when I got back from that trip, I was like, maybe I'll take this seriously while I'm still figuring out what my life is and what I'm gonna do with my life. So yeah, that's just kind of how it worked. I was I forgot about it for like I kind of pushed it to the side for a long time because I was focusing on my career, and then when my career was up in in question because I didn't know what I wanted to do, it was just like I was called back to it, I suppose.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, but it sounds like the story's been with you for quite a while.

unknown

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, I'm I'm 29 now, so it's 10 years.

SPEAKER_02

Wow, 10 years in the making. I'm I'm so excited that it's finally out there in the world. And it seems like, I don't know, what is the author and book scene like in Australia? Because from our perspective over here, it seems like, man, there's a lot going on in Australia as far as publishing and as far as, you know, the uh the engagement with maybe people who do the social media side of things and the author scene, it seems like a ton of authors are Australian. So can you kind of describe that to us?

SPEAKER_01

I feel like it's really changing in the past few years with book talk and you know, social media and everything, because in the past I feel like the Australian publishing industry has been very, you're an Australian author, your books get successful in Australia. And now that social media is such a big thing for books and the book community is so big, there's so much more reach that we have globally. And so I think one of the big things that my Australian publisher has kind of been pitching and promoting when when doing the PR for this book is that it's a global book deal because it's not something that we actually get a huge amount of in Australia. Usually your main book deal is in Australia, and then you might also sell the rides overseas, but my main deal is in the UK, and then they just partnered with Australia and with the US as well to to publish. So I think that it's definitely it's definitely changing with social media. I and in up in Sydney as well, there's a big book scene at the moment. They I there might be in Melbourne as well, but because I've only lived here a year, I don't know anyone. So I just have no idea what's going on ever. But up in Sydney, there's like a really good book scene now of events and you know, tours, and there's just a lot going on. So it's becoming a real yeah time for to for authors here to get out there and get their work out there. And it's nice that we have some more reach globally now because we're so isolated from everyone that yeah, social media has really changed the game for us.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I don't know. From my perspective, I'm there's times that I'm super jealous of you guys because I'm like, man, you know, as a as a bookstogrammer, I see the uh Australian bookstogrammers getting these PR packages that are this funny, and I'm like, dang, that looks that looks so cool and fun. And there's just so many more opportunities on that end for readers now, it seems like.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I think it is a lot more connected because we're we're such a small place, like we're a massive country with very small population and populated areas. So in our major cities, there's so many events that happen, and it's easy to connect authors with readers because it's just such a smaller community. Whereas I feel like in the US, there's so many more people and cities and things like that. It's hard to kind of to hit it all. Whereas in Australia, you've got like four big cities, and then you know, everything else is really small, small, and it, you know, you can kind of tick off the majority of people with one tour. Yeah, which is really nice.

SPEAKER_02

That seems like it would be really nice for connecting with people that there's not quite as many places. I mean, the US you can go to a thousand different pla cities, right? And and find the book seen there. So I'm sure that that that side of it is um is a lot harder if you're trying to tour the US to where do you even begin? I is it a surreal experience for you though, to you know that the fact that I'm in California and your book is sitting here on my shelf is that it's insane. It's so insane.

SPEAKER_01

And I'm like, honestly, any readers in the US or in the UK, if you see my book in a bookstore, please send me a photo or video because I am so far away. And the UK edition as well is a hardcover, and we won't get the hardcovers here in Australia. So I've like sent me all of the content, please. I want to see it. But yeah, it's it's crazy that it's in it's it gonna be in bookstores in the US and it's on people's shelves. And yeah, it's insane.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I love, I love that that your book is all over the world or is about to be all over the world, and what a cool experience as an author, I'm I'm sure that must be. So talk to us a little bit about your publishing journey, because you know, publishing can be a very challenging but rewarding experience. Can you kind of explain what was it like nav navigating the publishing space as a new author?

SPEAKER_01

My journey has been very complicated. So I originally self-published in January of last year after I think I sent maybe five query letters and then decided I was too impatient to wait for responses. Because you get risk, you know, automatic replies and things saying it can take up to six months to get a response. And I was like, I've waited. At this point, it was like I've waited eight years. I just want this book to be out there. So I kind of I decided to just self-publish, and I'd been posting on social media about the book for a couple of years, so I had a decent amount of following going, and I'm a very stubborn and determined person, so I was kind of like, no matter what, I'm gonna make this my my job and I'm gonna make it do well enough for me to do this full-time because I'm just that stubborn. I was like, I don't care if the book is crap, I'm gonna make it happen. So I self-published in January of last year, and then in May I got a message on Instagram from an agent saying that they read my book and they loved it and asked if I was looking for representation. I automatically assumed it was a scam and I had to, you know, like I called my my husband. I was like, these people think I'm an idiot. And but I did my research and she was legit and she's lovely. So thank you, Sue. And she we we talked on, we had a meeting on Zoom and you know, she gushed about the book, and I think that I was just charmed from the first moment. And then once I signed on with her, I think I signed the contract on like a Thursday or a Friday, and then the following Monday she emailed me saying that she already had an interested editor at orbit and they were looking for a preempt exclusive on the book, so they had 24 hours to read and get back to us if they wanted to give us an offer, which they did. Uh, and then yeah, it just went from there. And then they they talked to Orbit in the US and Hashette here because there's no Orbit imprint over here, but it's owned by Hashette. So they all wanted to collaborate, and then yeah, that was in June of last year. So it has been 14 months since the deal was made for it being republished. So it's been a very long wait and a very long process. I feel like a lot of the books that get picked up and then republished, the the process is much faster. But because the book hadn't had like a huge amount of reach, it was doing okay, but it wasn't, you know, viral by any means that we really wanted to treat it like a a full release. And yeah, the process has just been it's been crazy, but it's been awesome. And yeah, long time coming.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, it sounds like the last, gosh, what, 20 months or whatever it's been have been just a roller coaster ride.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. They really have. Lots of ups and deaths.

SPEAKER_02

So as somebody who has experience now both in the indie world and the trad publishing world, what would you give, you know, aspiring authors, what kind of advice would you give them, people who are looking to publish their first book, uh, who maybe don't really know where to start? What would you what would you tell them?

SPEAKER_01

I think that I don't know, it's so hard because I feel like my experience was very unique. And I think my biggest tip is if you're going to go down the self-publishing route, do it with the intention that it may not get picked up and that you may be self-published forever and you have to be kind of okay with that. I obviously part of you, part of me was always kind of hoping that this would come along, but I was also okay to make it on my own. Like I was going to push with the social media and the marketing and, you know, make it happen no matter what. But I think you have to be okay with that. I also think getting feedback from people and from people who don't owe you anything necessarily. They don't owe you any niceties is so important. I had 10 beta readers for book one who I found through TikTok, and they were all people who some like I had a relationship with through TikTok, but some I just I didn't know at all. And I think that made it so much better to be able to get the kind of feedback that, you know, if you ask family and friends, they're always gonna tone it down and be nicer. But being able to get the harsh feedback from people is really important, I think, as well, because you know, you're always gonna be biased about your own work, whether you think it's great or terrible. So, and your friends and family are always gonna be biased about it as well. You know, my parents have read my first book and they've now beta read my second book, and both of them, I was like, Do you have any feedback? And they're like, No, it was amazing. I'm like, gosh, this is not helpful.

SPEAKER_02

Thank you for being so. Yeah, like that's your job as my family, but at the same time, sometimes that you know that very honest um or critical feedback can be the most helpful, right? When you need to know what direction it's moving. So it's good that you you had both sides of that. Yeah, exactly. Fabulous. Well, I I loved learning kind of about the process behind bringing your book to the world, but now I'd like to talk more about your book itself. So, for listeners just discovering the shadows that listen, can you give us your elevator pitch for your story?

SPEAKER_01

Yes, sure, I'm terrible at this. And you would think after 10 years I'd have a really good one, but I don't. So essentially it is a dystopian romance, romantic about a war on earth between angels and demons. It's been five years since the war began, and it follows our main character, Amara, who is a human agent of the angel intelligence agency. And she is kind of thrust into the midst of this war when her boyfriend doesn't make it home in time for the agency enforced curfew, which is in place to protect humanity. And she, yeah, she's gone, she goes on this journey to go find him and save him, and is kind of forced to make really hard decisions and is willing to do whatever it takes in order to survive and to save him, including teaming up with her enemy, the archangel. Yeah. That I would say is as much as I will say without spoiling it.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, now that's fabulous. So dystopian romance is really kind of having a moment right now. Why, I mean, I we know that this book has been 10 years in the making at this point, but how did you kind of um come up with this idea that you wanted to create this dystopian romance, but also have these sort of fantastical elements as well? Where did was that all part of the original, you know, your original idea or did some of that develop over time?

SPEAKER_01

It was much less dystopian originally. In the original version, Amara wakes up with no memory and in a world where pretty much everyone has just disappeared because it was just more kind of post-apocalyptic urban fantasy rather than necessarily a dystopian world. And it was really, it was kind of after the main, you know, the angel novel era that we had with hush hush and fallen and all that. Yeah, they all inspired me to write this, but it was kind of after that time a little. And I think I just kind of missed it. And I was like, well, I want to bring the angel novel era back. And then when I revisited it, I think that I just realized that it was the post-apocalyptic world was boring. And I was kind of like, how cool would it be if it's a more established world where it's been longer since the war started and have you know, exploring how humanity is coping with this revelation that angels and demons are real and they're kind of tearing apart their world, and how do humans fit into that instead of kind of you know, them all getting killed? Yeah, and it being very post-apocalyptic. So yeah, it's I think it just it dystopian wasn't having as much of a moment when I thought of it, but I've always loved dystopian, big fan. So I think I just, yeah, I think I was just always called to it.

SPEAKER_02

Sure. And so you mentioned kind of those those earlier angel novels that came out, you know, twenty two thousand nine, twenty ten or whenever about that era. Would you say that readers of those novels will enjoy your novel as well? Or what kind of reader will will really like what you have written?

SPEAKER_01

So I think it's very nostalgic of a read. I it really I think captures those vibes that but is maybe more because I we all were teenagers and young when we when we read those books, it's a bit more adult and violent, but it has those kind of nostalgic vibes to it. And I think the the main thing I would say is that if you weren't a part of that era and you didn't really read those books, but you loved books like Crescent City and Silver Elite, then it could still be for you. It's very much on the same kind of vein as that. But if you did love those books like Shadow Hunters and Hush Hush and, you know, all of those incredible series, it will, yeah, I feel like it'll bring back a bit of a nostalgia for you.

SPEAKER_02

Wonderful. I I think it sounds like such an interesting premise. And, you know, my book just showed up like a day ago. So I'm really excited to dive in. I haven't had a chance yet, but the way you've described it, it definitely sounds like something right up my alley. And I think a lot of readers will really, not just because it's having a moment, but the elements that you described sound really intriguing. So I'm excited to dive in. So I know you can't give away too much, and we want to avoid spoilers as much as possible. But can you tell us what you can tell us about our main characters and the uh is it a love triangle? You know, what what can you say about what our main characters are facing and their relationship?

SPEAKER_01

I feel like I can't answer the question about the love triangle. I I the thing I will say is that Amara, the main character, I never wanted her to be driven by like, I don't know, fawning over either of these men. So she's very, she is trying to save this person because she loves this person, but it's not like uh it's not like she spends the whole book torn between people. She's very much focused on this task. She's a former soldier, so she's very capable and uh strategy driven. She's very, she's very strategy focused and and focused on on doing what she needs to do to survive and to to save the people she loves. And so there are relationships that the story explores. There are two different relationships that the story explores, but I'm not gonna say that it's necessarily a love triangle because I think the romance, while it's there, she's busy just trying to survive, you know? She's got stuff to do. Yeah, the amount of time she almost gets killed in this book, it's crazy. So it's just, yeah, it's you you'll understand when you read it, but she's just trying to get through the day, essentially. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Well, it sounds like she's she's an interesting character all on her own, and I'm excited. I'm really excited to see what happens with her and the story. Now, something that's very popular right now with readers is finding out tropes. So, what are some of the tropes that we can look forward to in your novel?

SPEAKER_01

So it is forced proximity, and there is a one-bed scene. There is an enemies to I in all of my posts I put enemies to question mark because it's very interpretive, I suppose, but they are definitely true enemies, and it is a slow burn. I will stress that it is a slow burn. People always ask me if there's spice in book one, and I'm like, it is you will be waiting for anything. Like it is a slow burn. And, you know, the kind of thing where a hand grazes making you go, yes, freaking kiss already. So it's yeah, I I feel like I've really struggled with troops because I feel like some of them are spoilers. And so I try not to give away too much. But the main things I would say it's a it's a forced proximity, there is a one-bed scene, and it is enemies to question mark.

SPEAKER_02

Like your solution of just throwing a question mark in there with we can we can infer what we will infer from that. But that sounds like fun. I I'm a huge fan of forced proximity myself, and enemies to question mark sounds just as interesting.

SPEAKER_01

I can't wait to hear hear what you think about the question mark part when you finish.

SPEAKER_02

You know, you know I'm gonna be sending you one of the messages of I'm sure at some point. So without again, without spoilers, were there any particular scenes or chapters that really challenged you as a writer?

SPEAKER_01

Oh man. All of them. I rewrote it so many times that I think it's just it was all challenging because I just feel like the story made so many developments from when it started to where it ended. I don't know. I really like writing action scenes and I really like writing the romance. But I think maybe the in-between moments of the needing to add in more of the slow figuring things out kind. Of scenes are the things that I struggle with a little bit more because I like the fast-pacedness of it or the tension. Um, and you know, yeah, I think the slowing down is probably the part that I find the most challenging. I really like the parts that are uh, you know, you can't put it down because someone might die at any second. Or, you know, you're thinking, oh my god, are they about to do it? Or, you know, you can't figure out what's going on. So yeah, I think the slow moments are definitely the most challenging for me.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, I think you know, if I were to plot out my novel that doesn't exist, I could see like, here's these big things that I really want to write. These are gonna be fun, and then like what happens in between. That must be challenging to try to figure out how to keep it engaging still.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. It definitely is, especially for a this story in particular, because it's it's really it the whole book takes over place over the span of like a week. Like it's very fast-paced and action-packed. And it's a world where there is like danger literally lurking around every corner. So having the moments of like them not feeling like they're about to die is really hard to make it feel natural and like they're not forgetting the gravity of the situation.

SPEAKER_02

I think that sounds like a lot of fun. I'm I'm ready. You're you're I'm already sold, but you're selling me even harder, just describing it. I I love fast-paced books, action, fact books. That's that's my jam. So super excited to hear that. So when readers close the final page of your book, what do you hope lingers with them or what emotion can you anticipate them feeling when they have finished?

SPEAKER_01

I really love what I get messages saying, I hate you, and like, what have you done to me? Essentially, like screaming at me. I want them to feel, like I want them to have cried. Every time someone says, I cried, I'm like, good. Because so did I. When I um and it, I just I want to make people feel things and feel for the character and her story and be like, well, where the hell is this gonna go now? And just be kind of sitting at the edge of this seat begging me to give them book two, um, which has happened a little bit. So that's yeah, that's good.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I love that. Is it one of those situations where you're you're you're kind of thinking, hey, listen, I had to cry writing this, so I want you to cry reading it as well.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. And that's gonna be making the whole series. Every time I cry, I'm thinking, you guys better bloody cry at this too. I have got what I have gone through to give you this scene. Exactly. My blood-sweated tears better translate to your blood-sweated tears.

SPEAKER_02

Right, that's right. Well, we can only hope, because that's the most fun experience as a reader, I think, is when you're so into it. Those emotions. I think that funnily enough, our other co-host is named Amara. Um, but she Yeah, I was like, dang it, she's not here. We could all get confused. But one of the things that she says that cracks me up is she's like, when I'm reading, I want to have bodily reactions. And that sounds gross, but we want all the bodily reactions.

SPEAKER_01

No, I agree. I definitely agree. I want to have the bodily reactions as well. And that's the it's my favorite part when I read, and it's my favorite part when I write. So it's all I hope is to give you guys bodily reactions.

SPEAKER_02

I can't wait to figure out what bodily reactions I will have when I'm reading your novel.

SPEAKER_01

Can't wait to hear about it.

SPEAKER_02

So I I have to admit, I don't know how many books you are planning for this for this story. How many, what what are we looking at for for this series?

SPEAKER_01

The series has been bought for four books.

SPEAKER_02

Excellent. And okay, here's another question. Because I did this one time in a previous interview, and I was hoping I didn't make the word up. Have you ever heard of the word quadrilogy?

SPEAKER_01

Oh, I have, I looked it up because I wasn't someone asked me. They're like, three is a trilogy, what's four? I was like, I have no idea. So I didn't look it up.

SPEAKER_02

Right. Well, I think with Katie Rogan, I think it was who it was, and I said that and she was like, Is that a word? And I was like, I hope it is. What is a word? So in your your planned quadrilogy, is there anything that you can tease us about book two that's not too spoilery? Or even just an idea of when it's coming? I don't know.

SPEAKER_01

Hard question. You know, you just see the interviews of Tom Holland with trying not to spoil things where you get interviewed about Marvel movies. That's me in interviews. I'm like, I don't know what I can say. Look, book two is underway. I have just gotten my edits, developmental edits back from my editor this morning. So it's happening. I don't know if I can tell you a timeline, but I it's not gonna be a ridiculous wait. The what I will say about the series is that one of the big things that I wanted this series to explore is the ideas of morality and corruption and overall darkness and how people can kind of be lured to corruption in the right circumstances and things like that. And yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, okay. I don't know. And then we should probably not say anything else.

SPEAKER_01

Probably not say anything else before I ruin it for everyone.

SPEAKER_02

No, that sounds great. I mean, those are themes that I think are so fun to explore in in books like this, and I look forward to whatever that means in the future.

SPEAKER_01

I feel like you'll have more of an understanding when you finish book one.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, this is another message we're gonna get from you where I go, okay, I get it now. So in addition to the Shadows That Listen and Book Two, are there any other projects that you are working on right now?

SPEAKER_01

I actually am. I'm working on a, I think, duology. It's very early stages. I'm about 56,000 words in. I don't know what I could say. It's not like it's been, it's, you know, it's not fully formed and it's not. It is also in the dystopian genre. Okay. I don't think I feel like I'm just drawn to that, but not angels and demons. Okay. And probably more dystopian than this book. This book really leans into it's it's very much a mix of dystopian and urban fantasy. Whereas this other series that I'm working on, I think leans into the dystopian a bit more. When I know I can talk about it, I'll talk about it.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, we've all things happening prematurely. But that's it's fun to know something else is in the process. Right.

SPEAKER_01

I'm not very good at doing nothing. So in between working on the, you know, while book twos with my editor and things like that, I'm like, okay, well, what what to do with my time? What a keeping. May as well write another series.

SPEAKER_02

That's awesome. Well, I'm really excited to hear about it and hear about book two when we get to know more. Um, but this has been a lot of fun talking about your book, Louisa. Are you ready for some rapid fire questions? Sure.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. You're gonna be terrible at this, by the way.

SPEAKER_02

So, what is a character or a scene that your early readers went crazy for, but you did not honestly see that coming? If you can say that.

SPEAKER_01

Oh my god, there's so many, but they're all spoilers. Um, there was one that was added in the latest edit, which was with the Trad, um, the Trad edit, which was there's a dream scene that is just like it really ups the tension between the characters. I can't I can't say anything without spoiling. I'm sorry. I can't, it's all spoilers.

SPEAKER_02

Hey, if if people read the book, they will know what we're talking about, and that's what we're aiming for. So read the book.

SPEAKER_01

Well, and like there's so many things I could say, but I I if I did, it would ruin everything.

SPEAKER_02

You might get in trouble, and we don't want that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, here's one that's not about your book. Maybe who is your favorite book boyfriend of all time? I think Jack's from Once Upon a Broken Heart. Bethany, Bethany, chime in. Oh my gosh. Yes, Jax! Bethany from the Empire, I think, is that book to destroyed me.

SPEAKER_00

Oh my god. It's honestly, I need to reread before the new book comes out, but that works with it. Nothing of equal value. Oh my god, that is like my catchphrase forever.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, no, I agree. I agree. This is the best way to summon Bethany out of the ether, is to just mention Jack. Thank you, Bethany.

SPEAKER_00

I do, I do think Apollo is just a victim and sadly misunderstood, but that is my controversial.

SPEAKER_01

That is controversial. Like I I get it, but also I just hated him so much.

SPEAKER_00

Everything bad that happened to him was Jax's fault.

SPEAKER_02

So, you know, you feel bad about that. So come back for part two of our discussion on Once Upon a Broken Heart with Louisa and the future. All right, Louisa, what is the appropriate amount of plot twists for a book?

SPEAKER_01

Is there an appropriate? I feel like as long as they make sense and they're not, they don't just seem like they were thrown in there to stump the reader. Um, and there's, you know, enough foreshadowing that you look back on it and you go, it does make sense. I think go nuts, as many as you can. I've like, I want whiplash by the end of the i finished book, you know? I want to not even know what happened.

SPEAKER_02

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01

I want to sit there and have to really think about it and go, what the hell just happened?

SPEAKER_02

No, I agree with you. I think they're a lot of fun. I don't know if you can have too many if done well, so I agree with you on that. Exactly. What would you say is your favorite dystopian book or movie?

SPEAKER_01

Oh, I just read Because I Killed Him by Edith Burr, I think it is, and the two sisters that wrote the book, and it was so good. I was hooked. Honestly, it's like 700. It's a it's a very long book, but I did not want to stop reading at any point. It was so good and so unique. And yeah, I just think it's gonna, it's it's gonna go places. It's yeah, it was awesome.

SPEAKER_02

I don't know if you've read it yet, but I have not read it, but I've been hearing a lot about it. So it's definitely on my list.

SPEAKER_01

Definitely need to, yeah. It was amazing.

SPEAKER_02

All right, now that you say that, it's moving up the list. So thank you. And my last question: if you were stranded on a desert island, which three books would you be bringing with you? Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01

I think the problem is I don't really reread books. So I don't know which of the books that I've already read I would want to reread again. Maybe hush hush, because I haven't read it since I was a teenager, but I was so insanely obsessed with it as a teenager. This is so tough. And then if you can't choose a whole series because then that takes up all your books. But you just have one.

SPEAKER_02

One time I tried to say my Kindle, and they were like, no, that's not true. Can I take like pen and paper so I can just write my own paper that way I'm unlimited?

SPEAKER_01

That's like an infinity hack right there. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02

No, it's really that's really hard. Now I'm looking at my bookshelf and I'm like, you might have to think about that one.

SPEAKER_01

I I think I will. I I think maybe because I killed him, I would definitely read that book again. And maybe the ballad of never after because we were talking about it.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, you and I will be there together with that one. Perfect. We can we can bring another book since one of us will bring that.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly. I mean that's that's the trick. We need to be on an island with friends so they can also bring three. Talk about it.

SPEAKER_02

No, I I think that's great. I I want to ask you though, just as a an add-on question to that last one, because because here's my problem. When I read a book and then I want to reread it, I remember too much. So it's not as enjoyable. Is that your problem too?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I think so. I don't think I mean I I forget a lot about the like I finish a book and then I'm like, I couldn't tell you what happened. But then when I start reading it again, it comes back to me so quickly. Yeah. And I think I just don't get the same feeling where I feel like hooked and like I need to know what's gonna happen. And a lot of the things that keep me going is the tension between the characters. And if I know when it's gonna come to a like when they're actually gonna get together, I it's I feel like it's not the same feeling as being like, I don't want to go to sleep until I know that they're gonna kiss sort of thing. I don't know. Yeah, I think I just struggle because I know what's coming.

SPEAKER_02

I agree with you. I think that I'm the same. Once I finished a book, if you were to ask me the names of the characters, I would not be able to tell you at all. But but then once getting back into it, it's like, oh yeah, I know it's gonna happen. I remember the big plot. Yeah. What we need, and maybe hey, here's a future novel idea, is we need one of those devices where we can erase our memories for like a specific thing and re-invent.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. Oh my god, imagine the movies and the books you could read watch and reread. Someone needs to put stop putting money into AI and put money into that instead. That's what I'm saying. It's a much better use of our technology, right?

SPEAKER_00

Yes, so true. Oh my gosh, Lisa. This has been so much fun listening to you and Britt. I have loved this conversation. Thank you for joining us today. Thanks for having me. This has been a floss. It's been so lovely. Oh my goodness. Yes, no, we're so excited to support your book. Everybody, please go out and grab a copy of the shadows that listen. It's so good from what I have read so far. Britt is holding it up right there. The cover shining. Yes, Louisa is holding it too. You do not want to miss this one. So please go out and support Louisa. And just thank you again. This was wonderful. To all of our listeners out there, thank you for tuning in, and we hope to see you at our next episode. Bye, everyone.

SPEAKER_03

That's it for this chapter of the Mythic Mike Podcast. But the adventure doesn't end here. Subscribe, leave a review, and follow us on social media at Mythic Mike Pod for updates, giveaways, and all the bookish and writing fun. Want more? Join our newsletter at mythicmike.com for bonus tips, other insights, and behind the scenes magic. Until next time, stay mythical.