That's A Funny Lookin' Eclair : An Interview with Ruan Willow

🌶️Heads up listeners! Ruan Willow is a spicy romance author and we did talk about all sorts of sex related themes, tropes, and cliches. If this isn't your jam, we totally understand and we will see you next week.

Find Ruan on Instagram @RuanWillowAuthor and DM her to enter the giveaway!

And vote for her books in the Golden Pigtails!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:02

Welcome to Booked All Night, the podcast where hot takes me craft notes and no one gets enough sleep. I'm Jess.

SPEAKER_02 0:08

I'm Katie. I'm Julia. I'm Maggie. Get ready for unhinged hot takes.

SPEAKER_03 0:13

A whole lot of books, midnight giggles, and zero shame. Grab your blankets, booklets, it's time to get booked all night. Welcome to Booked All Night. We're your hosts. I'm Jess. I'm Maggie. And today we're joined by Ron Willow, author of a lot of extra spicy romance novels. And that's my one and only warning to anyone who might not jive with that sort of content. I do understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea, so if you need to hit pause and make it your cup of tea, go right ahead.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

It's ruined and thank you for having me. It's ruin!

SPEAKER_03 0:49

Okay, yeah. See, this is why I normally ask before we get on air. That's my fault. It's ruined. Oh, no worries. We are going to start off with a game of superlatives. So just kind of answer as quickly as possible any of your books. You have so many. So most likely to fully commit to the worst decision.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

Ooh, okay. I guess that probably would be PowerPlays.

unknown 1:20

PowerPlays.

SPEAKER_03 1:21

Got a character from PowerPlays? Derek. Yeah. Most likely to mistake obsession for love.

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Ooh. I'm gonna say John Penn from Beach House Reviews. That's the one that's not live yet.

SPEAKER_03 1:40

Not live yet. That one comes out in April of 15th. April of 15th. Least trustworthy, but most intriguing.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

Least trustworthy. I don't know. I guess I would have to say maybe John Penn again.

SPEAKER_03 2:05

Most likely to keep secrets.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

Oh, I'm gonna go with Neighborhood Sex Secrets, which also is published as Neighborhood Secrets for the more discreet version. In that I would probably say Alexa.

SPEAKER_03 2:21

And the last one is absolutely should not ever have a key.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Hmm, John Penn. Kind of a common breakaway right now today.

SPEAKER_03 2:33

Yeah, I'm sensing a theme. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:38

So, uh Ruin, why don't you tell us a little bit about Beach House Views, which is your upcoming thriller/slash open door romance? How do those things blend together?

SPEAKER_00 2:49

Well, this book is is really unique because there's been a few times in my life where I've actually dreamt an entire book. And I woke up and and I had like the full storyline was still in my head, and I hurried and typed as fast as I could to get as much out. This book is one of those. And so when I woke up, I had the entire storyline in my head. And when I started to write it, I I do like to have open door romance because to me, relationships do have sex in them, and it's more genuine and authentic to have that in the books. And I just think it says a you know, it shows a fuller picture, it's more realistic to how most romantic relationships are because they do have intimacy in them. And so this book has that all of that, but it's also it's interesting because it was interesting to try and like you know take it from my dream world and what I remembered from that, and then to translate it into a book. I actually wrote this book back in 2020 and let it sit for this long before I decided to go back to it. And it's it's a it's a stalker, John Penn is a famous author. And then we have this couple coming in, and this couple wants that they find this amazing deal on a beach house, and it's like a killer deal, right? And so they're going and looking at it. Well, it is such a good deal and so amazing that they decide to take it on the spot. There's a lot of reasons why this book or this house is is so cheap, and so that's where the storyline goes from there. The the sexuality parts come in with they they end up becoming swingers with a couple that they're friends with. So that's where that comes in. And a major theme throughout the book, too, is the couple is uh interested in having a child, so they're trying for a baby. And so all of this is going on. I don't want to give away too much about it, but uh yeah, John Penn is the devious, very, very, very devious character in this book. Uh so it was just it was really fun to write it and to mesh, you know, imagination from my sleep world with my imagination when I'm awake and then to tell a full story.

SPEAKER_03 5:07

I like that. Uh, you and I specifically have had a little chat because if anybody ever emails booked all night, you are getting answers from wah. Uh but we had a little chat about extra spicy books because they're not what I normally read or write, because I tend to write children's fiction. So when there is a sex scene, I'm like, ooh, you can't do that. And then I'm like, wait, no, I'm reading adult fiction. It's fine. Uh and I just wanted to bring up some of the things that we had said about sex positivity. Uh, specifically, you had said that sex isn't dirty, it's an expression of love, a means to connect, a stress reliever, and a means to recharge ourselves. And I don't have a question here. I just kind of wanted to spark a conversation off of that because I thought that was a really great way to put that, because so much of our culture around sex is that it is dirty and that it is private.

SPEAKER_00 5:58

Right. Yeah, and it's become to a point where it's it's shameful to talk about sex. We were actually created to have sex. You know, why is it so shameful? Why does it become this way? I mean, and it's really odd to me. Like, we have no qualms about touching our sensations like touching something soft or our hair or eating a strawberry. We're all okay with those kind of sensations, they're all bodily sensations. But then when it comes to the intimate parts of our bodies, uh, it's still sensations, it's still bodily sensations, but people have such a different opinion about that. And for me, it's our natural bodies. We were meant to do this, and so if we're we're basically being shamed for being what we were created to be. Our humanity, we're being shamed for being human. And to me, I do not agree with that. There's different levels of what people believe should be open and whatnot, but again, we don't need to judge others. I think that we need to stay in our own lane. If things are done consensually between people, stay in your own lane, right? Like, yeah, why does that matter to you? Do you care if someone eats a cheeseburger for lunch? No. But when it comes to sex, people have all these opinions and they think that they get to spew their opinions on everyone. And I just I don't agree with it. I think that our culture has made it very shameful to have sex. Yet if we didn't have sex, we would have no people, we would have no culture, we would have no population, right?

SPEAKER_03 7:26

Like, what is this? That is that is one of the biggest things that I laugh at about it. I'm like, okay, so you want more babies, but you don't want to talk about sex, and I'm not sure that you understand how the two of these things connect. Um, okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

It's it's wild. I think it's wild. And then I think it's really just terrible that people go a large portion of their lives not even understanding it because we're so scared to teach people about their own bodies. Like, yeah. We're okay with teaching people how to exercise and run and do yoga the right way, but then when it comes to sex, it's just like, no, that's taboo, nothing. You know, we can't talk about that at all. Like it's weird. Why why has this developed? That's what I'd like to know. I know it's it's religion, it's culture, but it's silly.

SPEAKER_03 8:23

I think actually a really great example of that, if anyone is watching or reading Bridgerton. Just a little spoiler for season four. Um, but it happens in season one too, where Daphne is like doesn't understand why she's not getting pregnant because her husband is not finishing inside of her, and she's like, Why isn't this working?

SPEAKER_01 8:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:45

And uh, you know, she goes to her mother and she's very upset. She's like, You never taught me very basic things about life. And this season, um, I forget the the daughter's name. Highest no, not highest highest the end of the whatever. The current uh daughter who recently got married is not experiencing an orgasm. And whenever she tries to bring it up to people, they're all using metaphor, and so they're like, Well, when you achieve the pinnacle, you know, it's like it's like birds flying in the wind, and she's like, What are you talking about?

SPEAKER_01 9:24

Plain talk.

SPEAKER_03 9:25

I have yeah, plain talk. And so she does go to one of like her peers and she's like, Do not use metaphors, do not use figurative language, tell me exactly what it is. Yes, and then they have an awkward conversation where she's like, It's a bodily experience between your legs, and then it rushes over your whole body, and she realizes that she has not had an orgasm with her husband. And I'm like, Yeah, see, this is why we we like talk about these things.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

Right. We can't just know it, obviously. That's a perfect example. We don't we just know this, you know. We literally need to be told and taught about it.

SPEAKER_02 10:03

Yeah. Back to Beach House views. Uh, there's something odd that is lurking in the house, but we're also having sex. What makes your characters feel safe enough to have those intimate moments in such a chilling setting?

SPEAKER_00 10:19

Well, they have no clue. You know, they don't they don't know all these secrets. And for them, they're just in this amazing, beautiful beach house that just fell in their lap and they're trying to have a baby. So they're doing, they are having sex all the time because they want to get pregnant, they want to have a baby, right? And it's not happening for them yet, but I don't really go into that, doesn't really matter because the point of it is they're wanting to do this and they feel safe because they don't realize all these secrets yet. And so for them, they're just living their lives, right? They just they're completely oblivious to what else is going on. And it's it starts to she starts to see things and clues that kind of trigger things for her. At the same time, she's thinking, I'm am I imagining this? I must be crazy. What what you know, like she explains everything away, but she's still a little bit, she gets more and more a little bit off as time goes on. So that's the main reason why they're able to do that, is because they feel safe.

SPEAKER_03 11:20

And ignorance so like ignorance is safety is a very chilling concept that like is yeah, like mmm. And it I don't know if uh anybody else is into true crime and America's serial killer history the way that I am, like a psychopath. But H.H. Holmes had uh he had like a murder hotel, and he actively would watch people succumb to his traps, and he would make other people so whenever I hear like voyeurism, I'm like H. H. Holmes. Um it just it just it just chills me, like somebody watching in the walls and yeah, and it was really fun to uh also make John Penn a human.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Right? Like he's still a human, he still has had he still has these feelings and stuff, and so yeah, that was that was uh interesting because you know he's pretty much the villain of the story.

SPEAKER_03 12:30

Yeah. Our um a former teacher of ours, Joe McGee, who uh passed away this last October, he had taught a lesson about making villains, and like the most chilling villains are human. Yes, you know, the that you can see yourselves in them, that maybe they have a point that they aren't just evil for the sake of being evil, right? But to have them fully fleshed out makes them even more chilling.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

Yeah, like he believes his views as messed up as they are. He literally believes it. And so that was interesting too, because he has a lot of delusions about the world, and so yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:18

On that happy note, that brings us to the first game of the podcast. So we normally call this one space em or embrace 'em, but it's February, and I couldn't help myself, so now it's delete or devour. So I've got ten tropes and cliches from the romance genre here, and we're going to give them to you two at a time. And you have to decide one that you are deleting forever and one that you're saving. Uh, but here is the catch. I have rolled a secret magic number that you have to get down to, and we are not stopping the game until you get down to that number, so we'll keep going through the list two at a time until we get down to that number. Do you have any questions?

SPEAKER_00 14:00

Nope. So I either get rid of it forever or keep it.

SPEAKER_03 14:05

Okay. Yes. The first two are Voyeurism and Obsession over love.

SPEAKER_00 14:12

Oh, that's tough. Mmm, I guess I'm gonna Oh, I that's a really tough one. I guess I'm gonna pick Voyeurism to get rid of. That's a hard one.

SPEAKER_03 14:24

Okay. Then beach house settings or hidden rooms and secret keys.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Mmm, I like oh both. Again, it's hard. I guess I'll pick uh beach house. I'll keep beach house views. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 14:41

Power imbalances or friends with benefits.

SPEAKER_00 14:44

Oh, these are impossible. I guess I have to pick keeping power plays.

SPEAKER_03 14:54

Power plays, so we will get rid of friends with benefits. The something is wrong atmosphere or desire mixed with danger.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

Keeping desire mixed with danger.

SPEAKER_03 15:07

Domestic intimacy turning dark or characters who lie convincingly.

SPEAKER_00 15:15

I'll go with keeping the first one.

SPEAKER_03 15:17

Keeping the first one. So then we go back to obsession over love or beach house settings.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

Ooh. I guess I'm gonna say get rid of beach house settings. Because you can do so much more with obsession over love than beach house would be just one location. That's two confined.

SPEAKER_03 15:36

Power power imbalances or desire mixed with danger.

SPEAKER_00 15:43

Mmm. I'm gonna say keep power plays.

unknown 15:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 15:50

And domestic intimacy turning dark or obsession over love.

SPEAKER_00 15:55

Mmm. I'm gonna keep obsession over love.

SPEAKER_03 16:00

And that leaves you with obsession over love and power imbalances. My magic number was two today.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

That was tough.

SPEAKER_03 16:10

Yeah, one one time I rolled a one, and I'm like, we're gonna be here forever, guys.

SPEAKER_02 16:13

You were gonna be all right. Moving back on over to the questions this time a little bit about writing and reading. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 16:26

And we did talk about this a little bit before when you did say that beach house views uh had come to you as a dream and fully fledged.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

Yeah, yeah. I'm I'm definitely more of a pantser. I'm not one of these people that has like, you know, pages and pages of outlines. I'm very character-driven. So the characters, once they're once they exist, they kind of decide what's gonna happen in the story. So I I start with like a little bit of uh an outline, and my outline may change as I'm writing, but most of the time, once I have the characters, they kind of dictate what's gonna happen. Like they're alive and they're gonna do what they're gonna do. Sometimes I'm surprised. Like, for instance, in PowerPlays, I was very surprised how Derek became. You know, like I didn't expect that. I'm like, are you sure? This is what you're gonna do. This this are you sure? Yeah, like is this the pathway I want to go down? Am I sure? I don't get the choice because Derek is dictating that, right? Like I don't need to say, I might say, no, no, no, Derek, you're not doing it. No, that's what I'm doing. So like I do not have the say. So I'm very much more of a pantser. I I have had interactions with some other authors who've said that they the way I approach it is kind of like writing in a stream of consciousness, like you're watching a movie or it's happening. I tend to write better in the mornings, and that's just because I don't have anything else in my head yet. And I like silence. I like silence when I write. I can edit with sound, except I'm strange. I can go to a coffee shop and it can be loud and I can write. I think it's just because it's only the focus of just nothing else but the writing. So that's the one place I can write with sound. And I write pretty quickly. The most I've ever written in the morning was 8,000 words. Oh wow. I haven't topped that yet. Um but yeah, I write pretty quickly. So, you know, and I write short stories, long stories, full novels, and I also have novellas. So I kind of have that, and then I also do audiobooks. So yeah, I have a quite a range of things that I do. Um let's see, what else can I say about writing? Um I hate editing. I'm editing, I'm still editing Beach House views right now, and I need to get it done so I can get it out into ARC. Uh but it's just to me, that's the most painful part because I've already read the book so many times. I've already looked at it so many times, and I hate the little nitpicky things like a comma. Like I don't care if it needs a comma. Just put the comma in. But you know, like I don't want to go through and but I have to, but I don't want to go through and accept every stinking comma, right? But I have to. So to me, it's very tedious and boring, long, and it's just painful. It's something to get through. It's arduous.

SPEAKER_02 19:12

See, I always end up craving whatever stage of writing I'm not currently in. If I'm editing, I want to be drafting. If I'm drafting, I want to be editing, you know?

SPEAKER_03 19:22

Never happy where I'm at. I I collectively hate drafting. Um I I'm very good at getting myself up to 20,000 words, and then the decisions have to happen. And my brain is like, oh wow, why don't we just reread the first 20,000 words for the next year and a half? Uh, and we'll we'll edit them to perfection. And then we'll make decisions. That's fine. I call it I call it 20k limbo because I get there with every single draft I have ever written, and I'll just like write choices.

SPEAKER_00 20:01

Here I am. Crap.

SPEAKER_02 20:05

I can understand. Yeah. So uh do you have any recommendations on titles or advice regarding uh how someone can learn to get more comfortable writing intimate scenes?

SPEAKER_00 20:24

Um I think that the people who can write intimate scenes are scenes are already more comfortable with sex. They're they're they're more uh comfortable in their own sexuality. And it's hard because it's really strange. Because I I also write romance that is not does not have sex in it, but people have such a different viewpoint of books that have sex in them. Like, and then you know, some people think you have to have done everything. Well then I think about well, what about science fiction, mystery, murder? These people have not done these things and are writing it, they're using their imagination.

SPEAKER_02 20:54

But somehow, as far as we can prove just murdered someone.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

People have this like weird weird thing that they think that when you write sex, that it's memoir. Like, no, this is still fiction. I'm still moving the story through this intimate scene. We're learning more about this character. Maybe they're exploring their sexuality. So I think Did you ask me what what titles was out of the question?

SPEAKER_02 21:19

Yeah, do you have any like recommendations on titles, like whether that's fiction or nonfiction, something that may have helped you when you were still trying to you know get started with it?

SPEAKER_00 21:32

Yeah, I guess I don't have specifics. I read a whole lot of uh stuff from my peers, people that I you know interact with. I'm in several groups, you know, writer groups. So I don't really have specific titles. But I think that if people want to get comfortable with it, the best way to do it is to just start reading it and writing it. It's it's a lot of people find writing about sex and sexuality to be healing. It's a Way to also explore your sexuality, explore your imagination. It doesn't mean if you write something that you want to do it, right? Like this that's silly. You're writing a story still. And I think that if you a lot of people find it very healing to read something maybe similar to what they went through or what they want to go through because it's in a safe environment, right? You're not actually doing this stuff. You're reading about it. And so so many people will talk about even so using the word smut smut can be so healing because it's a safe place. Maybe it's a character that takes care of the female character in a way that that person in real life has never had. It's a safety. It's it's so many people talk about it being healing and a safe place to grow and heal and feel safe and instill and learn more about your own sexuality, think about what would I want to do in real life. You know, some people use it as foreplay as couples. That's a thing too. So I guess I don't have any specific titles.

SPEAKER_02 23:07

Well, if you don't have any specific titles, what authors would you say have had the most effect on your writing?

SPEAKER_00 23:15

Oh, that's hard to say too, because I've read so much. Uh I really do like to read a lot of my peers. Uh you know, like Hank Dahlworth, Lacey Cross. Uh, let's see, who else can I think? There's just so many people because I'm in so many different groups. I can't I can't even think of it. Shout out time. Yeah. Uh Kristen Lance. I mean, there's just so many people. And and what I think is interesting is that there's so many people, and there's different niches too. Like a lot, a lot of those people that I just mentioned, they write a lot of shorts, a lot of like novellas and shorts. And I I tend to read a little bit more of those just because I have less time because I'm trying to do all my own content. So I read less actual full-length novels just because I don't if I do that, I feel like if I do too much reading, then I'm not writing. But I don't want to not read either. So there's got to be a balance.

SPEAKER_03 24:07

Yeah. That balance is really very hard to keep. I want to, like, regardless of what you're writing, where it's like, okay, I want to read, you know, new titles and also popular titles because I want to see where my genre is going. I want to see where writing is going. Uh, but also I need to dedicate some time to myself to do my writing, but I also don't want to read too heavily to the point that I'm mimicking this author and losing my own voice. And like it is, it's just this constant juggle to remain yourself in in your art.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Right. And it's hard. It is. I feel like everything I read, it does like teach me a little bit. It gives me a new idea. But yeah, also, like you're saying, you don't want to completely lose your voice either. Yeah. Because we are influenced by like osmosis when we read it, right? Like it's just gonna happen. It's just gonna impact us. It's just the way it is.

SPEAKER_03 25:00

Yeah, you don't get a choice. Like even if you don't like it, it's going to it's impacting you. Yeah. Even if it's teaching you, like, I don't like that. I don't like that presentation, I don't like that world building, I don't like where that comma is, like, it doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_00 25:13

Right.

SPEAKER_03 25:14

It's going to influence you.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

Yep, it is completely.

SPEAKER_03 25:18

And off of that little rant, that brings us to game number two. So, since we are talking romance and spice, we're going to play red flag, green flag. Uh, it's a romance edition. So, again, I've got ten options here, and you're gonna tell us which one is a green flag, which is the kind of thing that makes you just rip that book straight off the shelf. You've gotta have it. Or a big red flag where you quietly put it back and slowly walk away. Do you have any questions? No. Okay. Obsession framed as devotion.

SPEAKER_00 25:54

Green light.

SPEAKER_03 25:56

Green lights. Voyeurism with clearly established consent.

SPEAKER_00 26:02

Green light.

SPEAKER_03 26:04

Green light. Secrets kept for your own good.

SPEAKER_00 26:11

Green light. Oh, I hate that. That's like one of my least favorite tricks.

SPEAKER_03 26:18

Um, erotic tension in unsafe or liminal spaces.

SPEAKER_00 26:23

Green light.

unknown 26:24

Green light.

SPEAKER_03 26:26

Negotiated power dynamics on the page. Big green light. Big green light. Lots of Gs. Characters who watch instead of act.

SPEAKER_00 26:40

Ah, I'm gonna say probably more red light without another. Red light.

SPEAKER_03 26:46

Desire tied directly to fear or danger.

SPEAKER_00 26:52

Red light.

SPEAKER_03 26:53

Red light. There was a show. Uh it wasn't a kid's show, but it wasn't like an adult show. It was just like one of those family sitcoms. And they had this whole Halloween episode around the scare rousal where the kid was trying to get like a hug or kiss from the girl that he liked. And I'm like, that's like really weird, dude. Why don't you just talk to her?

SPEAKER_00 27:17

Right. You like traumatized. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:20

Going the opposite way here.

SPEAKER_03 27:22

Yeah. Marriage as a setting for darkness.

SPEAKER_00 27:26

Hmm. That's a middle of the ground. Middle of the road. That's how that's it depends on where it goes, because if there's abuse.

SPEAKER_02 27:39

That's a yellow light.

SPEAKER_00 27:40

If I had a yellow light, right. Depends on if it's a kink or if it's abuse. That's which way it would sway me.

SPEAKER_03 27:50

We'll we'll add the amber light there, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:54

Fantasy escalation over realism.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

Fantasy in the terms of fantasies or fantasy like the genre. Fantasy like sexual fantasy. Okay, so say him again. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_03 28:08

Fantasy Fantasy escalation over realism. So somebody kind of getting way too caught up in the role.

SPEAKER_00 28:14

Um, I'm gonna say escalation.

SPEAKER_03 28:18

So Greenlight. Yep. Green light. Uh and this is wrong, but I want it energy. Definitely green light. Green light.

SPEAKER_02 28:32

Nice.

SPEAKER_03 28:35

And then this last section is absolute unhinged nonsense. Uh, and these are some of my favorite questions that we ask here at the podcast.

SPEAKER_02 28:45

All right. So, number one, one of your books is accidentally adapted into a high-end baking show. What is being baked and why does it make everyone deeply uncomfortable?

SPEAKER_00 28:58

Hmm. Okay. Um, I think I'm gonna say uh uh PowerPlays, and they're cooking equaires that look like a body part. No further elaboration needed, right?

SPEAKER_03 29:18

Just when so when I came up with this question, have you ever seen the show nailed it on Netflix?

SPEAKER_01 29:29

Mm-mm.

SPEAKER_03 29:30

It's a baking show, and they quote unquote nailed it, but they it they bring in a whole bunch of like amateur chefs, and amateur is a pretty strong word here.

SPEAKER_00 29:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:40

Uh and they're supposed to recreate these like beautiful professional-made confectionaries, you know, like the ones that are like big box cakes and the whole like is it chocolate or not kind of thing. And so now I just have this picture of this totally botched Eclair in my head. I love it. And they're like, nailed it! Like it's hilarious. Alright, next question is your characters are trapped in a haunted IKEA overnight. Who thrives, who immediately causes a problem, and who pretends this was the plan all along?

SPEAKER_00 30:21

Okay. And then this should be like characters from the same book?

SPEAKER_03 30:26

They could be from the same book or different books. It's up to you.

SPEAKER_00 30:31

Okay, so let's see. It's someone who could you repeat it again? Yep.

SPEAKER_03 30:36

So someone who thrives, someone who immediately causes a problem, and someone who pretends that this was the plan all along.

SPEAKER_00 30:45

Okay, hmm. I guess I'll go with my servicing the workmen book. And we'll say that uh John, I have another John, different John, not the same John, this is a good John. This is so good, John. John is this is the plan all along. And Anderson is the one I think that would be, you know, kind of freaked out and causing troubles. And then what was the third category? I think that would be a lot.

SPEAKER_03 31:23

Who thrives, who's just like, yeah, no, this is my scene.

SPEAKER_00 31:27

Ah, yes. Okay. That would be Laney for sure. Laney's over here.

SPEAKER_02 31:38

A reader finishes your book at 2 a.m., stares at the ceiling, and whispers, oh no. What scene just ruined their ability to sleep?

SPEAKER_00 31:48

Hmm. Okay, let's see. Maybe I'll pick. I have to say this in a careful way. Um maybe I'll pick my spring break in Stranded in a cabin with eight men. And probably the scene would be when things go too far. And there's a villain in that book, too. And he is a propagator of those things going too far. However, at the same time, the main character was also intrigued by these things. So she's very ambivalent, wanting to, not wanting to, trying to figure it out. I think I'll go with that scene. And Devon is the is the villain in that book.

unknown 32:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 32:40

That one is patterned after a retelling of Snow White. Except it has eight uh sexy doctors, students. And it's eight because there's one that does not participate.

SPEAKER_03 33:04

I'm sorry, I'm 12. Let me get the get the eagle out. Okay. This next one is one of my favorite unhinged questions, and it is your book gets made into a Muppets movie. Who plays who and who is the only human character?

SPEAKER_00 33:21

Hmm. Let's see. So this would probably need to be one with multiple characters. Uh, I'm gonna pick, I'm gonna pick Power Plays. And the one who stays as a human is gonna be Mallory. And the other ones will be Muppets. The main, just the main character. Well, yeah, all of them would be Muppets, right? So all the rest, yeah. I'm gonna go with that.

SPEAKER_03 33:50

Can you cast a Kermit or Miss Piggy?

SPEAKER_00 33:54

Hmm, okay. I would say Kermit is probably Max. And Miss Piggy is probably Derek.

SPEAKER_03 34:08

And who's Michael Cain? I'm sorry, that's the wrong name.

SPEAKER_02 34:14

All right. What are the worst and or favorite imaginary places to have sex? For my characters? Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 34:26

Or for you personally.

SPEAKER_00 34:29

We'll get real intimate here at the end of the clock. It's fine. Well, I kind of I think I'm gonna go with Deception Snare, which is my one romantic sea. And that one is really fun because they have this special island that it takes place part on the land and part in the sea, and they have this really special island that people in the sea really only know about, and it's partially underwater. So if humans were to walk on it, their legs would be immersed in water. But this is a place where the couple goes to have a fun date, and then they are intimate, also in this particular place, which is a public place, but they have to be careful. But it's it was really fun to like dream up a place where they could kind of be underwater, but still be having the sunshine coming down, and it's just very green and lush, and it's just very magical, right? So the uh the the main character in this book is a siren fairy human mix, and so she can be in the water and she can also walk on land. And then the the man she's with is a siren and he can only be in the water. So that's that's the main thing for that one. I guess, and then was I supposed to say another thing? I forget. I got two words. I was just in my book.

SPEAKER_03 35:47

Yeah, it was just a choice. Your worst or favorite place.

SPEAKER_00 35:50

Okay, favorite. So yeah, I guess that'd be favorite.

SPEAKER_03 35:53

Um, and then the final one is your worst or favorite ways uh you've ever seen a woman's body described.

SPEAKER_00 36:00

Hmm. Yeah, I think that I mean in other books, other people's writing.

SPEAKER_03 36:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:06

Yeah. Probably um, yeah, like if it's uh not respectful, it's I really like the descriptions that are glorifying and beautiful and wonderful, and anything that would be negative or distasteful or shaming. Yeah, I probably wouldn't read that book. I probably would know.

SPEAKER_02 36:26

So she breasted boobly down the stairs.

SPEAKER_03 36:29

She boobly boobed down the stairs. She there's there's uh an influencer, and I hope I find them on Instagram because I deleted my TikTok.

SPEAKER_00 36:37

Yeah, I did too.

SPEAKER_03 36:38

Uh she goes through reading these terrible descriptions, and she's just got a spray bottle, and she'll just read them. You know, it's like she boobed boobly down the stairs, and like kicks out the next one, and she she's got content for for years. Yes. Oh, that's how terrible, terrible descriptions.

SPEAKER_00 37:00

Yes, oh my gosh. That is really funny. I love it.

SPEAKER_03 37:05

So awful.

SPEAKER_00 37:06

It's pretty funny, though. That would be very comical to watch.

SPEAKER_03 37:09

Yeah. And the final question, and we ask this of all of our guests because it takes more than one person to get a book out usually. Um I read that weird. And our last question, which we ask all of our guests. Is there anyone that you would like to thank today? Anyone from friends who had to listen to your plot 10,000 times, to beta readers, to editors, publishers, etc. And if you are the one that did all of the work, then you should thank yourself.

SPEAKER_00 37:36

Well, I guess I would thank my editors. I have a couple of them. All the proof editing and Sally Bend are my main editors, and yeah, they're invaluable to me, and I totally value them, even though I get annoyed as I'm going through all their changes, and it's painful. It's a it's a necessary thing, and it's very important, you know, because sometimes I'll repeat words or you know, it doesn't sound as clear as I think it sounds, and so it's so important to have other people look through it. And then they they've always been very helpful to me in in getting books out because if we don't do that, then you know, because we are in our heads with our books, right? Like we're all in our heads, and we think that everybody knows what we're talking about because we see it so crystal clear, but people don't always see that. And also, people do get annoyed if you keep repeating the same word. That's gonna be triggering to people, you know what I mean? So that's yeah, these are the things I don't always think about. And I I try to catch them as I'm editing, and I think I get better with time in catching those, but I still miss some, and I'm like, oh, I just used that word again, you know, like we get stuck on our favorite words, I think.

SPEAKER_03 38:47

Yes. Favorite words, like cellar door, Emily Dickinson. Um I I will say this about editing, and Maggie can attest to this because they are the ones that edited it. My one of my grad school projects, uh in the opening chapter, it was the end of my character's first day, week, month, and year of school simultaneously in the same paragraph. Yep. It's a lot going on. Not even the same, yeah, not even the same chapter. Just three sentences. Uh, and of course the infamous seven murder. Uh, I had done a middle grade piece where people were getting expelled mysteriously, and then I was like, oh, you know what? I'll pump it up to young adult, and now they can get murdered. And I just kind of did like a find replace expulsion with murder.

SPEAKER_01 39:38

Oh, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:40

Yeah. And it was, you know, how much murder is too much murder before somebody notices? And the answer is seven. Seven. Seven murder, yeah. Because the the expulsions had happened over like three months. So like if you were a teacher and seven of your students got like horribly died over three months, you'd probably be like, something's up, right? Like I would hope that you would be like, something's up. But if everybody's getting expelled, then they're like, oh, well, you you chewed gum, you did this, whatever.

SPEAKER_00 40:11

Right, right. That's explain awayable, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:13

Yeah. And so I was like, oh, I need to get rid of some of these. It no longer makes sense. Uh, can you tell everyone where to find you and about your giveaway, please?

SPEAKER_00 40:28

Yes. So you can enter my giveaway by following me on Instagram under Ruin Willow, and then just DM me. And then I'm just gonna uh do a drawing before it goes live on April 15th. I'll do a drawing, and then whoever wins can get a signed copy and swag. I forgot to add that and some swag to go with it. And people can find my books. I'm on all different, all the online sellers. I'm also an audiobook narrator. I've done about I don't know, maybe 90 audiobooks for myself and other authors. Some of them are shorter though. So so I've done uh, I don't know, I think I've narrated for maybe like six or seven authors. No, that's not right. It's more than that. Uh, and then my books are basically on all the different platforms. My podcast is also on all the different platforms on YouTube. You can find me at Ruin Willow Podcaster. And there I have interviews. I don't have any of the fiction because I don't allow that kind of fiction on YouTube. Uh let's see, and then my podcast, I can't say the full name because I don't know if you guys have that, but it's oh oh, go right ahead. You can say oh go right ahead. Oh fuck yeah, but then the the U is a star, so oh fuck yeah, with Ruin Willow. And my podcast has been a wonderful experience for me. I've learned so much. I've I I've done over 700 episodes, I've interviewed so many people. I have over two million downloads. It's been the most amazing journey. And I've learned so much because I've interviewed so many people from all different walks of life all over the world. Excuse me. Doctors, therapists, authors, personalities, you know, and and and my topic is sexual health and sexuality. So it's the huge gamut of all of that. So I have, I mean, you you check on there, you name it. I probably have interviewed someone. And I have so much more coming because people email me uh all every day. I get emails, can I come on your podcast? Can I come? And I'm so honored. I'm just like, I just cannot even tell you how many people email me. It's just incredible. So if you're in any way interested in sexuality, sexual health, learning more about that. We have so many experts on there that have so many amazing things to say. I mean, doctors, urologists, just everyone. Everyone that does is in the sexuality field. I pretty much will interview anybody in that field. And I do interview romance authors. I tend to like to have ones that have a little bit of spice in them, but sometimes I've had some that aren't. So let's see. And where else? I guess any platform you sell fine books, I probably have some on there. I'm pretty much like all over the place. So yeah. Thank you. It's been really fun. I really enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_03 43:13

We really enjoyed having you on. This has been a very nice interview.

SPEAKER_00 43:16

Oh, and Windows, and I can I say the books I'm nominated for right now in an award. Oh, yeah, go right ahead. Okay, so I've been an every year I've been nominated for the Golden Fig Tales. This is someone who runs this in the community of authors that I'm in, and so it's the Golden Fake Tales Awards, and I got four books nominated, which I'm super excited about. You have to vote by the 14th, and then whoever makes it to the next round, then it's the finals. So my books that have made it in the first one is uh the I Just Wanna Watch Award for Cuckled and High Hot Wife Erotica. This is John gives his wife hot adventures, and then I'm in the hot. Hearts will race award for romantic erotica for the drinkmaster. It's a novella. And then another novella, Any Holiday is a smut holiday award for holiday celebration themed. That is the arousal package. That is a witch one. And then Summer Summer Teases 2. It's always better together anthology. That's an anthology I'm in that also got nominated in the anthology section of the Golden Pigtail. So vote for me.

SPEAKER_03 44:25

Yes. Well, what website can they go do that at?

SPEAKER_00 44:28

It's the Golden Pigtails. So if you search Golden Pigtails, you should be able to find it. So she's she has it on her site. And uh Alexa Summers is her name. And she's she runs this award ceremony or award event, I guess, every every year this time.

SPEAKER_03 44:46

Lovely. I uh every holiday is a smut holiday.

SPEAKER_00 44:54

It's so fun just to even be nominated because people just randomly you know nominate your books, and then if you get enough nominations from people, then you make it into the first the first round, and then you move on to the finals if you get enough for to move on.

SPEAKER_03 45:09

So well, I wish you luck. That sounds like a lot of fun and a big honor to be nominated by community and absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 45:18

So great. Yes. Thanks for staying up with us. Follow us on Instagram and threads at bookedallnight pod. Drop a comment to let us know what you thought of today's show, and join our Discord server for giveaways, excerpts, and more. It's still in the works, but we're aiming for 100 members. Catch our live author interviews on YouTube and leave a question for our guests on our Discord server. Check out our shop and website at bookedallnight.co. And if you're loving the chaos, don't forget to rate us five stars. Until next time, booklets, remember, stay booked all night.