Bonus - Q&A Jenny Hickman

What up Smut Squad, today we bring you a very special episode, this is our Q&A with Jenny Hickman, the Queen that wrote the Bound & Freed series. These are questions that we sent in to Jenny and us reading her responses. 

Super huge thanks to Jenny for taking the time to answer these. 

Live Laugh Mortal Trash

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Welcome, Smut Squad, to a very special little bonus episode of Smut Syndicate. We have our little QA with Jenny Hickman. So these are questions that we as nosy readers like to ask authors. And we sent a list of our questions to Jenny, which Danielle will read for us, and she gave us her answers, which I will read. So take it away. So excited. I'm so excited. Every time that people let us do this, it just this is my jam. Like it makes so happy. Because yeah, like I some of these things are just like stupid, but it's like our regular debates that we have, but also you would think that they would all answer it the same. They don't. No. It makes me so happy. It just makes me so happy. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

All right. Number one. As the reader, we always picture ourselves as the FMC. Do you, as the writer, picture yourself as the FMC?

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Okay. I do. Self-insert when reading back through. But when I write, I tend to picture someone I wish I could be. Someone who has strength and resilience and the ability to survive in some pretty terrible situations. I wouldn't have a hope of making it past the first hour in some of my books.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

This is an insane answer. I love this.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

I love it. But also I like I super love it because yes, like when we're reading, I either A picture if they have black hair, I picture you, or every other person in the world is me. So like Perfect. Yeah, right. Like so it's it's so interesting to hear that, yes, you would also, you know, so it's like we're not insane. We're just like Jenny. It feels good. It feels good.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

Number two, where do you get the idea for the character's uh personality? So specifically are they based off of people you know, spouses, friends, or yourself?

SPEAKER_01 1:59

So not usually. I might borrow a first name, but mostly my characters are created specifically to serve and survive the plot of the story I'm writing. I would take a scenario or a piece of dialogue that resonates and then figure out who would say that sort of thing. What is their story? What baggage are they carrying? Although I say a lot of my MMCs tend to have my husband's sense of humor. One of my many reasons I fell in love with him. Is he Irish? I just need to know. Is he Irish?

SPEAKER_00 2:31

We're not even gonna finish this conversation.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

But I see, I love that because I I think that stuff like that is so interesting because my mind, I I will never be an author. I don't have this like creative aspect in me. Every single character would be someone that I know, and they would be that person to a team because I would be the same villain in everything. Yeah, and they'd be like, Why do they all have this person's name? And I'd be like, Well, that person was mean to me one time, and they'd be like, you don't have anything else. Like, I thought you killed them off in the second book, and I'd be like, Yeah, it's fine. Like, and every person would be me. Like, I just I I find that so interesting because yeah, my mind cannot create anything new, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Uh, third question is there we are. We have read all of your books except for the pen retelling series.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

I really want to read.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Yep, definitely have plans to get to this in the near future. Um, your writing styles between contemporary romance and romanticy are quite different. It is hard to tell that they are both written by you. Do you have a different process for the different genres?

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Not really. I fly by the seat of my pants in either genre, but seriously, the love language you use in contemporary versus fantasy tends to differ greatly. So when you write in both, I find it fairly easy to differentiate between the two because the tones are different.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Can you work on the two genres at the same time?

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Yes. I don't have any trouble working on multiple projects in multiple genres at once. The great thing about writing contemporary is that there isn't the same amount of world building, so I find it easy to differentiate between the two.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

That's crazy to me. Right? Crazy.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

I want to know your IQ.

SPEAKER_00 4:26

Yeah. So smart. Uh, which do you prefer? I love both. And do you have plans to continue writing in both?

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Yes. Sometimes the themes for my fantasies can get a a bit dark. So rom-coms help bring out, bring a bit of the light back to my heart. The balance is essential for me. So if you don't know, and I'm going to totally butcher how I say this, but she writes contemporary romances under the name Jenny Fife, I think is how you pronounce it. And they are fabuloso for any of our like contemporary romance readers out there. They're so funny. And I find that Jenny has like even her like male characters, they remind me of male characters that I would have a crush on. Makes them sound like celebrities, like, oh, who their celebrity crushes, or like who they're like similar to. I'm like, that's people I had a crush on when I was younger. Like, yeah, it just they're so good. So definitely check those out.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Okay, number four.

SPEAKER_00 5:30

A lot of your books are deeply based in Irish legends. Were you always drawn to Ireland, or did you discover your love for the mythology and legends after you moved?

SPEAKER_01 5:38

So I've always loved all things Irish and Ireland, but my appreciation for their myth and legends really came about after I moved here. Plus, being immersed in the gloomy atmosphere and living among the rolling emerald fields really helps as well.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

I feel like that would really help me as well. Oh, she's like, what but everything, probably.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

Every ailment that you have, this would cure it. And I think also that's like another really big reason why I just am obsessed with Jenny because I I'm the same. Like I love Ireland and I love the like Irish legends. Like it's so interesting.

SPEAKER_00 6:17

So bad. If you weren't an author, what would you be doing?

SPEAKER_01 6:20

Heaven only knows. Probably something creative, maybe graphic design. I have a degree in marketing, so maybe using that.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

And how did you know you wanted to be an author?

SPEAKER_01 6:30

Unlike many authors, or sorry, unlike many writers, becoming an author wasn't a lifelong dream for me. I really fell back into reading in my early 20s and became an avid reader, which is what made me want to try my hand at writing. That's freaking cool.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

That is so cool. When you're just like, I like this. I'm gonna try and become like the queen.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Yes. Also, because like I really like this, I can't write a book. You should try it. I still think you should try. Um shit from a butt, and that's what I would call the book. Like it would not, no, that's insane.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

No, you could try it. What is something you're proud of, but never get an excuse to talk about?

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Surviving six years in this industry. Does that count? Hell yes, it count. Surviving girl, you're the queen. Like her romantic, like what are you surviving girl? Yeah. No, do not underplay how much.

SPEAKER_00 7:32

I truly want to know more about the um the world of authors. Like it what is what is the culture like amongst authors? Is it really mean?

SPEAKER_01 7:46

I feel like it might be. Yeah. Maybe. Well, because even okay, little side note with the people who are listening to us, we're going on a little tangent. I feel like it might be because even ourselves being just content creators, we have no real goal in this aside from telling authors how much we love them and trying to force people to read our favorite books. That's we essentially just wanted to make book club, but take it on an international level. So we have no aspirations of money. We don't care to take anyone else's spot. We don't care to become authors. We just literally are like, you want to read this book. Like, we we just literally want to be book peddlers. That's all. And even ourselves, we've had, you know, a decent amount of like not what is the word that I'm looking for? Not like bullying or anything like that, but just where people are like, ugh, get away from me. And it's like, but you don't want to read my book? Like, well, you might like this book. You should read it. We'll talk about it for seven years. Like, you know, so I imagine that with authors there would be, but also I feel like there's a lot of rules about books that we don't know yet. Like how I've been kind of talking about like word counts. I think they have like a set amount of word counts that they have to hit and certain stuff to get it published. And and it's like mad expensive to like, like even to get someone to draw your cover, it's not, it ain't 50 bucks, I can tell you that. So I think I think it actually must be really hard to survive. Which we'll table this for now, but I think we should write a whole bunch of questions about this.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

But also, like, hell yeah, girl, that does count.

SPEAKER_01 9:33

And good for you because surviving anything is is insane, but also something on this level, because yeah, you're you're taking your art and essentially going to the world and being like, look at this beautiful thing that I like. What do you think? And having people being like, that's horrible. And you're like, what?

SPEAKER_00 9:50

But it's the best thing, you know, like that was I'll fist fight all those people in the parking lot. Don't worry. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:56

Oh, heck yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

Um, favorite book, a series is also an acceptable answer.

SPEAKER_01 10:03

This is a bit of a cop-out, but I love all of my books for different reasons. The Pan Trilogy was my first baby, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. The Myths of Eren is really what put me on the map and brought me brought so many readers my way. Bound and Freed are dark and forbidden with an MMC who is so different from many of the books that you s from many you see in books today. And Willowhaven was the break that I needed from the darkness. Like I love which, but honestly, like I like I said, I am only missing the Pan trilogy so far. But yes, yes, like 100% like, which is wild because again, they're all written by the same author, and they are all so different, they all have different worlds, they all have different characters. This is how I know that I couldn't be an author. I I would literally just rewrite these books and be like, What do you think of my myths of Aaron? And he'd be like, uh, that's not your book. And I'd be like, Yeah, it is. It's good. It's good.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Um, favorite book that you've written.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

Okay, so all of my books that are done, Avi.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

And who is the favorite character you've created?

SPEAKER_01 11:14

All of my MMCs. Great answer. Given me a chance to fall in love over and over and over again. And girl. Same. Same. Thank you for also doing that for me. Because yeah, it literally every time that I read one of her books, I'm like, oh yeah, it's Senin, he's my favorite. Oh, it's Rian, he's my favorite. Like, yes, 100% exactly the same.

SPEAKER_00 11:38

Yeah. What does the future hold for you?

SPEAKER_01 11:41

Too many books and too little time, I imagine.

SPEAKER_00 11:45

Do you plan your moves out or just write the characters in books when they speak to you?

SPEAKER_01 11:50

I have some contracts to fulfill, but mostly I write what speaks to me in the moment. It's impossible to be creative when I'm not feeling a book character story. 100%.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

Yeah. Um, and the last question we have is what do you see as your greatest accomplishment to date?

SPEAKER_01 12:08

Every time a book goes from an idea to a draft to a project, I loathe and I think it's terrible to being rewritten, to being a final product. I I I love feels like a miracle, which facts. That's that's honestly that's how we even feel the same about even these little episodes is we're like excited to do it, then we start doing it, and then we're like, it's horrible, we didn't cover it properly, and then we do it, and we're like, it sounds good, and then it doesn't sound good, and yeah, like I think I think that's just self-doubt.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

That's just like such a I feel like that's the creative cycle.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

Yeah, yeah. Anytime you're doing anything that's art, it's just like, yeah, going through that.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

What are some goals that you want to accomplish?

SPEAKER_01 12:57

I'd love to finish all of my projects I've started right now. I have something like nine work in progress.

SPEAKER_00 13:05

Oh, I'm so excited to read all of them. Thank you so much to Jenny Hickman for answering these questions. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

Yes. And what an absolute gem writing these books to being such an incredible, good sport to her fans. Like, like we said, like we are just like randos who just really like reading and we just want other people to read. So she did not need to do this for us. She didn't need to talk to us, she could have just blocked us and just been like, let's just let's get these crazies out of there. Because yeah, she is such a good sport. And her books, like we have said before, and we'll say it a million other times, they are incredible. If you like romanticy books, even if you don't like romanticy books, read these books. Every single time that I have recommended any of these to someone, I get nothing but like, yes, five stars. Like, so it's not even just me. It is everybody. It is everybody. So you can check out our Instagrams. We're on all the socials. On Instagram right now, we are running a signed copy giveaway of her book, Bound by Gravity, with Jenny Hickman. Head over to our Insta to see what the rules are for that and to enter it in. We're on everything. You can see all the stuff that we're reading. If you have any other questions, comments, books that we should be covering, you can email us at smutsyndicate at gmail.com. And do not worry, we will be covering Freed by Gravity. We're just not 100% sure when that's going to come out. Um, but it is in the works. Thanks so much for listening. Live moral trash.