True Crime Meets Romance in Alicia Thompson's Love in the Time of Serial Killers

Marissa chats with Alicia Thompson about her contemporary romance - LOVE IN THE TIME OF SERIAL KILLERS - as well as some of the benefits and challenges of writing your romance in first person point of view; a more informal approach to outlining your novel; infusing your character's voice with your own unique sense of humor, to hilarious effect; striking a balance between sustained romantic tension and a believable falling-in-love arc; describing small moments, gestures, and facial expressions to help clue your reader into the thoughts and feelings of your love interest; and a shared favorite trope: the "when I fell in love with you" speech.

The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:10

Hello, and welcome to the happy writer. This is a podcast that aims to bring readers, more books, to enjoy and to help authors find more joy in their writing. I am your host, Marissa Meyer. Thank you for joining me. The thing, making me happy this week, music in the park, it's such a simple pleasure, but there is a number of parks, uh, in our area that do weekly live music this time of year. And so we've been going to one down in old town Tacoma the last couple weeks, and just what a perfect way to spend the evening with live music. And you, you get a little picnic and the kids play on the playground and it has just been delightful. So especially on these hot, hot, hot days that we've been having, uh, it's been really nice just to relax in the shade come evening time. Of course, I am also so happy to be talking to today's guest. She is a writer, a reader, and a Paramore super fan who currently lives in Florida with her husband and two children, her debut, adult romance love, and the time of serial killers comes out tomorrow. Please welcome Alicia Thompson.

Speaker 2: 1:27

Hi, thanks for having me.

Speaker 1: 1:29

Thank you for joining me and congratulations on your new book coming out.

Speaker 2: 1:34

Thank you.

Speaker 1: 1:35

Uh, so the first question we always start with is I would love to know your author origin story. What are the twists of your life that brought you to having this book coming out?

Speaker 2: 1:51

Hmm, well, like most authors probably it's pretty long and varied. Um, but basically I, you know, I've been writing since I was a kid filling up composition notebooks with full stories about, I think dogs that could change into humans was my first conce. Um, back when I wrote sci-fi I guess, and then I, in high school, I actually tried to write a Harlequin romance novel, cause I read a lot of Harlequin presents, um, which was kind of funny cuz I mean, at that point, like I had never even had a boyfriend, you know, but I was reading all this Harlequin presents and I was like, okay, I'm gonna try to write one of these. Um, so I wrote a couple of those and actually like, you know, sent them off to har Quinn and everything like tried to get them published. And then, um, in college I wrote a Y novel about a girl in college. It was very Roman clef, esque, I guess. And that was published in 2009 called psych major syndrome. And then I wrote a four book, middle grade series, um, that I coauthored with Dominic mochi, the Olympic gymnast, uh, and those were published in like 2012 and then I've just been kind of, you know, keeping at it, trying to write. And unfortunately, you know, as any author knows, um, sometimes books get picked up and sometimes they don't mm-hmm<affirmative> so I kind of went a long time without having another book deal, but now I have this book coming out and I'm obviously very excited.

Speaker 1: 3:12

Yeah. And that's interesting that you started Y and then you went and did a middle grade series and now you are, uh, here you are in adults. Has that been planned at all or is it just kinda as ideas come to you and you think, well, let's tackle this genre, let's tackle this age group.

Speaker 2: 3:30

Yeah. It's kind of just as ideas come to me and every single time I write something, I always think why haven't I been writing this before? I pretty much think that every time. So like when I started writing ye you know, as a shift from writing the adult romance, I was like, why didn't I think to try this earlier? Like why I love Sarah desen I love Meg Cabot, like reading all those ye novels. Um, I definitely read cinder. I can remember that very clearly.<laugh> and um, I just thought, why are you not writing, you know, in this age group? And then now that I'm writing, you know, an adult, I'm kind of like, why did you give up on romance so easily? Why did you not keep at it with the Harlequins? And you know, so every single time I'm just kind of like wondering where I've been all my life.

Speaker 1: 4:13

Yeah, no, I love that. Is it very different writing for the different age groups? Like, do you feel like you need to really think about a different voice or a different style or is it like whenever you have an idea for a new book and it just kind of fits naturally into this genre or this age group? Is it just like, is it very different writing between them?

Speaker 2: 4:36

Yeah. I mean, I think it is in a way, I mean, obviously there's just things about the voice, the tone, you know, the content, obviously like the kinds of things that are in love and the time of serial killers I could not put in AYA or a middle grade, for sure. Um, but I don't know at the same time, I think that there is kind of just like a consistent, I don't know, worldview or perspective or something that comes out no matter what age group you write. And like, if I read people who write across multiple age groups or multiple genres, like it's one thing I always really like to look at is, you know, how they're almost like their core author identity still comes through, you know, in every single one. Um, and that's part of why sometimes like I'll read out of a normal category that I would normally, you know, read just because of the author, because I'm like, oh, well, I'll follow you anywhere. So yeah. Um, you know, I think that there's something at the core that's always the same, no matter what.

Speaker 1: 5:28

Yeah, no, I, I understand that. Do you just having said that and I, if this puts you on the spot, you can totally skip this question, but do you feel like you have that author identity? Like, do you feel like you have something specific that follows you through every genre or has so far

Speaker 2: 5:46

It's so hard because I feel like I do because it's, it's, it's coming from me, but I also, I don't always know how to categorize it or, you know, know or if, or if other people are seeing it the same way. Do you know what I mean? I do. So from, from my perspective, I'm like, yeah, like every single thing I write, I mean, it's mine. I, I don't know what else to tell you, but I don't know from, you know, someone else's perspective if they're necessarily seeing that. And I guess that's one of our main challenges as writers is like, how do we kind of get across our voice, you know, our perspective in everything that we write.

Speaker 1: 6:21

Yeah. And of course recognizing that every reader also comes to it with their own perspectives and, you know, mm-hmm,<affirmative> the lens that they're gonna see it. Um, I'm always really interested in the interpretations that people will have, um, you know, where Marissa, all of your work tackles this subject and it's like something that I've never even thought of before<laugh>

Speaker 2: 6:45

Yeah, no, totally. And sometimes, you know, stuff that I'm like, wow, that's really deep. I wish I had thought of doing that, but I was just writing it. I didn't, I didn't think of that at all.

Speaker 1: 6:55

Yeah, for sure. Um, alright. Well, here you are making your return to romance. Uh, would you please tell listeners a little bit about love in the time of serial killers?

Speaker 2: 7:10

Sure. So basically it is a romcom about a woman named Phoebe Walsh who is a PhD candidate and she's studying true crime. And so, because she's kind of constantly looking at the world through that lens, she just is very paranoid, very mistrustful, you know, kind of sees true crime que stuff in every single thing that she, um, experiences. And so she has to go back to her, uh, late father's house in Florida for the summer to kind of clean it up and take care of stuff after he died. And while she's there, she meets, um, his neighbor who of course is just this like very, swoony very sweet, very, you know, nice guy. But because she has that serial killer lens on, she just sees every single thing he does as being, you know, kind of suspicious or what is he up to. Um, and you know, basically, I mean, spoiler alerts, it's a romance, but it turns out that, you know, he's not a serial killer. And the only thing in danger is her heart

Speaker 1: 8:10

<laugh>. I will admit that I spent a lot of this story totally spooning over Sam. I love him so much, but there were a lot of times when I kept thinking, I hope he turns out to be a serial killer. Cause what an epic twist that would be

Speaker 2: 8:24

<laugh>. Right, right.

Speaker 1: 8:26

No one would ever see it coming.

Speaker 2: 8:29

Um, I definitely, um, I, you know, there's a place out there for some like Dexter fanfic I guess, but that was not, that was not what I was writing, so that's not,

Speaker 1: 8:37

No, no. And I love it and I love the progression of the romance and seeing Phoebe who is, uh, she's a little bristly<laugh> mm-hmm<affirmative>, you know, that's, fairish doesn't really wanna get too close. Um, and seeing her falling in love with this just total cinnamon role of a guy was really, really fun. It was like a reverse of the, uh, like the grumpy sunshine trope, which I adore

Speaker 2: 9:05

Mm-hmm<affirmative> yeah. I'm a big fan of that trope as well.

Speaker 1: 9:07

Yeah. Was it difficult or weird at all? Trying to balance this very sweet, very lighthearted, romantic comedy with this kind of undercurrent of serial killers and true crime that kind of weaves its way in and out of the story?

Speaker 2: 9:31

Uh, I don't think it was difficult until I stopped to think about it, if that makes sense. Like, as I was actually just writing it, I mean, my sense of humor tends to be kind of dark and you know, this is so a lot of the stuff that, you know, Phoebe thinks, um, that just comes very naturally to me, like that's exactly the way I would think about things. And so, as I was writing it, it didn't necessarily occur to me like, oh, this is, this is kind of a tricky balance, but then as I was revising it or thinking about, you know, sending it out to anybody else or, you know, waiting on notes for it or anything like that, then I started kind of getting a little bit like, hang on, you know, what is this? Is this something that, that people want, do people want romance combined with true crime references? Like, do people want this many Dateline references in a romantic comedy, but you know, it is what it is.

Speaker 1: 10:20

No. And I, the answer is yes, at least for me, like I love romance and I love Rome coms and I also love true crime. Like for me, it was a wonderful and unique blending of the genres. It really worked for me.

Speaker 2: 10:33

Okay, great.

Speaker 1: 10:35

Um, so you talk about how you have a, kind of a dark sense of humor. Uh, very similar to Phoebe, our protagonist and the book is written in first person and it's hysterical. I loved her voice. I loved all of her, just like random thoughts about things that are so dark, but so funny at the same time, how was it? Was she one of those characters that was like really easy for you to get into the head of, because you do share a sense of humor?

Speaker 2: 11:08

Yeah. I would say she was super easy to get in the head of, um, Phoebe, the main thing that I actually kind of learned as I, as I wrote the book is that I'm not as prickly as she is. Actually. I always, I always kind of thought that I was, and like, I think I was at one point in my life. Like I think, um, in a way Phoebe is almost more like high school me Just because I was very like, I don't know, just aloof sometimes. And if somebody called me intimidating, that was like the highest compliment. I was just so pleased, you know, that I was mysterious or hard to read or intimidating or any of that. Um, and yeah, I think one thing that I've kind of realized just from growing up and also writing this book helped me to see it more is like, I'm really not, not like that, man. I just wanna, I don't know, talk to people and connect with people and I'm not nearly as prickly as she is mm-hmm. Um, but I definitely like think of myself sometimes as being that way.

Speaker 1: 12:03

Yeah. Well, and it's interesting. Cause of course we have, uh, Phoebe going through a character arc, you know, she learns, she grows, she mm-hmm,<affirmative>, hings over the course of the story. Um, and I, now I'm wondering if like she's going through the arc that you yourself had to go through after high school.<laugh> I dunno, that might been like a little too deep psychological.

Speaker 2: 12:28

No, I, no. I mean, honestly, like I, you know, I always kind of joke that like if I, you know, handed this book to a therapist, it would help them to know at least something about me, because for sure, I mean, I, there's a reason I wrote her arc the way that I did, because I just, I strongly identify with it. The idea of like at first kind of really holding yourself separate from people and being like, I'm not gonna give away my heart. I'm not gonna, you know, let anybody hurt me, but then kind of realizing like, well, I'm a very vulnerable person and that's actually a strength, you know, mm-hmm<affirmative> and I, I wanna give away my heart. I want to open up to other people and that's something that she definitely has to learn.

Speaker 1: 13:05

Right. Right. And of course for a romance readers, most readers are gonna come into it, believing in true love, wanting to see true love and a love that is going to last and be there. Uh, and I love it when we have a character who's just like, Nope, doesn't exist. Mm-hmm<affirmative> not for me not gonna happen. And to see her kind of come to terms with these feelings. I don't know. I just really enjoy that.

Speaker 2: 13:34

Yeah. Thank you. I love that too. I love in like a romantic comedy whenever, you know, in the first like 20 minutes, they're like, I'm never dating again. I don't believe in love. I, you know, any I'm like, yes, yes. Okay.

Speaker 1: 13:46

Yeah.<laugh> um, so talk to me a little bit about developing a romantic storyline. Do you plot, do you plot your work out? Do you just kind of start writing and see where it goes? What was your, what were the steps you took there?

Speaker 2: 14:05

Um, I usually with most of the stuff I've written and love the time serial killers is definitely an example of this too. I usually have like the first, almost like the first act of the book, kind of in my head, I've usually thought about it for a long time before I actually sit down and write it. Um, so that part kind of comes pretty easily pretty quickly to me. And then I usually reach some point where I'm just like, hang on. I think I actually need a plot to keep going. Like I think, I think I've run out of a little steam here. Like all the scenes I've already run through in my head, you know, a billion times I've already written those out and now I think that I need more scenes possibly. Um, and then that's when I kind of start outlining, it's usually not a really formal process, but I just kind of dump a bunch of stuff in Gmail drafts to myself where I just kind of like write little notes about things I want to happen or, you know, when they should happen or that kind of thing. Um, I didn't for this book, but I do have, you know, the ING, the beat kind of next to me right now. I'm literally looking at it right now. And it's something that I do kind of go back to at that point. I usually don't at the start of the book, but sometime in the middle, when I get kind of stuck, I usually open up that book and just kind of look and see what the beats kind of should be and start thinking about like, okay, what do I want to happen at what point

Speaker 1: 15:21

Mm-hmm<affirmative>. So when you are doing that initial writing, you know, you're just kind of plowing through getting the ideas that you have down, I should say. So for me in writing romance, a lot of my, oftentimes my biggest challenge is keeping the two characters separate for long enough. Like I'm always just like, just kiss already. Let's just get to the good part. Do you have that too? And is it difficult for you to kind of post phone and keep up the romantic tension?

Speaker 2: 15:55

It can be. And with this book in particular, I mean, one definite thing that I was kind of conscious of was like, so I want her to think like syncs these, you know, serial killer thoughts long enough that you get a little bit of the promise of the premise and you, you get some of that, like that's the whole point. Um, but I don't want her to think them so long that you're like, well now you can't be with this guy, cuz if you legit think he's a serial killer, then I don't actually want you to like hang out with him. Right.

Speaker 1: 16:26

So that was, he actually was doing some really weird stuff.

Speaker 2: 16:29

Right. So that with this book was definitely a challenge where it was like, okay, how do I keep it going long enough that it's like funny and you're kind of getting the, you know, like I said, the promise, the premise, sorry, that's like one of my favorite phrases I say,

Speaker 1: 16:41

Yeah, no, I use that one too.

Speaker 2: 16:43

Um, and, but at the same time, you know, how do you kind of, you know, drop it it with enough time that she can actually have time to fall for him and, you know, be with him

Speaker 1: 16:55

Mm-hmm<affirmative>. So once you get to that point of, okay, he's probably not a serial killer, he seems like a decent guy. You know, we still have, I don't know, I'm guesstimating, maybe 200 pages left in the book at that point. How are you thinking about like keeping that tension going and uh, maybe it comes into character development too. Like how are you developing these characters in a way that you're gonna be able to sustain such a great romance?

Speaker 2: 17:29

Hmm. Yeah. I mean, I think for me, a lot of it was shifting into, okay, now she's not like worried for her life and I mean, you could make the argument. She never was worried for her life. Like even her brother at one point says like, if you really felt this way, you'd be calling the cops. Like obviously, you know, you don't really think he's a serial killer. Um, but once she's kind of past that stage, then it kind of moves into the stage where she's just worried about her heart, you know, she's just worried about, okay, I'm I, I am feeling something for him. I am, you know, I do care if he comes around, I do, you know, wait to hear his truck pull into the driveway next door. So I can like, see if he's home, you know, all, all these things that mean that she might need somebody. And that's like the last thing that Phoebe wants to admit is that she needs anybody. Um, so that I think was where I kind of, you know, moved to create like the character tension, you know, in the romance.

Speaker 1: 18:23

How about any tips for writers who are struggling to create a really sexy lead, uh, male lead? Because Sam is so great and I don't even know why he's so attractive. He such a nerd,

Speaker 2: 18:42

A nerd nerds are sexy

Speaker 1: 18:45

Sot so well for

Speaker 2: 18:49

Me, for me, you know, everybody is different. Everybody has their own tastes, but for me, like you can just do a lot with like an unreadable expression, you know, hooded eyes. Like there's a lot, one thing that was fun with this book is that it's first person. So you never get his perspective. So, you know, you get a lot of like just little descriptions of his facial expressions or, you know, little things that he says or, you know, whatever that, at least for me, when I read romance, I really just like eat all those up like little clues. I just want all these little clues, like, what is he thinking? What is he feeling? Um, it's kind of a very like pride and prejudice, Darcy esque thing, you know, where it's like part of the appeal of Darcy to me is that he's, you know, not saying a ton to Elizabeth and when he does talk to Elizabeth, it seems like he hates her. Mm. And yet, you know, there's all these like tiny little moments where you're like, there's something there what's going through this man's head. Yeah. Um, and so for me, that's a big thing in romance is that I, I'm always kind of thinking about like, you know, what are they sinking in this moment? And I think kind of creating a little tension around that, a little mystery around that, um, for me adds a lot of romantic tension.

Speaker 1: 19:58

Yeah. No, that makes so much sense. And I'm thinking, uh, specifically, specifically of the pride and prejudice movie, the Kira nightly version, there's like the hand stretch moment.

Speaker 2: 20:09

Oh yeah.

Speaker 1: 20:10

Like why, why is that? So, so incredibly charming that everyone just wounds, this is a close up of his hand. Um, but it's exactly like the same sort of thing you're talking about. Those, those little clues, those little moments, and it's funny how much it does kind of play back into having a crush falling in love. You don't always know what the other person is thinking.

Speaker 2: 20:36

Right. And you read so much into everything, which again, with Phoebe in particular was really fun to play with because, you know, she that's, her whole thing is she reads something into everything. Um, and so at first it's, you know, serial killer stuff, but then later it's just, you know, how does he feel about me? How, what is he thinking about right now? Like, and I, I do think that that's, to me, part of the roller coaster of, like you said, like having a crush or being in a relationship

Speaker 1: 21:00

Yeah. Was there ever a time when you considered riding it from a different point of view or doing it third person, or were you always like, did you always know first person was right for this book?

Speaker 2: 21:12

For this one? I always knew first person was right. I think I wanna say, I briefly thought about having his point of view at some point, because I do love dual POV as well. Like when I read, I read, I mean, I read anything, frankly, so, you know, single POV, dual POV, like I'll take all of it. Mm-hmm<affirmative>. But with this particular book, I really thought, you know, it's really about her journey and her arc more than it is about him. And also, you know, part of it is the mystery of him. Part of it is not knowing, you know, what's going on with him. And so it was, it was not that hard of a choice to figure out that, you know, it was gonna be single POV and it was gonna stick with her.

Speaker 1: 21:49

Yeah. Do you think that doing, choosing a, a first person, what are the benefits, do you feel, um, maybe specifically in a romance versus what are some of the challenges that create creates for you?

Speaker 2: 22:07

Yeah, I think, um, for me, the main benefit of first person is I think it can be a little easier to kind of get in the character's head and get in the character's voice because you're, you're like literally inhabiting the character. Um, but definitely a challenge is that, you know, everything has to be through their eyes. So you can't go in a scene, you know, that, that they're not present in. You have to see things, you know, through their worldview. And, um, I don't know. I love a close third as well. Actually, my second book is in a close third and it's dual POV, so it's a little different in that regard. Um, but I just think that each project kind of asks for a different approach, you know?

Speaker 1: 22:47

Yeah. No, I don't disagree. It's funny. Um, I hadn't really thought of it until just now. I mean, I loved the first person. I loved Phoebe's voice. Um, which is one of the things about this book that just is so fun. Just her perspective on the world and on Sam and all of it. Um, it's funny that there is one scene, like when they're first starting to get close to, to each other and she like has a freak out moment and like backs off and then she doesn't see him for a couple of days. And as a reader, I was like, but where is he? What is he thinking? Like, you, you want that information the same way that she does?

Speaker 2: 23:28

Yeah, no. And that's definitely one thing that, again, in like dual POV is, is kind of fun to play with is that you can see the characters separate from each other, so you can see them at home and, you know, not interacting with the other one, but thinking about the other one or, you know, just doing something in their lives that informs who they are. Um, and that's really fun, but obviously in single POV, when you're only with one character, you can only do that for one person. So definitely a challenge.

Speaker 1: 23:56

Yeah, yeah. Kind you think, and it can lend itself to those daydreams, you know, mm-hmm<affirmative> and the questions. And as a reader, the, those lingering uncertainties is a lot of times what keeps pulling us back into a story.

Speaker 2: 24:16

Oh, totally. I mean, for me, I, I feel like one of the things that I feel like I do with every romance I ever read is I always wanna like go back and figure out what do I think was the moment when they fell in love with the other one, it's just a really fun thing to do. And sometimes authors give it to you. And I love that. I love when they have like a speech at the end where they're like, you know, I knew I loved you from the moment you, you know, dropped your earring in the elevator or whatever. And you're like, yes, I knew it. I knew that was when yeah.

Speaker 1: 24:42

I also love those moments and I have a few of them in my book. So I'm always like, as a writer, when you, or sorry, as a writer, when you get to writing that speech, I love that. It makes you actually think back to all of the scenes that have led up to this and like, well, what was the moment<laugh>

Speaker 2: 25:00

Oh, I love it so much without, I don't wanna spoil anything, but one of my favorite examples of this is, um, the book first and then by Emma Mills. And it just has a great, it has a great, like it's, to me, it's top tier like moment like that, where when you find out where he is basically like, yeah, I liked you at this moment. You're like really,

Speaker 1: 25:17

You know it, and I know exactly. I remember that scene so clearly which yeah. Yes. Perfect example. I love Emma. I should have her on this podcast too.

Speaker 2: 25:27

<laugh> oh, I would listen in a heartbeat because I love her as Well's.

Speaker 1: 25:31

All right. I know that you have a, a firm cutoff time, um, coming up. So I just have one last question before we move on to our bonus round. Um, what do you feel is the biggest challenge that you've had to face in your writing career so far? And how would you say you overcame that?

Speaker 2: 25:51

Hmm, the biggest challenge in my writing career so far is probably just, I guess, like perseverance, you know, just having kind of having the strength to keep going through it. Cuz I mean, as you know, there's a lot of ups and downs, a lot of downs and you know, no matter what stage you get to, there's kind of rejection around the bend in some form or another. And um, you know, that can be really difficult to deal with and it can be difficult to, to write like a book that you love and you really believe in and then see it not go anywhere mm-hmm<affirmative> or it gets released. And you know, it's kind of crickets, nobody seems to care or, and there's just all these moments. It feels like it's just filled with them, but less, that sounds super depressing.<laugh> um, I, I don't know. I take some comfort in just like kind of keep you just keep going through it. It, you know, you just, so I actually weirdly find, um, the song, the climb by Miley Cyrus, very inspirational. I listen to it all the time and to me it, it really is, you know, without being cheesy and quoting Miley to mean, it really is like, you know, there's always another mountain, but you just kind of keep climbing.

Speaker 1: 27:01

Awesome. Are you ready for our bonus round? Sure. Cake or pie,

Speaker 2: 27:08

Pie,

Speaker 1: 27:09

Music or silence

Speaker 2: 27:11

Music.

Speaker 1: 27:13

What is your favorite true crime podcast or documentary?

Speaker 2: 27:17

Ooh. Um, off the top of my head, my favorite true kind podcast. It's actually not really a true crime podcast per se, so I'm cheating, but it's, uh, you're wrong about which does have episodes about true crime cases. And I just think they deal with some in such a compassionate and thorough way. And I just love it.

Speaker 1: 27:38

What is the best writing advice you have ever received?

Speaker 2: 27:47

Um, the best writing advice I've ever received? I I'm blanking. I don't know. Um, probably, you know, it's really basic, but probably just to like sit down and do it, like just, you know, get started. It's always hardest to start for me, but once I get started I'm usually okay. And so just that idea of like, just sit down and just, just start, just get going.

Speaker 1: 28:14

What is one small thing that brings you a lot of joy?

Speaker 2: 28:20

Um, small thing that brings me a lot of joy. For some reason, I'm like overthinking what small means.<laugh> um, I, so I watch a lot of baseball. I love baseball. And one thing that brings me a lot of joy is any like baseball related inside jokes, you know, like a player made a certain play like eight years ago and we still reference it or I, I don't know. Like I just, I, I delight in that. Like we have nicknames for players and some of these players have like been out of the league for a decade and yet I still refer to them as this, or I still like think about them all the time. And that brings me a lot of joy.

Speaker 1: 28:58

That is such a great answer. What book makes you happy?

Speaker 2: 29:05

Um, Let's see a book that makes me happy. There's so many books that make me happy, cuz I love books so much. Um, one book that makes me in can definitely happy that I love to death is, uh, Sophie Canella is I've got your number and specifically the audio book version of it. I feel like I've said this several times, so I'm worried about repeating myself, but I just love this book with a passion I can't even express. And the audio book is, um, narrated by Jane and Wetzel, who is a treasure and it makes me so happy. I've listened to it like eight times.

Speaker 1: 29:43

All right. My next question is what are you working on next? But if you feel like you don't have time, we can skip it.

Speaker 2: 29:50

Um, sure. What I'm working on next? Uh, my second book, which should come out next summer sometime is a kind of annoyances rivals to lovers, um, workplace romcom set in this fake winter attraction in Orlando, Florida, and it's uh, delightful in my opinion.

Speaker 1: 30:07

Oh, how fun lastly, where can people find you?

Speaker 2: 30:13

So I am on Instagram too much and I'm at Alicia books there and I'm on Twitter a little bit less, but still, probably too much. And I'm also at Alicia books. I have a newsletter, which is Alicia books.dot com. And I have a website, Alicia Thompson, books.com.

Speaker 1: 30:30

Awesome. Alicia, thank you so much for joining me.

Speaker 2: 30:32

Thank you. I really appreciate it.

Speaker 1: 30:35

Readers. Be sure to check out love and the time of serial killers it is coming out tomorrow. Of course, we encourage you to support your local indie bookstore if you can, but if you don't have a local indie, you can check out our affiliate store at bookshop.org/shop/marissa Meyer. And don't forget to check out our new merchandise store on red bubble. Just search for the happy writer next week, I will be talking with Brittany S. Lewis about her surreal zombie romance, the undead truth of us. If you're enjoying these conversations, please subscribe and follow us on Instagram at Marissa Meyer author and at happy writer podcast until next time stay healthy, stay cozy and whatever life throws you today. I hope that now you're feeling a little bit happier.