Dive into the hilarious world of alien romance! We made new best friends with our incredibly funny new friend and the author of I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com, Kimberly Lemming!

What follows is a riveting discussion with hosts Bridget and Shani gushing over Kimberly Lemming, delving into her latest literary creation, "I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com", book 1 of her new series Cosmic Chaos, and making alien/fantasy romance fun!

Synopsis: A hilarious and sexy romance about a woman who gets dropped on a strange planet only to fall for not one, but two, aliens, from the author of I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf.

Takeaways:

• In this episode, we discussed the delightful intricacies of Kimberly Lemming's latest book, which is titled 'I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom Com', and how it uniquely blends humor with romance and fantasy elements.
• We talked about the importance of the protagonist's intelligence, particularly as a wildlife biologist, which is a pivotal trait that influences the narrative and ultimately aids in resolving the central conflict.
• Throughout our conversation, we explored the concept of alien romance, highlighting how the characters navigate their relationships amidst bizarre circumstances.
• We touched upon the creative process behind the book's cover art, discussing how the illustrator captures the essence and emotions of the characters, making the visual representation align closely with the narrative's playful and adventurous spirit.
• An engaging aspect of our discussion was the comedic approach to traditional romance tropes, as the alien characters attempt to decipher human courtship rituals, leading to humorous misunderstandings and scenarios that enrich the story.
• Lastly, we celebrated the significance of independent authorship and the evolving landscape of publishing, particularly how unconventional titles and narratives are gaining traction and recognition in the literary world.

Check out Kimberly Lemming!

See her other series Mead Mishaps #1!

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• Get 30 days free on Kindle Unlimited just for our listeners!
• Or listen on Audible like Shani and get up to two free ebooks when you try Audible Premium Plus.

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A lot of additional listening on Patreon!

Welcome to Romance at a Glance, a podcast that uses romance novels to dive into candid conversations about life, relationship dynamics, and sexual desires. 

As hosts Bridget and Shani review books and interview some of romance's biggest authors, they explore the breadth of the genre, openly embracing the sex, diverse couplings, and taboos to create a safe space for listeners to be exposed to different lifestyles, fantasies, and to pique their naughty curiosity.

Expect 100% honest reviews, spontaneous singing, life lessons, indecent anecdotes, and bawdy humor.

Check out www.romanceataglance.com

Chat with us on Instagram at instagram.com/romanceataglance

Support us on Patreon at patreon.com/romanceataglance

Well, hello everyone, and welcome to Romance at a Glance. I'm your host, Bridge, and with me is my co host, Shani. Hi, Shani.

Hi, Bridget. How you doing today?

I am doing so well, Shani. I had the best week recording with you last week.

Me too.

I've been excited that we're like, getting into the swing of things because I don't quantify how much I miss you when I don't actively get to hang out with you. So thank you for saying that. And also, I love you.

I love you too. But also, I was talking about Kimberly Lemming, who I feel like is going to be my new best friend. Sorry, you're gonna have to take a seat.

Actually, best friends of tier we can all fit. She was amazing. Kimberly, if you're listening, you're a goddamn delight.

Guys, we got to talk to her about her latest book, which is coming out today, February 18th. It's called I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a rom com.

It is book one of a new, new series, which I'm very excited that it's going to be in a new series called Cosmic Chaos, which means we're going to get more alien, just insanity. And I cannot be more ready.

So, Bridget, I'm more than happy to be in a throuple best friendship with you and Kimberly because we had a great ass time. And I'm actually so excited about what we talked about on the podcast and to share it with everybody.

So, like, Bridget, I feel like we.

Should just get into this.

I mean, let's get it popping. There's nothing else to do but just get it popping. Romance at a glance. Romance at a glance.

What'd you say?

At a glance. Go ahead. Okay, so I have to tell you that I loved this book so much it is embarrassing how fast I ran down the stairs.

And my husband does not read just like period. But he also does not read romance. His theory of life is if it's good, it'll get turned into a movie.

Which I'm like, there's too many books for that to be real. But I was like, babe, you don't understand. Let me tell you the plot. Okay, so there's this girl, she's hysterical. She's studying these things.

Then she's about to be mauled by a line. But then these crazy bird aliens save her and take them both up to a spaceship. And he's like, wait, what's happening? And I was like.

And then they get dropped off on this other planet where there's These other. Other aliens and the bird people are trying to save those aliens, but they only save the dudes because they're dumb.

So then they bring these human women, but then she actually missed. Like, I. Like, he's just. Like, that book sounds crazy. And I was like, you don't understand.

It's, like, the perfect blend of hilarious, like, in the way that, like, it gives me those vibes of, like, Buffy the Vampire Slayer or, like, you know, back in the day when the characters were allowed to be, like, more quippy and fantasy didn't have to be so dark and so intense and so, like, fantasy could just be fun and weird. Tell me a little bit about, like, your journey into finding that voice of fun in the fantasy.

Well, it kind of started out how I started writing my first book in the first place, and that was, I really hate my job. I'm going to quit and be a delusional romance author for a bit. And so after I quit my job, I was like, wee.

And just, like, spent, like, two months putting whatever silly nonsense I could and just having the time of my life writing my first book. That time I got drunk and saved a demon.

And when that book came out, I found out, hey, there's actually a market for fun, goofy fantasies, so why change now? So I just ended up writing the book I wanted to read so much because, again, like you said, a lot of fantasy has just been such grim, dark lately.

And I grew up with Buffy and all the other fun stuff, so I'm just like, where is that? Bring it back.

I also liked.

We talk a lot about dual POV on the podcast and how sometimes it can be really great, especially in, like, a fantasy where there's a lot of things going on away from the character. So you can kind of get that perspective of, like, what is that other prince or alien or whatever doing in their High Council or something.

I love that you stay in one point of view, because I think for this, like, you can't. I don't think it would be as enjoyable to discover all the oddities of the world if you didn't discover them with her.

Like, if you all of a sudden were in one of the other alien POVs, you would know too much.

Y. I think there's a real delicate balance when it comes to POVs. And personally, I don't really like writing dual POVs unless I have to.

And when it came to, like, having my first romance with three people, I'm like, okay, there's no possible way I'm doing, like, three POVs I won't do it. I refuse. They can be mad if they want to.

We're staying in Dory's head because one, she's funny and two, it makes way more sense to just see the entire story through her eyes rather than a bunch of other people.

So I agree with you. I think it takes you out of it. And I think there's something charming about her.

First of all, she's so funny and she has so many intrusive thoughts about everything. And I think it's so funny, like hearing the dialogue of the other two MCs talking about her, especially to each other.

And he's like, what is she doing? She's yelling at plants. Why is she yelling at plants? It's a thing she does. It's adorable.

Like, I thought that that was the best because it shows that he understands her kind of and he thinks that she's cute and that her personality and weird like quirks about being obsessed with biology is charming as part of his draw to her. And also I just think like, if you had heard him internalizing that, I don't think it would have been as cute.

Nah, definitely not. Also, he was having his own spirals of his own. So it would have been way too much.

That book would have to be like 500 pages and I can't, I can't write that long. I can't do it.

Okay, that's something I wanted to ask you too. So your books are fast in the best possible way. I love fantasy, as listeners of the podcast know. Shani knows I'm here. A thousand pages.

If it's there, if the writing is there and the world building is there, I'll read a thousand pages. But too many authors, I feel in fantasy add exposition, add things that perhaps we don't need to know.

Perhaps they do not add to the plot or the central romance. And I feel like in other authors hands your book may have been 450 pages instead of a nice tight 300.

I mean, I'll be honest, I could sit there and ramble on about animals and dinosaurs until the cows come home. So I have spared you of at least a thousand pages of that.

So appreciate it.

Yeah. And I, and I like, like I think it like you I was interview. I actually had another guest host on and we chatted about your book the other day.

And one thing that we were talking about is how you drew in into this like alien world, human flora and fauna and dinosaurs and whatnot. Can you talk a little bit about how that helped you like Build out that alien planet.

Well, when I first started thinking about doing an alien romance, I'm like, man, I'm gonna have to create an entire world full of new species and all of that other stuff. And that is not nearly as funny as trying to create a bootleg Earth.

So instead of just having it be a breeding program for, like, the planet of the Sencato, which the View Band already destroyed, I'm just like, what if. What if this underfunded research department was just like, you know what?

We're just gonna take, like, a bare bones planet and terraform it real quick to be, like, something that's at least habitable for both of them.

Because on the original Sankato planet, there is, like, massive storms that would happen all the time, which is why you'll find out later in the series. But the aliens can sense storms coming, which is how soul neutral, like, scoop them both up and take off. And we would die on that planet.

We really would. So they're like, okay, well, we'll just make, like, a copy of Earth.

But we don't really have time to, like, do our proper research and do all our due diligence. So we're just going to go to these buildings with a bunch of, like, Earth DNA and just do a quick scan and just boom, there you go.

And then I thought, oh, my God, what if they just took scans from all these dinosaur museums? And, like, you had, like, megafauna. You had dinosaurs. You had just like a regular poodle running around somewhere.

I'm like, oh, my God, this would be so much more fun. And so then I just kind of rolled from there. And then I thought, I. I bet you these bu band are going to think, well, nobody's going to notice.

How are they going to know the difference? Like, it's Earth DNA. But who's the one person that would notice the most? A wildlife biologist. And I'm like, and we're rolling.

Yeah, it was the perfect storm of, like, everything being new and funny, but also my brain being able to quickly accept and understand everything in the scale. You know what I mean? Like, I understand from watching Jurassic park and going to dinosaur museums that dinosaurs are fucking big and scary.

And so you didn't have to explain, like, the exact planet is sort of like a dinosaur, sort of like a cross between. You could just be like, it's a T. Rex. And I was like, run, girl. Like, get out of there.

I want to talk also about Toto because I like all the characters so much. I think they're all great. The intern made me laugh. But, like, Toto the lion is who I aspire to be unbothered. He's, like, calm.

He's like, you know what? We're on a planet, but let's go kill some shit. Like, let's get after it. And she's like, I'm not horny. And he's like, we can all smell you.

You're embarrassing yourself. Okay? We all know this is the animal kingdom.

Like, he was so, like, did you base him in your mind off of, like, what you imagined a line would say or off of some other character or person in your life who's kind of got that. Like, we got this energy. I'm the alpha. Like, everything's good.

He's actually based off my corgi bandicoot. And before he was finally fixed, anytime I took him to the dog park, he would just gravitate towards the largest female dog he could find.

Like, even though he stands maybe a foot tall, he was all about the pit bulls, the rottweilers, everything. And he just had, like, such this big boss energy of, I am here for the female dogs, and I will fight anyone that gets in between me and my hair.

I'm sorry I had to stop taking him to dog parks, but he makes a great lion character. And so I'm just like, you know what? She needs a sidekick.

And what better sidekick for an animal researcher than a lion who really is just here to find lionesses?

Yeah. And I think in a weird way, I feel like you did such a good job of giving her perspective on everything.

She was like, you should be proud of yourself. You're getting your own harem. That's what we all deserve. I'll take over this planet. No big deal. So will you. We'll be together at the top of this.

We're pride, basically brothers.

We're right now. Yeah, exactly.

So when you wrote this series, because this is book one, I was very excited when I then, because I got sent the physical books, I read it, and then I was very excited when I was doing my research that it said that it was book number one in a new series. Did you, like, pre plan kind of the arc of where you think this series will go or, like, where the next characters will go?

Or are you someone who, like, is writing, and then as things come, you're like, ooh, that might be good for book two?

Well, I had an initial plan at the beginning, and then I wrote book one. I'm like, fuck that plan. We're doing something else.

So it was Actually funny, because I need to finish book two pretty soon, and my editor Essie emailed me saying, like, hey, I got the COVID and the blur or cover ideas and the blurb for book two, and it was still about Misty, a character that's not even in book one yet. And I'm just like, I'm pretty sure I told her about Blair's book. Did I not? Whoop.

And so I ended up emailing her back, like, hey, I wrote a completely different book. But listen, it's funnier and it's gonna tie into the third one if you buy it. She's just like, yeah, that's fine. I'm like, oh, thank God.

Did I not tell her about Blair?

I mean, I would have been devastated if Blair wasn't next. You guys, I don't want to spoil the entrance of Blair, so I won't.

If you do want it to be spoiled, you can listen in a couple days when the review episode comes out and we talk about it in depth. But let's just say she comes in hot. She comes in hot. She is not pleased. Dory is kind of, like.

I wouldn't say happy about being kidnapped to an alien planet, but she's, like, intrigued by the flora and fauna. It gives her something to think about. She's got two hot aliens, which is never a bad idea. And she's got a sidekick, best friend, lion.

So she's got, like, a little bit of, you know, well, maybe we can get out of this. A little bit of hope going a little bit of, like, well, while I'm here, we may as well sample things.

And I feel like the next book is 100% the opposite energy of, like, a bit.

Yeah, no, this isn't that much of a spoiler, but you're going to find out pretty soon into Blair's book why she's so pissed off in that cage. Because of all my heroines, she probably has the worst intro to her story.

When, like, as you're writing, because you did three books of the other series and I've seen you talk about how you'll probably, like, you have some ideas and we'll probably dip back into that at some point. Like, as you're writing, you know, first indie published and just kind of like taking your readers on that journey and now traditional published.

How has that changed?

Like, not only, like, how you write it, but how you communicate and talk to your readers and develop that story kind of almost like in real time with readers as an indie publish versus more of like a marketing at. When the book is already finished or like the covers are already coming out.

How's that solved? I've had to sort of step back from sharing everything with my readers and be more hush hush about things.

And that's kind of been a good thing because I was running myself ragged trying to write books that fast in the indie space. And now with the excuse of Trad pup takes forever. I can actually slow down and take my time and, you know, breathe in between books.

So it's sort of been an odd balance of like, hey, this is what's coming as soon as I drag my weird brain out of wherever it's dusting off and actually get it done. Because I know a lot of authors can be like, yeah, this is what I'm writing and this is what I will continue to write until it's done.

I am not that way. And sometimes I'll begin, I'll be in the middle of a book and be like, I cannot.

I'm going to go over here for like three months and do something else. And then I'll wander back eventually over here and get the book I was supposed to be writing.

But it's sort of a weird push and pull of like, I can't make myself write something if I don't want to write it.

That's, that's like, that's like the realest thing ever. And I feel like you're the first person to really like, say that concisely.

Like, I was trying to explain to somebody yesterday that like, I need to clean my house, right? I've been organizing it and just trying to get it like emptied.

And then yesterday I had law, my like legal homework and I got so much cleaning done because I was like, I could sit down and do this law homework or I could go do this.

No, I feel that so much. I'm like, I don't know if it's autistic burnout or whatever, but I can't write this right now. I have to go clean my house. I have to walk the dog.

I have to write a completely different series. Maybe I'll write a short, who knows? I can't, I can't just do this right now.

I call it productive procrastination.

That's what it is. Because then you're doing something you're still.

Supposed to do, correct. I feel good about, about it. I got so much done today and it's like, there's that one task.

If I did that first, if I could get myself to do it first, then everything else would feel so Much better in my brain, right? But I can't. And so therefore, I've painted the hallway, all the furniture, clean my house, taking the tongue.

I feel so jealous of other authors. And I'm just like, yeah, I just, like, wrote this series for a while. Like, my friend Rebel Carter is so good at that.

She can be like, yep, this is the book we're doing. I've got this many awards left. I can get it done in this time. Like, how do you. How can you give yourself deadlines and, like, meet them?

How do you do that?

Especially.

Especially in. It takes a very disciplined type of person to do it and just do it. Even if they know.

Because some authors, like, they're like, oh, well, every day I write 5,000 words or 8,000 words or whatever their word thing is. And even if they know, like, oh, I might delete 4,000 tomorrow, but they know that if they just keep on going, it'll get there.

Which is true of any art. If you just keep on making the art, you have to edit it.

You have to consider, you know, you have to bring things together, but eventually it's gonna get done if you just keep on doing it. But it is hard to convince your, like, your own brain to do it that way if that's not the way your brain is wired.

Yeah, it's. It's tough. I will sit there like, yeah, I'm gonna write 5,000 words today, and then I'll sit there and stare at the screen for, like, three hours.

I'm like, you know what? I'm gonna go for a walk.

You know? You know, sometimes they, like. I like when people try to give me advice. That's, like, the standard advice.

And I really think that if you're neurodivergent.

Yeah, it's not.

It doesn't work right. Like, they're like, just get your paper and write your name on it. Well, you know what I have?

I have a paper with my name on it that has nothing else on it, you know? Or, like, if you just sit down and whatever, you'll do the thing.

And, like, my brain has such PDA that if I'm trying to tell it it's got to do something, then it is absolutely, like, not gonna do it.

Let me tell you about how when I read books with aliens and people getting abducted, a lot of people throughout history have been worried about alien abductions. However, I come from the generation where we're like, hello, Excuse me. Well, I don't mind. I mean, let's just see what's happening.

Authors in space. I've got nothing going on. Let's go.

I mean, I have a husband and children, but I'm just saying, if you abducted me, it's not. It's gonna. I mean, what can I do? You've taken me. I. So I feel like this book is me in the sense that if I discovered an alien.

I was on an alien planet, and I discovered he had ridges on his tongue, my first thought would be Dory's first thought, which is, what do those ridges feel like? And I appreciate deeply from the heart of all alien romance readers that they do not have regular human male parts.

Because what would be the point?

What is the point? Thank you. What is the point?

That's the real.

I always tell Shani, if. If aliens do not have magical jizz that somehow rubs on my skin and makes me orgasm or something, whatever. I don't care what it does.

It's got to do something, okay? You got to have. In this book, we have special tales, knots, special tongues. I mean, it's a trifecta of glory.

There are also ridges on their dicks.

Yes, that's true. I've heard about that.

The sex scene was getting so involved. I can't keep track of all this. So we're gonna focus on the tails right now.

Yes, I think the tails was a win. I think the tails. I also think, in general, you do such a good job of the characters asking questions and then listening to the human women.

Because presumably, I mean, in this case, for sure. But even in the case of the other, like, fantasy monsters, they wouldn't necessarily have had sex with a human woman before.

So perhaps they don't even. Maybe alien ladies don't have a clit. We don't know they're aliens. And so I think.

I love that about your book, that they're like, well, what does it do? Show me where it is. I will take over from here. Don't worry.

Just give me a little direction, and I got it.

Not like, a little direction, and then I've ignored you. A little direction. Then I will suction my tail to you until you break.

It was the wrong time to sip my coffee.

Sorry. Yes.

Listen, I'm with you. Like, SpaceX keeps launching rockets outside, and nobody ever knows what they are because they're different.

Like, now they've started launching ones that are red and blue. It's kind of wild. But the other day, they launched these.

And my friend was driving, and I'm watching it on his FaceTime, and he's like, what the is this? And I was like, I don't know. But I just went to my. My window and I was like, aliens. I'm here. Take me.

Because no matter what, in my mind, it's better than here, honestly.

Real.

Yeah. I mean, I think the reason to start. We started a podcast around the same time that you started writing. We.

I feel like there are so many things going on in the world, and we've debated before, like, should we talk more about the real world? We talk about our real lives personally, but we're like, should we talk about things that we care about, issues that we care about, et cetera?

And we've sort of come down on the side of like, no. People need a place where they can come and laugh and we can be that place. We're not a new. We're not journalists. We're not news people anyways.

And so it's better for people to not have to worry if they tune in that they're going to hear something triggering and that they can just come and laugh and squeal about, you know, funny, sexy books and, you know, you know, alien penises and. And all the good things of life.

I honestly appreciate that because a lot of times when I talk about this book, people often ask me, like, so what? What's like, the core meaning? Like, why do you think alien romance is so hot right now? And I'm just like, earth is ghetto. That's the reason.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Human dudes aren't pulling their weight the way alien dudes are. Okay? Do they have horns to hold on to while I ride their face? No, they don't.

Can they carry you and your other lover away from vicious raptors right after you've had sex?

No, they cannot.

No, they cannot.

Although I have to say, there is a scene in this that Shani listens to the audiobook. So she hasn't listened to the audiobook yet, but there's a scene in this book, Shani, that you're going to be like, what are you doing?

Because her pet peeve is like, when people are in danger. And then they're like, they got time to get it on. Which I'm like, there's always time to get it on.

There's always time to cop a feel, make out in the closet. I don't care. You can always find time to squeeze in a quickie. Okay?

And I'm.

You're height, you're hiding somewhere, and they're above you, but you're laying on top of each other. What are you going to do, Kimberly? You know, what they're going to do, okay? You know, and Shani's always like, this is silly.

And there's a scene in this book, Shawnee, when you get to it, you're going to call me and be like, this is ridiculous.

No, what I'm going to be doing is yelling in my own house.

Well, Dory. Dory also is like, what are you doing? That's how he uses time wisely.

That's always nice when at least somebody acknowledges the thing, right? It's kind of like, get out. Right? They put the character in who's like your. Every black audience member who's watching it. You know what I mean?

So, like, when I'm reading the book and I'm like, you're in danger, girl.

You're in danger.

And they're like, let's just get it on in this closet.

I'm like, what the hell? Get out the closet.

And then I call Bridget, just like that. Bridget. Did you see what I did?

Yeah.

And then I almost want to see your live reaction to this scene now, because I really want to film.

We'll film it. I'll send it to you. I'll have her film it. It's so funny. I was thinking about you the whole time, Shawnee.

I was like, shani's gonna die when she listens to this later.

The stress, the stress. Like. Like my brain forgets it's a book and the stress in my body, but.

They'Re being chased and I'm like, the adren. Pumping is a perfect time because it's hard to tell between adrenaline, arousal, all that stuff when you're feeling that adrenaline.

If it's any consolation, at one point somebody does shout, what are you doing? We're in a high speed chase.

That's all I need. I just need. That's all I need.

I want to talk about the bird people, the bird aliens.

First of all, I think birds was like, like the weirdest but funniest choice because if they had been like some form of ground walker, they don't get to like, be around observing in the same way that something that's flying is. It's almost like a little drone that's like recording everything.

But also, I thought the way that you integrated, like the feathers with the technology and stuff was really clever. How did you, like, come up with that or what?

What, like, what sparked that where you were like, oh, that would be an easy way to get technology into this bird?

Well, there was sort of a running joke with my family that Furbies were evil and oh, gosh. How does come about again? Well, the thing was, is that people were being stinks on Twitter.

I think it was about the title of my second book that time I got drunk and you did a little pushing at a werewolf. So I'm just like, okay, well, if y'all want to give me crap for having millennial humor, I can make this so much worse.

The evil aliens are now Furbies, or at least they look like them. And you know what? They got all of these feathers all up in here. What if some of them were actually, like, replaced with mechanical ones?

Like how sometimes we do with our gold teeth and things like that? It just made sense. So, yeah, Furbies are now evil aliens. There's Tamagotchis involved. I'll do whatever I want.

The Tamagotchi thing was so funny, too, because I.

I think it was nice, especially because it was only in her POV and we knew she was lying, but it was, like, a nice way for everyone else to, like, keep calling her out on her. She's like, I don't have feelings for them. And it would be like, she's like, God damn it.

Okay, the affection meter says otherwise.

Exactly. I think the Furby. The Furby call it is good because I'm one of those people who was raised by a mom who. Furbies were demonic.

Yeah.

When they came out, it was like an absolute. No, no.

And I remember, like, you said that, and I just had this visceral memory getting on an airplane, and it had been just after Christmas, and so there was a kid who was sitting in front of us with a Furby with me and my mom. I was sitting with my mom, and my mom was convinced that the plane was going to go down because this demonic creature was on the plane.

And it's moments like this, Bridget. I go, oh, yeah, there's that emotional damage.

Honestly, let's talk about mom. You know, I kind of had a.

Similar thing going on because, like, both my sisters and I had a furby, and it used to scare the crap out of our mom because of course, it would pick up words. And what are you gonna pick up when you're, like, hearing three sisters fight Instantly.

So she would be, like, cleaning, and then, like, next toy box, she'd hear, I see you. And then she's like, oh, I hate that.

I would have thrown it out.

And then she'll, like, try to sneak away. And all of a sudden it goes, shut up. Shut up. I see you. I was like, we're throwing out the Furbies. We're throwing out the furbies.

I can't handle this.

I would 100. There were too many movies in general. Now they have more. But, like, when we were growing up, that was the age of, like, dolls trying to kill kids.

I used to be terrified of dolls.

Yeah. Like, I was like, we're not. No, the humanoid doll looking Annabelle Chucky is too much. We ever get one? And I was like, no, we wouldn't.

No, we would not ever get a lifelike sized doll that is gonna murder our children in the night.

Listen, man. Teddy Repskin, okay? Somebody decided to give me a Teddy Repskin for my birthday.

You know, you put the tape in the stomach and it tells you the story and it's talking, but when the battery is dying, Teddy's like, I. I was terrified of this to the point my mom had to, like, hide it.

She put it in the top of the closet because I don't hide it, freak out, just give it away. And I just used to stare at the closet like. Like, she. Like, she did it to me on purpose. Like, why she put him in there.

He's gonna be out of there at any time. He can come out. And it wasn't until I was at YouTube space in, like, a class, there was a kid there. He's like. He raised his hand.

He's like, my dad invented Teddy Rubsky. And I felt fully, like, vindicated and in my power when I said to him, tell your daddy's a bitch.

Incredible.

But I love. I love that you have those types of references in there, because I do think they speak just. They speak so heavily to us.

They really do. It's all. It's just ingrained in us. The slight fear of dolls.

Yeah. Let's talk about sex in books. Because I think sometimes when there is an illustrated cover, people think that the book is not going to be spicy.

Ourselves included. We've been tricked a few times where we're like, oh, this. This book will probably be fine.

And then we're reading it and we're like, well, hello there. Your books, however, are illustrated, but they're like bodice rub. Excuse me, Bodice ripper illustration.

So rather than, like, have people dress up as aliens and then take a real photograph, how did you do the art? Because I think that the covers are so pretty, and I feel like they hit that perfect tone of like, I know what the book's going to be about.

I know, based on, like, the font and the colors that it's going to be fun and, like, poppy and not, you know, like a Dark, you know, sort of mysterious fantasy. How do you come up with them? Do you, like. I know you don't draw them. There's an illustrator.

But, like, do you kind of come up with the plan of, like, what the characters will be doing in those images?

So sometimes I think with my Mead Mishaps books, because I originally drew the indie covers, and when I got traditionally published, I was able to pick out Mike Pape as my cover artist. And he's incredible.

So with those, he sort of just, like, looked at the original covers and sort of played off on that and read a few chapters of the book. But with Aliens and with my Mistletofo cover, especially with the Mistletofo cover, I got to work with him directly because that one is still indie.

And one thing I love about Mike's paintings is that he really is good at capturing the emotions of it. And so instead of just saying, like, oh, here's what these characters look like, he had me go out and feel, like, what are their personalities?

How do they interact with. With each other, how to do this and that? Like, what kind of pose would work?

And so he's very interested in not just how they look, but how they're feeling. And I think he's able to capture that perfectly with every single book. And he has done such incredible work.

Like, he's done work with Baldur's Gate 3 and all these other just amazing places. And, yeah, I think it really.

He should get all the credit for this because I'll give him, like, the first few chapters of, like, each book that he's working on and, like, a few pointers in their characteristics. But after that, he just runs with it and he. It comes out perfect every time.

The COVID collaboration, the COVID of that.

Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon. So I didn't. I didn't know who you were as an author. I'd never, like, heard your name before.

I was just, like, browsing books and I saw this cover and I was like, I have to read that book. Like, I chose it because of the COVID I thought it was so. Like, I thought it promised me so much.

Well, hopefully it delivered.

It did, but it was just. It was just interesting because I think I messaged Bridget and I was like, oh, we gotta read this book. So, like, I think one.

It's, like, so beautiful. The colors are so vibrant. Also, like, the characters are looking at each other in a certain way. And that certain way I want to be a part of.

I want to be in the sandwich.

I want to Be. I want to be in there.

You know, the first time I saw the final sketch, I literally gasped aloud, and I think I just screamed like, eric, come here. I have to show my husband.

Definitely. I like, what is it? Like, so going from that mindset of, like, oh, I'm just gonna, like, I wrote this book. I like it.

I'm gonna put it on Kindle Unlimited. Obviously, it took off. Book two is massive. And hit, like, I don't, like, top five, I think. Right. Or something of fantasy.

All fantasy romance on Amazon.

I was like, what? Insane? Yes, crazy. Obviously, then you get traditionally published book deal.

So now you walk into a bookstore, and there are your books, there's your name. What's that feeling like it's baffling.

I. I didn't really know how to handle it the first year because, again, I wrote the first book as just, like, having fun.

And two months later, I'm just like, here you go. Here's a book world. I didn't think anyone's actually going to read it.

Then a bunch of people actually read it, like, oh, God, I have to make a second one. Cool, here you go. And then a third. And then, like, publishing deals. Okay, so I actually want to talk about how this one came to be.

Yeah, please.

I got abducted by aliens and I'm trapped in a rom com. So after the Mead Mishaps series got traditionally published, I had another publisher coming to me wanting another series.

And I wasn't really sure if I wanted to, like, stay indie or, like, like, go delve further into additional publishing. So I'm just like, I know I'm gonna make a book so ridiculous, they'll have to say no. They'll have to say no.

And then I thought, well, what's not selling in trad pub? Oh, I know. Alien romances and poly romances. We can do this. And because it was in the middle of that stink on Twitter, I'm just like, you know what?

We're also going to make it even more millennial humor, because why not? So I come up with this wild concept, and I'm like, okay, this is gonna be great. There's gonna be, like, dinosaurs, Tamagotchis, all the things.

They'll have to say no. They said yes. And I was like, ah, well, I said no anyway.

And then my agent was like, well, let's shop it around, see if anybody else wants it, and see if we can get you a good deal. And I'm like, okay, I doubt anyone's actually gonna want to, like, give me an advance for this. And then Berkeley came along.

I'm like, what is happening? Okay, fine, we'll do it. But, like, what is happening?

I think what's happening is that publishing is slowly, like any giant monolith. Like, big thing is the ship is slowly turning.

And I think, like, the Ice Planet Barbarian series being so unbelievably massive with their reprintings and stuff, I feel like is like opening the door for. For books like this. That's true.

Ruby.

Dixie Queen. I feel like 4 years ago no one would have bought this book. Probably.

No.

But now I feel like they're like, well, obviously people want it. And obviously, you know, that's what they want to sell books. Like, at the end of the day, they're in the business of selling those books.

I want to talk about your titles because you mentioned a little bit ago that someone was, like, giving you grief for how, like, long the title was and that it was very millennial sounding. Did anyone push back on the title? Because typically books are just. The titles are just shorter.

I don't know if that is because it's easier to market or just because book titles are usually shorter. So people, when they write books are like, well, I can only have four words, so I have to find the four words that work the best, I guess.

But all of your titles are very descriptive and long. Did anyone, like, push back on that or were you kind of like, sorry, this is the title. This is what it is.

I'm very interested in this.

Yeah.

So I think because I started off the series as indie, I'd already become known for my long titles. Orbit pushed back a bit when they bought book two of Meet Mishaps. Like, I don't know if we want a title this long.

I'm like, okay, well, this book already won, like, indie awards, so we're keeping the title. I don't know what to tell you.

But I did let them change the title of book three, because originally that time I drugged the dragon because it is an ayahuasca trip. They're just like, we don't want drug in the title. I'm like, that's fair.

So we did change the title of that one, but when it came to aliens, we tossed around different sounding titles because I think the original title was I Got Abducted by Aliens and I'm about to make it everyone's problem. They wanted something a little different, a little more punchier, but they never said make it shorter.

They're just like, no, no, we still want the whole sentence because that's what you're known for, but like, maybe rom com instead.

Yeah.

And it's.

Yeah.

And like, I mean, as someone who just finished reading the book, I feel like the first title, I would have thought that it would be what is going to be Book two. I think like, that title, like made it everyone's problem. Feels more like the next character's book.

I actually pitched that as the title.

Okay. Because I feel like she is going to make it everyone's problem.

Oh, yes.

Whereas this one, she's more like baffled and like. Okay. Like she's constantly like, okay.

Angry.

Yes. Okay. Okay. I want to know we're doing giant frogs. Okay. Shouldn't be that big because I don't understand what's going on. But okay. Dinosaurs are pink.

Okay.

I. So the reason I'm like, I was like, so curious about like the long titles and the pushback is because.

So I read music and whenever I write a song, it always starts off with a long title. And then my bandmates always make me shorten it. Okay. And this last time I wrote a song and it's called you made me get out of bed and leave my Cats.

Right.

That's a great title.

They want to change it to like find yourself free, but I. Or like. Or find free. And I'm like, no, that's not. But that's not. And this is.

Leave it. See how it does. You can always change the title later.

That's what I'm saying. This is the first time I've been really adamant about a title name because I.

Somebody, like, I was in a conversation with somebody who did some fucked up shit and I said, if you make me get out of bed and leave my cats, I'm gonna fuck you up. Like, I'm gonna fuck. I said, you don't want that for yourself.

Honestly, I am totally in your corner. That is a better title.

Thank you. Thank you. I'm gonna go in with the power. I'm gonna say like, you know what she said?

He said one of these best selling author said, you can go yourself, stamp your approval paraphrasing what you said. Obviously. What I'm known for reinterpreting things.

But I love, I love the long titles. I. I love that I know, like, what I'm walking into.

Even if it's the unknown, you know, if they're intriguing, they get me, like, excited to know what it is.

And after you read books for, I don't know, 25 plus years, I don't know how old I am now, but like, after you've been Reading romance that long, what title are you going to get that's like new or fresh?

Exactly. Like, I'm like, listen, we've all seen the Court of. And blah, blah, blah.

There's only so many times you can put Rose in a title. Yes.

Tell me what it does. Tell me what it does in the 10 and I'll be happy blood.

And let it. Let it be the right. Like, if you're marketing me a certain book, I want it to be that book. I don't want to be tricked. I want to know. Because I had.

We have on the podcast a few times a time or two, the title and literally the publisher's synopsis or the indie author's synopsis. Then we get to the thing we talk about and I'm like, shannon, let me tell you why we did not read the book they pub they sent to me, okay?

I read the reviews or the. I read the blurb. I was like, great blurb. Read the title. Love the title. Look at the COVID Love it.

And then we read the book and I'm like, but, but this is Second chance romance. And they told me it was Enemies to Lovers. And now I'm mad. I don't like. Then I get all on my high horse about how they betrayed me and led me astray.

Your book, Start to Finish, is exactly.

What you sold me.

That's exactly what I was promised in the best possible way. I was happy reading it all the way through. I. I giggled, I squealed. It was wonderful.

Oh, there you go.

And so I appreciate that.

I appreciate that. And I just want to throw it out here if you. Okay. Because I'm saying we're just gonna laugh when I say this.

Listen, if you're feeling Pirates of any kind in your soul, just. I'm gonna just put that in your ear, okay. Because there's just not enough pirate books. Okay. It doesn't matter what planet they're from, just.

Well, there is some pirates happening in mead mishaps 4. So that is on the way still.

Oh, okay. Thank you.

Appreciate you.

When you're promoting books and you're doing all these interviews and, and the meet and greets and sort of like a book tour to different ND stores and Barnes and Nobles and whatever. What is your favorite part about going to those events or doing sort of the marketing stuff?

Well, I love going places, especially if they'll actually just send me somewhere, like, hey, we got you this hotel. And I'm like, oh, awesome. Mini vacation. So I'll go to the event and then just like, go wander around the city. Like, I've never been to Chicago.

What's going on here? And then go try and find, like, the best ramen shop.

And of course, it's always so fun to meet my readers because everybody I've met so far has just been, like, like, fantastic. Sometimes they'll, like, make me sweatshirts and things. Sometimes they'll bring me cookies. And I'm like, wow, this is amazing.

And my sister will yell at me, like, why would you eat strangers cookies? Because they were nice. And she was like, they could be poisoned. I'm like, I don't know. It's worth it. It's lemon bars. Okay, I'll take the death.

Yeah, it's a homemade lemon bar.

Do you think I'm gonna pass one.

Of my lemon bars?

Also. Also, what kind of celebrity can just do that?

Like, an author is, like, the only celebrity job where you're not scared that your fans are trying to poison you.

If they poison, you will never get the next book.

It's Housewives.

Exactly. If, like, in these interviews and stuff, like, is there any questions that you wish?

Like, you got to talk about more or things that you wish you got to talk about more about your books or writing or anything.

I mean, nothing I can think of. Any random questions are usually fun by me. Like, of course, like, there's the average ones of, like, how would you come up with this? Or whatever.

But, like, anytime they have, like, a specific question about the book, like, why giant frog? I will happily launch into that anytime. Or why pink dinosaur?

Oh, which reminds me, the last thing that I want to say about the book, because again, I'm trying not to give too much away in this author. And if you guys is. I appreciate in your books that the heroines main heroine trait, in this case, that she's brilliant. Botanist or biologist.

Wildness. Wildlife biologist.

There you go.

Is what saves the day. Because I think too many times a character will be like, like, she's brilliant. You're, like, wonderful. I like brilliant people.

And then at some point, they have to, like, learn to fight or learn to hunt or whatever, which is great. Characters should evolve. But then whatever they learned is what saves the day. And I'm like, no, that was a learn. No, that's a new skill.

She should save the day with her original.

Because what was the brilliance for then?

Exactly.

And I appreciate that this book closes that loop for me in the most delightful way and in a way that, like, any person who understands wildlife and Earth would be like, aha. But obviously, whereas the aliens are like, we don't know what you're talking about. That can't be the answer.

It can't just be that easy.

It can't be that easy. And sometimes on an alien terraformed planet by bird, like, aliens, Very little research. It can be, except for. That brings me to one more thing.

I want to talk quickly about the purpose of the little bird aliens trying to, like, repopulate this other alien species and how you sort of integrated romance tropes as their knowledge base for getting species to mate.

So what's the actual question?

Like, will you talk a little bit about, like, about the anthology and how they decided how they think human women fall in love and how they. How they think they mate, make babies?

Well, I gush. My brain just blanked. You know what? I got it. It's back, and I'm stalling so I can think of it. I got it.

So the one idea I had is that I know romance novels are kind of, like, known for relying too heavily on tropes.

And so I thought to myself, well, instead of trying to, like, get rid of all the tropes, what if we just lean into them harder and made it so much worse? So the alien bu. Bands are just like, well, we need to get these humans to mate, but we don't know any of their mating rituals.

They're such a foreign species to us. Let's get a mating guide. And so they get their research team to, like, try to find any kind of manual for human courtship. And what do they find?

An ultimate guide to writing the best romance. And it says, the only one bedroom works. So, you know, that must be what we have to do. So all the houses, we make the second floor. Just me.

One giant bedroom with one bed. Because this is what they do.

It's so funny. And I love how smart Dory is where she's just throwing out random stuff. She's like, well, obviously, we need other things that you don't know about.

She's just like. And, like, some of it comes back to bite her later. I won't tell you exactly what it is, but some of it is just like.

Like something that we would all say, well, we need chocolate. I need. I am on an alien planet. I want some chocolate.

So I need some freaking coffee.

I need coffee.

You expect me to bear children? To, like, form a relationship without coffee? Without caffeine? You monster.

You monster. And they're like, oh, we'll figure it out. Like, so funny. Oh, Kimberly, this has been a delight. Thank you for coming. And chatting with us today.

Absolutely. This has been fun.

And also thank you for writing this book. It is so funny. Everyone, the book is out today.

You can go find it at all of your local indies, Barnes and Noble, the Internet, anywhere you like to buy books. And until next time, may your books.

Be your lover and your hand your best friend. Thanks for hanging in with us, romance readers. Head over to Instagram to continue chatting with us.

We're super friendly, we want to cackle with you, we want to know what your favorite sex scene was, and we need more book recommendations.

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Us, go to our website, romanceataglance.com to.

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And we'll see you next podcast.