Today is part two of two where we are talking to April Berry about her novels. Over the next 2 weeks you will hear about being romantic at heart, why we are all into darker stories based on the stories we liked as kids, writing since she was young, getting published as a child, losing all your work and using it as a sign you’re not meant to write, later realizing you are not too old to start publishing, why you should not use people that you know to edit your book, being surprised by narrator response, self publishing to make things move along faster, and make friends with other authors.

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April Berry is a romance author born and raised in Georgia. She still resides there with her husband, son, and daughter. When she’s not creating fun stories with happy endings, she loves to bake, read, snuggling with her various fur babies, and binge-watching series!

Author of pepperjack romance, my niche is no niche.

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Welcome to freya's.

Fairy tales.

We believe Fairy Tales are both stories we enjoyed as children and something that we can achieve ourselves.

Each week, we will talk to authors about their favorite fairy tales when they were kids and their adventure to holding their very own fairy tale in their hands.

At the end of each episode, we will finish off with a fairy tale or short story read as close to the original author's version version as possible.

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Today is part two of Two where we are talking to April Berry about her novels.

After today, you will have learned about being romantic at heart.

Why we are all into darker stories based on the stories we liked as kids.

Writing since she was young getting published as a child, losing all your work and using it as a sign you're not meant to write later realizing you're not too old to start publishing.

Why you should not use people that you know to edit your book.

Being surprised by narrator response self publishing to make things move along faster and making friends with other authors.

The Club series book too can a stroke of fate change two lives forever?

Amy thought she had it all an amazing best friend, her dream job and a never ending supply of beautiful one night stands.

No complications, no drama and no questioning of her hard limits.

Was she living her best life?

H*** yeah, she was.

Until her best friend blindsided Amy by getting engaged and moving out.

And an exotic stranger leaves her awe struck, sending all her rules right out the window.

Working in a maledominated field made giving up a personal life and hiding her true self.

Under the guise of finding success easy for valentina, she focused on getting her clients onto the scene and not being seen.

Her calculated meetups and secret rendezvous allowed her to stand on the radar of her traditional parents.

But when a chance encounter turns into something much more, will she be able to keep up the act?

When pests are revealed and secrets are threatened, can their impenetrable walls be torn down?

Or will they find themselves unable to break through?

How did you go about getting the audiobook made?

Well, so that was a bit of a process like and it so Serve was published in in Print and ebook in August of 2021, so it's been well over a year.

And towards the end of last year I listened to a lot of audiobooks.

Most of the books that I talk about on social media or do reviews for and stuff are I've listened to them because I'm busy.

I work and I have kids, one who's in marching band and indoor percussion.

And that in itself is a full time job.

And then, you know, I have another one in middle school and it's always like a revolving door around here and I somehow am the taxi mom, which I'm fine with as long as everybody's having a good time and they have friends and stuff and stuff to do.

That school.

And then my husband works and I try to make sure, like I cook dinner and keep up with the house and all of this stuff.

So the only way I can really read books most of the time is if I can listen to them and I spend so much time in the car.

So audiobooks for the win, right?

So I love audiobooks and so it was kind of this thing, but it's one of those things, it's just like writing the book.

I kept thinking, this is something that's really far out of my reach.

I'm never going to be able to do it.

It's so expensive.

Nobody's going to want to work with me anyway, blah, blah, blah.

I totally kept talking myself out of it.

And then I had this meltdown one day, for lack of a better term, and I went on TikTok and I was like, this is so frustrating because at that point I had several books out and I had so many people that always would say, is this available on audio?

And I always had to do that.

I'm sorry.

No, it's not.

Bear with me, blah, blah.

And they were like, Sorry, I only listen to audiobooks.

Listen, I get it, I get it.

So it was making me really sad.

And thing is, I love audiobooks myself, so it was definitely something that I wanted, but I really didn't understand enough about it.

So I go on TikTok, which I do not advise anybody to go on TikTok.

When you're feeling some kind of way about anything, the worst thing you can do.

But I went on there and I didn't cry or anything, but I went on there and I was like I said, this is so frustrating.

I love audio books so much and I have so many readers who ask me for them, but I don't know what to do.

I can't afford that.

I've looked into some of the pricing and holy shenanigans and I said, yes, I know there's such a thing as royalty share, but who the h*** is going to want to work with me?

I'm a nobody.

Well, apparently I'm not a nobody because my inbox got flooded after that.

And I was like, wow, what just happened?

I had a ton of people reach out to me like, give me a snippet of the book and I'll send you an audition.

And I was like, okay.

And I got some really great ones, but there was this one that really stood out to me, and I love her so much.

eliza summers Due edited my video because somebody had tagged her or she stitched my video, and she was so kind in the response, and she gave a lot of very good information.

But then she also went on to say and this was like, a day afterwards, too, in listening to her talk.

It was because she was researching me.

She saw my video when she was tagged, but she researched me in my books a little bit before she responded.

And so she went on to talk.

She read all the reviews.

She read the look inside, and she mentioned that she really liked the concept of the stories and saw that it was the series and was very interested, and she loved that people were relating so much to the characters.

And she said, I would love to do an audition for you, but I wish you the best in whatever you end up doing or whoever you go with.

And so, of course, I reached out to her, and I said, that's really cool that you actually looked at the book before you responded.

She sent me an audition, and in the email, she actually said and she sent it back super fast, too, and she said, if you don't like this, tell me how you want it to sound, and I'll review it as many times as you want.

And I was like, interesting.

She's really into this.

And I listened to the ones that had sent, and I told her I was like, I have several that I need to review and a couple I'm waiting on, so I want to be fair to everybody, but there was this little voice in my head that was like, she's the one.

No, I know she's the one that I really didn't want to be fair.

So I did listen to all of them, and I got back to those folks and told them, I really appreciate your time, and I'll definitely have way more books than this.

This is not a no forever.

This is a no for this one.

And I spoke with eliza, and we spoke on the phone in detail about the process and the royalty share thing, and she agreed to do my series, and that for me.

I was like, yes.

And she said that she would do any accidents, however I wanted it to sound, she would make it happen.

And I was like, yes, you're my person.

That's how I got her.

And she did such an amazing job, and there weren't a whole lot of things that I asked her to change up front, but that's how I got that.

In the second book of that series, we've already submitted the final product to acx, and they take, like, ten days or whatever we're waiting.

I was hoping it would be done before this podcast.

But by the time this airs, it'll probably be available.

Yeah, because I think this will be airing in, like, late February, I think.

So it should be live by then.

Stroke will be live.

Because if it is just the ten if it's ten full days, it will be published on audible before the end of this coming week.

And today is the 14 January.

So by the time people are listening to this, stroke will be available on audio as well.

And she's already working on book three now because she's done with book two.

And so she said she kind of wanted to rapid fire from one to the next and kind of get this out of the way, which I'm excited about, too, because we have some marketing plans that once all three books are available on all forms, so super exciting.

She messaged me last night because she's doing her prep, like where you go through and highlight the colors for the different voices or whatever.

I don't know.

It's called your narrator.

I don't do it that way.

The colors distract me, but I do go through and I keep, like, a spreadsheet of, like, what she's doing.

Yeah, everybody does it different.

It's whatever makes sense to you to sort it out.

She was asking me some questions one time, and I was like, Listen, man, this is your show.

I was like, I just wrote the book.

I don't know.

You do whatever makes you happy.

I was like, you're at the start of the show.

Now.

I tell people this all the time.

I'm like, you are not.

And this applies to narrators I tell new narrators this.

I'm like, you are not auditioning.

You are auditioning to hopefully fit the voice that was in that author's head while they wrote the book.

If you get rejected, it may very well be that you're awful.

I mean, that could be the case, but most of the time it's just you don't match what they wanted for that audiobook, and that's okay.

Keep auditioning.

If you have a very fluffy, fruity voice, you're probably not going to be a good, dark narrator.

Yeah.

On the other side, if you're a very gruff, growly voice, you're probably not going to be a good, sweet romance narrator.

Yeah, that's the thing I loved about eliza.

She's got some range.

I have a very wide cast of characters, and it is contemporary with dual points of view.

And book one, it's a male female romance.

And she did all of the book.

And I had so many people who said that they went in a little timid because they're used to the dual narrator for that.

Listen, again, that costs a lot of money.

I went with Elizabeth, and they said, well, I was really pleasantly surprised because even though she narrated the whole thing, it didn't take away from Jason and his growing.

And I was like, I don't know.

She got the growliness in there for sure.

That's, like, the biggest complaint that I've had is doing duel because it was a royalty share and people being like, I wish it had been a guy.

And I'm like, well, I'm sorry.

Sorry.

I'm not interested.

And I told her going in, I said, listen, I listened to a ton of these contemporary romance books, and a lot of them do have dual narrators, and we might get some reviews that say something like, oh, I wish it was a man and a woman.

And I said, it's going to happen.

I said, and that's the thing reviews or opinions and preferences, and it doesn't mean that you're not amazing.

And she was like, I love that you try to pump me up, and I'm so looking forward.

And I'm like, I'm just trying to prepare you because people can be mean.

But so far, I mean, we've had a lot of really good feedback.

People love it.

Even people who read the book listened to it and just loved the whole experience from her.

And when I was listening back on book two, I was blown away because we have some people with some very different accents in book two.

And it was amazing.

I was like, how did you carry this on for half of the book?

Because one of the characters is Brazilian, but she grew up in the United States, so she has a very subtle accent.

But the mother of that character has a much heavier accent, and she plays a pretty big part in the book.

And so you have, like, your Southern girl, Amy, and then you have this woman with a very slight Portuguese accent and then another woman with a pretty heavy Portuguese accent.

And eliza just didn't miss a beat.

And I was like, how did you do this?

And eliza, by the way, is she lives in the Pacific Northwest, and she has honduran background, so she's not a Southern gal.

It's insane how, like, paige reisenfeld, she picks up action insanely fast.

I'm doing an audiobook right now where I have to do the bad guy as British.

And I'm like, it is somewhat I gave the author options.

I'm like, we can either just make him a total d*** and here's what that voice would sound like, or we can be slightly fancy, but it is definitely not perfect British.

Here's that option.

Here's your choices.

Which do you prefer kind of situation, because I am definitely not good at picking up accents.

Yeah, paige is amazing.

And that's the thing.

I had so many really amazing narrators submit their little auditions for me, which all were around, like, five minutes or so.

It was really hard.

And kind of one of the tiebreakers was the fact that because eliza was amazing, but so were the other people.

And, I mean, it really made it tough.

But what I really went for her with is because she went through my reviews, she looked at the read through, and she was like, I'll do this as many times as you want me to.

So I was like, she really seemed like she wanted to work with me, and then even when we spoke, we got along really well, and I was like, if you do royalty share, especially you're in cahoots with this person for at least seven years.

It's not like you pay them and they're done.

So I was like, I really need to have a decent working relationship with somebody.

And we got along really well, and now it's not just our working relationship, but we've become friends.

And so that was also kind of a selling point for me, just knowing that, like, the fact that she was willing to do the whole series and take a chance on me.

Because, like, I've you know, like I said, my book my first book has been out a little over a year, so I still consider myself a baby author.

I might have ten books, right?

But I haven't been doing this very long.

Right?

I don't think the amount of books you have is what really sets you into the more seasoned role.

I'm still out here trying to figure this out as I go.

So the fact that she was willing to take that plunge with me and commit to those three books, I was, like, sold.

I had a similar amberly henning.

I don't remember if she commented on one of my videos or I commented on one of hers talking about audiobooks, and she was like, I would love to, but, like, I'm poor.

I can't afford an audio book.

And I was like, Listen, I do it for royalty share, because you're constantly on TikTok promoting and talking about and doing all this crazy stuff, which, like, hello, that helps sell books as another.

Conversation that eliza and I had was trying to be active.

Yeah.

So for her, she puts it up for audition on.

She actually went through acx.

She didn't do it through email, but she puts it up, and she actually she was shocked that she had more than just me audition for it.

And then it came down to me and one other girl, and, like, I'm talking to her the whole time because, like I said, you don't have to give it to me.

You can listen to other just because I'm the one here on TikTok talking to you does not mean you have to give me this audiobook.

Like, pick the person that's perfect for your book.

Like, if that's not me, that's okay.

So she has it down to me and one other person, and I'm, like, messaging back and forth with her, and she's like, this girl is taking forever to get back to me to answer my questions and, like, all of this.

And I'm like, that is, are you okay with it taking forever to get responses back or do you want someone who's essentially glued to their phone all the time and is going to answer within probably 1015 minutes?

So I'm like that's something to take into consideration, too, because is that okay with you or is that not okay with you?

And so, long story short, I am.

Narrating her books, which is the thing, and I'm hoping hopefully some narrators for him, too.

But it is it's more than just the sound of your voice, and can you pull off these characters?

Which the Thing is too, I think especially me going in, that was my initial thought was nobody's going to want to do royalty share with me.

And then the fact that people were, like, throwing themselves at me, I was like, wow.

But the same thing.

I had people that they were really eager to get it, but they were kind of slow getting it back to me or then even they got it back to me and I would respond to them and say, I really loved it, but I'm listening to a few others and they took a while to get back to me on that.

And I'm like, okay.

So those are things that I noticed if we're eager to work on a project.

And I get and that's the thing.

realty share, you guys are taking such a huge risk with us.

But at the end of the day, again, it's still a working relationship, and you guys are going to be in it together for a very long time.

So if I don't think that you're excited about the project, I'm not going to choose you, especially when I have other options.

Right.

And I have no problem taking a risk on somebody who doesn't have much of a portfolio, if they have a really good work ethic, if they get along with me, and if they're excited about my project.

Right.

Because eliza didn't have a ton of romance under her belt.

She got an award for a Sci-Fi book that she did.

So Sci-Fi.

I can't use that, really, to advertise too much.

Of course, now I've been touting like, my narrator is award winning, but I.

Have authors that are like, my narrator has podcasts.

We get really possessive about our people because, seriously, I was like, that's my narrator.

But you know what I mean?

I can say that.

But then people always are like, oh, what book was it?

And I was like, what was the sci-fi book?

That is fine.

For me, probably the most exciting thing beyond landing fantastic books, when I started narrating fiction, because I started out where all I would land is nonfiction.

And when I listen back to my old nonfiction and my early fiction podcast books, I'm like, yeah, my narrating was not the best back then, but I'm like, hey, I improved quickly, so that's good.

But when I look back at that, the first audiobook that I really remember was the first one that had my name on the audiobook cover, and that was just like i, like, turned to my husband, and I'm like, they put my name on it.

Well, here's me completely failing eliza.

So when Surf was published, like, I had the COVID done to match my cover, and I didn't have her name set on it.

And then I was looking through audiobooks one day to listen to something in the car, and I kept seeing the names of the narrators on all, and I messaged her, and I was like, I'm such what are you talking about?

Because, listen, I hit her with weird text out of the blue sometimes.

And I always tell her, I'm like, you're stuck with me now.

You've already accepted the contract.

I have one author that's like, how can I get you locked into all of my books?

And I'm like, dude, right.

Faster.

I don't know what to tell you.

So I messaged her that out of the blue, and she was like, I don't think that's true, but what are you talking about?

And I was like, I didn't even put your name on the COVID Why didn't you say anything?

And she was like, I don't know.

It's not a big deal.

And I was like, yes, it is.

I was like, It's okay to tell me that.

That's not okay.

So I had that cover fixed, and then going forward, they all have her name on there, because I was like, wow, I'm such a jerk.

Because I just am so quick usually to just go by the book, and I don't really pay attention to all of that stuff as a consumer.

I just want to listen, right?

I've never asked anyone to do that.

It's just happened.

I would feel weird being like, she spoke on it.

That's the thing.

She was like, well, it's your book.

I didn't want to tell you what to do.

And I'm like you're.

The Narrator I was like, And I told you, this is my first rodeo.

I don't know anything.

Like, you have to hold my hand through this, because I don't know.

So when I emailed my designer just to convert it for me, they just took my ebook and converted it to the appropriate audible file, and that's all I told them to do.

And I was like, I didn't even think to put you on there, but I love you.

I was like, I can't believe I didn't even think about it, because it's not something I've ever had to do.

So now I know.

Lesson learned.

And I corrected the first one, and I've already got that one put up, but I made sure the second one, we couldn't hit the button until I had it right, because I was like, I'm such a jerk.

I can't believe you didn't say anything.

And she was like, It's your book, though.

And I'm like, but you narrated it, so this product is also yours.

Now my ebook, plus my loyalty part.

It'S definitely like, we're a commitment for seven years.

That's the thing.

I was like, I said, my ebook.

Obviously, that is my property.

That's mine.

But this audiobook, that's your voice, okay?

I was like, you read my book, so this is ours now.

It's not mine anymore.

This is ours.

So you have to be able to tell me, if I did a booboo, it's okay.

And I was like, Trust me, I've had reviewers tear me apart.

So you telling me to put your name on the book is not going to upset me?

I could take it, but she's so sweet, and that's the thing.

And she keeps saying if I'm like, eliza totally killed it.

The story is amazing because of her.

And then you'll see her always say, well, you're the one who wrote it.

I'm like, yeah, it didn't sound as cool when I wrote it as we read it.

What are some, like, pieces so you still call yourself a baby author, but clearly 1011 books published.

You've learned something along the way.

What are some pieces of advice you would give to either someone, like, starting out, or someone trying to figure out how to keep going?

What are some things that have helped you?

Well, I'm not really big on advice, because I okay tips and tricks then.

I don't feel like I know anything.

I still don't feel like I know anything, but I know what works for me.

I don't write to market, which is probably some of the worst advice you'll ever get in your life if you really want to make a ton of money fast, which it's not just as easy as writing to market, but if you can learn to write to market, it's more profitable.

But I can't do that.

I don't even plot.

So I write the stories that I want to write when I want to write them, and it's a lot easier to write a story that you want to write versus what you think you need to write.

Don't get hung up on word count.

Every genre has some basic guidelines, but again, you don't have to write 100,000 words for a story to be good.

What matters is, can you hit somebody in the field?

Whatever feels that may be.

If you're a horror writer, did you scare the crap out of them?

If you're a romance writer, did they get warm and fuzzies?

You know what I mean?

If you say you write rom.com, did they chuckle a little bit?

So just focus on that, at least at first.

I think the more you write, the easier it becomes to start writing popular tropes and things like that.

But in the beginning, just write the stories that you want to write.

Don't get hung up about word counts and tropes and genres and all of that stuff.

You'll figure all of that out later.

Well, the reality is a lot of that comes back around eventually.

So like, what you're writing now isn't popular now.

In five years, it might be the most popular thing ever.

Well, and that's something I went to self publishing route because I like to move fasting.

Even a process of getting an agent can be months to years and then it's months to years to get a contract with a house.

And I wanted my parents to be alive to see my name on the COVID of a book.

So I was like, that's not going to work for me.

I need to go ahead and just move along.

Plus, I don't really like being told what to do.

So I don't think working with a chad house would really work out for me.

I'm also a little bit like and I do the same thing for like I'm like eventually an advertiser reach out to make podcast money.

But I'm like for chad publishing stuff.

I'm like, would I say no if an agent reached out to me?

No, I'm not going to say no.

But also I don't want to go through the demoralizing process of sending all these emails to be rejected all the time.

I'm like, no, I'm going to write my books.

I'm going to publish my books.

And if someone wants to take that on for themselves down the road, they can.

You see it all the time.

I've seen several indie authors get contracts after they were published.

Like a publishing house will reach out to them.

And it's the cinderella story that we all think that would be so cool.

But even then they would have to come at me with a pretty good sum of money.

Now that being said, I would sell rights for it to be made into a movie or a show.

Really?

There's no way you can do that yourself.

I mean, you're not going to do that yourself.

But like, selling rights to my book itself, that would take a pretty good chunk.

Because even then there's so many rules and things that go into those contracts.

It's not like you just signed and you get a check and then you're done.

So it would take a pretty big sum for that.

But I would sell the rise if anybody from Netflix is listening.

Netflix, hulu major TV network.

Outside of that and make friends with other authors.

That's probably one of the biggest things.

And I know it's hard to weed through and find people that you can trust and people like you.

And it's just like making friends in real life.

It can be really hard and dodging sometimes.

But if you can find a good tribe around you that understands what you're going through, what you're working on and can help you, it's really beneficial.

And you're going to get a lot further if you're working with authors than constantly pitting yourself against other authors.

I've seen some really interesting things from authors on, like social media.

Talking bad about other authors or giving bad reviews or just some weird shenanigans.

And I'm like, okay, good luck.

Because I would never have been as far as I am without the help and encouragement of some more seasoned authors that were just kind enough to talk to me and give me some advice and throw me a link to some interesting stuff that I should know about here and there.

A lot of the anthologies, well, all of the anthologies I did last year were because Guy Turner was like, you need to put your name in there for this, you need to do this.

This will help you find some new readers.

She was super cool about putting me on things that could further me.

One of the book signings I went to was because she sent me the link and said, I know this is out of state for you, but it might be really good for you to go to, you know, so she helps me a lot, and Rebecca hefner, I started out as a fan girl of hers, and now we've kind of become friends.

Like, I wrote a book based on her.

One of my rom.com, my main female character is based off of Rebecca hefner, and thank God she's a good sport with a sense of humor, but she has helped me a lot behind the scenes with a lot of business and things.

And it's funny because she's a wide author and I'm ku.

So even though we have different paths, she's still been very beneficial and helpful for me and she's also very encouraging and without having ladies like them, I don't know where it would be.

I don't know.

I would say definitely try to make some friends and find your little tribe.

And that's where all of my beta readers are now and that's how we became friends.

Like when I was in the process of finding beta readers who were not my friends and family, like my existing friends and family.

After you read with somebody a few times, you kind of lean on each other and now it's like a little circle.

So when they need a beta read, I read for them and vice versa, which they're always complaining because they're like, can you stop publishing so many books, please?

But we read for each other now and you get to know people and then you form that bond.

So I always say, don't have people who are friends, beta read for you.

But it's like, we're friends now, but we weren't when we started.

But you form bonds and you become friends and now you have somebody to talk shop with and throw ideas around with.

So it's been really beneficial to the whole process.

And seriously, don't try to edit your book by yourself, even if you have pro writing aid or grammarly or whatever.

Those things are not as good as humanized, it's just not.

And I know that everybody can afford an editor.

And I'm one of those people.

But that's why I have a ton of beta readers.

Well, I wouldn't consider five a ton.

That's not a lot.

You need a decent amount.

Now, the first book that I did, I did hire an editor for that one, and I still had five more beta readers after.

I think I ended up with like twelve non paid people reading that book in the end, and a paid person, and the paid person wasn't even the last person.

Which just goes to show, just because you pay somebody money and they're a professional editor doesn't mean it's always going to work better than people who are just willing to help you, right?

But there are some really fantastic editors out there.

There really are.

But then it's just like any other vocation.

You just don't know until it's a finished product and you've already contracted to pay that money.

And it can be quite expensive sometimes.

So you have to figure out what you can do, what your budget is, and try to get referrals.

Like if you are going to pay an editor, look at books that you like and try to find out who that editor was and see if it's somebody you can afford.

And cover.

Get good covers.

I use a very inexpensive cover design service because as much as I'd like to support in Indie, I don't have money.

I don't have a few hundred dollars.

Seriously, I put out like ten books in just over a year so I can't pay $500 a pop.

And so I use a service called Get Covers and they're super affordable and they have a really fast turnaround time.

Now, down the road, I might recover these with somebody else, but for now, just don't let a very small budget stop you from chasing your dreams.

Because that was one of the things I finally got Served ready and felt comfortable publishing it, even though the other one still wasn't ready.

I was like, I'm going to move forward with Served.

I like this story.

I think it's going to be okay.

It's a contemporary romance.

Those readers are pretty forgiving.

They're in it for their relationship.

And then I started researching covers and I had another breakdown because I was like, I can't afford this.

I went through all of this for nothing.

So I found them accidentally on a Facebook ad or something.

And it was so inexpensive.

I was like, you always get that too good to be true feeling.

But I was like, you know what, though?

It's $25.

If I'm out $25 and I don't get it, okay, fine.

But they gave me a cover and I was like, oh, wow, this was real.

I did the same thing for one of my I had my husband Drew, not this podcast logo, but one of my other podcast logos and about, I don't know, six, eight months in.

I was like, this was, like, drawn, and we took a picture of it and digitized it with an ipad.

And I'm like, we just need it to be more polished.

I loved the format of the logo and what was on the logo, but I'm like, we need it, like, polished and professional.

So found some guy on fiverr that had the right style of podcast covers he did, and I'm like, this guy should be able to do it.

But it was, like, $30.

So I'm like, if I'm out $30 because he does a terrible job, like, that's only $30.

He did a fantastic job.

Talk about it enough.

fiverr definitely is a great resource if you're looking for editors, cover design, graphic design.

Some people even do release stuff for you.

There's all kinds of stuff that you can get through fiber, and a lot of them are very affordable.

When I first started researching things, I don't know how, but I was landing on all these people, and I seriously, I was like, I just need a dude on a cover for this contemporary book, and I don't have $300.

And that was the cheapest one.

Some of them were quoting me, like, Five and $600.

And I'm like, for contemporary room, it's like, I had another moment, and I cried about it.

And then I was like, okay, I'm not going to give up.

And then I saw that ad, and I was like, I'm just going to try it, and we'll see.

And they've done all of my cover since then.

And so when people ask me, I'll tell them because people say that they love my covers.

And I'm like, yeah, they're super affordable and they can do anything.

They also keep up with genres and stuff, so they do a great job and they have a quick turnaround time.

But again, if you can afford to use an indie person, great.

Not everybody's in the same position.

So I just don't want anybody to be discouraged because of things like that.

Because I know that I was still in some kind of way, but I also was like, I've come this far.

I can't give up yet.

You got to use free canva, for goodness sakes.

My friend, she made all of her own covers, and they're from pictures that she's taken, and then she uses canva.

I will say this.

Just because you have canva, doesn't mean you can make covers.

You really need to make sure that you're taking your time.

Learn about your genre.

Try to make them look nice, like the things that she can do in canva.

I cannot all the time.

I'm like, how do you do that?

And she'll say words, and I'm like, you may as well be speaking another language.

Never mind.

Don't tell me.

Just whatever.

Just do your thing.

But she does a great job.

So if you have the skill set, then yes, make the free one.

And one of my friends did make my motorcycle club series for me because she felt sorry for me because I did try to do my own fat because they're novellas.

And I was like, even though my normal cover design is so inexpensive, I was like, they're priced at was like, I'm not going to make this money back ever.

So I was like, you know, I'm just going to I'm just going to make some.

And she told me she loved the ones that I did, but I told her I didn't like them.

So she whipped up some and she did such an amazing job.

And same thing.

I have all these friends that are super talented.

And I'm like, I don't know how you guys do this stuff, but I'm so glad that you like me.

That's secretly part of the reason that I have this podcast is so that when I need things for my own book, I can be like, hey.

You.

Talked about this on an episode.

I'll pay you to show me.

Unlike you, am pretty tech savvy.

So I'm very much like, just show me how to do it.

And then I'll pick it up pretty quickly and be able to get it done.

I don't mind paying you to show me how to do it, but there's just some things I may not be able to figure out on my own.

Now actually, I'm so bad at that kind of stuff.

Actually did design a cover.

I designed a cover for an author I'm narrating for because they had it was like a five book series.

And then there's like a secondary series.

But the secondary series cover matches the other ones.

Like, not at all.

And they're like interrelated.

So I'm like, dude, this has to somewhat match the other ones.

And so like, I tried my hand at it.

And then he's like, I'm just going to hire the other person that did the other one.

I'm like, that's totally fine.

But I did added smoke and stuff to make it look less weird.

So I'm like, I could figure it out.

But it just might take some time for the first few until you get the hang of it.

Now we skipped over where do you get the ideas for your books?

Totally random.

So I tried to plot that first one because that's what you're supposed to do.

That's what you think, craig.

That's what you learn in school, plot.

You have to have a plot or you can't write the book.

So I tried to do a plot.

I started writing and the story went a completely different direction.

It's not even remotely the same as what the plot was.

So I was like, okay, maybe that's not for me.

And then the more I kind of started making friends with other authors, I learned about panthers.

And I was like, oh yeah, that's me 100%.

Okay, cool.

So that's the thing.

And I'm allowed to just write what I want so when I wrote Sir, I don't even remember, but it was like, I was reading a bunch of contemporary romance, and I had an idea about this bar.

Basically, it's called The Club, but it's really like a bar.

It's like a dive bar.

And the first couple of characters popped into my head, and I was like, who are these people?

And I was like, whatever it is, I'm going to go with it.

So I just sat down and started writing.

And then so Amy showed up, and Jazz showed up.

Jazz was one of the bartenders, and Amy was lucy's best friend.

And I was like, okay, they have to have stories too, so this is going to be a little series, right?

So that's kind of how that was born.

Love Again.

I had finished Serve, published it, and I was working on book two of The Club series, and I was having some serious writers block.

Like, I just couldn't get through.

And like, Amy stopped talking to me and amy's best character.

So I was like, I thought it was going to be so simple, but I was like, why is it so hard?

And all of a sudden, these new people showed up in my brain because I kind of see a movie playing out in my head.

I don't always see it from the beginning.

I'll start seeing random clips, which if I didn't write these things down on paper, my husband could probably have me committed.

Because I'm like, I hear voices and some people.

But I'm currently prepping to narrate a book like that.

Seriously, though, I see, like, a random clip.

And I'm like, wait, those people?

That's not the club.

That's not even the same town.

And I'm like, who is this and all this?

And I was like, no, I'm writing this book.

I had it in my head.

I need to write my series before I move on to anything else I put together.

Like, okay, these are new characters from any story that want to talk, but I'm working on this.

After a couple of days, nothing was coming out of Amy.

I couldn't even get 100 words written, and I can write pretty fast.

So it was like pulling teeth, though.

And I was like, okay, I don't know what to do.

And one of my friends was like, well, I had told her about this other thing.

And she was like, well, maybe that's a sign.

Like, you just need to write that story then.

And I was like, I need to do this?

Seriously?

And she was like, Says who?

You self publish.

Do whatever.

And I was like, well, readers expectations and blah, blah, blah.

And she was like, again, she was like, that's great and all, but you just said you can't even get the freaking story out.

So are you going to try to write this other story or you're just going to not write anything?

And I was like, okay, when you say it like that.

Right?

Well, thank you for being brutally honest.

So, like, okay.

I was like, Amy, I'm going to put you over here for a minute.

And I started to put a new.

Document until you're ready to talk.

Exactly.

So I put that document away.

I opened a brand new document.

I didn't know what it was going to be called, so I just said, New doc, and I started typing out stuff.

And I wrote Love Again, which is one of my longest books in three weeks.

That's how loud they were in my head.

They were like, We've been trying to tell you this story, and you weren't infident.

You were trying to ignore us.

But it was like a fever dream writing that book, because I was like, I had no plans for this.

I didn't know who they were.

I didn't know how it was going to be.

I didn't know what genre it was.

I knew nothing.

And I wrote it.

The first draft in three weeks, I should say.

I didn't have it published in three weeks.

I wrote the first draft, and it was like, 77,000 words in three weeks.

But in that time, not a lot of laundry got done.

Dinner was very basic because people are always like, oh, my God, how did you do that?

Because I didn't do anything else.

I sat at the dusk, and everybody else had to fend for themselves.

It was slim pickings over here, but I was like, I have to get this out.

And it was almost to the point where it was making me crazy.

And I couldn't sleep because they really were just trying to get to the end of this book.

And so I got it out and I went through most of the existing beta readers I had found, and then I called in a favor to somebody that I met on TikTok, and she had kind of been passing one time, said, like, hey, if you ever need help, let me know.

And she was a pretty seasoned author, and she was very nice, and she's always giving tips and stuff on TikTok.

And one of my beta readers ended up going in to have her baby a month early.

And I was like, wow, that really messes me up, but I hope that you're okay because I'm serious.

Like, a whole month early.

I was like, wow.

So then I was like, hey, new friends on TikTok.

You said a couple of months ago if I ever needed anything and you can say no and tell me to get away, you were just trying to be dice or whatever, but if you were serious, I can never use your help.

She was like, Send it to me.

Yeah, I'll take a look.

And she's one of my favorite beta readers now, and she did such a great job, and she was so nice about everything because again, I had already been burned a couple of times.

So that one got out.

And that one is also a fan favorite.

That's probably the second fan favorite is Love Again.

But I did.

I wrote it so fast and I had no plans for it.

It was just like these random people showed up one day and started yelling to tell their story and then the rest of them right next door.

It's based off Rebecca.

And that's because she really does have a neighbor.

And every time they make videos together, I'm like, who is that guy again?

She's like, oh, he's just a friend.

He's my neighbor.

And I'm like, but is he?

It's always just a friend.

And I kept saying, you're like, literally sitting in his lap in this video.

Are you kidding me right now?

And she was like, it's not like that.

I was like, if you're going to fight it, I'm going to write it.

There you go.

And so that's how that book I've.

Got one for you.

My sister married the guy that she hired to mow her lawn after her husband left her.

I'm like, you guys.

Oh my god, that's got Rob written on.

Every time I hear these stories and I have readers on the internet, they tag me in those cute videos and stuff all the time.

And then like, April, you should write this.

And I'm like, guys, you should see the size of my notebook right now because some of those are really cute too.

But yeah, that's how that one was born.

And so it starts out very similar to her life.

But then of course, I had to change stuff because she's still pretending like they're just because he couldn't be just.

A friend in the book.

Oh, no.

Yeah.

And then the club series.

Like I said, I had already kind of planned those characters to have their own books because it's like an interconnected standalone series.

What else have I written?

Holy crap.

I'm like, what is that?

Right?

Oh, cut to the heart of it.

jc.

fuller is my inspiration for that main character.

She's a mystery author.

And yes, that is her likeness on the front too.

I had to write an anthology piece and I didn't know what to write.

Like I said, my friend's guy was like, you need to write for this.

You need to be in this anthology.

And so there were all these charity anthologies last year and she kept saying, you need to do this.

And I was like, I don't even have ideas.

And she was like, just we'll figure it out as you go.

You're fine.

And so I had agreed to do these anthologies and I had no ideas.

So I was on a live on TikTok one day and I was like, I need tropes, guys.

Give me some tropes.

I was like, it's got to be a short story.

It's going to be like 30,000 words.

I need some tropes.

And jc.

Said, I volunteers tribute.

And I was like, I don't understand.

She was like, I want to be a main character.

And I was like, do you want to be a main character in one of my books?

Have you read one of my books?

And she was like, yes, I have.

And I was like, okay, then.

Because you know what happens in my books.

I was like, your books, people get stabby stabby in my books.

People get pokey pokey, okay.

And she's like, yes.

And then I said, okay, well, what trope would you like the nam since you're running the show?

And she said she wanted a lumber snack.

And I was like, okay, I can do this.

And I said, okay.

Do you have a TikTok inspiration for your lumber snack there?

She actually sent me some.

I would prefer you choose from one of these, please.

And then she said, let's do the one bedrope or, like, the force proximity.

And I was like, oh, I love force proximity.

Yes.

And she lives in Washington State, so I was like, oh, I can work with this.

So I was like, landslide gets these people trapped together.

Okay, cool.

And then she was like, I have one other thing.

It's not really a trope.

And I was like, okay, what's your other demand?

And she was like, I would like to pop the buttons off his shirt.

And I was like, you want to pop the buttons off his shirt?

She's like, when you rip a man's shirt off and the buttons pop off, I was like, d***, Casey, I'm learning a lot about unity.

I was like, okay, I can write this.

She basically gave me the story.

I just had to fill in the blank.

You're like, here's the outline.

Here's the prompt.

Now you just have to make the story.

I told her.

I was like, hey, I'm kind of proud.

Like, I feel like you plotted a book and I wrote it.

So even though I didn't plot it, it's a plot that I wrote.

So I was like, look at me being a big girl author.

And I'm looking because I'm like, what else did I write?

I feel like I'm missing something.

The mc series.

Same thing.

It was I was in an anthology, and I didn't know what to do.

I had committed to do it.

It was much shorter, and I was on Alive, and I was like, somebody hit me with some tropes.

And somebody was like, brother's best friend.

And I was like, sold.

I love it.

And they gave us a theme for that one, and it was like, big men with little dogs.

So I had to think of a motorcycle guy because he ended up with a Jack Russell, and he had to have a motorcycle.

So that's how my mc series was born, because I was just going to write the one book for the anthology.

But it turned out cute.

And there were a couple of side characters in there that people were like, oh, that was adorable.

Like, you should write them a book too.

And I was like, okay, when people tell me that, I'm like, all right, because Love Again was supposed to be a standalone.

But people started asking me about side characters and when they were going to get a book.

And I was like, I don't recall ever saying that was going to be a series.

And they're like, yeah, we don't care what you want.

We want these stories.

You must give the people who are paying what they want.

That's the thing.

I was like, honestly guys, I was like, if you want me to write these and you'll buy these books, I'll write them.

Eventually there will be spin off of Love Again because it will be with new characters.

And then with the club series, same thing.

Like, I keep introducing new people as the series goes along because things evolve and you see less of some of the other main characters.

And people are like, oh, they need a book.

And ooh, they need a book.

So this three book series now is going to be at least six book series.

Did you have From trilogy to just series?

And I have one of my friends, she's also an author.

And she's like, you can never say the last book of the Club series.

Like, you just have to keep writing.

And I'm like, dude, at some point I'm going to have to stop.

And she's like, no, that's the beauty of romance.

I talked to an author last week that we were talking about fantasy and how fantasy there's generally the arc that you're going to follow for however long the series is.

And then once that arc is done, it typically stops or should stop, where like, with romance, you can just keep going with these, like the next set of side characters that need a story.

Yeah, that's all the side characters.

Yeah.

So Rebecca has a pen name of ila asher for her contemporary romance.

And she has a six book series.

And literally at the end of book six, it says at the end, that was the end of that series.

And I was like, why are you trying to hurt me?

And it can't go on forever.

And I'm like, sure, it can add up to new people.

Because at that point when you have that kind of like, it's like small town romance.

So it's not necessarily about those characters.

It's just about the town and where you're at.

And yes, you see some of those other people pop in from time to time, but that's how it could just keep evolving over time.

So I was like, why did you stop?

New people could move into town.

So I was like, dude, you're killing me.

But every author has to make that decision.

I see it all the time, authors will be like, I've seen one where it was like, she wrote 20 books, and then she was like, this is it.

I'm closing the chapter.

And everybody was like, no.

But at the end of the day, the author has to make the decision like, are they done with that series?

You know what I mean?

And that's the thing I said before.

I don't write to market.

And like I said, you do get better about writing things that are popular, and that things people want.

But like you said, things evolve so much that that's going to continue to change.

So that's why I say write the stories that you want to write because somebody else out there will want to read them.

And like you said, too, they cycle through.

It may not be popular now, but it can become popular again later.

But there just comes a time where if your heart is not in that anymore, the stories will be forced and your rears will know, right?

I think that's part of the reason.

Even though I'm not the strongest writer, I love my characters.

I love these towns and these places that I've come up with, and I think that translates onto the pages.

And that's why people enjoy my books, even though I'm not the best writer ever.

So that's why I say you have to really write what feels good to you.

And so if you feel done with that place, then you have to make that decision to stop, and your readers will be upset with you.

But then they're going to buy the new stuff that you write, and they're probably going to love it even more, right?

Because you'll feel that renewed passion.

Because there's a lot of series that I read that by the last book, it feels different even though it's written by the same person.

And then you read a new book that they come out with, and you can tell it's like they have renewed love for this story.

That's where you have to appreciate back to old guy authors George R.

R.

Martin, who writes basically when he feels like it.

So it may take ten years to get out the next Game of Thrones book, but he's writing and doing what he enjoys doing at the time.

He's not just trekking along and forcing out these books just to finish the.

Series, which people are so angry about that.

But that's the thing.

I'm like, he is getting pretty old.

Is he going to finish this series?

But yeah, I'm sorry.

Right now I still have a lot of life left in that town.

And it does it's exciting for me when I have readers reach out and be like, oh, when are you going to write this book?

And I'm like, did I put that in the background?

Because I'm like, what are you talking about?

And it's just that people really connected to those characters, and they.

Would like to see stories from them.

So as long as I'm still feeling good about that town, I'll just keep writing in that series.

But I do have ideas for new stuff too.

And that you asked me how my ideas came.

I was riding down the road listening to Queen of the Dam soundtrack a few weeks ago and this new idea popped in my head.

And it was for a shifter wolf shifters, of all things, listening to Queen of the Dam with vampires.

And I messaged my friend Sam, because Sam, I love her wolf shifter series.

I'm obsessed with it.

And I have not done any series like that.

And I love her book so much.

And I'm like super scared to even try because I'm like, I don't know that I can do that kind of book justice.

And I told her, though.

I was like, dude, I just had this crazy idea up off into my head.

Like this character showed up and they're new.

And I was like, and it's totally different.

She's like, ooh, tell me about it.

And I told her.

She was like, I need you to write this book right now.

I was like, well, I can't write it right now.

And I was like, I don't know, dude.

I was like, do you want the idea?

And she's like, no, you need to write it.

And I was like, but yours are so good.

And I've read some other really great ones.

I write contemporary romance too.

And she was like, you better write this book.

But it was so weird.

But I have a lot of ideas like that.

And even while I'm writing books, sometimes I'll get ideas for a book that maybe I put aside, that I'll hear a song and a scene will pop into my head.

And I'll be like, oh, that would be good.

In this book, I get inspiration from the weirdest places, but a lot of true to life stuff, sometimes I get ideas.

Seriously, people tag me on these videos on TikTok where I'm like, did they stage all of this at the end of the day?

But I'm like, you know what, though?

I don't care because it's cute.

I'm totally buying into all of the cheesiest.

But I am I'm like that's really cute story, though.

You have to kind of take it and make it your own.

But I get a lot of inspiration from stuff like that.

And like I said, sometimes even for Sam.

I told Sam, I was like, I think you're going to be in my motorcycle series.

And she was like, yes.

Give me a big burly motorcycle guy.

Yes.

And I was like, okay, cool.

Because I love her so much.

And I'm like, you would make such a fun character.

And it's an mc series, but it's a romcom mc series because I do everything crazy.

So I was like, you would make such a good character for a rom.com.

You're just adorable.

It would be perfect.

And she was like, if that means I get a motorcycle van, I'm all van.

So just kind of everything.

Sometimes I get these ideas and it's based off of just whatever.

It could be a person, a song, maybe something I'm watching, something somebody tells me it's all over the place.

And I have a friend, she writes paranormal romance and she doesn't write romcom and she hardly reads romcom, but occasionally she gets ideas.

And she's the one who gave me idea for my holiday romance that I just wrote.

She was like, this would be super cute romcom.

You should write it.

And I was like, it's almost Christmas.

And she was like, you write really fast, she'll be fine.

I started writing it at Thanksgiving, like a week before Thanksgiving.

And I published that book like five days before Christmas because then it became a game.

Like, can I do it?

Really?

But she gave me the she was like, I had this idea.

So she gave me the basic character stuff and then said, do what you want with the rest of it.

So I wrote that book and got it out.

And I was like, that turned out cute.

And people really enjoyed it and people are still reading it.

And I'm like, Guys, this is the middle of January, but people are still reading it and have a Christmas tree on the front of it.

So I'm like, that's cool.

My Christmas, it's so cold outside.

I was listening I don't know if you've ever heard the song, but I had an idea for Christmas book, which I write so slow with everything else that I do that it would probably not be out till next year.

But I was listening to the pentatonics, did a cover of this song where it's like they're like following people on horses and they all have red scarves around their throats to keep their heads from falling off into the snow.

And I have this listening to that song and I'm like, oh, I have this really cool idea for this, like, Christmas themed book.

And then I'm like, when am I going to have time to write that?

I'm like, it'll have to be like, next Christmas.

Because realistically, there's no way I can finish the book I'm currently working on and that by the end of the year.

But I'm like, oh, I type very, very fast.

The issue is I have no time because I'm narrating other people's stuff all the time.

You have to take that into consideration.

And I would say too, like, Jackie, a while ago, some advice.

I will give this advice.

I don't give advice a lot, but I will say this.

Never compare yourself to somebody else, right?

everybody's got 24 hours in a day, but it's not the same 24 hours, so you don't know.

And even when seriously, I type really fast.

But when I was writing book two of amy's.

It was like there was nothing there and nothing coming, so I had to put it to the side and start something else.

But there are times that I write super fast and sometimes I don't.

It just depends on if the words are coming or not.

But yeah, don't compare yourself to anybody else.

And I will say last year I wanted to write a holiday book.

Well, I should say the year before last, I guess.

Now, I wanted to write a holiday book, but I was thinking about it closer to the end of the year, and I was like, oh, I'll never have that done in time.

The more I write and once you publish that first book, I don't know what happens, but something switches in your brain, and all of a sudden you're like, I want to do that again.

So it's that endorphin rush or something, right?

We're chasing the dopamine.

We're chasing the dopamine.

Like I said, I started writing and writing and writing and publishing a ton.

The more you write and the more you publish, the easier it gets too.

And especially once you've been through the process of finishing a whole book and editing a whole book, you feel more confident with it.

So that's the thing.

Like, the first time I wanted to do that, there was no way I would have been able to do that book in that short amount of time.

But this year I was like, let's see if I can do it.

And the thing is, too, is, like, I didn't put up a pre order or anything like that, so I didn't have any pressure around myself to get it done.

If it didn't happen, it didn't happen, and it wouldn't have been the end of the world.

And I could have put it off for this year because, I mean, if I wrote half of it, I'm going to finish it and I could have put it off or whatever, or released it still.

I could have released it in January and whatever.

It'll be their next Christmas when people get interested in holiday books again, right?

But I never set pre orders until my book is done.

And I know so many authors do, and they feel like it's kind of like a goal setting thing, and they write themselves into a corner, like they have to write because they put this pre order up.

And I'm big on goals and stuff, but I can't handle that kind of pressure, right?

I might get there at some point and a lot of people thrive off of that.

But I find that I work best if I have my loose deadline in my head without having that added outside pressure of losing all my pre orders or whatever.

That, again, is something that's going to be very individual to the person, like some authors, that is how they have to have it to write.

For me, they won't do it if they don't have a deadline.

Me, for my New Year's resolution, I was like, I haven't worked on my book in probably six months.

So I'm like, we're going to set a goal of ten minutes a day for ten minutes a day, which is a reasonable I have a very busy day, but I can reasonably, definitely set aside ten minutes to right now read back through what I've done because I don't remember anything.

But I'm like, ten minutes.

And sometimes it might be longer than that, but that is a reasonable goal that you can definitely hit every day, even if that's, oh, it's bedtime.

Let's work on the book for ten minutes real quick and then go to bed.

Like, ten minutes is not going to hurt anything in your day.

No, and I mean, I'm a big fan of sprint.

I usually sprint for 20 minutes at a time.

Like, especially if I am having trouble kind of getting the juices flowing, I'll be like, okay, I'm going to commit to doing a 20 minutes sprint.

And sometimes when I get on one sprint, if the words are flowing, that one sprint for 20 minutes turns into like five.

You've been writing for 2 hours.

I'm a big believer in setting goals, but setting realistic goals that you might actually be able to accomplish because if you set them too high and you never meet them, then that's going to beat yourself up.

Like ten to 20 minutes is great because again, like you said, that's something that somebody can say, I don't have a lot of time, but I can do this.

And that's why I tell people, don't worry too much about the word counts.

I see so many people that are like, I want to write 1000 words a day.

And I'm like, but then they start freaking out because they're not hitting it.

And I'm like, hey, why don't you try doing like 2030 minutes a day instead of a word count?

Just sit down for a certain amount of time and see what happens.

Because I think that you're stressing yourself out by putting this number on it.

So don't change the plan.

Don't change the goal.

Change the plan.

So if this isn't working for you, then try something else.

And sometimes that works for people, but sometimes the number is what they need.

So you really have to find what works for you.

It's just like the same thing with plotting and panting and discovery writing.

Like some people have to plot or they can't get the paper done.

But for me, I have a really hard time trying to plot and stick with it because I let the characters drive the story and sometimes they want to take a left hurt over here.

And I've learned to trust that though.

But some people really live and die by their plots.

If plotting feels tedious and your story feels slow, then try just writing whatever, and vice versa.

If you sit down to write and nothing's coming out, try jotting down some notes and see what happens.

None of this is end all, be all for anybody, that you just have to find what works for you and your life.

And that's why I say don't compare yourself to anybody else, because somebody who writes full time, of course they're going to get a lot more done than you do if you have kids in a job and extracurricular activities and stuff like that.

And yeah, it's okay to be like, man, I wish that I had that kind of time.

But you can't beat yourself up about it either, because that's not something you can control.

Just worry about the things that you can control.

All right, well, I think you have been amazing today, but I need air conditioning.

Thank you so much for your time today.

I will see you around, TikTok.

I will.

Thank you very much.

Discord, too.

Yeah.

All right, well, you have a good rest of your Saturday.

I think you said you have somewhere you're driving to next.

Yes, we have kids shenanigans going on, so let's taxi services begin.

Well, have fun, and good luck with your writing.

Thank you.

I will.

Good luck with yours.

All right.

Bye.

Bye.

Getting older.

April liked Sleeping Beauty.

Sleeping Beauty, also titled in English as The Sleeping Beauty in the woods, is a fairy tale about a princess cursed by an evil fairy to sleep for 100 years before being awakened by a handsome prince.

A good fairy, knowing the princess would be frightened if alone when she wakes, uses her want to put every living person and animal in the palace and forest asleep to waken when the princess does.

The earliest known versions of the tale is found in the narrative purse Forest, written between 1330 and 1344.

Another was published by giambatista basil in his collection titled The pentamarone, published posthumorously in 1634 and adapted by Charles Perraulte in historic Okantes dutence passe in 1697.

The version collected and printed by the Brothers grimm was one orally transmitted from the parole.

The arn Thompson classification system for fairy Tales lists Sleeping Beauty as a type.

410.

It includes a princess who's magically forced into sleep and later woken reversing the magic.

The fairy tale has been adapted countless times throughout history and retold by modern storytellers across a variety of media.

Today we'll be reading The Twelve Huntsmen by the Brothers grimm, a similar story in that the prince should not have ended up with his bride.

Don't forget we're reading lamont dearthur, the story of King Arthur and of his noble knights of the Round Table on our patreon.

You can find the link in the show notes.

The Twelve Huntsmen there was once a king's son who had a bride whom he loved very much, and when he was sitting beside her and very happy, news came that his father lay sick unto death, and desired to see him once again before his end.

Then he said to his beloved, I must go now and leave you.

I give you a ring as a remembrance of me.

When I am King, I will return and fetch you.

So he rode away, and when he reached his father, the latter was dangerously ill, and near his death he said to him, dear son, I wish to see you once again before my end.

Promise me to marry as I wish.

And he named a certain King's daughter who was to be his wife.

The son was in such trouble that he did not think what he was doing, and said, yes, dear father, your will shall be done.

And thereupon the King shut his eyes and died.

When, therefore, the son had been proclaimed king, and the time of mourning was over, he was forced to keep the promise which he had given his father, and caused the King's daughter to be asked in marriage, and she was promised to him.

His first betrothed heard of this, and fretted so much about his faithfulness that she nearly died.

And her father said to her, dearest child, why are you so sad?

You shall have whatsoever you will.

She thought for a moment and said, dear father, I wish for eleven girls exactly like myself in face, figure and size.

The father said, if it be possible, your desire shall be fulfilled.

And he caused a search to be made in his whole kingdom until eleven young maidens were found, who exactly resembled his daughter in face, figure and size.

When they came to the King's daughter, she had twelve suits of huntsmen clothes made all alike, and the eleven maidens had to put on the huntsman's clothes, and she herself put on the 12th suit.

Thereupon she took her leave of her father and rode away with them, and rode to the court of her former betrothed, whom she loved so dearly, and she asked if he required any huntsmen, and if he would take all of them into his service.

The King looked at her and did not know her, but as they were such handsome fellows, he said yes, and that he would willingly take them, and now they were the King's twelve huntsmen.

The King, however, had a lion, which was a wondrous animal, for he knew all concealed and secret things.

It came to pass that one evening he said to the King, you think you have twelve huntsmen?

Yes, said the King, there twelve huntsmen.

The lion continued, you are mistaken.

There are twelve girls.

The King said that cannot be true.

How will you prove that to me?

Oh, just let some peas be strewn in the antechamber, answered the lion, and then you will soon see.

Men have a firm step, and when they walk over peas, none of them stir, but girls trip and skip and drag their feet, and the peas roll about the king was well pleased with the council and caused the peas to be strewn.

There was, however, a servant of the kings who favored the huntsmen, and when he heard that they were going to be put to this test, he went to them and repeated everything, and said, the lion wants to make the king believe that you are girls.

Then the king's daughter thanked him and said to her maidens, show some strength and step firmly on the peas.

So next morning, when the king had the twelve huntsmen called before him and they came into the antechamber where the peas were lying, they stepped so firmly on them and had such a strong, sure walk that not one of the peas either rolled or stirred, and they went away again.

And the king said to the lion, you have lied to me.

They walked just like men.

The lion said, they have been informed that they were going to be put to the test and have assumed some strength.

Just let twelve spinning wheels be brought into the antechamber, and they will go to them and be pleased with them, and that is what no man would do.

The king liked the advice and had the spinning wheels placed in the antichamber.

But the servant, who was well disposed to the huntsman went to them and disclosed the project.

So when they were alone, the king's daughter said to her, eleven girls, show some restraint and do not look round at the spinning wheels.

The next morning, when the king had his twelve huntsmen summoned, they went through the antidamber and never once looked at the spinning wheels.

And the king again said to the lion, you have deceived me.

They are men, for they've not looked at the spinning wheels.

The lion replied, they have restrained themselves.

The king, however, would no longer believe the lion.

The twelve huntsmen always followed the king to the chase, and his liking for them continually increased.

Now it came to pass that once when they were out hunting, news came that the king's bride was approaching.

When the true bride heard that it hurt her so much that her heart was almost broken and she fell fainting to the ground, the king thought something had happened to his dear huntsman, ran up to him, wanted to help him, and drew his glove off.

Then he saw the ring which he had given to his first bride, and when he looked her in her face, he recognized her, and his heart was so touched that he kissed her.

And when she opened her eyes he said, you are mine and I am yours, and no one in the world can alter that.

He sent a messenger to the other bride and entreated her to return to her own kingdom, for he had a wife already, and someone who had just found an old key did not require a new one.

Thereupon the wedding was celebrated, and the lion was again taken into favor because, after all, he had told the truth.

Thank you for joining freya's fairy tales.