Sara Ney Unfiltered: 50 Books, Tropes, & Romance Writing Chaos

Romance author Sara Ney joins us for one of the funniest and most unfiltered conversations we’ve had on the podcast yet. From writing 50+ romance novels and navigating BookTok-driven publishing trends to hockey romance, favorite tropes, spicy scenes, and rapid-release writing schedules, Sara pulls back the curtain on what it actually looks like to build a long-term career in romance publishing.

We talk indie vs. traditional publishing, bookstore signings, writing routines, weird author quirks, reader expectations, and why every ex-boyfriend somehow thinks the book is about him. Sara also gives us her best meet-cutes, favorite romance dynamics, and accidentally coins what might be the greatest romance-writing tagline of all time.

Also discussed:
• the now-infamous hot dog story
• “foreplay is my forte”
• why dry humping deserves a comeback
• BookTok trend pressure & publishing chaos
• Starbucks writing rituals
• writing 50+ books without losing your mind
• fake dating, hockey romance & favorite tropes
• why romance readers know exactly what they want

About Sara Ney: 

Sara Ney is a bestselling romance author known for her sports romances, college romances, and fan-favorite series including How to Date a Douchebag, Jock Row, and Campus Legends. With more than 50 published books across indie and traditional publishing, Sara has become a staple in the contemporary romance space thanks to her humor, unforgettable banter, emotionally grounded love stories, and wildly addictive characters.

Her upcoming releases include Married to the Scottish Player and Revenge Puck.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

I've got a story that involves Megan Quinn, a pimp, um, hot dogs. I'm not not kidding. Like 2017, Megan Quinn and I went to New York really quick because she was doing a cover shoot and she didn't want to go by herself. So we go to a Broadway play, have tea, and then afterwards, we're like, we're starving. Let's get a hot dog. They've got these hot dog stands, Grays Papaya. We're like, it's Wednesday. Why are the streets completely empty in this part of town? But that's fine. Let's go get a hot dog, anyways. Long story short, a pimp walks in wearing, I'm assuming that's what he was, purple fur coat. There are three other gentlemen in there yapping away. We get our hot dogs. I get mine. It's got a little bit too much ketchup. Pimp brushes my arm. My ketchup gets on his fur coat. He looks at me. He looks at the coat. He's like, bitch, you're gonna. Meanwhile, the three guys start beating the shit out of each other. The pimp jumps on top, starts beating the shit out of the three guys. Megan starts to tremble as like literally tables go flying. The breaking. It's like milk is like dripping down the windows. I start eating the hot dog because I don't want it to get cold. I've assessed the situation. There's no immediate danger. She's like behind me. Literally, uh. And I'm like finishing. They anyways, the fight spills out onto the road, the sign gets knocked down, everybody's gone. And then there's other dudes like, meh, they owe me a hot dog. The pimp looks we lock eyes one more time before he sprints down the street. And then we hopped in a cab and tried to get back to our hotel. Perfect. Why haven't they called me yet? I would have made the story so much better.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

I'm done. We don't even need to do this. That's all I needed today.

SPEAKER_02 2:17

So this week we have a very special guest. Fun fact apparently growing up, I was neighbors to a celebrity in the book world. Um, Sarah Nye, who has written, I think almost over almost 50 books. Um, and she's been doing this for 12 years, and she is absolutely a boss. We are so excited for you to listen to this episode. It's gonna be amazing.

SPEAKER_03 2:47

I know. Megan's like, what is wrong with you? I'm like, Megan, there were no weapons. It was fine. Yeah, it was fine.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

It was just fists. There were no weapons. That was the assessment. Yeah, it was just fisticuffs.

SPEAKER_03 3:03

Oh god. Anyways, hi, welcome. No, welcome to you. You just welcome to you. I haven't seen you in ages. Did you know we used to be neighbors, right? Yes.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Okay, yeah, she did, but I want the actual origin story here because she was like, Oh, I should get my friend Sarah. Um, she writes books. And I was like, Sarah, she's awesome. What are you talking?

SPEAKER_03 3:28

Not only freaking Jenna like designed a logo for my ex-husband's business. Like, are you designing anymore? Do you dabble?

SPEAKER_02 3:41

So I really only design for like the pod.

SPEAKER_03 3:44

I mean, yeah, but you're so creative. You should like, you know.

SPEAKER_02 3:49

I like just to design for fun versus like the pressure of having to get it right.

SPEAKER_03 3:54

That's like how I love it.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Yeah, so and Kate, where you I live in Mass, and Jenna and I met through women's fiction writers. Um and so that's how we started this. But yeah, she's our secret weapon. Like her design is like insane, like yeah. I don't know what we would do.

SPEAKER_03 4:19

But our origin story is that like I started writing when my daughter was two, maybe she's 16 now. Jenna lived next door. Were you still in ho were you in college?

SPEAKER_02 4:34

No, I was no, I was in college when she was born.

SPEAKER_03 4:38

Yeah. Yeah, you're in school. We lived next door to her parents. Yep. I never came outside ever. And so I'm pretty sure her parents were like, what's up with the neighbor girl? She's like, and no, I was writing. I was writing Warren. Yes. Warren. And so even though Warren doesn't listen, it's Warren. So yeah, we um I live next door to our parents. Um, we go to the same church, and yeah, I just was constantly toiling away. I don't, I don't know, like after my first novel, I I like haven't stopped writing. So that first one was always you know when it's it's like, you know, you always like, I want to write a book. It's on, it's like whatever little girl who loves to read. One day I want to write a novel. One day I wanna anyways after that first one. Um I've been doing it since so I literally never come outside. And this is a spray tan. I am pale. Yeah, these are all my there's so many. All my books. So many. I know. I'm 4550 with the co-authored books. Wow. I know. I know.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

That's incredible. I just finished Fake Lumberjack.

SPEAKER_03 6:03

Oh yeah, and I here's the next one. I got already. Oh my god, I saw your cover reveal.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

So excited. My gosh. I know. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 6:11

This one comes out in June.

SPEAKER_02 6:13

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 6:14

Can we get it? Can we get it?

SPEAKER_00 6:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:17

Can can we get it? We got a box of fake lumberjack here. I've got a box of these. They're sending me the third one.

SPEAKER_02 6:26

Already? When did you write those?

SPEAKER_03 6:30

Uh yeah, like last year. That's why it seems so rapid fire. Do you know what I mean? Like when authors are like June, July, August. Well, I know that like this one here that came out in March was done like two years ago. Yeah. Yep. And then the next book comes out next fall. So Wow.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

Anyway, that's a crazy.

SPEAKER_03 6:56

I have gotten this podcast completely off the rail.

SPEAKER_02 6:59

No, this is the podcast.

SPEAKER_03 7:01

This is what you this is No, this is it. Like, we literally Does anyone have any questions about dating? I have so many questions. I love giving dating advice.

SPEAKER_01 7:15

Sex, dating. I feel like my dream is to write when I was reading Fake Lumberjack. I was like, I want to write this, but like me and my husband's story because I married the man from my favorite band. And I was like, Sarah could would would How did that happen? Hold on, let me clean up story. And that's like always been my dream to like write that as So tell tell me how you met. Yeah. No, I played the long game. I met him in college, but we didn't like hang out in college. He just like he went to the same college that I did. But you saw him and you're like, I want that. Yeah. The first time I saw him, I was like, absolutely. And then he went and became cool and popular and toured the country for 10 years. And I just kind of like stayed Facebook friends like with him because like I knew him before, you know, I was like cool. Like I was like, played the long game. And then he he responded to one of my messages one time. And I was like, hey, like, do you want the to like say hey? Oh this is how manipulative I was. I his dad owns a theater company. And at the time I was starting a theater company. His dad owns a children's theater, like educational facility. And at that time, I was starting a children's theater company in DC on my own. And I was like, hey, like I really didn't know. Isn't it so isn't it just such a coincidence? I was like, hey, like, do you remember? We I had been to freaking like 15 of his concerts already, like just like obsessed, but yeah. And I was like, I would love to like get a tour of your family's like theater and all the stuff, and like connect with your dad and ask him some questions. I just remember back in college, you know, your family did that.

SPEAKER_03 9:03

And he was like, absolutely come by through your like thinly veiled, like your thinly veiled offer to tour his facilities.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

I don't think, but I I that first I don't think he got it. I locked it in though. You know what? That was all the and then we met up for coffee and I totally locked it in. And here we are now. But I was a yes, huge fan of his band. And I was like, this is gonna make I need to write this romance novel. It's it'll be fictionalized, but and I was like, Sarah, reading fake lumberjack, I was like, Sarah would kill this story. We need to.

SPEAKER_03 9:46

Um, have you read uh the Kylie Scott's series about each of the band members? There's like the drummer, the guitar player, um Lick is like the guitar, like the guitar player story, and then there's lead singer. Yeah, check it out. Really good. I think they made like a passion flick series out of it, but there are some of my favorite books. I um reread the one about the guitar player all the time. I don't keep a lot of paperbacks anymore, but all those well these do these even count?

SPEAKER_01 10:28

Like I don't you know that is I I was still amazed at how many. That's insane. Um we wanna know we wanna know about bookCon.

SPEAKER_02 10:40

Oh my god, tell me about BookCon.

SPEAKER_03 10:42

Oh well, uh first of all, when I pulled up in the taxi, well, let me let me digress. Okay, so I had seen on threads that the last chapter had table space, and they're like, hey, if you're an author, blah blah blah, and I love Amanda at the last chapter, and I thought there's no way by the time I've seen this post, they're gonna have a spot for me to sign because they were doing like three-hour um time slots or whatever, and there's only so many hours in a day, and it's only open until five. So, anyways, she was like, Oh, we'd love to have you, blah, blah, blah. And so I was like, great, I'm gonna, is it okay if I bring books to give away instead of having you sell them? So I brought a hundred copies of this book. It's a hockey, it's a hockey romance, and I um brought, I checked them in my luggage, and I had two bags that were like 70 pounds. Um, thanks, Delta, and um schlepped them to the Jabit Center, which is massive. And the line was like four city blocks and around the corner. By the time I got there at 11 o'clock, and now it had already opened. And I'm I don't know if you saw the pictures, but it was crazy. And then um I it was so overwhelming that I did not leave the table. I thought about it. I'm like, okay, Christmas gifts, you know, there were so many cool vendors. There were so much cool stuff, and my stepdaughter loves to read, and I thought, oh, I'll get her some Christmas stuff, but I didn't have that energy. Um, it was wild because I ran out of books within 45 minutes. So I mean, people were in line to get them signed, and and then they had a handful of uh love on ice that we blew through um in that amount of time, and so within an hour, I was like, okay, I guess I'm leaving. So I was only there for like an hour signing. It was wild. Oh my god. There was that if I'd have known, I would have had like 500 paperbacks. I would have brought, do you know what I mean? Like woefully unprepared. But I can see I've been to a few signings, like where fists are being thrown and people are fighting and book like book bonanza was wild. I didn't go to the last one because I was exhausted, but the one before that, 2022, I think was the last book bonanza I went to. There's no way to prepare. I can't imagine if I was a staff at BookCon.

SPEAKER_02 13:42

No.

SPEAKER_03 13:43

And like the sheer like the terror that would wash through me seeing a crowd. It was like I don't even like people rushing afield at like after a Packer game. Like that's how it would feel. I'd shit myself. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:59

No, thank you.

SPEAKER_03 14:00

I was in and out because there was really no reason for me to. I'm like, I can't, like, it's I don't even I'm just here for the snacks and the free pens and the chapstick.

SPEAKER_02 14:14

Yes, give me some free bookmarks too.

SPEAKER_03 14:18

I know, give me the chapstick. I have a whole drawer of chapstick from years all of my book book signing days. I'm like, chapstick. Is that the chap G? I haven't had a chap lip in years. Well, you know, authors have like the I don't know if they do that anymore, but like with their names on it. I'm just like okay.

SPEAKER_02 14:43

So I I need to ask though, like, what is your insane travel schedule like? Because I feel like not only do you travel for like book stuff, but you travel for leisure a lot. So are you home ever?

SPEAKER_03 15:00

Uh I try to tie, listen, I brought my kids. Yes. Okay. Merritt is 16, and my stepson is going to be 16. And so I thought, oh, they're gonna love New York City. Use my companion pass, use some Capital Ones miles. Everyone was thrilled. They got to have, you know, they were hopping on, hopping off the buses while I was peddling my wares. Um, I when my daughter was younger, it was kind of in the height of like the douchebag series, like all that was going crazy. I think people were doing way more. So I would do like 10 signings a year. And now I the kids are in sports. I really um do way, way less. Um, so this was fun because I they're old enough now to appreciate it. Although Merritt, Merritt's been to quite a few signings. Like we put her to work, she's earning her keep. You know what I'm saying? She's like walking around with swag, walking around with bookmarks, putting, you know, but um I if it's somewhere I think the kids are gonna have fun, and I can take, you know, my family now, or somebody wants to see Washington, D.C. Like Gage really loves history. I'm like, yeah, I'll do Virginia. Yes, I'll do Boston. Like they're into it. And then they can go have a little bit of fun while I and then we write, you know, we write some of it off on our taxes, everyone's happy. So that's sort of how I decide what I'm doing now. You know? So that's how I that's how I live my life now. The kids, you know how it is. Yeah. Well, when they're they're younger, like they're your little tiny buddy, and then as they get older, all like the evolutions and and now it's I'm like the fixer. No, the high sch like the fixer. And um, I think the one thing that um that really keeps us close is like bedtime. Like we talk every everyone gets tucked in, they love a tuck tuck. So like when they're teenagers, um, that's like my daughter went through her phase where she's like didn't want to tell me anything. Middle school. Middle school was like a and so I think we sort of got back to um bonding and being close when I started going in for bedtime every night just to, you know, let me tuck you in. We do the whole like burrito, and now they're like, Are you coming in for tuck talk? I'm like, you're five foot nine. But I'm not, I'm telling you, even Gage is like texting Jeff, he'll be like, Are you coming down to tuck me in? The girls, when they're home, they're 20. He's he's got two twins, a set of twins that are 20. One's in college, one just past your boards for cosmetology. They're like, Are you tucking us in? I'm telling you, it's my it's my secret weapon, bedtime. And even if you're not like sharing secrets, like boop, boop, boop, boop, boop. I'm like, what are you gonna do when you go to college? So yeah, my parenting secret. So that sort of like brought us closer, and now it's just like too much information. La la la la la. I didn't need to hear that.

SPEAKER_02 18:44

Yeah, you so you're like the oh, what was that show? It wasn't I'm digress. It's essentially about like fixers in LA. Um, Ray Donovan!

SPEAKER_03 18:56

Ray Donovan. Yes, love that show.

SPEAKER_02 19:01

So good.

SPEAKER_03 19:02

Love that show. His role. Oh my gosh, that king guy. Do we swear on this pod? Yeah, yeah. Because my daughter will be like, blah blah blah, so and so. I'm like, fuck, you fucked it. I swear to fuck go. Well, who's her mom? What's her mom's name? Because, like, right, we know everyone from here. I'm like, what's her mom's maiden name? Who's her dad? Like, I'll fucking have a bad thing. Put in a douchebag from high school that I knew. I'm like, you know how we're gonna get our revenge? We're gonna put her in one of these. Yes. We're gonna, we're gonna name her, we're gonna name her by name. We're gonna hint at it.

SPEAKER_02 19:46

Yes. Like Kate's all worried about her exes being in her book that's coming out at the end of May. And I'm like, I don't know, man. I think you won.

SPEAKER_03 19:55

Listen, I'm gonna tell you whether or not they're in your book, any guy that you previously dated is gonna assume that it's him. I have met like dudes that I dated in high school message me and be like, hey, I'm really sorry about the I'm like, first of all, that was 30 years ago. Secondly, it's not you, okay?

SPEAKER_02 20:17

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 20:17

Wow, they're going to message you. Be ready. Like, they still am I the fake lumberjack? Yeah, am I the douchebag? I'm like, uh no. I had an ex-husband message me from that I married in college. He's like, hey, just I'm like, my God, were you even a wrestler? No. Get out of here. But I'm flattered you thought of me. And first of all, why are you? How do you even know? Right.

SPEAKER_01 20:52

Like, is your wife reading my book right now? Like, how is that? I keep telling, and like I tell my husband, he's like, he's like, I just think that they're the, you know, the people you wrote about are like gonna see it and like they're gonna message you and stuff. I'm like, no, they're not. Like, nobody's gonna read, like, nobody's gonna read this, but now they're gonna, they're gonna think it's you, yes.

SPEAKER_03 21:13

You might as well put it in the dedication, be like, no, Brad, it's not you. Bye. Just make that your dedication.

SPEAKER_02 21:22

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 21:23

No, but to the guy I dated in 2014. No, this is not about you. Get over yourself. Totally.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

Totally.

SPEAKER_02 21:32

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 21:32

That's so funny because I have so much of that in the book.

SPEAKER_02 21:37

You do.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

I feel like with when we started this podcast, Sarah, it was like, what do we want to do? And I was like, I just wanna like have drinks and talk like we normally do about writing or whatever the experiences that we're going through now. And then I was like, I want to bring on authors that are super fun that'll like just come and just talk shit and promote.

SPEAKER_03 22:00

their books obviously but like just chill like just be fun and like hang out yes for some reason people listen to it i i don't know why i obviously love talking about i love talking about books but usually i would rather talk shit where are you getting the ideas from talking shit like where are the ideas for these books coming from you have yeah because clearly you're an idea machine i constantly have ideas like i have ideas and then i work on while i'm working on something and all i want to do then is work on the idea that i'm thinking of but i have to work on what i'm working on so it's like an endless vicious cycle I have a notebook and there's like young adult ideas and college ideas and there aren't enough pieces of paper or time in a day or hours in a week to come up with this but I've been like a daydreamer all I do is freaking daydream like I took a nap yesterday and I'm like I'm gonna lay here I'm so tired I'm gonna lay here and daydream about this idea that I have and so I laid on the couch and closed my eyes and then 10 minutes later my daughter came stomping into the house and then the dog came charging through the house and then I'm like okay pretend no one's here pretend you're alone and then Gage came in the house and then Jeff came I'm like oh my God and eventually I did fall asleep thinking about it but I can't work on it right now so I just have to write it down in a notebook put it away because now I know publishers will look for ideas like okay we want this type of idea in this genre everybody's very trope oriented right now.

SPEAKER_02 24:04

Yes so I know that um my publisher is like we want one of these three ideas are you interested and so that's how my 2027 release came about with Delacourt um but I had immediately I was like oh my god I have an idea like boop boop boop boop boop so based on you know aliens romantic or cowboys they were like very specific this is what we want so do you still self-publish or are you like trad a hundred percent now?

SPEAKER_03 24:49

I'm I am or like a hybrid I'm hybrid though it's been a minute since I um have been able to indie publish I'm working on an indie manuscript right now I have until like June to finish it before I work on my next it's a third book in a series I already have books one and two done for Booker which is a UK publisher they published The Housemaid so I have a deal with them it hasn't been announced yet they've announced it but I haven't but um I'm working on the third book for them and I have to start that in June to be done by my deadline.

SPEAKER_02 25:35

So I have a little bit of a window so I'm working on an idea that is high what do they call it um what's the word what's the word they're always using um hold on like a high I can think of it and like let you know what oh shoot what is it I had to Google it when they first said it I'm like what like a high concept like are you like high concept that's like where you okay high concept they're like oh we really want to be high concept I'm like what there's so many terms that like I had to learn of like the genres and tropes and themes. I'm like what where are you pulling these from? I don't they're constantly changing.

SPEAKER_03 26:20

Yeah yes all the time every day I'm like I got a message about one of my books I can't remember which one but the the person was like is this closed door and I'm like what does that mean? Are you gonna see them fucking is that what you mean? But like what does it technically mean in the movie? Do we walk in on are we walking in on someone?

SPEAKER_02 26:44

Do we have doors that are closed can I use that word?

SPEAKER_03 26:48

Are there like what is the parameters? I'm like what? So I'm like googling I'm like I should know this right like it been after 50 but these terms did not exist five years ago before TikTok and all that.

SPEAKER_02 27:04

So do you think it is TikTok that's like I don't know like ushering in this thought or is it just marketing crap?

SPEAKER_03 27:14

I think that um yeah I think that's you know you know I've had a few um and if you we can yap about this offline if you want like more information but these conference calls with the publishers and the PowerPoint presentation based on data and this and that and like yeah TikTok research.

SPEAKER_01 27:39

So it is crazy.

SPEAKER_03 27:41

I'm like I'm getting too old for this like we want this and that and like aspirational things on a boat maybe like a this that the other some drugs but upbeat it was like that scene in how to lose a guy in 10 days where she's like pitching an article in the meeting and she's like but our pets' heads are falling off but upbeat like that's exactly what was going through my brain maybe the mom's an addict but make it upbeat like it's a rom com. The dad's gone there's no you know there I'm like what?

SPEAKER_01 28:20

Like how do you even write that and so I did and they were like this doesn't sound like your voice I'm like well no shit but make it upbeat but does that make the indie publish but upbeat yeah like I haven't we haven't talked to many people who do both or have both experiences like does that make indie publishing that more because you have this big platform now like why not own it? Like why not make the you know percentage back for yourself? Does that that must make it so much more attractive at this point?

SPEAKER_03 28:55

Um it's I really think that um being you know in business um just kind of being diverse like that's what I'm trying to do. Yeah diversity um kind of like spreading out the eggs in the different baskets so that because we don't know what next year is gonna look like what if you know Instagram's great TikTok is huge okay everyone loves YouTube like what's next what's coming how's it gonna look in a year or five years from now that's why I wanted to go trad. And so it's like indie trad like you know so yeah so it's better chance of like sort of future proving yourself almost yeah right yeah so do I love do I always love the no we're gonna have to cut half of everything we just talked about you know like do I love um you know make it like this do this it's like the 12 pages of feedback do I love it does it influ you know it's it's difficult so but I feel like to kind of stay in the you've been doing this for 12 years, you know Yeah so so would you say that you're I don't know like still discovering like new ways to write after so many years and like so many different stories and formats and you do collaborations.

SPEAKER_02 30:41

I feel like you're always finding new ways to like adapt and try new things.

SPEAKER_03 30:46

Yes adaptability is huge and I think that's just part of you know we're we're professional you take feedback I never looked at reviews as even like the negative ones I never took them as being negative like that's constructive criticism in a form what regardless of like how it's worded like how can I take this negative feedback and make my writing better so like for example when I wrote how to date a douchebag everybody was like critical of how short it was even though it was like I forget like 75,000 words. Let's use 75,000 words. Okay. So then the next book I'm like I'm gonna make this way longer so then the next one people are like way too long this is too long. This is before books were 1400 words right there we weren't writing books that were like 500 pages back in 2015. And so like I could have looked at that and been like I'm not I'll do what I want you know I'm not doing that. I am I'm like okay I'm gonna we're gonna find a happy medium we're gonna like because readers are so important. And I am not just writing I can write books that I love all day long, but I really want people to read what I write like these are passion projects for there, you know, everything's kind of a love letter you if you're writing it for your husband you're writing your story or you're writing you know just like a daydream is sort of like a love letter we're just like putting like every single one of these I'm like passionate about and then it's like my new passion is like the next one. So it's just kind of like I walk around sometimes and like lately I've been just like day just on cloud nine just I'm so like and I'm in a good mood and like the stories are flowing and I'm in love with this guy. Like the story I'm writing right now I've been wanting to write for probably two years. And I finally get a window and I'm I'm just like how am I gonna take these characters and make them fall in love because they're meat cute she just does not like this guy. How am I gonna get her to fall in love? And we already know what makes him likable because we're seeing his point of view but she's not seeing the point of view. So at what point do we bang like they've got to fuck but she hates this guy and it's like a very polarizing like meet you like because he's trying to get her out of her it's like a you've got mail situation like the shop around the corner type of the big guy moving okay it's sort of like that. So it's like at what point do they like have their moment like you can't drag this out no when does she so these are like you know I sit there and I'm like in star you know in Starbucks I'm like all day long. And then I come home and I'm like hey guys like I can't wait to go to sleep so I can wake up and go back to work.

SPEAKER_01 34:25

Yeah we talk about the transition a lot and how hard especially with little kids now like going from writing all day to like parenting little kids when you all you want to do is just like keep sure doing the thing.

SPEAKER_03 34:40

Yes because you really do need to be in a zone yes I don't know what's your that sounds awesome like what's your ideal zone of like if I have the perfect equation for me getting into the zone what are like your constants well I'm extremely regimented I'm like an athlete okay I'm like a high performance athlete like you know my routine's the same if I walk into Starbucks and my table that I sit at if someone's sitting there I'm like I'm like uh frozen I'm like and the breeze says well look at me and they'll look at the table and they'll look at me and look at the we're all like this they're like what's she gonna do? What's she gonna do? But um you know I order the same thing every day. I'm highly easy I would be an easy mark if you were gonna try to kidnap me. So you're right every day but I write every single day Saturday, Sunday. I know like my the the book that's coming out has taken me many years to write but I even just the one to the two I feel a little bit more like process oriented than I did when I was like yeah free balling it just writing when I could I feel like most authors would probably agree that the more you do it the e the easier the more fine-tuned so like the first book takes a year like it did for me. It took me a year to write 55,000 words and then the second book probably took eight months and then the third one was probably eight months ish of working every day with Merritt who is like three at you know and then like six months and then four you know and then I'm like okay three four months we're but we're we're 12 years in here. Yeah yeah right like and so now everyone will say like oh you write so fast you write so fast I'm like no I've been doing this for 12 freaking years so like that's like I feel like pretty standard when you've been we all write pretty fast but we you know we sacrifice a lot too so but it's like riding a bike like the the or anything that you do that takes practice the the more you do it the easier and the better at it you get and so you're less messy there's less errors you're you know like I is I have a certain way of doing things I like my margins to be really wide so it looks like a Kindle page and some people write like everybody's quirky right like you write on a full page I'm like how do you do that in word?

SPEAKER_02 37:32

Like how is it so wide like I like my you know I'm like okay Kindle page the wide the wide thick margin on the side and so you know how do you write in Times New Roman how do you write in Calibut like everyone's got their thing right like how are you writing in 10 point are you you know so I'm just I'm just thinking of like the bingo card of authors of you have adjusted the margins so it like perfectly fits your point of view. You have adjusted your font sizes you have like done like XYZ you've ordered like the same coffee drink.

SPEAKER_03 38:11

You have foregone a vacation like like the random shit that authors right the weird quirky shit um yeah yeah I don't have any good luck charms but I do walk into Starbucks carrying a tote bag I've got a fuzzy blanket two pillows one's for lumbar support and one's for my ass I have a heating pad and a lap desk in the bag it's a giant lily pullet or tote like a huge shopping bag and because if I can't get a table and I'm in a chair I have to have the laptop you know I have to be ready for any circumstances because I am not walking back out that door I'm not fucking leaving not fucking leaving gotta call in the national drag me out of this fucking place.

SPEAKER_02 39:09

And people always walk in and they look at me they take one look at me if they've never seen me before and they're like oh you really came prepared I'm like no I'm not fucking around Jerry God damn it oh god now I want a favorite barista now but I have like a like a job they're so cute they work tirelessly like tirelessly to make our mornings bright yes they do they really do poor Kate she's she's part of wearing I feel like so unmotivated now that this one's coming out I'm just like do a fucking motivated tomorrow morning when you wake up do you are you like do you make your own coffee?

SPEAKER_01 39:56

Yeah I do it here in my dining room this guy because if the kids go to bed and I have to and I'm and I'm ready to go like I need to just have my shit set up it needs to be here ready to go when I'm ready to go. Mm-hmm so if I if I'm like I'll fucking tinker and scroll and I'll do all the things if I have to like if if if it if it like hits me I gotta go I gotta go I can't like drive to a place or I can't like sure sure you're at the hills tiring though. That's why it's like good to hear somebody say like you just gotta do it. Yeah. Yeah you just gotta do it. So I don't like I'm having so much fun but we're in an hour and I don't want to like keep you I'm like I could talk to you we could sit here for hours so I just want to like but yeah they don't call like I just want to this should be like this should be a recurring segment.

SPEAKER_03 40:49

Yeah yeah can we have some feel like thank you I agree relationship questions pod I'm dying to answer some sex questions. Ooh okay so I will I'll couple this is rapid fire you can't think about this the sexiest scene you ever wrote you ever wrote which book was it okay the learning hours he is a novice sex person like he hasn't really banged any a ton of people and this girl that he this is like 20 books ago but I absolutely love the learning hours the sex scenes are great because he they're from his point of view obviously and he's just can't believe he's fucking this chick she's so hot.

SPEAKER_02 41:39

And then what was your favorite meat cute so far?

SPEAKER_03 41:43

Oh so in how to how to lose that love he's being paid to dump this chick because one of his teammates is too chicken shit to do it himself so he's like waiting outside of her work she walks outside she's like what are you doing you weirdo like are you following me he's like so and so doesn't want to go out with you anymore and she's like are you dumping me and then she's like the can I at least have a ride home and he's like sure fine so that's how that whole thing starts my gosh your favorite like post third act breakup moment. Honestly I have a hard time doing third act breakups. It's not like my forte that is one thing that I occasionally will get criticized for I didn't start actually doing third part third act breakups until like probably a year or two ago really so yes so I'd say oh gosh I don't that's a tough one. I don't know I feel like the first third act breakup I've ever done was in Jock Row and that was literally 20 some bucks ago because I had a uh I know and probably one of the only ones like I'm I love a solid love story. Yeah same like the the slow burn the buildup like we're a drama free company over here at Sarah Nye author I love that I just want like low anxiety I want to enjoy the slow burn build like that's I totally absolutely yeah yeah it's what love should be about I don't want to find you fucking or in the bed with a girl because she's snuck into your room and then you don't believe it I'm just like no that no no how do you forget it after that yeah anyways I have a one final one who was the hottest guy you ever created and from your perspective from your purview hottest one Okay, again, we're going against the grain here. I love an imperfect character. Okay. So a lot of my characters are the girls aren't going to look twice at them because they're not the hottest. They're, you know, they've got a broken nose or they've got scars and busted up lips and whatever. So I don't know. I feel like we're going to pull this one off the shelf. It's called Hard Love. The guy is such like he's hot in a way that he okay. Here's another lumberjack um callback because his brother's getting married, and he they're like, Oh, for the bachelor party, we're all gonna dress up like Paul Bunyan. And he so he does, and he's got a little like babe, the blue ox hanging from his, and they he shows up and they're all dressed normal. He's like, fuck you guys, because like he's so grumpy and he hates everything. And so he's one of my like I I would love to meet this guy in person.

SPEAKER_02 45:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 45:09

You know, he's just this big strapping dude, and uh that those are the types of guy I know this isn't even an it's a my non-answer answer. Is just they're all sort of like that. The kind of guy you want to play a prank on because they take themselves way too seriously, but in a funny way, you know what I'm saying? Like we're getting a lot of laughs out of this guy. Yeah. We're getting a ton of laughs from him and his, you know, busted up ego.

SPEAKER_01 45:39

I have one more too. We we just did an episode on writing sex scenes, um, and we were talking about our like level of like how much we like to write them or how comfortable we are writing them, and just kind of like tips or whatever. But like, what would be hey, like what was your experience when you first sat down to write that? Like, because you write really good ones when you're like what was that your initial experience with that? And like yeah, like what is it, how do you approach that in general? What are your tips?

SPEAKER_03 46:12

Um I love this question because it I feel like foreplay is my forte. I just came up with that. I've never said that before in my fucking life. Foreplay is my forte. I love foreplay. Not in a way where like we're gonna put the hand down the pants or like, oh, I'm going up a shirt. It's like that tense, like, I want to kiss this person, but like, does she want me to kiss? Do is he gonna kiss me? And then like the moment that your lips touch, and just like the spots where they're getting the giving the kisses. So I like writing sex scenes, but I also love like a dry fucking moment. Like, bring dry humping back. So I go through these phases.

SPEAKER_02 47:01

You are not the first person I have heard say that.

SPEAKER_03 47:04

Yes. So there are a few books where there's like dry humping because I'm like, foreplay all day. Why are we banging immediately? Like, no, this they're gonna want to bone so bad, but there's like no opportunity. So we're gonna, we're gonna do it over the clothes. We're gonna take it back to high school where you're in your parents' basement. Sneaky, they're upstairs. Are they gonna wake up? You know, oh my God, I'm chafed, walking around bowling. Like, that's what I love writing.

SPEAKER_00 47:37

That's so much.

SPEAKER_03 47:38

And then you've got like a lady boner, a lady boner while you're writing. My cheeks get hot. I'm like burning up inside, and I'm like, well, time to go drop off the tramp jersey because your own five-year-old runs in. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 48:01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 48:02

And then your kid comes in and you're they're like, Can I have a snack?

SPEAKER_02 48:05

Like, okay. So funny, but I'm thinking like the hallmark.

SPEAKER_03 48:11

Yes, and the hallmark of an amazing sex scene when a reader says, I was reading your book and I had to wake up my husband, or I woke up my boyfriend, or I woke up my partner to bang because I was at that point. Or you're welcome. Yeah, I woke them up laughing. I'm like, oh my god, that is like the biggest compliment. You're welcome.

SPEAKER_01 48:38

Yes, yes, so sure.

SPEAKER_03 48:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:41

Do you put so I was gonna do you do you like listen to your own audiobooks and you're just like, I read that? Like, I'm I'm jacked up by that.

SPEAKER_03 48:49

I have this is literally the only audiobook I've listened to. I really do love this guy. Um, I think this is it. His name is Trip, and my assistant Shauna loves him as well. Jeff has listened to this audiobook, but um, I I think that's it. It's the only one I've really it's so funny. Yes, it's so funny. And I have like, get a load of this. Hold on, like, look. These are hold on. These are like the CDs. Oh my god, CDs. I know. Have we seen one of these? Like, this is old. Like, that's you know, when the audiobook company's like, yeah, who even what do you even do with this anymore?

SPEAKER_02 49:38

Goodwill. That's what you do.

SPEAKER_03 49:40

Well, I'm excited for your journeys too, and I can't wait to hear more.

SPEAKER_02 49:46

Yes, for sure. But we do end every episode with giving you an opportunity to plug your either your upcoming releases, books that are out now, or if you're going to any signings. Just this is your moment to shine because you clearly have been nothing but shining this entire time.

SPEAKER_03 50:05

I'm so busy. Well, thank you. Thank you. Um, I have a Motlake release in June, June 23rd, married to the Scottish player. It's a one-bed, woke up married. It's very, it's fun. It's a fun, he's afraid of thunderstorms. Obviously, she's there to comfort him. And he's Scottish. Well, I mean, what better way to pass the time during a storm than dry humping? She's like, Shhh, let me, let me hold you to my bosom. Um, and then in August, I have a hockey release called Revenge Puck with Book A Tour, and that's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 50:49

Well, it has been an absolute joy having you on. This is we just have Sarah every time.

SPEAKER_03 50:56

Yeah, just let me know. Keep me posted. Just and I would love, and we can do like, do you do more than one author at a time? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Because like I can be a guest and then I can have a special guest. So fun. Secret special guest. It'll just be like the fucking Brady Bunch.

unknown 51:17

I think so.

SPEAKER_01 51:18

Um, June 23rd. Okay, well, let's get something on the books for June, and then we can have that come out around that release time. That would be super fun.