ADIB KHORRAM: Writing about wine, romance, and the places you love

Buckle up, y'all because Adib Khorram and I are about to take you on a journey. We're talking food. We're talking wine. We're talking romance. We're talking banned books from the perspective of someone who's had their books banned and it impacted their life. We're talking about more food and wine and books. There's a whole lot of laughter and fun, so I hope you enjoy this fun chat from Steamy Lit Con 2024.

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I'll Have What He's Having
Darius the Great is Not Okay
Darius the Great Deserves Better
Kiss & Tell
The Breakup Lists
Bijan Always Wins

Amazon
I'll Have What He's Having
Darius the Great is Not Okay
Kiss & Tell
The Breakup Lists
Bijan Always Wins

LibroFM
I'll Have What He's Having
Darius the Great is Not Okay
Darius the Great Deserves Better
Kiss & Tell
The Breakup Lists

Transcript

00;00;03;16 - 00;00;25;29
Speaker 1
Hi and welcome to the Literary Hype podcast. I am Stephanie Miller, Literary Hype Woman. Today's author conversation is a really fun one from the steamy Lit Con in Anaheim, where I got to chat with Dave Crumb. His new adult book, which is this adult debut, is a romance and it is called I'll Have What He Is Having. There are so many things I could say about this book, so I'll let the conversation speak for itself.

00;00;26;06 - 00;00;40;00
Speaker 1
So without any further ado, here's my conversation with a deep crumb Welcome to Literary Hype. It's super exciting to talk to you, not just because you have a cool book out, but also where it's steamy, lit on.

00;00;40;14 - 00;00;42;29
Speaker 2
I'm so happy to be here. Thank you so much for inviting me.

00;00;43;00 - 00;00;48;15
Speaker 1
You just got to be part of the keynote. What was that like getting to talk about the state of diversity in romance books?

00;00;48;19 - 00;01;08;06
Speaker 2
It was pretty incredible, and I was really honored to be up on that panel with a bunch of Titans and then also me. And I think we said some really important things that the audience needed to hear. And also I was proud that we gave action steps for readers, authors, anyone in the audience to take going forward and and make a better romance community for everyone.

00;01;08;07 - 00;01;14;01
Speaker 1
The romance community has changed so much over the last few years, and now you're getting to put out an adult romance book.

00;01;14;02 - 00;01;22;03
Speaker 2
I am indeed. It's full of alcohol and boning. Two things. I wasn't allowed not allowed two things. I wasn't encouraged to put in my children's books, shall we say.

00;01;22;13 - 00;01;27;04
Speaker 1
What's it been like for you switching from writing Y.A. and kids books into the adult space?

00;01;27;10 - 00;01;59;21
Speaker 2
It's been incredibly liberating in a way, just to in some ways indulge myself and write about a bunch of things that I really love, like wine and French fries and love. And it's also been challenging at times just to sort of learn a new literary space The romance genre is so well-established and so, well, beloved. And even though I've been publishing books for six years now, like I'm I'm A Little Lamb, just born into the world of romance as an author instead of only a reader.

00;01;59;21 - 00;02;14;17
Speaker 2
And I'm just like trying to go in with like an open mind and like a spirit of learning has been really good, I think, in all our lives. We have to go and be new at something sometimes. And being new at romance has been really fun, but also occasionally challenging.

00;02;14;25 - 00;02;17;12
Speaker 1
What's been the biggest challenge of making this transition?

00;02;17;20 - 00;02;44;07
Speaker 2
I think the biggest challenge is that what's a nice way to say this? I feel like I've reached the no new friends part of my life in some ways, and I've had to like open myself up to making new friendships again. I feel like, like a lot of people, I kind of turtles during the pandemic and just like stop putting myself out there and start reaching for others and like cracking that shell open and reaching for others again has been challenging but worthwhile to do it because I've met some amazing people.

00;02;44;14 - 00;02;55;27
Speaker 1
One of those people happens to be a fellow Kansas City girl, Sierra Sam Owen. Yes. And I know you got some advice from her on writing this book and writing romance. What was the best piece of advice she gave you?

00;02;56;04 - 00;02;59;12
Speaker 2
How did you know this? Who told you this, Sierra? She did OK. Of course she did.

00;03;00;07 - 00;03;05;07
Speaker 1
Also, I was at romance on recon when you were asking questions, and she was like, I should have made him give me easy questions.

00;03;07;09 - 00;03;10;00
Speaker 2
I forgot you around romance, John McCone. Oh, my gosh.

00;03;10;07 - 00;03;11;05
Speaker 1
I'm always around.

00;03;11;11 - 00;03;27;26
Speaker 2
No, that's amazing. Yeah. When I was like, when I first told her, I wanted to write romance, I was like, hey, can I like, can we do as in call? Because she's impossible to actually, like, get a hold of it, like, in real life. Yeah, she's a fancy person with a very busy life, but she was like, Yeah, let's talk.

00;03;29;14 - 00;03;58;28
Speaker 2
And she said that because romance is genre about pleasure, and indulgence, but like, literature usually requires conflict of some type to move a story forward that it was it was important to always pair challenging the reader with indulging them that, you know, not to make like a BDSM analogy, but like you have to mix the pain and the pleasure And I think I as a writer, tend to lean more toward the pleasure.

00;03;58;29 - 00;04;05;25
Speaker 2
I'm like, That's great. OK, well, someone was crying. So now here's three chapters about boning and drinking wine. Like, perfect, problem solved.

00;04;06;02 - 00;04;08;19
Speaker 1
What's the best way that you found to find that balance?

00;04;08;28 - 00;04;32;28
Speaker 2
I wish I knew. Honestly, as a writer, I tend to be a little chaotic. I tend to write by the seat of my pants and only really know what I'm doing after I've done it. But I think in some ways I just sort of let my own my own love of love be a guide and and ask how would I how how would I most enjoy it if the story unfolded as if I was, like, approaching it from a reader standpoint?

00;04;33;04 - 00;04;35;06
Speaker 1
So your book is called I'll Have What He's Having.

00;04;35;07 - 00;04;36;19
Speaker 2
It is I'll have what he's having.

00;04;37;02 - 00;04;44;04
Speaker 1
So for anyone who hasn't seen this on social media yet or wandered across it online, tell us a little bit about what this book is about.

00;04;44;05 - 00;05;14;08
Speaker 2
So it's about two queer men, Farzana Alavi, who's Iranian-American and has sort of bounced from career to career. And after getting dumped by yet another boyfriend, decides to drown Hazaras in wine and French fries. And while he's there, he meets David, a black queer sommelier who's studying for his master's some certification and accidentally through a series of contrivances mistakes, fires on fire for a food critic.

00;05;14;29 - 00;05;28;23
Speaker 2
So they start flirting and accidentally end up in bed together. And the whole thing comes out that he's like, oh, my name is FAS on. I'm not a food critic. And like, well, the sex is great anyway. Don't worry about it. And fast on. I was like, Yeah, the sex was great. Should we date? And David's like, I'm too busy.

00;05;28;23 - 00;05;51;14
Speaker 2
I don't do relationships. So he thinks they're never going to see each other again. But then Fars on Accidentally On Purpose inherits his parent's Persian restaurant and is like, I don't know how to run a restaurant. Oh, I just met someone through sex who knows how. Who knows about restaurants. Please help me. Surely we won't accidentally fall in love while I help you study for your wine test and you help me run a restaurant.

00;05;51;19 - 00;05;53;09
Speaker 2
What could go wrong? And of course.

00;05;53;21 - 00;05;54;05
Speaker 1
Nothing.

00;05;54;10 - 00;06;03;02
Speaker 2
Nothing, nothing. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Shenanigans happened there. No shenanigans, no boning, no wine. Don't worry about it. That's a lie. There's a lot happening.

00;06;03;02 - 00;06;08;09
Speaker 1
There is. It's a very adult book. Not for children and very. Please, please.

00;06;08;17 - 00;06;26;21
Speaker 2
It's very, very different. Please. I'm not. I'm not. I'm never going to say don't give a book to a child, but, like, have conversations with them about, like, where they're reading all of that and what their understanding of the world is that because I mean, I was reading romance when I was like 12 or 13, but probably not quite as passive, probably not quite as spicy as my own.

00;06;26;21 - 00;06;34;06
Speaker 2
Like, I wouldn't I 12. I don't think I would have been able to handle a serious my own book, for example. But as an adult, I'm like, Yes, give me that sweet, sweet angst.

00;06;34;21 - 00;06;42;08
Speaker 1
The number of children coming into my store looking for adult romance books without their parents is very high right now.

00;06;42;17 - 00;07;02;25
Speaker 2
It is. And I think we as a society don't often recognize how much agency young people have how smart and capable they are and how curious they are about the world and engaging with it in a safe way. And fiction is overwhelmingly a safe way to engage with new and sometimes challenging ideas.

00;07;03;02 - 00;07;06;12
Speaker 1
That's a good way of thinking about it. But I've definitely ruined some children's days.

00;07;07;05 - 00;07;08;11
Speaker 2
That's fair. Listen, if they.

00;07;08;11 - 00;07;11;21
Speaker 1
Come in with their parents, and the parent asks what the book is about, I'm not going to lie.

00;07;11;27 - 00;07;13;02
Speaker 2
No, you can't lie about it.

00;07;13;05 - 00;07;16;03
Speaker 1
If the parent finds out later that I lied, they'd come back and kill me.

00;07;16;26 - 00;07;19;02
Speaker 2
Oh, that's rough on these streets. Right now.

00;07;19;04 - 00;07;24;06
Speaker 1
It really is, being a bookseller. So much fun. Yeah, you know, it really is. Anyways, back to the book.

00;07;24;28 - 00;07;25;14
Speaker 2
Yes.

00;07;26;04 - 00;07;37;01
Speaker 1
So these two meet in a case of mistaken identity. And so far as John says, that he's using his white man name. So talk a little bit about that concept and why that's necessary.

00;07;37;01 - 00;08;00;26
Speaker 2
I and lots of other diasporic people sometimes have names that are challenging or unfamiliar to English speaking, Born in America, folks. And so I think almost everyone I know either like has like a white person middle name that they sometimes use or they, like have something that's close enough to their name that they can give. When you're like you're in a crowded environment and someone's like, What?

00;08;00;27 - 00;08;16;04
Speaker 2
Say again, huh? And you're like, OK. So instead of added Kareem, I'll be like, my name is Adam Gorman. Like, that's my white person name because it's very similar sounding and I can, like, know that it's me or usually remember it's me. But sometimes at a restaurant, I give it, and then we'll start calling for Adam, and I'm like, Who's Adam?

00;08;16;18 - 00;08;26;11
Speaker 2
Oh, that's me. And so yes, as far as on uses Frank Allen instead of horizontal in a crowded environment because he failed to book online ahead of time.

00;08;26;20 - 00;08;34;26
Speaker 1
So there are a lot of descriptions about wine in this book and the flavors and this sommelier. I am not good at these fancy words. It's okay.

00;08;35;15 - 00;08;36;19
Speaker 2
It's French. Don't worry about it.

00;08;37;09 - 00;08;46;17
Speaker 1
I don't speak French. I barely speak English. So what was the research process like for you to be able to describe these wines in very specific detail?

00;08;46;17 - 00;09;04;23
Speaker 2
Oh, it's really embarrassing. When people ask me what my research process was because was like I drank a lot of wine. Like one of the genesis of my my romance trilogy was when I jokingly asked my agent if there was a way that I could white write my wine off, write my wine off on my taxes. That sounded weird.

00;09;05;00 - 00;09;20;23
Speaker 2
Write my wine off on my taxes. Yes. I said all those words correctly. And she joked and I was like, Well, you have to write a book about it. If anyone there is at the IRS, I have not claimed any wine on my taxes. I was told that that's not a thing I'm allowed to do, no matter how much it was for research.

00;09;22;22 - 00;09;57;27
Speaker 2
So but yeah, I have I've been drinking wine since I was 25. I love that. Basically the same plants based on the soil. It's grown in the weather. The, the year that it was grown, the way that it was treated after it was picked and crushed and vilified can make so many different things. And it's fascinating because, you know, from a scientific perspective, like it's all fermented grape juice but for hundreds, if not thousands of years, humans have been appreciating the subtle nuances that come from a specific plant in a specific place, in a specific time.

00;09;59;04 - 00;10;26;02
Speaker 2
And then and then drunk by a specific person Boy, I'm just waxing poetic about wine, but a large part of my research was just drinking the wine. I have a flavor well, that I keep close to my writing desk that just lists different flavors and sense that you might encounter. Also, there are many people that study wine either for academic purposes or for commercial purposes through, you know, wine tasting magazines.

00;10;26;16 - 00;10;34;25
Speaker 2
Wine producers also often put out their own tasting notes. And so if it was a wine that I had not consumed or had not consumed in a while, I would also go and refer to their tasting notes.

00;10;34;29 - 00;10;37;24
Speaker 1
What wine do you recommend people drink while reading this?

00;10;37;24 - 00;10;57;14
Speaker 2
Part of it depends on budget that said, one of my go to wines that you can find in almost any grocery store and that is a great summer wine and is affordable is can Crawford's Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand I pretty much. I'm always happy when I get a glass of that and it's like 12 or $13 a bottle.

00;10;57;29 - 00;11;11;01
Speaker 2
Even with wine inflation which is a real problem if you want to splurge I don't know get a bottle of something sacks and makes their produce out of Paso Robles on one of my favorites and maybe get some James Berry Vineyard.

00;11;11;05 - 00;11;12;29
Speaker 1
This is a very foodie book.

00;11;13;16 - 00;11;15;11
Speaker 2
Yes, food is delicious.

00;11;15;11 - 00;11;18;11
Speaker 1
I love food sounds and makes me so hungry reading this book.

00;11;18;11 - 00;11;18;24
Speaker 2
Good.

00;11;19;03 - 00;11;24;04
Speaker 1
I'm seeing OK. So what is your favorite food that is mentioned in this book?

00;11;24;12 - 00;11;26;17
Speaker 2
Oh, can I pick two? Is that allowed?

00;11;26;20 - 00;11;28;23
Speaker 1
I guess you can do whatever you want while.

00;11;28;23 - 00;11;53;00
Speaker 2
David is flirting slash seducing with farmers on who he thinks is a food critic, he brings fires on some beef short ribs phrase and Moroni de la Valle pull a challah, which is just one of the most heavenly experiences any person can have. And then far as on working at a Persian restaurant makes mention of making a stew called Pheasant in June, which is a one of my favorite Persian dishes.

00;11;53;00 - 00;12;04;20
Speaker 2
It's a stew of ground walnuts and chicken and pomegranate molasses. And it's savory and sweet and sour and served over saffron rice. And it's just delicious.

00;12;05;02 - 00;12;14;21
Speaker 1
Kansas City might not be the first place people think about for setting a foodie book. So talk a little bit about how the foodie scene in Kansas City helped influence the story.

00;12;14;28 - 00;12;22;16
Speaker 2
Well, first of all, people should be giving Kansas City its food flowers. If you've ever had barbecue, you owe it to Kansas City. OK, fair.

00;12;22;21 - 00;12;27;07
Speaker 1
Barbecue. There's no that's the top. There's no there's no other. Sorry, Saint Louis.

00;12;27;18 - 00;12;34;12
Speaker 2
You're wrong. I'm sorry. I don't even know. Like, it's Kansas City Masterpiece. Not Saint Louis masterpiece. There is no such thing as Saint Louis barbecue.

00;12;36;17 - 00;12;40;24
Speaker 2
Sorry. I love Saint Louis and give me a toasted ravioli and I will die a happy man. Yes.

00;12;40;24 - 00;12;43;17
Speaker 1
But just can have its it's traps. But but also not.

00;12;43;17 - 00;13;00;27
Speaker 2
Legally butter cake. Yeah. I say Memphis barbecue and Kansas City barbecue are like spiritually cousins. And so that's allowed everything else. No, don't give me any weird vinegar. Don't give me any dry. Sorry, I'm not trying to yuck anyone's yams. All barbecue is valid, but some barbecue is better.

00;13;01;22 - 00;13;03;13
Speaker 1
You heard that, Julie? Yes.

00;13;03;29 - 00;13;04;10
Speaker 2
Yeah.

00;13;04;22 - 00;13;06;00
Speaker 1
No, barbecue debate in there.

00;13;06;00 - 00;13;28;04
Speaker 2
But if I'm right. Oh, my gosh, that is hilarious. But now Julie is one of us. Now she's converted anyway. The Kansas City food scene has really expanded. And over the course of my adult life and the the setting of much of I'll have what he's having is a wine bar called Aspire which is literally just my favorite wine bar with the serial numbers filed off.

00;13;28;20 - 00;13;49;27
Speaker 2
It's called Tannin. It's at 15th and Walnut. It's wonderful. Barry Tunnell, the general manager there, like, let me interview him about what it's like working in a wine bar. And, you know, growing up, my parents often had chairs where he runs on. And the song is about like, isn't that I don't remember the words, but a place where everybody knows your name.

00;13;50;03 - 00;13;52;00
Speaker 2
That's the only part of the song I remember feeling part.

00;13;52;00 - 00;13;52;23
Speaker 1
Anybody remember? Yep.

00;13;53;02 - 00;14;03;21
Speaker 2
And I was like, that's not a real thing. But Tenan is my place where everybody knows my name. And so in a lot of ways, it was a love letter to that kind of found family where you get some food and wine.

00;14;03;29 - 00;14;07;03
Speaker 1
I was going to ask if there was a specific place. So thanks for touching on that.

00;14;07;03 - 00;14;07;20
Speaker 2
You're welcome.

00;14;07;29 - 00;14;20;26
Speaker 1
But this does feel like a love letter to Kansas City. You get everything and you touch on all the big places royals and chiefs. You've got all the little like some whatever you wanna call them, the little sub spots.

00;14;20;26 - 00;14;31;03
Speaker 2
All right. And the KC Current, which is the only National Women's Soccer League Stadium in the country, they have their own stadium in Kansas City. So happy. And it's such a good stadium, too. It's so fun.

00;14;31;03 - 00;14;32;04
Speaker 1
And I love their colors.

00;14;32;05 - 00;14;33;01
Speaker 2
They're good colors.

00;14;33;10 - 00;14;37;05
Speaker 1
Yeah. So talk about writing this book kind of as a love letter to your hometown.

00;14;37;08 - 00;14;59;06
Speaker 2
You know, as a romance reader, I I saw so many romances set in California or set in New York and very few set in the Midwest. And that's why I've lived pretty much all my life. And again, not that there aren't any but they're just not as easy to find. And I was like, well, I will add to the to the number of books that in Kansas City, because it is a good place to live.

00;14;59;06 - 00;15;19;28
Speaker 2
I know people will joke about living in the state of Missouri because they'll read, pronounce, mispronounced Missouri. But though it's been challenging at times and is perhaps has a terrible government and a terrible governor and is third in the nation for book Bannings, which is really terrible, it's also been a place that nourished me, that raised me and where I have family and community.

00;15;19;28 - 00;15;23;26
Speaker 2
And I just wanted to show that we're not a flyover state.

00;15;24;05 - 00;15;27;28
Speaker 1
What's the writing community mean to you in Kansas City? Because there are some really great authors.

00;15;28;06 - 00;15;47;20
Speaker 2
There are as you mentioned, Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy, many other amazing kid lit authors like Natalie Parker and Tessa Gratton and Sarah Henning and Megan Bannon. Who's both children and adults and Amanda Salay l l McKenney. We have like this amazing. I know I'm forgetting people, and now they're all going to be mad at me.

00;15;47;25 - 00;15;48;12
Speaker 1
We love you.

00;15;48;12 - 00;16;13;24
Speaker 2
All. Thank you. We do love you all. I mean, we're all writers, so we're all busy. But usually we try to get together like once a quarter and complain about publishing as one does, but also support each other, show up for each others launches. For me, sometimes that community means like going to a coffee shop together to write, and sometimes it means like running into a roadblock and texting someone being like, How do I get myself out of this situation?

00;16;14;19 - 00;16;27;20
Speaker 2
And sometimes it means just sorry. If you're from the IRS, stop watching. Sometimes it means going out to dinner and then complaining about publishing and then calling it a business lunch or a business dinner.

00;16;27;20 - 00;16;30;21
Speaker 1
I feel like the finance pros do that, so why not write?

00;16;30;21 - 00;16;33;17
Speaker 2
And we're not spending nearly as much money as these finance pros are anyway.

00;16;33;20 - 00;16;35;21
Speaker 1
Because there's no money in publishing.

00;16;36;07 - 00;16;36;28
Speaker 2
Exactly.

00;16;36;29 - 00;16;49;01
Speaker 1
So there's a line in this book about the thirties being about endless dishes, cracking knees and growing hairs. If you were to pick the three things that your thirties were about, what would you pick?

00;16;49;13 - 00;17;01;17
Speaker 2
Oh, I mean, that was that was just my thirties. You know, this decade has promised me lots of things, and it was all a lie. Actually, no, I think my thirties have been about self-confidence.

00;17;03;26 - 00;17;12;11
Speaker 2
About being a writer because I became a writer in my thirties after not planning to be one at all. And wine. I have drank a lot of wine in my thirties.

00;17;13;14 - 00;17;15;15
Speaker 1
I mean, you go to a bar where everyone knows your.

00;17;15;15 - 00;17;16;11
Speaker 2
Name. Exactly.

00;17;17;17 - 00;17;30;20
Speaker 1
You touched on banned books, and that is something that you're very passionate about. The C.S. Lewis Teen Book Festival. That kind of became a conversation over there, you know? You know, if you.

00;17;30;20 - 00;17;31;08
Speaker 2
Know, you know.

00;17;31;09 - 00;17;32;06
Speaker 1
If you're not whatever.

00;17;32;12 - 00;17;38;20
Speaker 2
You know, I think that person did a lot of learning and growing in that moment when I yelled at them and I think it's fine. I bear no ill will yeah.

00;17;39;06 - 00;17;54;01
Speaker 1
You don't know what you don't know, but there is this kind of thought. So the argument came up about banned books being a cool thing and you kind of set them straight why do you think it is that people think having your book banned is something kind of edgy and cool?

00;17;54;01 - 00;18;14;04
Speaker 2
There are very few books that become banned and become like the focal point of a book banning movement, and those books do get an incredible amount of attention. For instance, my Uncle Bob is gender queer and George Johnson's All Boys Aren't Blue are two of the most banned books in America, and the authors have, like, been interviewed about it.

00;18;14;10 - 00;18;32;19
Speaker 2
Their books have like, shot to bestseller status because so many people were checking them out. But for every one or two books that gets a lot of attention for being banned, there might be 800 others that get no attention. Librarians and teachers and booksellers will look at that list of banned books and they'll say, Well, these other books are similar.

00;18;33;07 - 00;18;52;24
Speaker 2
I'm not even going to buy them. I'm not going to risk them getting banned. And so no one hears about those books. They're just softly censored, as we call it. And beyond that, there's a social stigma that can come from having your books challenged or banned. Queer authors are often accused of being groomers by politicians, by community members.

00;18;53;15 - 00;19;17;03
Speaker 2
People have been harassed in airports or online it's it really sucks to have your books banned. And more than that, many authors, especially marginalized authors, are writing about their own experiences and being told that your own life experience is harmful to children, even if it's something you literally went through as a child. It's incredibly damaging.

00;19;17;20 - 00;19;25;18
Speaker 1
So readers who want to fight back against the book bans and this movement of kind of censoring what people are reading, what can they do.

00;19;25;20 - 00;19;52;28
Speaker 2
The most important thing is vote and every election, not just the November ones that, you know, vote for president and House of Representatives vote in your local community elections, which sometimes happen several times a year in Missouri, the first Tuesday in August, we have an election which is a primary as well as I think has some constitutional amendments on it and some school board elections.

00;19;53;05 - 00;20;19;01
Speaker 2
And those come throughout the year vote in your school board elections. Pay attention to who the candidates are because many school boards are nonpartisan and you can't just be like, well, the one with the R probably likes book bans. You have to like research the candidates, see what they stand for. If you have time and bandwidth or run for school board yourself, many school board seats get filled on uncontested elections and if nothing else, show up to the meetings.

00;20;19;28 - 00;20;34;09
Speaker 2
They're open to the public. They have public comment sections and simply having bodies in the room that support the freedom to read can make a huge difference in communities where there's a few small agitators that have outsized power because no one is there to stand up to them.

00;20;34;17 - 00;20;43;13
Speaker 1
So important to think about this in the grand scheme and not just like, well, it doesn't affect me. So think about these things.

00;20;43;13 - 00;20;53;26
Speaker 2
People that it does affect you. It affects all of us. When the access of children to information is curtailed, it is damaging to the future of our nation.

00;20;54;02 - 00;20;59;15
Speaker 1
So they're gonna switch gears and talk a little bit about what's on your social media. Oh, no, I am nothing if not a social media stalker.

00;20;59;20 - 00;21;02;13
Speaker 2
Excellent. I'm so sorry that you had to go through that.

00;21;02;22 - 00;21;11;08
Speaker 1
I mean, it was very entertaining because you had a video recently ish about keeping all the packing materials when books come.

00;21;11;14 - 00;21;11;23
Speaker 2
I.

00;21;11;27 - 00;21;12;15
Speaker 1
I am.

00;21;12;15 - 00;21;13;02
Speaker 2
The problem.

00;21;13;13 - 00;21;14;00
Speaker 1
I am just.

00;21;14;07 - 00;21;26;03
Speaker 2
OK, I'm glad it's not just me. A lot of people reached out. I was like, oh, my God, I thought it was just me. Oh, my god. I have like a room full of them. Some people are like, oh, you mix your bubbles with your, like, papers. And I'm like, yes. And they're like, no, you have to keep everything separate.

00;21;26;12 - 00;21;32;20
Speaker 1
I need to show this to my husband to be like, I am not the only weirdo who keeps their book packaging just in case they need to mail a book.

00;21;33;01 - 00;21;39;26
Speaker 2
Well, and it also can be expensive to constantly rebuy bubble wrap or boxes hoard it all and then use it as long as you can.

00;21;40;18 - 00;21;43;14
Speaker 1
But you also did some packing for this trip that was very fun.

00;21;43;20 - 00;21;44;07
Speaker 2
I did.

00;21;44;07 - 00;21;46;11
Speaker 1
I How much candy did you bring?

00;21;46;11 - 00;21;55;24
Speaker 2
I bought I have two big like Costco size bags, one of mixed chocolate. Some of that does contain nuts. Maybe I shouldn't have done that, but I really love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

00;21;55;28 - 00;21;57;12
Speaker 1
I mean, they're thank.

00;21;57;12 - 00;22;06;14
Speaker 2
You and the other are nerds and they're all individually sealed and wrapped. So I think it should be safe and if I accidentally murder someone with a nut allergy, I apologize. And I always knew I'd be canceled for something.

00;22;06;24 - 00;22;09;06
Speaker 1
I mean, someone turned on its actively trying to get canceled.

00;22;09;06 - 00;22;14;09
Speaker 2
So really. OK, well, I don't know if I can do it as well as him or as dramatically as him.

00;22;14;16 - 00;22;15;07
Speaker 1
No one can.

00;22;15;09 - 00;22;19;25
Speaker 2
I need I've seen I've seen his choreographed dance routines and they are something to behold.

00;22;20;08 - 00;22;23;27
Speaker 1
Truly, someone is a gem. So what do you have coming up next?

00;22;24;06 - 00;22;46;05
Speaker 2
Up next, I have a picture book called Is Love About T and How It's Love Not a romance, but I think really beautiful. Illustrated by Hannah Cha, who recently won a Caldecott honor. So I'm glad we booked her before she won and her schedule filled. And she's just an incredibly talented illustrator. I don't know for sure when that comes out.

00;22;46;11 - 00;23;11;07
Speaker 2
Probably 20, 25, but maybe 20, 26, because art takes a lot art takes a long time beyond that. Also, I have my second of my my romance trio, this one focusing on fires on a friend. Ramin, I don't know how much I'm allowed to say about it, but maybe I'll maybe tease that it may only partially take place in Kansas City and part of it may take place abroad.

00;23;11;20 - 00;23;16;00
Speaker 2
And I have a few other things that I don't think I'm allowed to talk about yet because they haven't been announced.

00;23;16;08 - 00;23;21;29
Speaker 1
Dharna Anyway, since this is literary hype, what books are you hyped about?

00;23;22;05 - 00;23;46;27
Speaker 2
What books am I hyped about? I am hyped about a Jingle Bell Mingle by Julie Murphy and Sarah Simon. I loved all of their Christmas notebooks and I'm so I'm really excited for the third one. Julian Winters has his adult romance debut coming out called I Think They Love You coming out in early 20, 25. I've read it several times already and it is just absolute romance, perfection.

00;23;48;09 - 00;24;03;14
Speaker 2
I'm really excited for Nisha Sharma's marriage and my city, which comes out the same day as I'll have what he's having, and we're actually doing an event together and Nisha and I go way back and so that should be a lot of fun. And of course, as always happens to anyone, I have also forgotten every book I've ever read.

00;24;03;25 - 00;24;04;24
Speaker 1
Every single time. Yeah.

00;24;05;17 - 00;24;06;14
Speaker 2
What is a book?

00;24;06;17 - 00;24;15;00
Speaker 1
What is. I read books. Yes. What words in my brain? Yeah. Oh, thank you so much for taking time to talk about. I'll have what he's having.

00;24;15;00 - 00;24;17;13
Speaker 2
Thank you so much for having me. This was a delight.

00;24;18;15 - 00;24;19;03
Speaker 1
Love to hear it.

00;24;21;20 - 00;24;38;23
Speaker 1
Thanks to a for hanging out with me at See Me Lincoln and talking all things. I'll have what he's having if you want to get a hold of this book. But you should. I mean, I even recommended it to Jonathan Bennett, Aaron Samuels of Mean Girls, so you should probably pick it up to the links to get this and other books by a DB are in the show notes.

00;24;38;23 - 00;24;49;03
Speaker 1
So make sure you check those out if you enjoyed this conversation, don't forget to give the literary podcast some stars and subscribe and share it with friend. Thanks for listening to the Literary Hype podcast.