Aricka Alexander on Exploring Black Sapphic Romance

Ready to dive into the captivating world of Black Sapphic Romance, where authentic representation takes center stage? In this episode of We Read Smut, Alesia sits down with author Arii (they/she), also known as Aricka Alexander, to explore their unique author journey and commitment to crafting inclusive queer love stories. From writing about Black characters from a young age to creating an alternate reality where WNBA players receive equal pay, Arii shares the inspiration behind their beloved books and their dedication to showcasing diverse experiences. 

Arii (Aricka Alexander) is a Louisiana native who loves to write stories about Black sapphics in love.

In this episode, we're discussing: 

• Arii's writing journey, which started when they were 15, was motivated by the lack of Black representation in books set in their hometown.
• Their intentional creation of an alternate reality where WNBA players are highly paid and can be drafted at 18, challenging real-world inequities.
• They exclusively focuses on writing Black sapphic and queer romance to address the underrepresentation of these stories.
• Their preference for emotionally mature characters who communicate, leading them to avoid the miscommunication and third-act breakup tropes.
• How they weaves in diverse character experiences, including pansexual and non-binary characters, and addresses issues like internalized lesbophobia within supportive narratives.

Ready to embrace more diverse love stories? Arii's books are available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited, or you can find signed copies on their website. 

CONNECT WITH ARII:

Website

Instagram

BOOKS/AUTHORS MENTIONED:

Sunflower (Amazon)

Azaleas (Amazon)

Down South Bayou (Amazon)

Deeply Loved Bayou (Amazon)

Always There Bayou (Amazon)

Sweet Like Honey (Amazon)

Amaranthine (Amazon)

Gorgeous Jade Heart (Amazon)

Let Me Free You by Alexandria House (Amazon)

Intrigued by Danger (Amazon)

Where There’s Smoke (Amazon)

Running list of books mentioned (Doc)

Transcript

Introduction to Black Sapphic Romance

Alesia Galati 0:00

Today, we're diving into the world of black sapphic romance, including some sports romance, where representation and romance take the center stage. Join Ari Alexander and I as we explore the exciting world of black queer romance, specifically around sapphic romance. Listener discretion is advised. This podcast contains mature content intended for adult audiences only. Ari, I'm so excited to have you on the podcast today. I am um obsessed with Down South Bayou and that entire series. And I'm about to start the second one. You also have your third one that you are currently working on at the time of this recording. But before we get into all of that fun stuff, if you could start by telling us a bit about your author journey.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

I started liking writing in middle school. I started with poetry because that's when they first introduced poetry to you. And I was like, oh, okay, this is cool. And I like the what is it, acrostic poems? What the first letter knee reader sent those. And so I had a bunch of them about people I had crushes on, but that's a story for another day. And so most of my poems was like poems about my crushes for the longest time. And then around like eighth grade or ninth grade, I started reading more. Because I was already reading, but it was like the the middle grade books, the elementary school books. But when I got in eighth grade, I got to like the YA section. Back then it was like teen fiction or something. And I started finding books that had black people on the cover. And so I started reading this series. It was like, I think I might be pronouncing it wrong, Harlequin. Harlequin. I don't know which one is the correct way. And they have like a subsection called Kamani True. Okay. And when I first found out about it, I read like most of the books that all the authors and stuff. And my favorite one was Indigo Summer, because it was about a black 15-year-old, I think it was in Atlanta or something. But I was like, okay, cool. And when I turned 14, I was like, what about if I write a book about a black girl that was my age, but in Baton Rouge, Louisiana? Because there were liter, and there still are literally no books about black girls, black women, nothing in Baton Rouge except the ones that I write. And so I was like, okay, I'm gonna do this. And then the summer after I turned 15, like right before I started 10th grade, I got a flash drawing for the first time. And so I was like, okay, what if I took because I had written the first two pages on paper, like just paper, pen, and it actually was like an eighth grader at the time. That's who the character was. And I was like, what if I wrote my own book and then set it where I live? And then that's how I ended up writing my first book. It was like I was like 15 and I wrote in like six and a half months, and I was like so proud of it. And I went to the library and I printed out literally all the pages. It took a lot of trips because they only let you print out 20 pages at a time. And so I was walking around with a binder. I was like, yo, I wrote a book for like years. I was like, I wrote this book and I'm so proud of it. And then at the same time, I wrote like a couple other books, but they were like shorter books. And I was like, when I turned 18, I published a book. No edits. Like it wasn't like no edits, nothing. I took it straight from Microsoft Word, it wasn't formatted or nothing. I just uploaded because back then, before it was KDP, it was called Create Space. And so I uploaded to that, and it was like it was bad. It was real bad. And there was one person that like left for two stars, and it was like, it has potential, but it like reads like a long conversation. And so of course I was discouraged for years. I was like, oh well, that's just not my calling. And then around 2021, I was like, I wanna go back to that book and rework it and try to because you know I'm older, I have life experiences and everything, and I was like, okay, well, let me see what I can do. And so I started rewriting the book, and I didn't change a lot of the first half, but I rewrote it so that it flowed better and like the dialogue and the story and made more sense. But after a couple of months, it just got put on a back burner until 2023. And I took one class, it was a art history class or something, and we had to dissect the art or something, and for some reason it just triggered my need to write, because I was like, I love describing stuff and writing stuff, and so I was like, let me get this book one more chance, and so it took me like a couple weeks, and then I finished rewriting the book and I went over it, and then I published it in March of 2023, and then from that point on, I just started writing, and then last year I was like, I want to write, because that was you know, YA. I had written YA books, that was all I was writing. Now I said I want to write a book where you know they're adults, because I'm an adult. Let me write a book about adults,

Exploring Queer Representation

SPEAKER_00 5:03

but I didn't want to write about a male and a female, like that relationship, because I am pansexual and I identify more with the Cephic things, and so I was like, what if I made two women? And so that's how Sunflower and Marigold were born, and those are my first two Cephic books that I wrote, and then Ozeas and Mums came, and then their spinoff series of it, and then one day I just had a dream because I had recently become obsessed with a WNBA, and so I had a dream, like, what if this physical therapist meets this WNBA player at a fundraiser, and then it's like instantly attracted to each other, and then there's a whole story from that. Now, the story ends up being a little different than that, but my love for WNBA sparked that, and I was not expecting people to like it as much as they did. Like, and I'm still shocked about that, and then I didn't plan on writing a second one, it was just gonna be a standalone book. But I am the type of person who falls in love with the characters and then the characters around them, yeah. So I wanted to write more about the friends and stuff, and people was like, Oh, are the friends getting the book? I was like, I guess I can rate it. But then I had rooks to be like honey, and then I wrote another book, but and then I was like, okay, y'all, I guess I am writing another book, and then and that's how we got to where we are now. Like 16 books later, and we still writing books, still got books for me.

Alesia Galati 6:31

Oh, I love it. Yes. So you mentioned you're pansexual, I'm bisexual, and very openly. Like I was telling someone yesterday, I'm like, if I were, like, if my husband ever died or we ever separated, which like I hope that never happens, right? But life, I would not get with a man next time. I would get with a woman happily. And one thing that I loved about your book, and I was actually just telling a friend about this, I love that at the beginning you have almost like a write-up of each of the characters, what sexuality they are, their height, their weight, their interests. It gives you that overview of them of like, here are all of their things. So you're not running through the book trying to guess. Wait, that wasn't how I imagined it. No, right off the bat, what they look like and what they are. And so I loved that aspect, but I love that you have the pansexual in that first one, Down South by you, because I don't know that I have read a ton of pansexual books. And so I love that you were able to bring your own representation into it. Another thing that I love is that I'm just gonna like all the things that I love about your books. So you're just gonna have to sit tight. I love that you have, and you mentioned this in like the I think author's note at the beginning or whatever, that it's set in a world where the WNBA gets just as much money and the players make just as much money as the NBA. And I think that is so important. Why did you decide to go that route to make it more of a something of an alternate reality, right? Where things are better, where women and women's sports get just as much credibility. So why did you go that route with it?

SPEAKER_00 8:23

Because when I first learned that WNBA players, like some of them make the same amount as people with regular jobs, right? And then I seen like NBA players making millions and millions of dollars off one contract for one year. I'm like, some of them right, and they ain't adding up like the highest paid person in the WNBA, I don't think she even makes $300,000 a year. And then I think the lowest paid person in the NBA, I think they make a million dollars a year. I don't know. I don't I like never quote me. I think that's what I read, but as you can see, that gap is like it's huge. And so I wanted to write a story where it was like an even playing field. And I think women deserve, I think the women deserve everything. And also I wanted the women to be rich, and I just felt like why not? It's fiction anyway. I wish it was real in reality, but since it's fiction, I wanted to write things better because if I can make things better, I'm gonna write them better. Why would I write them worse? And also, it's instead of a different reality because I also learned that WNBA players can't be drafted into their 22, but NBA players can be drafted right out of high school. And like my alternate universe, there's like a special program that some players can come into and then they can get like training, and then they're like drafted, so they can be drafted at 18 and whatnot. And I wanted to have a way where they could be drafted before having a graduate college. What graduating college is important, but college isn't for everybody. But they do want to play professional sports and stuff, and so I wanted to write a way where they could. And also I came up with my own team names. They're not the same, so I wanted to be alternate reality. Like I wish we had a team called the Badon Rouge by you, but all we got is the Pelicans and the the S and the Saints. The Pelicans? Sorry. Yeah, because see, it was the Hornets. Like I remember when they were the Hornets, Charlotte had the Hornets, and they were only here for a couple of years. And I went to the games when they were the Hornets. Back when I think Chris Paul was playing, and I literally went to the last game where they were the Hornets, and so for the longest time I was like, oh the New Orleans Hornets, all of a sudden they were the Pelicans. I was like, I get us the state bird, but I don't Pelicans, yuck. I feel like a different bird would have been better than something else.

Alesia Galati 10:57

Anything would have been better. Oh man. Oh, that's interesting.

Focus on Black and Queer Characters

Alesia Galati 11:02

So you write I want to say exclusively black characters, is that correct as well?

SPEAKER_00 11:09

Yeah, black, and some of the characters are biracial, but they still identify as black.

Alesia Galati 11:15

Yeah. Why was that important for you?

SPEAKER_00 11:18

Because I'm a big fan of like representation. And if I want to read a book and I can't find it, I'm gonna write it. And so it's important to have black characters because there are so many white characters out there. There are like so many books, like you know, about other characters, and the specific books that I write, like the black sapphic romance, even though there are a bunch of authors out there that don't get the credit and people don't talk about and stuff, it's still not as many as like all the other genres and tropes and everything. And so I wanted all of my books to be black sapphic romance or like black queer romance or something. And so all of my adult romance books, all of the main characters are queer, whether it's the man, whether it's the non-binary person, whether it's the woman, all the people are queer. Yes, I love that.

Alesia Galati 12:09

And I love that you have that representation. It makes me think of the story you shared before of like when you first saw that black person on the cover, and you were like, Oh my goodness, there's a black person on this cover. It's so incredible. And to be able to have that representation and create that representation for other folks is just so powerful. Now, in Down South Bayou, there is this is one thing that I really enjoyed, is that you don't really have the third act breakup. And I'm curious why you went that route for the no third act breakup. I'm seeing it a lot more and I love it. So I'm happy about it. But I'm curious what your thought process was behind that.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

So I tell people all the time, I write stories for me first, so I write stuff that I like and would enjoy in reading the book. And I don't like that. And I don't like the miscommunication trope, so it's never gonna be in there. I don't like cliffhangers because I'm the type of person that I write a book and then I can go and I can go read the book over and over again. Like every so often I go back to one of my books and I read it and I have a good time. I enjoy it. So I don't want to read about somebody breaking up, and also most of my books, the relationship, there's no trouble in paradise because I prefer for them to be emotionally mature and we have a problem, let's talk about it. If there's something going on, let's talk about it. So all of the drama in like my books come from like everybody else, like outside of relationship, like the exes, like the parents, like stuff like that. And that's what I like to focus on because I feel like when it's a romance, it's focus on the romance and stuff. And so that's why even when they like strangers like in Dow South Bayou, they together about a third chapter, third, fourth chapter, because I want most of the book to focus on them being together, them doing stuff together, you know, them maybe starting a family towards the end, stuff like that. And then if there is drama, it's usually resolved like fairly quickly within a couple chapters. Because I don't want to read that, but it has to have some type of drama, which is why I do include it, but I get through it pretty quickly, and there's never gonna be a third act breakup because why are we breaking up? Because I think a lot of third act breakups are because of miscommunication, and if we can eliminate that, like we are adults. What are we beating around the bush for? Let's sit down, let's talk, let's say what's wrong, let's talk it out, and let's get over it. And that's just how I feel, and that's what I want to write in the books.

Alesia Galati 14:41

Yes, I love that. I recently read a book that had a breaking up to keep her safe trope. That is one of my least favorite. I'm like, bro, this in this case it was a male-female pairing, and I was just like, dude, you think you're keeping her safe, and you're literally just making both of y'all miserable. And you hurt her in the process because you're trying to make her leave, and you're like, oh, I don't want you anymore. And then you come back on your knees begging two weeks later. Come on. Like, you should have dealt with your own stuff before that. So, yes, I 100% agree. I think it was an audiobook I was listening to. It was good, the story was good. It just got to a point where I was like, all right, y'all need to just he needs to get over himself and move on. So I appreciate that you do that. You mentioned that you read your own books. Drea Anderson as well. She reads her own books. She was on the podcast in season one, and I asked her this question, so I feel like I have to ask you as

Favorite Books and Characters

Alesia Galati 15:46

well. What is your favorite of yours that you like to go back and read?

SPEAKER_00 15:51

Every so often, that's one of the books that I'm like obsessed with because it's just I don't know, the story is just it's doing what it gotta do for me. At first, it was Mirago, and for the longest time it was Marigold, and still that's still one of my favorite books because Sunflower is told from Autumn's point of view, and then it focused more on her, like her relationship, and not relationship, but like she has to deal with Debbie baby daddy, and like most of it is her trying to take care of her daughter because she's a single mom, and also like he's bringing all this stress, and then winter comes in, and she's helpful. But I realized after probably a couple months ago that it's not necessarily a romance, because even though there is romance, it deals more with like autumn, so it's more like women's fiction, and then book two, they're an established couple, but it is told from Winter's point of view, and like picks up a couple months after sunflower, and it just tells like everything that she when she went through when she was younger because she's not stereotypically girly, and people would talk about her for the way she dressed and the way she acts. She talks about how she was at church and how she overheard people talking about her, how she dressed. Oh, why would you know her mom let her come out dressed like a boy, or I would never let my daughter do anything like that. And it was she just was never comfortable. And it talks about like that whole structure of the black church and stuff like that, and everything surrounding it. It's not like heavy in it, but it like it mentions it, get covers and everything, and it talks about like the bullying that she had to go through when she was a senior in high school and her first two years of college and all traumatic experience, and it's basically her coming to terms with that, and it's just overall I don't know, it's just a really good story that tells about everything she went through and how she overcame it, and how she also leans on Autumn to help her pull her out of that funk and that depression and everything. And it's just I don't know, I just really like winter, but now my favorite book is Amaranthon. So the book is about Kylie and Kyla. They are like one of my favorite couples I've ever written, and they first appear in my YA series. They have a book, it's like part of a book called All For Us. It's the second book where it's both of their first time dating a girl, and they're dealing with one of them, like ex-boyfriend, because he literally outed one of them to that school, and they have to deal with that, and then the bullying and talking about stuff, because my YA series is set between 2011 and 2014, so you know it's back then, and so they were in high school then, and that's where that story begins. However, in Amaranthon, it's 12 years after they broke up, and they're coming back together. It's a second-chance romance, and it just shows both sides of the story of what they had been going through those 13 years where they were apart. There's anxiety, there's like death, there's like depression, there's all kinds of things, and it's like they come together and they realize that they're the persons for each other, and both of them are also single moms at this point, and so it's basically like single moms in love, and it's just really beautiful because they have the friendship, the siblings, the friendships, everybody is rooting for them to be together,

Exploring Character Dynamics and Relationships

SPEAKER_00 19:00

but they understand why they had to take their break and everything, and it's just I don't know, there's banter, it's not as spicy as my other books, I'll tell you that. But I did that on purpose because I wanted to focus more on a relationship and them getting back together. And I don't know, they're just really cute and really wholesome, and they're one of my favorite couples, and that's my favorite book at the moment, Am Ranton.

Alesia Galati 19:21

I have that one queued up for after I finish the second one in Downtown Bayou. I'll make sure that I check that out and we'll have some ratings and reviews. I'm a dummy reviewer, as they like to say, where it's all vibes, feelings and vibes, that's it.

SPEAKER_00 19:38

Don't feel bad, same. It's I'm like, it's good, five stars. Like, that's all it is. Like, I get people dissecting and go into it, but I'm the type of person I'm reading for enjoyment. I'm just here to have fun. Yes. So if it's good, it's good. I'm not here to critique.

Alesia Galati 19:55

I'm just reading for a good time to enjoy myself, and that is it. So, yes, I'm excited to check that one out.

Addressing Stereotypes and Representation

Alesia Galati 20:02

You mentioned some of the like stereotypical things that a lot of lesbians and pansexuals that are in these sapphic relationships tend to have to deal with. What are some of those ones that you do address within your book? You mentioned the one where, you know, growing up, she was always overhearing people talking about, oh, you're addressed like a boy. Are there any other ones where this, because it is such a marginalized and misrepresented part, especially in mainstream media, what are some other ways that you're showing that representation?

SPEAKER_00 20:36

Always thereby. That's the third book in the series that I'm writing right now. I don't want to give nothing away, but I just want to say that there's a part where Corey, she has an ex-girlfriend, and they break up, obviously, because that's not who she's gonna end up with. But there's one part of the story where she calls Corey a fake stud and tells her that she's soft and things like that because she's in touch with her feminine side. And like from meeting people and talking to people and seeing stuff, I've seen it. Even though I don't like that it's common, that's a common thing amongst people, thinking that just because a masculine presenting woman is in touch with their feminine side, that makes them less of a masculine presenting woman. And I wanted to highlight that because the other main character comes in and defends her, like please respect her and don't things like that. And I wanted to talk about that, also especially in the YAE series, because there is a lot of the ex-boyfriend, not only does he cause problems with Kylie and Kyla, he also causes problems with one of their friends. And I don't want to spoil anything, but he's an asshole, and so there's a lot of bullying and stuff going on around that, and I think it was important to highlight like even though I'm writing this world where it's accepted, and everybody the family is accepting everything, most of the families are. There are some families that and some of the books are right that I still want. To the right that not everybody is going to be accepting, but there is always like a friend or a brother or a teacher or somebody that is going to have their back. And there's always somebody out there that is willing to listen to you when you talk. They might not be right there in your neighborhood. You might have to go out and find them or anything, but there's always going to be somebody that is going to listen to you and it is going to be there for you. And so I wanted to cover that as well. I have non-binary characters in my books as well. And in my book, Gorgeous J Hart, there's a part that talks about Casey. Casey is her name. And she's non-binary, gender fluid. And her pronouns are she day. And her boyfriend met X. Why does she wear like binders and stuff? And she told him, Sometimes I just don't want breasts. I just want to be flat-chested. Sometimes I just feel like it's too much. And sometimes I feel I want to be feminine. Sometimes I want to be masculine. And he's like, you know, I respect it. And no matter what you identify as and who you are, I'm going to love you regardless. I just think it's really beautiful.

Alesia Galati 23:07

Yes, I agree. It is. And so I'm I'm really happy that you're having that different types of representation and showing that like it's might not be all sunshine and rainbows, but there's always gonna be someone who has your back, always going to be someone who is looking out for you. And I think that is so important, especially for marginalized folks. I recently saw videos, like a reel or something on Instagram, and this woman was recording herself on like a bench, and she was just enjoying her food. And this guy comes up and he's like, Oh, you're really pretty. Like you didn't see him, but you could hear him talking to her. He's like, Oh, you're really pretty, and she's like, Oh, thanks. And he's like, Are you dating anybody? She's like, Nope, I'm single, but I'm also gay. And then his response was, does it matter?

SPEAKER_00 23:59

Yes. What?

Alesia Galati 24:01

And she was like, Yes, it does matter. Like, what? But that is what a lot of savvy people have to deal with. Is that the we talked about this in the episode with Sarah and Wanderland about lesbophobia and just how it shows up as like men thinking that they can own whatever is a female body and like that it like they are deserving of it because they're men. No, that's not at all how it works. And so I love that we have these books that we can read and escape into where maybe those guys are the bad guys and they get what they deserve, usually. So that's awesome. Now, the you mentioned the sports backdrop, how you've got all of that stuff. I'm curious how you integrate the like how much of the sports you integrate into the storyline. So I remember there were a few games that were like played throughout, and I'm I am not a sports fan. Anytime that the kids are watching sports or my husband's watching sports, I'm like, go sports team, whoever's playing, go sports team. And so what I enjoy is when I can see the sport from the player's view and understand, like very minimally, maybe what is happening. And I see this a lot with like hockey romances, where maybe the author doesn't even watch hockey, but because hockey's big, then they gotta do a hockey romance, and then there's like barely any actual hockey. It's like, oh, we're at the game, and it's from maybe the person's point of view watching the game, but you get little snippets. You don't get like the ins and the outs of the sports and like how it feels to be in a sport. So I appreciate that you do that. Do we see that in book two and three as well?

SPEAKER_00 25:52

I realized after I wrote the first book that there wasn't much basketball, but I was like, oh, that's okay. It's basketball player, so same thing. Uh but in book two, there is more basketball because as I was writing book two, last year they had the Olympics and everything. And also that was my like first year actually watching, like following a team and watching the WNBA and everything that went on during offseason, during the Olympic break, and everything. And I think it was a good year to start watching because there was the Olympics, so I got to see how they did all that and how they went about that. When I wrote the first book, it was like at the beginning of the basketball season, so I was still not familiar with a lot of stuff that went on, so that's also why there wasn't much basketball in it. But in book two, I incorporated the Olympics. Simone and Harley ended up going to the Olympics, and then that's also like the break and everything. And I believe there are a few games in it, but like most of it is not like X at the actual games, them talking about the game or them going to and from practice. But I think there is a little bit more. But in book three, it's during off-season, so there's not gonna be like any games, I don't believe. Because it starts in November of 2024, and the season ends in like September, so this is like the off-season, and then Corey and Deanny are like establishing their relationship and everything over those months before the next season starts. But there's something that I have to, you know, I can't say about the next season. Yeah, they're just bonding and having a relationship, and there's a lot of drama in this book. And I think it's gonna be fun. I'm on chapter 10 at the moment. No, I'm on chapter 12 at the moment. Nice, and so there's some drama going on. Yeah, but there's not as much basketball. I realized that it wasn't because I was like, oh, book three is gonna have a lot of basketball, and then I realized the time frame it's gonna be sitting in, and it's doing off season, so there's not much basketball at all in it, but for the fourth book, I think it's gonna have more. I don't know. I haven't planned anything out about that one yet.

Alesia Galati 28:00

Nice. I thought you did a good job with one. So we're saying one has a little bit. At least I was able to understand what was happening. So there was that. So book one having a little bit, more in book two, off season book three, and then we'll see what happens with book four. Awesome. So that's so great. I think that I'm excited for Corey's book because she was messy in book one, just like really burnt and grumpy, and just she needs a hug. She needs a hug.

SPEAKER_00 28:36

Well, I'll say, I'll say definitely, and she I don't want to spoil anything, but I think Corey's gonna be one of my favorite characters. Yeah, even right now, she is definitely gonna be one of my favorite characters. Now, she has a reason, like I'm not excusing anything she said because she said it was wrong, but she has a reason for why she feels the way she feels and how she acts the way she acts. And you'll get to learn about that in her book because it's a lot going on in the background, like you never know what's going on until you read somebody's side of the story, and so this is gonna be her side of the story, and she is grumpy very much. This story is definitely gonna be grumpy sunshine. He doesn't like anybody, like the friends that she has is the only friends that she has. I don't know how they became friends because she but they know how she is now because they've known her for 15 years, so they know how she is, and then she has Dinny who have who she's known since they were in sixth grade, so that's also her other best friend, and also the love interest of the story. And so the only person who she's ever nice to, like for real, is Dinny. So everybody else, they just get what they get, but she is secretly a hopeless romantic, and she's actually very cute, and especially with Dinny, and I'm just excited to show everybody that because I think everybody's gonna fall in love with Corey, even though in the first books, everybody's like, oh, I can't stand that bitch. But now I feel like I'm doing a good job because I never wanted people to hate her, right? But it's just that circumstances and stuff she was going through made her do the things she was doing, and she's gonna realize that it didn't make no sense for her to do because it was just coming from a place of intimidation and jealousy, and that's all it was.

Alesia Galati 30:19

Yeah, and that's all I'm gonna say. Okay, I'm so excited. I'm finding that more and more that I read that there are certain books that I'm like, I go into, and we usually it's like into the series, and it's the character that's a jerk through the whole previous books, like all the books leading up to it. And I'm like, I don't do, I don't really know that I like these this character. I don't know about this. So I'm thinking like the McLean series by Alexandria House, the one brother who's just really stuck in the mud, just like downer constantly, moody. But then you get his book and it's like, this is why and I love him. Or even um India Carter's, I want to say it's India Carter, might be somebody else, the danger series, Danger Brothers. And then you get the one brother who's he's a punk and he's a jerk through like one and two, and then you finally get his book and you're like, okay, I don't hate him anymore. So I'm finding that those are the ones that I end up like really loving because we get to see their side of the story. And so I'm excited about that. As we wrap up, when can we maybe expect that book for us to have maybe? If if you don't know, that's okay too.

SPEAKER_00 31:39

So their book is coming out in August. I can already say that it's coming, I don't know what day in August, but I usually like to look release my books within the first 15 days of the month. So, you know, it can have its like time to shine during that month, and like it can actually do stuff in that month. But I'm running out of days because I released a lot of books last

New Book Release and Plot Teasers

SPEAKER_00 31:59

year. So I'm trying to figure out when to release it. But I do have a book coming out June 2nd where there's smoke, and I just got one of the covers back. I'm waiting on the other cover, and it is a Cepheid small town romance that falls to firefighter and uh pastry chef slash bakery owner, and they have a connection from when they were younger. It doesn't play a big part in the book, but it's just cute that it's in there, but it's like instant attraction, and then they're like obsessed with each other, especially so the firefighter's name is Phoenix. I did it on purpose because Phoenix is like a fire bird, essentially, and also she's a twin, and her sister's name is Raven, and Raven's also the bird, but I don't know. I like names that match, and the other character, her name is Angel, and she owns a bakery called Taste of Heaven. And I have the first seven chapters posted on my Patreon, and it's free for anybody if they join and they can read it. So the first time they meet is in a prologue, and Phoenix is coming back to town after a year of living out of town after her grandpa passed away. It was hard for her to be at home because she was raised by her grandpa, and when he left, she was like, I'm gonna leave too. But in this in the prologue, she's coming back and she stops at bakery, and then she talks to one of her old friends, and he was like, I'm glad you're moving back. We'll have something that'll sweeten the deal. And he gives her like strawberry shortcake, and her favorite dessert is strawberry shortcake, and then it's almost like she was like taken to another dimension. Like him, she's like, Oh, this is the best strawberry shortcake I've ever had in my life. And then he was telling her that the bakery owner's granddaughter, she did some with the recipe, and all everybody was raving about. She was like, Oh, yeah, I'm gonna have to go down there. And then, of course, the universe she walks through the door, and Phoenix doesn't know that that's Angel, but all she knows is that this is a very attractive, curvy woman. She smells good, she looks good, everything, and so she's just staring at her, like staring at her, and then the whole time Angel just talking to their friend, they're catching up and everything because she's about to leave because she back then she was working as like a patriot chef on a cruise ship, so she'll be like traveling around and stuff, and so she was about to head out, and so Phoenix is just so drawn in by Angel, and then she like gets tongue-tied, she can't, she all she can say is you're beautiful. She's like, Oh, okay, thank you. And so then Angel ends up leaving because she says bye to the friend, then she leaves, and then the friend started teasing her. She was like, Oh, that was real smooth. And then Phoenix was like, Who is that? She was like, Angel Savoy. And then that's when she realized that that's the woman that the friend was talking about. And then she like growing up, she's like, dang, I ain't even introduced myself, I didn't give my number or anything. And so a whole year passes by, and then that's when Angel finally moves to the town because her grandmother, the one that ran the bakery, passes away, and she's coming to run the bakery or whatever, and then they end up running into each other, it's like instant attraction, yeah.

Alesia Galati 35:04

And then it just goes from there. Oh, I love it. It's that uh sapphic panic. Yeah, it's frozen in place. It's like, uh hi. So bad. It's so bad. Yes, oh, I love that. I'm

Where to Find the Books and Final Thoughts

Alesia Galati 35:21

so excited. So if people are like, I need these books, yes, please, and thank you. Where can they buy your books, hang out with you, send you a DM, all of that fun stuff?

SPEAKER_00 35:32

So Instagram, TikTok, three it's all of it on YouTube too, is at Tay and Friends Universe, and it's all lowercase, all the same, you know. And all of my books are available on Amazon and Kingdom Unlimited. So you can just go get your lit Kingdom Unlimited, you can read it, return it, and get another one. But I also sell signed copies on my website. It's payhip.com backslash serendy moon blues. But also the link is in my link tree on all my profiles, and you can just go there and it'll take you straight to it.

Alesia Galati 36:05

But yeah, that's all I have. Awesome. And so we'll make sure we have links for that in the show notes for anyone who's like, wait, say that again. We got you. Just check the show notes and the YouTube description, it'll all be right there. Thank you so much, Ari. This has been so much fun. I appreciate having you on the show. Thank you for having me.