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And now the 490 with Gretchen de Becker, Matt Killam and Kevin Mullin.

All.

Welcome into the 419.

We are out at the main branch of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library.

It is romance.

Com.

I'm Kevin mullin.

Gretchen Becker, Matt Dillon of all the places for them to put the 419.

Romance con feels like the most appropriate plac because we are the most romantic show on television.

This is an overwhelming event.

Overwhelming.

There are so many people in this building right now, they're expecting close to 3500ft buffering.

This is the third year, and so we're so happy to be invited to talk to some of the great peopl that are putting this event on.

Well, we will talk with some of the people will talk with Allison Fiscus in a little bit.

But like, you know, we're we're situated.

We see authors talking to folks about different books in their collections.

So there's local authors, there's national authors, there's, you know, a bookstore selling books, there's autograph sessions happening, food trucks, friends from Juke Motor out here.

I mean, this is this is the way Toledo does events.

I also think kudos to the library system, right?

They're a great every single day of the week.

But connecting people to the medium.

Having people together to talk about it.

I think is a new wave or a new way of looking about the programmatic component of the library just is off the charts.

And to recognize that this is such a huge jara, there's a very active.

We'll learn more about it from Allison, but a very active communit of romance writers and readers.

And so to be able to bring all these people together in this space for this event is not only smart, but it's wonderful.

People here are having a great time.

I my wife is here.

No idea where.

I may never get her.

She talked to you here?

That's.

That's anyway.

Yeah.

All of that is a fair point.

Yeah, but she texted me She is having so much fun.

Yeah.

Absolutely loving it.

And, you know, this is not like this is not the of book that I read.

Yeah.

But my wife pointed ou that, like, this is the John of, like, movies that her and I will watch.

Right.

That we watched a lot of romantic comedies.

You know, and so I'm interested in learning more about what does this actually mean?

What are the tenets of it?

And to my knowledge, this is the only romance.

Com in the country.

And things don't happen by mistake three years in a row, right?

So 2500 people last year is a significant amount.

We've got some learning to do, right.

I want to talk about the tenants that make up the romance.

What the difference between that and erotica is, for instance, almost everything feels formulaic.

But, this is something that never runs out of style, and I'm interested in seeing if I can pose for one of the covers of these, these books.

I think that we can probably answer that in relative short, but it is.

I think it's a no.

Yeah, well, I can be representative of the people that the heroine does not choose.

Or maybe like before the makeover.

But you know what?

Like beauty and the beast.

Yeah.

That's right.

Yeah.

That's right.

Yeah I'll be pre beast.

We've got.

So Allison Fiscus is going to us, Joe Segura and Catherine Moon, couple of local lawyers and then also Jason Clark and Tyrese Clark.

Two clerks one show.

That's right.

That only here on the 419 into one program.

Real quick.

If you were to writ a romance book, what would your what would your pen name or nom de plume, what would it be?

So if I can do you one better, my name would be, Stephe King in my first book would be.

Why does this not feel good?

Yeah.

I was going to say Jane Austen.

But don't take it.

Take it.

All right.

See, I also would choose a real person's name.

I've already said this.

Given the opportunity I had a chance to almost record a romance audiobook.

And I said, if I do it, I' using all of my wife's book club members, their husbands names.

Yes.

So my first boo is going to be narrated by Kurt.

I love it.

You're welcome.

Nikki.

All right.

We're going to take it right.

When we come back, we'll be joined by Allison Fiscus from the Toledo Lucas County Public Library.

We're out here at the main branch for Romance Con.

It's the 419.

W e!

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Welcome into the 419.

I'm Kevin Mullin.

I'm Gretchen Becker.

Still Matt Gillum, we are out at the Toledo Lucas County Public Library main branch, and we're talking romance con.

We're joined now by Alison Fiscus, the adult services coordinator and also founder, co-founder, creator of Romance Con.

Sure.

Yeah.

This is amazing.

Yeah, I knew that this was a great, big success.

But two things are certainly true.

The number of people here, the variety of ages and all walks of life was surprising, even to me.

And that just feels good in here.

People are really enjoying this.

This is the best day of the year.

We look forward to it every year, and we're always telling folks when they haven't yet had an opportunity to work at, we're like, we were going to have so much fun.

It is the happiest time to be in this building.

I've got some real preliminary questions here, and this is in this play by ignorance.

But in case people don't know what the of romance is or it means, can you give us a little bit of background to that?

Sure.

The A romance is essentially a story that focuses on a love story, and it has a guaranteed HEA, which is what we call a happily ever after.

Okay.

And so that can take so many different forms.

It can be a fantasy story.

It can be a mystery.

It can be a rom com.

It can be a middle ages historical fiction.

It can be so many different things.

But you keep those main elements of it' going to focus on a love story, and it is going to have a happily ever after.

Is it?

Is that a requirement?

Yes.

So so there's not a subset that, that that that every ending of every story is terrible.

There is kind of a controversial thing because there are some stories that are almost, almost originals.

For example, normal people, very popular show.

Also very popular boo does not technically have an 88, so we don't consider it romance.

I'll tell you what, I know that you love this and you're also a huge fast in the furious fan.

Your words which one are The Fast and the furious is the most romance oriented.

I think of the eighth.

Is this the same place?

Because I've never seen it fast in the areas.

Movie there a sponsor of our show.

I like the one with the rock in it.

Is she in it?

Yeah.

I don't, I don't know.

Vin diesel.

Vin diesel similar.

Tell me.

Yeah there are.

Talk to us a little bit abou I know that you're very humble, as is the rest of the group that brings us together.

Give me a little bit of background on library programing and why this is sort of shepherding in the connection to people to it.

Yeah.

So we do programing in the library.

It's in our policy.

It's baked into what we do to bring people opportunities to both come to the library to learn new things and to engage within the community with things that they love.

And so we've done this forever, right?

We have library programs that happen nearly every day all over the system.

But what we really wanted to lean into with this, and what one of the things that our strategic plan was focusing on at the time, was this idea of connecting readers with other readers and bringing people back to the act of reading and creating community within, like, like interest.

What is that?

We just saw our friends on Kaylee from Destination Toledo walk by.

I noticed that they're a partner of this event this year.

They're also a partner of ours.

What do you find about just sort of the impact in terms of economics or travel for people that are coming to Romance Library today?

Yeah, we when we set out to create this program, one of the driving factors was we wanted to activate the entire downtown region.

So from year one we've been working with destinations.

Later they are our presenting sponsor and we were including partner businesses.

We were up and down Adams Street.

And do you want to offer a special.

Do you want to offer something to bring people not just to romance Con but two our area restaurants, our area businesses, our area hotels?

Last year, our economic impact for this event was estimated at, I believe about $800,000.

Just based upon that one day event that's happening and bringing people, you know, into this area.

I mean, just for a second, I don't know.

The audio team here is exceptional, but I don't want to discount the fac that we have been having trouble canceling out all the laughter and fun and conversation.

So to your point people are really enjoying this.

I talked to Kevin, but you can actually feel what you're discussing is people are coming together.

Usually people read books in isolation by themselves.

That's one of the draws to it.

But what you set forth to do.

I can hear in the periphery, even as you're speaking, I think.

I mean, that is really well to my question.

Right?

As you look around this and you see.

Right, and you're anticipating 3500 people to come through the library today specifically for romance con lists.

Let's go back in time.

Three, four years ago when this idea was first introduced, I know there was somebody in that first meeting that said, this isn't this isn't going to work.

Why is that person give me to it?

Go ahead.

I mean, you're not wrong.

It was definitel this idea was hooked up because romance cons in general became a thing, and our friends who work with us were like, we should go to one of these.

And I said, no, no, we should do one of these.

And then it just became this idea of like, sure, it's pie in the sky.

But we've all been programing at the library for so long, we know how to put out a good program, and we know without a doubt that people will show up for this.

So it was a risk in the sense that we haven't done it before, but it was also the most comfortable risk I've ever taken in my entire life.

This is this is what I love about Toledo, right?

Is that I mean, this is wha I love about a market our size.

Is that anythin that anybody can do, we can do.

Right.

And, and and oh, by the way, because it's Toledo, you also probably have the cell phone number of the 25 people you need to call to make it happen.

And we're going to see that with the rest of, you know, our show today is that, you know, we've got, you know, Joe Segura, one of the authors who's here today.

Her sister was on our show.

Right.

Like, this is Toledo, and I love it.

I'm sorry.

No.

That's okay.

This is one of the reasons this event may have been a safe bet from the beginning.

Is the romance industry.

Yeah, that this is $1 billion business.

It's probably the backbone of so many other publishing companies.

So what?

Talk a little bit about that.

And how do you think it's had this impact on the book business.

Well I you can't undercut jus how wonderful these stories are.

And I you know there is a certain element to it of like they've been building for so long as like smart or just like flop or whatever.

And it's never been that.

Romance has always been this opportunity for people to experience new things, see new people, do new things in a way that provides what we like to call a soft place to land.

These people are going to go through trials, tribulations, etc.

but then at the end of the day, you know that there's going to be this happy ending and people love that.

And you're absolutely right, because the romance industry, the romance writing industry was the thing that pulled publishing out of the red for the first time in many, many, many years last year.

Because romance readers rea like crazy and we buy the books.

I think it's it's ridiculous that we're embarrassed to do things that make us feel good.

But at the risk of putting you on the spot, Alison, is there a book that in this year that is your number one favorite author that your particular and it can't be anyone who's on the show today.

So let me give you that, Jeff.

Anyone who's on the show today, okay.

If someone had no idea what this was about or had never read anything or the first book that you would ask them or tell them to read is what?

Okay, well, I have to give two.

Is this because.

Talent show.

I am my personal favorite, which is another Ohio gal, Emily Henry.

And I would say Read Tree.

B-tree will be a classic.

Beach read is going to be around forever.

It is one of the best written books that I have ever read in my life, and those characters stick with you.

But I also have to mention what I kind of called the gateway drug of romance, which is the Port of Thorns and Roses series.

The story of what I didn't know.

What a port of thorns and roses?

No.

So the story of being stuck in your home during Covid, not knowing what to do, needing something to escape reality.

You find this book called The Port o Thorns and Roses and you read it and all of a sudden you read all 20 books in this woman series is so common amongst romance readers.

So if you're looking for a way to get into the start with one of those tales.

Readers nonstop by question, worst disservice movie did to the book, in your opinion?

Oh God.

White and royal blue.

I hate to say it becaus it's a beloved book by me, but.

The movie.

Was didn't translate.

Okay.

Do you think that women primarily read these books out there because they it's a it's an echo of their own live because they want to experience something new or is it aspirational?

I think it's all of the above.

And I also think that women are wonderful in that if you try to make us feel bad for doing something, we're going to say, that's cut and we're going to keep doing.

It, okay.

And so romance is a really long and wonderful history.

And, you know, this is just the next frontier of that.

We're talking with Aliso Fiscus, the Adult Services Board from Toledo, Lucas County Public Library out here at Romance Con, which, you know, inevitably when you do an event and it has immediate success like this, I know that someone's going to say, we need to do this more often, right?

We need to do this.

Four times a year?

Yes.

How are you ensuring that you don't do that right to say why is it?

Why is it important to keep it once a year?

And then let's talk abou like as you look to the future.

What's that thing that you've wanted to do yet that maybe this wasn't quite big enough to do, that you thin you might be on the horizon?

Oh.

And why is it alive?

You know, live authoring of book starring Matt Guilhem.

Yes.

That that that would be.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

I think, you know, first of all, the romance is unique in that any of the others that people know and love.

They don't necessarily pull in this type of audience.

So I don't think that this is replicable on its own with any other specific thing.

Another question that we often get is, well, are you going to go bigger nex time?

Are you going to charge?

And we are really firm in our belief that, no, we're a public library.

This is public programing.

We do have a differen author series that is wonderful.

And oftentimes you pay for those tickets.

But we want this to be accessible becaus we want to make this opportunity something that even if you can't afford to buy any books or you can't afford to, you know, buy a ticket to something, you can still come and you can still meet your authors, you can still get somethin signed.

You can do all of that.

So a big thing for us is that sometime bigger isn't necessarily better.

Sometimes we're often is not better.

And then the last piece I'll say is that what you're seeing is essentially like a seven person operation.

Like we start planning romance con the moment.

Romance con ends for the next year.

And this is just the blood, sweat, tears and long nights of some very dedicated librarians.

So humble group.

So I know this will make you feel uncomfortable.

Please allow us to use this as a vetera to give flowers through us all.

Worked on this and executing it.

Oh gosh.

Okay, we've got Brooke Cox, we've got Abby buyers.

We've got I'm good at.

You're putting me on the spot are Sam, Stephanie, Elton, Kelsey rader, Emily Sullivan.

We have a special guest help from Asia and Zach Huber.

We have help from Nicole Daybell and Caitlin Riley and Carly Sebald, and I am so sorry.

Oh, Melissa.

Oh my gosh.

So, Alison, as you look out over all of these people that are here and join Romanc Con, what are you most proud of?

I this community this these people being abl to be with all of these people, every single person i this place is our friend today.

And it is the best feeling.

Yeah.

All right, Alison, thank you so much.

It's such a pleasure to be out here.

Romance con, seeing Toledo alive and all of and in love.

Wow, you done that?

All right, we're going to take a break.

When we come back, we're joined by Joe Segura and Katherine Moon.

It's the 419 Live at Romance Con.

We'll be right back.

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Welcome back into the 419.

We are live at the main librar to Lucas County Public Library for romance Con, joined by a couple of authors with some Northwest Ohio connections.

Joseph and Katherine Moon, welcome to the 419.

Thank you.

Here.

So romance con the third year.

How long have you guys been involved and been coming out to this?

We were both here the first year, and then I came and helped out an author friend last year.

Just for fun, because I love it.

When you first heard of Of Romance Gone, I mean, I, I imagine that there are similar events elsewhere around the country.

But when you heard about it here in northwest Ohio, Joe will start with you.

What was your kind of an initial reaction?

And you've always wanted to help us at Bass Pro?

Yes.

Bass Pro is really the perfect place for a romance convention.

Also a sponsor of our show.

Yeah, yeah.

Actually, the first time I ever met Alison was when I did my book launch for my first book, Raiders of the Lost Heart, at a bookstore in Perrysburg.

And a bunch of the librarians were there, and they said, we're going to be doing something really cool.

We're going to be having a romance con at the Toledo Library.

Would you come?

And I said, absolutely, sign me up.

And to see it, like, actually happen in such a short time.

That was in December.

They were planning it for the following November.

And this is an amazing conference.

Like I'm just so impressed.

I have to I have to embarrass you a little bit.

So my wife is out here.

She's so excited to be here.

She loves this.

Her book club reads this yarn all the time.

And when I told her we were having on the show, she was like, right away.

She was like oh my gosh, I know that author.

I read those books.

I'm so excited for you guys to be here.

So this is wonderful, Catherine, for you to to be here.

You know, t to have this in northwest Ohio.

What does that mean to you?

It's amazing.

It's right in my backyard.

I get to have author friends from out of town come and stay with me and attend this event.

I get to rope more people into it.

I ran out of books and sent somebody home and go get them.

And I love being a part of the romance community and then combining it with the local community.

As another thing, started writing the books where you were a reader first and then thought, hey, let me try this, or how did it go through trying.

To be you were trying to write a self-help book and just ended up as a romance novel.

But for me, you know, I grew up in Toledo and this is the library I went to as a child, an I always wanted to be an author.

And so when I was little, I would write little stories.

My very first book is called The Dog and the dog and the Pet Shop, and it's actually about a dog and a dog and a pet shop.

Sure.

You know.

That's a dog bear in the end.

Yeah.

Yeah, exactly.

It turns out that dog has been dead the whole time.

No dogs get adopted.

Dogs adopted.

I just ruined the story.

But.

You know, I wrote these storie when I was a child, and I always wanted to be an author.

And so when I got older, I started writing longer stories.

But I still never thought that I could be an author.

I didn't think that it was for someone like me.

But you walk into a library like thi and you see thousands of books, it's like, why not me?

I think you made the joke about, like, just ruined the ending, right?

I mean, this is as we talked with Alison, like, what's unique about this is that every book sort of has the same ending, right?

They all end in happily ever after, right?

Why do you think?

I mean, if we know how the book ends, why are people so excited to read the book?

You don't know all of the middle steps.

You don't always know, like what the dynamic is between the characters that makes them work.

And I think a lot of the times you can discover, like things about yoursel in those romantic relationships and the negotiations that come in them.

And yeah, it's like a very human John, do you have the journey?

Yeah, that's what we're excited about with romance is seeing the couple's journey to finding love.

Yeah.

That's this question of with other guests before.

But I'm curious, when you're writing, who are you writing to or for?

Is this something that you know you have for the bookends?

And it is a it is a central project within your own sort of gray matter.

Or do you think of a young woman, as yourselves and youth, who is the who is the audience that you think about when you're writing in?

I actually went to school for fiction writing, and we had what we called like the ideal reader, and that was who you wrote to.

And you would even start an address it like, dear so-and-so.

So it depends on the book, because sometimes it's like a really good friend of mine, and then sometimes it's just I know that this market exists.

I know that these stories are like something that people really want to read a lot of.

And so I think about, like the whole group of readers that I've met that really love that kind of story, I. Yeah.

What's your answer, then?

Oh, I actually, I wrote books that I wanted to write because there was something I wanted to say.

There was something that I hadn't seen that I was I wanted to write myself.

And some of it is like writing for my own self-help.

So I'm not writing an actual self-help book, but sometimes it's to work through my own emotions that I had.

And there's a lot of myself in my book.

You seem self-absorbed to me when you first met, and you found that as you've written books that, you know, I'm just thinking about, like the the stereotypical guy in one of these books that, you know, you you write this story about, you know, the guy that gets it all figured out and they come together and it's happily ever after.

Has that raised the bar on what you expect from from a guy in your life?

Is that like, you know, a. Yeah.

A partner to say, you know, this is what love is supposed to look like and you're not you're not romancing me enough because I wrote this book.

And you should you should read it.

You know, I had someone asked me recently in an interview, they said something like, do you think that, romance books give people unrealistic expectations?

And my response is, no, men do better.

Yeah, we want that.

We want men who treat their women with respect and dignity and who love them for their for everything about them, their good size, their bad sides and everything in between.

And so we should all want that.

We all want that in love.

Why?

Why are we so cynical about what we can do in this way?

Right?

Isn't it okay to read something that ensures a happy ending or conclusion or just feels good?

Yeah, I feel like potentially unfairly, I feel like reading in particular or potentially art, there's a stigma abou something has to be the greater there's enough out there.

You mentioned that your early education path was the right fiction, so it was either thi or Fox News.

One or.

The other.

So, you know, why are we just okay with having something through?

Okay.

I think like, a mystery novel comes with a solution to the mystery at the end.

It's okay for that.

Romance novel comes with the solution to the romance and happy ending.

Yeah, yeah.

Which story do you prefer?

The meet cute immediately want to be together and something happens and they come back together.

Or do you prefer the meat and, like, hate each other?

And over time things happen that they realize they were weren't, didn't hate each other, but they always should have been together.

Yeah, I love them all.

Yeah, yeah, I love them all.

Like sometimes I want enemies to lovers.

Sometimes I want a second chance.

Sometimes I want a friend.

Still lovers.

And what's great about romance is, you know, we have these tropes, bu they're all written differently.

And so you can get all of that from a romance.

But talk to you about process as you're writing a book.

I mean, do you do you have a character in mind that you're like, oh, I want to write this person's story.

Is there?

Do you start at the end and work backwards?

How does it Catherine, how does it work for you?

All right.

Right.

Like a stream of consciousness nonsense of scenes that are like playing out in my head as an outline.

That's my version of outlining.

It doesn't always get me all the way to the end, but it gets me at the beginning.

And I discover a lot about the characters and a lot about the world around them as I write, so that just keeps building.

That's what edits are for, is to go back and rework all of that.

It's kind o I let it be organic for myself.

Yeah, yeah.

For me, it's, I usually come up with, like, a character that I want to write.

And so for my first book, Raiders of the Lost Heart, it really was just me thinking, one day I wonder what it would be like if Indiana Jones and Lara Croft went on an archeological dig together.

You know those two would hate each other, but they would both have the hots for each other.

I mean, Indiana Jones was one of my first crushes and so.

Right, exactly.

And so I'm like, I want to write that book.

And so then it turned into and no how do I turn that into a story?

So if you had were you were forced to write a different for a different genre or different audience, or you had the opportunity to run right.

One other great, one other great thing, and we can't pick this one.

What would it be?

For me, it would be a thriller.

I love a thriller.

I. Just murder Indiana Jones and becomes, yeah.

She becomes the top.

Don't run it.

Oh.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I know I already spoiled dog in the dog, right?

Yeah.

Gosh.

Silly me.

But yeah, that's for sure.

I would go to the young adult that's like I read that for a very long time.

And I. Love fantasy.

So, like, I adopt fantasy series.

Are we all over that they still had I always loved the romance in them, but just like the big plot.

I do a few creative things in my in my life and I always not well, no no no agree.

But I always find that like, it's challenging to figure out when to stop.

Right?

When is it done?

How do you guys know that your book is done?

All right.

The end.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That works.

Yes.

Right.

Usually it's the characters have overcome whatever the obstacle i that was keeping them apart or, you know, keeping them from being able to move forward in whatever their journey was and gets to a point where that part is resolved in the book and where you feel good about it.

And then I'm like, okay, it could keep going, but at some point you need to end it.

And so then you write the end.

My question though, do you ever go back to the same characte and think this could be a series like you could continue the story with the characte from a book that you've written?

I, I'm always so excited to move on.

I know I was like, I've got like four books ahead that I can't get to until this one is done.

So I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I had a like, I had someone asked me a question about my next book that's coming out.

I couldn't even remember the character's name because I'm already on the next idea.

That's in my.

Head that as you walk through the world, right?

I mean, I think that there' probably people that are coders.

They walk through spaces in a binary sense.

But do you see things through a evolving narrative?

Are you capturing ideas as you walk through grocery store aisles or walking amongst this community here today?

What is the lens for which you walk through the earth?

I get really attracted.

I grew up at the Toledo Museum of Art.

My mom works there, so I get really attracted by certain pieces of art and build like world or stories off of that.

Not so much the grocery store, but yeah, definitely littl snippets of things will pop up.

And then I cling to the and they just keep like mulling longer and longer.

I will write a story about anything I see.

I come up with a cute everywhere I go.

I'm in the grocery store.

I'm coming up with a story in the grocery store, everywhere.

I'm like I can write a story about that.

Like people I see on the street.

I'm like, I know, I know your whole backstory.

Just by looking at just.

By looking at you and Lauren Crawford in three chapters.

Where do you come down on the or do.

You.

Reading versus on readin versus listening to these books?

I think it's all.

Stimulating.

The same part of your brain.

Yeah.

I'm a big fan of audiobooks, and I'm a big fan of like a physical book or an e-book.

It just whateve is most comfortable in my hand.

Or if I'm knitting, I need an audiobook.

Like, that's what I want On behalf of dyslexic community.

Thank you very muc for giving us that supports it's talking about the community, right?

I mean, as we look at this, 3500 people coming through the main library for Romance Con this year, I imagine that this is not a, you know, hey, I write a book, I write the ends, I hit print it goes on a shelf and I'm done.

You know, I see I mean, you've got social media presences.

I imagine that there's a lot of interaction with this community and probably folks asking questions that remain unanswered in the book.

In a very supportive community.

And it's a very lively and energetic community.

People are excited to be here.

They want to talk about their favorite books, their favorite authors.

They want to talk about you know.

Oh, I read this book.

And, you know, what did you think about this part?

Or how did you come up with this idea?

And they're excited to be here.

Location online, that is the sort of epicenter of these conversations about books or is it individual social media accounts?

I feel like there's almost like communities like the Facebook readership group tends to be interested in different books than like the TikTok, the dregs, Instagram like Reddit is the whole world.

They're all different little groups of people.

And then I'm sure that there's somebody out there who's like, Manning everyone.

Yeah, yeah.

What's next?

I have a vampire mafia romance coming out in March.

I'm so excited That one was like a fever dream.

Like had to write.

It went super easy.

It's been a boss.

So my next book, Guilty Treasure comes out on January 12th, 2027.

And then I've got a couple other things in the works I'm not allowed to talk about yet because it hasn't been announced, but I am so, so excited.

I haven't been this excited to write something in a really long time.

That's amazing.

Congratulations.

What information do you guys need from us to be able to include Matt as a future character in one of your in one of your stories, or do you have all the information you.

Need to have a story for him?

Yes.

What would.

All right, let' let's let's put you on the spot.

All right.

I don't want to spoil.

Does it get.

A better.

You're gonna read one o my books and be like, that's me.

Yes.

And now we.

You got to send it to us so we can read it first.

And then I'm pleased.

I am so excited for this.

Where can people find more information on you and your and your work?

I'm at Jessica Books on Instagram and some other things I don't know.

And Jessica eBooks is my Substack.

If you want to sign up for my newsletter, I'm always putting extra, extra bits in my newsletter that you can't get from my other socials.

I am.

Oh h, Katherine Moon.

Oh h for on social medi and Catherine moon.com for just updates and information.

Thank you so.

Much for being here.

So nice to talk.

To you, Joe.

Thank you.

You guys are fantastic.

Congratulations on the success.

And all right, we're going to take a break.

When we come back.

We will be joined by, Tyrese and Jason Clarke, apparently no relation.

Wow.

Yeah, that's my first question.

Congratulations on meeting each other.

It's a family reunion.

That's right.

We'll be right back.

It's romance con on the 419.

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Welcome back into the 419.

We are out at Romance Con, joined now by Tyrese Clark and Jason Clark.

No relation.

No relation spelled exactly the same way.

That's right.

I'm so confused righ now.

Teresa, you are an author.

Jason, you are an audiobook narrator.

I have a very specific line in my contract that no one could be on the show with a better voice than me.

And I've scratched that out because it's over now.

Welcome to the 419 Thank you so much for having us.

Thank you.

Thank you for being here.

You you both you both had northwest Ohio connections.

Let's start there.

So tell us your originally from the area?

Yes.

I was born and raised here in Toledo and was here until high school.

Went to say go arrows and I went to Ohio State for school, met my husband, started my life and my family.

So I love coming back and actually worked here at the library as a page in high school.

Yes.

Wow.

Small world.

Very much so.

Jason, what about you?

Yeah, I was born here to Leo Hospital, but I was born.

I was raised in Perrysburg.

The hospital experience for me.

Yeah.

You know, I think back, it was pretty nice.

Tell me a little scary, but nice.

Yeah, sure.

No, but I. Yeah.

So I was born and raised here, went to college down in Cincinnati, and then I've been based out o New York for the past 14 years.

But I try to come back her at least once a year.

To reach.

I see a lovely woman behind the camera that says, wearing a t shirt that says, my kid is a romance author.

I'm assuming that's your mom.

It is.

His family is still here.

That's so nice person.

She weighed about 70 pounds.

She's tiny.

Yes.

So mom is here.

My cousin is here helping me man the table.

It's been a really fun time.

So you you.

Certainly, as an author, you d travel to many of these events.

What's special abou being this one in your hometown?

It is where my storytelling started.

You know I've always been a library kid.

I worked here, so coming back as an author and someone who has their book here in the library, it's like full circle.

And it just it feels great.

That's something I can share with my family.

To.

A moment.

Seems like a weak way to describe it, but two year point from page to published author in that space, do yo sometimes still pinch yourself?

Oh, every.

Okay, I won't say every day because there are some days where I absolutely am going to quit.

Pinchin people as part of your stories.

Yes.

Yeah.

But, it is it is a dream that I did not know I had and till I got started with it.

And you're producing something that people purchase and choose absolutely.

Free time and time is the only commodity.

Absolutely.

I've never created other tha my children and and friendships, something that other people have been able to appreciate like this.

It must be incredibly fulfilling.

It is.

And and sometime you don't know your impact.

Yes.

Because writing is such a solo thing.

Yeah.

You don't know your impact until you're at events like these, where you can interact with the readers and people come up to you and they tell you, you know, they they see themselves in your book and they're really excited to meet you because you, you've told part of their stor or you aspire them in some way.

Yeah.

That's a good segue, Kevin.

And before meeting your wife Dan, a year romance was largely solo.

Do you want to talk a little bit about that on television?

No.

Not today.

Okay.

But thank you, I appreciate that.

Jason, how did you get into this?

I mean, I you know, I, I imagine that people always told you you had a great voice.

When did you realize this is what you wanted to do?

I proceeded acting career in New York and singing career as well.

But I always loved being in the booth for commercials.

And yeah I had a few teachers in my life that were like, maybe you should think about this.

Lean into you got a deep voice.

And it helped that I, you know, studied acting.

But it's just once I started booking books, I leaned into i and it became my full time thing and romance started talking.

It feels warmer.

And it does Yeah.

Don't get a little stuffy.

What is the.

What's the process?

Do you.

How many times have you read the book?

By the time you're going into the booth to record it?

Oh, I'm a skimmer.

So for me, we get a lot of wonderful authors that give us lots of notes ahead of time so that there's no big surprises.

Like, we find out on page 500 that the main character has an accident, that we didn't know about it at the start.

You know what I mean?

Yeah.

So we know about that ahead of time as skim to get the broad strokes journey for the characters.

But some of my fellow narrators will write out copious notes to make sure they say lines a certain way.

I jus I go in cold a lot of the time.

So some of our audience will know.

I also am the PA announcer for the University of Toledo.

I do football, men's and women's basketball, and I have found over over the years that my announcing voice and my regular speaking voice have melded into one.

But there's still a switch that I can flip.

Is that is that what you're finding is when you get in the studio, it's a different voice.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

I mean, I try to help him to find the off.

Yeah, I try I try to sound cool when I talk, but, you know, when I get in the booth and the microphone is right in front of my face, it's it becomes much more of a whisper.

Much, much deeper.

Right.

Much more confident.

Yeah, yeah.

That's okay.

I will make it.

All right.

So this what we're gonna do?

Let's just.

Let's just risk it.

Teresa you have a book in front of you.

I do the six loves, the six loves of Ebony Jones.

Just pick a random page, and we're going to do the best we can to be PBS friendly.

If if Shane's got to do some extra work to beat some things out, or basically the next 60s i just going to be one long beep.

It'll be great.

Will you?

Can we put you on the spot?

And have you with no pressure.

We're gonna make it happen.

I'm going to do it.

I want to do this.

I'm like, literally you, I trust you.

Okay.

All right.

All right.

Do you want to give him some backstory?

Any any notes he needs to know.

Is there an accent.

As a journalist?

As a journalist?

And she goes on an epic rant that her love life is trashed.

It goes viral.

And so now she's assigned a photographer who is actually somebody she used to have a little fling with.

Okay.

And they're getting to know each other while they work on this thing.

Okay.

All right, let me let me let me set this up.

All right, so this is Jason Clarke reading The Six Loves of Ebony Jones, authored by Teresa m Clarke.

He barely held in his laughter.

You're ready to rain hellfire down on him now.

Just one little throat punch.

She pinched her thumb and index finger together and held them up to her eye.

And the protection of tangible and financial assets, that's all.

He couldn't keep the laugh in this time.

Her face cracked slowly, and when she let her full laugh out, it took his breath away.

Her cousin.

Maybe named Joy.

Yeah.

This is not.

This is the warmest I've been since.

Since we were in.

Came to the best of my life.

It's so.

Different from my head.

When you're right.

Yeah, when you're right.

It's better to be a middle aged white guy.

And not the book, but the first book.

So, yeah, there's some all caps at the bottom of the page that you're going to have to get them.

This is a family to enjoy.

Yeah.

I mean, we've asked other authors, we'll ask you this, but like Jason, when you're when you're in a book, is there a person you're talking to?

Yeah, I really d try to imagine the person that I the character that I'm speaking to.

It's the only way to make it feel real in a sense.

Yeah.

I've got a question for you.

I certainly not know.

And years accomplished, as all of you, but I was in a performance in college, and there's a single line that I never got right, and it was haunted me for.

I guess it was now 30 years.

Is there if you as well is there, is there a written piece that if you could just you wish you had to put it down to be done with it, you would have continued to work at or a written piece that you're like, man, five books ago, three years ago, I never really nailed that.

Is there a singular thin that is sort of your white male?

Every book, every book, when you go back, you're like, oh, I could have, you know, because you grow each book.

I believe.

So when you go back to that first one, even just six months later to the same book, you're like, oh I can turn that phrase or I can.

I needed 2000 more work.

Yeah.

You know, so I. Well, Jason, think about this I might Marcos pizza.

We do a Marcos pizza ad at all the UT games.

Yeah.

And it took me I mean, it took me the better part of a year to get fresh slice.

Yeah.

To where I could say those two back to back.

Yeah.

That's hard It was, it was, it wasn't great.

Yeah.

The first year it was painful.

Yeah.

I think I would say my weight loss anytime I hear my audio from ten years ago.

Okay, I'm like, I'm not that good at this.

That's not different to what you were talking about from a growth perspective.

Right.

So but you're able to listen to yourself and you read stuff that you've already written or you're like, no thank you, I'm done.

And move on.

Well I always do read, always reread.

So if it if it keeps my attention, then I know I've done my job.

I think that takes real courage.

I can't I cannot listen, and you can probably tell why to myself.

I'm just like, it's what it's done.

I want to be done with it.

You're fine.

Yeah.

Do you remember when you were a kid here in Toledo, coming into the library when you started writing things down, when you started maybe telling stories that that led you to what you're doing today?

Second grade.

Your mom is here.

Second grade.

Well, if you mean that.

Yeah, yeah.

Second grade.

Saint Anne's sister, Michael Lynn's class.

She let me do a play, and I wrote it, and she let me put it on for the whole class.

She brought in the other second grade class and that kind of holly.

Yeah.

Yeah, I think it' because I talked too much.

Yeah.

And giving me something to do.

Yeah.

So everyone else can get their work done.

But I appreciate it.

I know I never forgot.

With carbon paper.

That's how.

That's how I. Got it.

Yeah.

You remember.

I do, I do have a paper.

Yep.

We're talking with Teresa Clark, romance novelist.

Jason Clarke, audiobook narrator for romance novels here on the 419 out at Romance Con.

There's 3500 people that are here today.

What's what's your reaction to seeing the growth of this event and to be a par of this community?

It's amazing.

I've been to conventions elsewhere throughout the country, and this is my first time coming back home to do this.

And the fact that it's so packed and also just seeing people I knew in high school, people I've known since I was at Woodland Elementary.

It's surreal and exciting.

Some of them are authors, some of them are fans and social media people.

And it's a blast.

The rest of Saint Anne's second grade left the country after that.

I'm sure you came, but I will tell you.

And I know it seems trite, and we've asked the other guests before, but there is a like a real buzz here.

These are not people just talking directly to the authors or the vendors.

There's a lot of laughter, which has caused us some audio trouble because people are enjoying one another.

Is it this genre that is particularly binding?

Why is this spirit and energy so infectious?

Because romance is about joy.

Yeah.

You know, people think it's trite tha it ends in a happily ever after.

But the stories of getting the happily ever after, also different.

And the core of it is, is love between whomever or whatever.

It depends on the genre.

At the core is it's love and joy is communication.

So that's why you see that in the community?

Yeah.

Did you ever write the story of you meeting your husband?

Partially, yeah.

It shows up in my book, chaser.

So if you're in love with a savior, you're actually in love with my husband.

So he's not a cowboy.

You have any reactions with him?

And immediately go upstairs and start typing his demise.

I will never.

Go first.

That's right.

You can't deny.

That's right.

You both are artists and people have consumed, you know, your art or versions of your art, but they probably don't realize what goes into making it.

And so talk to us a little bit about the time frame, right.

That when you start a book to when you end it.

And I know we're talking about two very different time frames here, but I'm curious for both of you, how long does it take to create a book?

I spend a good amount of my time.

Be sure.

And then researching, you know, such media and then my background.

Sturluson.

So when I get to the actual research, I over research.

And then as we get close to my deadline, I lock myself in a room and spend a good, what, six, seven, eight weeks reall kind of nailing everything down for audiences.

Tell them what journalism was.

This season.

We're still out here.

Jason, how about you?

How long does it take for you to do the book?

Not long.

You usually come in near the end of the process, the actors.

And if I get a manuscript and I have enough time, like a week, to prep.

Most romance is split between a male and female narrator.

So I really only have to narrate half of the book.

And so it can take me three days, three sessions, and I'm done.

Are you with your partner in that space, or are you booth separately?

Booth separately is.

We've don a few that have been full casts where we're all gathered with our own microphones, and it's a blast, but it's very hard to do.

So.

No, we record remotely.

How do you make sure that the person that you're not acting the book with is at the same level as you, or the same vibe?

Like, it could be totally different.

We just said we're just really good a acting, is really wanted to know is your imagination and you just kind of trust that yo when you read their line coming in, you have to imagine it and then give it back.

Yeah.

So it's the hardest work I've ever done.

I mean, I did.

I've done one audio book, and I don't know that I have the stamina to do another.

Right.

It's it is.

I mean, it was a week in the studio.

Eight hours.

Wow.

It just.

It's exhausting.

And I love to talk.

Yeah.

This is different.

Yeah.

Thank you.

If you could put.

If you had to put down what you're doing right now and be forced to do something else, what would it be?

Oh, right.

If they still existing.

Yeah.

A solid gold dancer.

Remember that old TV show?

That's what one.

Yeah, that's what I wanted to be.

When that.

Was a solid gold dance.

He got to do it right now.

That's absolutely the highlight of marking paper and journalism and solid gold dancing.

Jason how about you?

I'd be an author.

I would be a writer, for sure.

Yeah, it was a dream line when I was a kid and getting to read so much great work, it's like, man, I got to get in on this.

I want to say, that's not.

The stuff I've learned a lot.

Yeah.

Nothing at a time can.

Can you tell us where people can find you if they want to learn more about either one of you?

I am at Tyrese clarke.com and I'm on social media.

My favorite one is threads right now, so I'm usually there talking too much and not writing enough.

Okay.

And I'm at Jason Clarke reads on Instagram and I post a lot of the books that I'm doing and a little bit of audio snippets here and there.

All right.

Thank you so much.

Tyrese Clarke, thank you so much for being here.

We're gonna take a break.

Can we come back?

We'll wrap up this specia live on site edition of the 400.

And 19.

At Romance Con.

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Welcome back into the 419.

We are out at the main library for romance.

Con had some incredible authors.

Alice and Fiscus, the creator of this, was on the program.

It is.

It is incredible.

I wish that this was happening for for a week more so that our viewers that aren't out to this could be out at it.

But obviously, mark your calendar, you can come out next year.

What what did you learn from today's show?

Gretchen.

This is just a tremendous community.

I loved the guests that the library helped us find that had these local connections to Toledo teachers that inspired them at a young age.

And ultimately, we learned that romance is not dead to.

Check on that, but I it was not a surprise when I learned was that these authors are don't some of them don't live here anymore, but came from here, right?

I did not know that much about the John Drum, embarrassed to say which might be obvious to some, but all romance ends in a happy ending, right?

And I do.

And I'm not surprised that there's cynics in the world, but thank God there's stuff out there that's okay.

Just to feel good.

Well, it's not surprising that, you know, the authors of that ends in that, you know what Allison said?

Is he a happily ever after?

Are wonderful, kind people, right?

Nothing says happiness like a good acronym.

And they've embraced it with AG.

That's right.

That's that's how you got to do it.

That's how you got to do it.

We got fantastic.

This is what we learned today.

Are reminded of.

I suggest that is that this i the best library in the country.

And IWTE is about education.

So is a library.

And they're connecting community, local community, as WG does every day in this library does as well.

So we're lucky to be here.

We absolutely are.

If you missed any part of today's show, you can catch it weekdays 5 p.m.

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It's the 419 at Roma Romance con at the main Library, 2500 of our closest friends.

It's been wonderful.

It's going to be a happy ending.

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