Bookcast Episode 137: The Mic Was Right Where I Left It

I'm back! After a few months away, I'm back in the closet with a mic, some iced coffee, and a lot to get into. 

In this episode I catch up on my May TBR, I talk about the 12 Lives Challenge,   about my Hallmark mystery obsession and what it has to do with writing romance, I break down the release plan for Standard of Care, and get into event season.

Beverage Break: Iced coffee. It was 11 a.m.  

Book Report

2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge: 53 of 150 books — 35% toward goal, 4 books ahead of schedule.

What I want to get read in May: 

• These Heathens: A Novel — Mia McKenzie (listening on audio)
• Ms. Lorraine's Late-in-Life Love — T.L. Martin | A reverse age-gap novella set in the world of The Black Wife Effect in the Cinnamon Grove neighborhood. 1 Read it in one night. Delightful — especially if you're 40+ and into romance.
• L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood — Anne Soon Choi | The next 12 Lives Challenge read.
• Mist and Malice (Haven #2) — Rachel Howzell Hall
• The Drowning Season — Debra Webb | ALC from NetGalley. Releases approximately May 12th.
• Sunset Over Napa Valley — Monica Garner | ARC that is no longer an ARC — released April 28th. Getting to it.

The 12 Lives Challenge

Hosted by Dr. Raymond Williams (@rtwilliams16). The goal: read 12 biographies in 2026. The rule: biographies only! No memoirs, no autobiographies. It has to be a book about someone, written by someone else.  Join in and use the hashtag #the12liveschallenge.

DL's progress — 4 of 12:

1. The Smartest Guys in the Room — Bethany McLean & Peter Elkind (the fall of Enron)
2. The Wizard of Lies — Diana B. Henriques (Bernie Madoff)
3. The Butler: A Witness to History — Wil Haygood
4. G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century — Beverly Gage

What I'm Streaming

• Garage Sale Mysteries — amateur sleuth, small town, cozy stakes, killer always gets caught
• Haley Dean Mysteries
• Mystery 101
• Occasional free mystery movies on Hulu and YouTube

Why it connects to writing: Romance and cozy mystery run on the same contract with the reader: the outcome is known going in. The satisfying ending is guaranteed.  The work is in stacking complications, near-misses, and tension so the reader stays engaged even when they know where it's going. That is the exact problem a romance writer solves every time they sit down.

Low stakes, familiar structure, no emotional tax after months of finishing a book is  not a guilty pleasure, it is maintenance and self care. 

Writing & Publishing Update

Crime Writers of Color Podcast

I sat down with Robert Justice on the Crime Writers of Col

Transcript

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Well,

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hello,

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listeners,

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and welcome back to the book cast where I talk about reading and writing and black

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love and real life as a self-published author.

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I am DL White.

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I'm an Atlanta-based author, reader, and storyteller.

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If you like this podcast, the best way to support me is to buy the books at booksbydlwhite.com.

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You'll also find print editions on my bookshop.org shelf,

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so you're supporting indie bookstores and me at the same time,

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and that is my favorite thing.

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Today is Sunday, May 3rd, and I am back in Atlanta with a mic.

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A little bit, something to drink, and a lot to get into, so let's get into it.

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Okay, so you may have noticed that I've been gone for a little bit.

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Life happens.

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I wanted to read and finish Standard of Care and get it out the door.

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And honestly, there wasn't a whole bunch going on.

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And I just didn't want the burden of coming into this closet every week to talk about

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Essentially, nothing.

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But we're heading into summer and event season, and I have a new book coming.

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And so, yes, of course, I hopped back on the mic.

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So we've been quiet for a little bit, but now we are at episode 137.

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I'm not going to do a full accounting of where I've been and what I've been doing.

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That list is long.

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Just know the break was needed, felt, appreciated, and I'm back.

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at least for a little bit.

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So anyway, I'm not going to recap everything I read while I was away.

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That list is really long and we'd be here all day.

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But I'm going to start fresh with what I'm reading now,

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what's coming with the writing,

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and what's on the event calendar.

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So let's go ahead and get started.

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First of all, for the beverage, I'm just having some iced coffee.

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It is not even noon yet, 11.06 a.m.

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So

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I'm just finishing up my iced coffee and I said let me get up from here before I

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sit here on this couch all day and get upstairs and get on my mic so

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You know if I'm going to do anything,

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I'm going to read a book So let's begin with the book report as always I use

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Goodreads to track my books I am at 53 of my goal to read 150 books in 2026 So that

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puts me at 35% of my goal I am currently 4 books ahead of schedule So I am not

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worried about it at all

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uh for May y'all know I don't usually do a TBR but I have to throw some books up

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there to remind myself that I have books I'm trying to get read uh so I am

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currently reading These Heathens by Mia McKenzie I'm listening to that on audio um

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Miss Lorraine's Late-In-Life Love.

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I actually read this last night.

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I was laying in bed and I said, you have not read a single word all day.

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So open up your Kindle and get in some words.

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It was only like 122 pages, like a two and a half hour read.

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Really delightful.

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Really, really, really delightful.

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If you are over 40, over 50, and you are into romance, I implore you to pick it up.

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It's by T.L.

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Martin.

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It's a reverse age gap novella set in the world of the black wife effect in the

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Cinnamon Grove neighborhood that she has developed Find Her,

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Grab Her Books This was excellent,

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I really enjoyed it

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Romance Readers,

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you already know,

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I was deep into it,

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and I'm in my 50s,

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so I love a,

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I don't know,

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late in life,

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I'm feeling a little bit about that term,

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because I think your 50s are more like midlife,

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but,

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you know,

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semantics.

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And then I have on the list L.A. Coroner by Thomas, L.A. Coroner by Ann Soon Choi.

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Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood this one's doing double duty it's on my May

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list of books to read because it just looked interesting and also it's my next 12

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lives challenge read we'll talk about that in a bit

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um but that's what I'm reading for the challenge this month and then I have Mist

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and Malice which is Haven number two and Rachel Housel Hall's series um Haven

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series I have The Drowning Season by Deborah Webb I have actually an ALC of this

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from NetGalley so I gotta get this read I think it comes out like May 12th or

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something

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Sunset Over Napa Valley by Monica Garner.

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I'm actually super late on this.

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I have an advanced reader copy,

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which is no longer an advanced reader copy,

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because I think this book came out like April 28th,

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but the cover is gorgeous and the story looks great.

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So I'm going to get this read.

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So my list really skews toward mysteries and thrillers.

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That's kind of a normal thing for me.

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I really dip back and forth between heavy,

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heavy,

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heavy romance,

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and then I need like some mysteries and some thriller and something with bite to it

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to kind of

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Breakup that um I don't want to say monotony but I get into like a little bit of a

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habit and a rut with certain types of reads and then like then I just get really

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tired of like reading about dead people and I go back to romance so um that's kind

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of my that's kind of my habit and like the way I roll so it's not not by accident

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and um

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It also comes that way in the stuff I stream and that kind of thing.

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So let's talk a little bit about the 12 Lives Challenge.

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My friend Dr. Raymond Williams, who sometimes listens to the podcast,

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He's rtwilliam16 on Instagram,

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runs an annual reading challenge that he invites other people to participate in.

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In past years,

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he's done the Zora Challenge and the Baldwin Challenge,

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neither of which I did very well in.

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So I think I read like one book per year in each of those challenges.

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But this year, he's doing the 12 Lives Challenge.

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And the goal is really simple, to just read 12 biographies in 2026.

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The kicker here is not biographies, not autobiographies, not memoirs.

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It has to be a book about someone written by someone else.

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And most people use those terms interchangeably.

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So that distinction really matters for this challenge.

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Anyone can join.

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Use the hashtag 12 Lives Challenge.

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Tag Dr. Raymond in it.

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I know he likes to see those.

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So where I am, I'm at...

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Four books read so far out of 12.

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I do plan to finish this challenge this year.

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And if you know anything about me, you know I love to read about mess.

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I love to read about scandal.

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I love to read about murder, true crime.

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And so that's kind of where my biographies are leading.

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So I read The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkin about the

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gentleman using that term lightly at the fall,

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basically the head of the fall of Enron.

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I read Wizard of Lies by Diana B.

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Enriquez about Bernie Madoff To know me is to know I am obsessed with Enron and

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Bernie Madoff So I had to kick off the years with those two

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And then I read The Butler A Witness to History by Will Haygood This was just okay

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to me I feel like this was I think this was the book that Lee Daniels based his

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movie The Butler off of I feel like he probably did a better job with the movie The

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book was fine It was fine It was just sort of

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okay I read it because it seemed short and then I read uh G-Man J.

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Edgar Hoover and the Making of an American Century by Beverly Gage this was long

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this was a lot I felt like this was every minute of J.

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Edgar Hoover's life but um you know he was interesting he was kind of um

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Not a Nice Man.

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I am seeing we're currently doing a lot of things we were doing in the 1940s.

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A lot of history is repeating right now,

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and a lot of that was at the hands and the behest of J.

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Edgar.

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But I'm also looking at the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation we have

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right now,

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and I'm thinking J.

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Edgar is probably rolling in his grave because we used to be a proper country.

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You know what I'm saying?

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Anyhow, that's where I am with the 12 Lives Challenge.

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So LA Coroner kind of fits in with my obsessions.

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It's already on the TBR.

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One thing I'll say about like the pattern that I have so far,

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it's men who built enormous power and either abused it or defrauded people with it.

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or just generally used it badly.

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Make of that what you will.

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I don't know.

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That's where I'm at.

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That's what's currently yanking my chains.

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Coming up in May, did I talk about the books I had?

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Yeah, I did talk about the books I have set up in May.

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I'm rusty, okay?

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It's been a minute since I sat in this closet and got on this mic.

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But I usually talk about what I'm streaming because if I'm not reading, I'm watching something.

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I specifically have been blowing through some Hallmark mystery movies, games,

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got deep into a rabbit hole there.

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Garage Sale Mystery Series,

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if you're not familiar,

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she's an amateur sleuth,

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charming,

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small-town,

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cozy type of vibe.

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Killer Gets Caught every episode,

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you know,

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the outcome going in,

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and that's the whole point of it.

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So I've been watching Garage Sale Mysteries, Haley Dean Mysteries, Mystery 101, and

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The occasional movie that might pop up on Hulu.

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I finally convinced myself to subscribe to Hallmark Channel,

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and I feel like I've watched a lot,

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but we'll see.

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Also, I'm on YouTube, and the occasional free mystery movie will pop up there.

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I'm good for throwing on a movie and then opening Canva and messing around in it or

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playing a game on my phone while I'm watching it.

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It becomes background noise and a little bit comforting.

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Dare I say,

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sometimes murder is a little bit comforting because in the movies they always catch

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the bad guy.

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This kind of really connects to writing more than it sounds like it does.

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Not only have I dipped my toe into mystery a lot, a little, a lot, but

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Like, I write romance.

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The HEA is guaranteed, at least with me.

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Readers pick up my books knowing how it's going to end.

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It's predictable on purpose, but the point between romance

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A meets B and A rides off into the sunset with B is wide and varied.

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You could have anything between those two points.

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That's what makes these genres vast.

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You can literally write anything so long as it begins and ends the way it's supposed to.

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Readers aren't there for the surprise.

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They are there for the ride, the characters, the tension before the resolution.

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And Hallmark Mysteries, mysteries in general, especially cozies, run on the same exact contract.

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It's the same genre.

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It's the same agreement.

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It's the same promise to the reader.

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The killer will be caught.

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Nobody's really watching for a plot twist, although those are fun.

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What I'm actually watching...

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Whether I'm analyzing it or not is how writers create a real investment in the

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foregone conclusion.

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How they stack a small complication, a near-miss, a breadcrumb,

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and build enough tension that you stay engaged even when you know where it's going.

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Or you think you know where it's going.

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That is the same problem I solve every time I sit down to write a romance novel.

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And not a lot of romance novels have a good twist.

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I like to put one in,

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like,

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I think there's a good twist in,

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what is the one I wrote about the pickleball?

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People, I have already decorative gourd season.

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There's a nice twist in that that you kind of don't expect to see coming.

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I think there's a good twist in The Never List where Esme ends up doing the grand

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gesture to save the day.

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And I think there's a pretty good twist in Standard of Care that I think you might enjoy.

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That book is coming up soon.

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We'll talk about that later.

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Anyhow, the other honest answer to me is more simple.

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Like after months of working on that book, my brain needs content that asks nothing of it.

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I don't need to like think.

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I don't need to deduce.

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I don't need it to be hard.

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We're not

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Mensa over here.

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We're not solving world hunger and establishing world peace over here.

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We're just looking for some entertainment.

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I'm looking for something to feed my brain.

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I'm looking for something maybe to give me some ideas for the next Young Investigations novel.

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And low stakes, a familiar structure, no emotional attacks is not a guilty pleasure to me.

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It is maintenance.

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So

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Both things can be true.

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It explains why my May TBR has a little bit more of a mystery tinge.

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I've spent months and months and months and months in romance, and I read a lot of romance.

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But, you know, like I said, every once in a while, I need something with teeth.

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I need something that has a little bite to it.

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That's why I'm really excited for the Rachel Housel Hall book and the Deborah Webb

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book,

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because I just need to jump

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Headburst into that and get lost in it.

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So when the screen and the page are giving me the same thing at the same time, I don't fight it.

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So let's tap into the writing and publishing update.

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First of all, speaking of crime and crime writing, I was on the...

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Crime Writers of Color podcast.

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I got to sit down with Robert Justice,

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who hosts that podcast,

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to talk about Missing Persons,

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a Young Investigations novel.

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That episode dropped April 16th.

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The link is at crimewritersofcolor.com.

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I also have it in my link in bio.

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It's booksbydlwhite.com slash link in bio.

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And I'll have it in the show notes to this episode.

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If you haven't read Missing Persons yet, it's a romantic suspense.

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I call it a romantic mystery.

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Other people call it romantic suspense.

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I don't think it's all that suspenseful, but it's definitely a mystery.

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Attorney Wesley Payne and private investigator Yvette Young are looking for a

(00:15:47):
missing father and the case gets really complicated really fast.

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um given that I've just told you I've been deep in my mystery content on Hallmark

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and my main TBR is half thrillers maybe it's time that you listen to that episode

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again I will slap the link here in the show notes so standard of care is done

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finished finite edited um formatted working on typeset working on cover working on

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Promo materials.

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I contracted a talented, talented reader named Smirks Novel Tea.

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You might know her on Instagram and threads.

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I hired her to do some promo graphics for me because I just needed to

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and DL White-Romantic Fiction

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and I used some of the collateral that she created for me.

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It's authordlwhite.substack.com.

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Get into it.

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I'm very, very, very excited about this book.

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So here's how I'm picturing the release working.

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May 15th, I'm going to soft launch on my website only.

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E-books will be available at booksofidealwhite.com slash shop or you can just go to

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payhip.com slash books by DL White.

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There's a banner at the top of the page.

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Tap on it.

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You can pre-order.

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and you'll get my book direct from me on May 15th.

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These are going to be distributed by BookFunnel.

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It'll be like two weeks before the book exists anywhere else.

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I am going to try to have the audiobook ready on the 15th.

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It could be slightly delayed a few days, but I'm going to work on it.

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May 29th is the retail launch and the print debut.

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Cross your fingers, we hope.

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Print copies will be at Black Romance Book Fest in Atlanta.

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Cross your fingers, we hope.

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The retail e-book will go wide the same day.

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Audio is potentially coming if I can get it recorded in time.

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More on that as it develops.

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As you all know, I am voicing my own audio these days.

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I think I currently have nine audiobooks out, which is amazing.

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And I think I have like three or four self-narrated books now.

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So I did Grumpy Valentine,

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Drinks at Minx,

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Calculate at Risk,

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Missing Persons,

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and Standard of Care will be book number five.

(00:18:22):
I think I'm getting better and better I know people want to hear those great

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professional voices but DL White does not have great

(00:18:30):
Professional Voices money, and I want my books in audio.

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And when I can do better, I will do better.

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And I do have some potentials in the works for having my books professionally

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recorded,

(00:18:44):
but that's a long,

(00:18:45):
long ways down the line.

(00:18:48):
So, you know, stay tuned.

(00:18:49):
Your girl might, might, might have good news at some point, and she might not.

(00:18:54):
Anyhow, so...

(00:18:57):
Talking about the soft launch model for a minute because it's becoming more common

(00:19:02):
with indie authors and

(00:19:04):
I think it is worth it to readers and other authors who aren't quite there or are

(00:19:10):
looking to pivot to understand why some of us are doing this.

(00:19:17):
I make more money selling direct.

(00:19:19):
Period.

(00:19:19):
Full stop.

(00:19:21):
Especially when it's not available anywhere else and people want it and they want

(00:19:24):
it now and they don't mind reading it on BookFunnel and sending it to their Kindle

(00:19:29):
or they want to read it now and they'll buy it on Kindle later.

(00:19:33):
I just I make more money selling direct retail platforms take a cut and especially

(00:19:41):
if you are going through an aggregator like Draft2Digital Draft2Digital takes their

(00:19:46):
cut after retail takes their cut and the reason that I I do it that way is so I

(00:19:52):
don't have to sign up to every individual platform and upload my book and go to

(00:19:57):
every individual platform and

(00:19:59):
Pull up my numbers and go to every individual platform and update my back matter or

(00:20:05):
my blurb and go to every individual platform and make every single correction,

(00:20:10):
update the cover,

(00:20:12):
etc.

(00:20:13):
There's a bunch of books that I distribute through Draft2Digital and they do it all

(00:20:20):
for me and they take a cut off of the back end.

(00:20:27):
to manage that for me.

(00:20:28):
They also distribute to libraries, and I do actually make money on libraries.

(00:20:34):
I'm not a millionaire, but I do make money when libraries buy my e-books and my...

(00:20:40):
I'm getting an email.

(00:20:41):
Okie dokie.

(00:20:46):
They buy my e-books and my audio books,

(00:20:49):
and a reader actually told me that they checked out the Never List in print from a

(00:20:54):
library.

(00:20:55):
Like...

(00:20:56):
what kind of madness is that that's absolutely crazy to me um so yes that two-week

(00:21:02):
window where the book only lives on my site is two weeks of keeping the full margin

(00:21:07):
so if you care at all I mean cue in the arms of the angel in the back if you care

(00:21:14):
at all buy it direct if the author is selling it direct buy it direct um

(00:21:21):
And then I also own the customer relationship.

(00:21:23):
When you buy from Amazon,

(00:21:25):
Barnes & Noble,

(00:21:26):
Apple Books,

(00:21:27):
Google Play,

(00:21:29):
they know all the information.

(00:21:31):
They know who bought my book.

(00:21:33):
When someone buys from my site, I get their email.

(00:21:36):
And that reader is in my world now, not a retailer's world.

(00:21:40):
And then I invite you to be

(00:21:43):
Inner Circle Official where you get all the good news first and you get all the

(00:21:47):
release links first and you get all the excerpts first and you might even get

(00:21:51):
exclusive stuff.

(00:21:52):
And, you know, it's a really good time that you get in there for free.

(00:21:58):
I don't have a Patreon.

(00:22:00):
I don't make people pay to read my stuff.

(00:22:02):
I just ask you to subscribe to the Inner Circle.

(00:22:05):
You get all this good stuff for free.

(00:22:08):
You get it first.

(00:22:10):
But membership has its privileges.

(00:22:13):
You have to be a part of the group You know what I'm saying?

(00:22:17):
And then also my price holds Amazon can and will discount my book without asking me

(00:22:22):
They can take my $12.99 paperback and sell it for $3.47 They can take my $3.99

(00:22:29):
ebook and put it on sale for $0.99 And I don't get paid the difference

(00:22:34):
They can do whatever they want with my book because I have enabled them to sell my

(00:22:38):
book there Now,

(00:22:39):
I'm not anti-Amazon I'm just saying I don't make them a huge part of my sales

(00:22:45):
strategy I never link Amazon Never,

(00:22:48):
ever,

(00:22:48):
ever,

(00:22:48):
ever,

(00:22:49):
ever link Amazon I don't have anything that's exclusive to Amazon It's there

(00:22:53):
because that's where a lot of readers shop

(00:22:56):
But I almost always am linking to a universal link where you can pick where you

(00:23:00):
want to buy something or I'm linking to my direct store where that title might be

(00:23:05):
exclusive or that's where I want you to buy that.

(00:23:08):
So anyhow, the price holds.

(00:23:12):
So during a soft launch window, the price I set is the price it stays.

(00:23:16):
And then my most engaged readers...

(00:23:19):
i.e.

(00:23:20):
the inner circle,

(00:23:21):
the VIP,

(00:23:22):
the people that are paying attention,

(00:23:23):
get early access to people who follow me closely enough to know the website drop is

(00:23:28):
happening.

(00:23:29):
Those are my people.

(00:23:31):
Those are my readers.

(00:23:32):
And rewarding that with a two-week head start makes sense to me.

(00:23:35):
They get the book before anyone else can touch it.

(00:23:39):
And I'm a longtime sufferer of FOMO I got to have it,

(00:23:43):
I want it now,

(00:23:44):
I want it early And I want to brag that I have had it for weeks And my readers are

(00:23:52):
petty like that They are my kind of people And honestly,

(00:23:56):
buying direct means going through an unfamiliar checkout on a website Instead of a

(00:24:01):
platform people use every day Some readers won't do it

(00:24:04):
That friction is real.

(00:24:06):
I'm not pretending otherwise,

(00:24:07):
but it's well,

(00:24:08):
well,

(00:24:08):
well worth it if you want authors to keep publishing books.

(00:24:13):
So the two-week window before retail is what makes this work for me as a strategy.

(00:24:18):
I feel like every time I release a book,

(00:24:22):
I try to make the span of time between when it's only available on my site and when

(00:24:27):
it's available on retail longer.

(00:24:31):
whereas before I would put it on sale on my website and like I would get sales for

(00:24:37):
a couple of days and they would fall off because everybody's waiting for it to hit

(00:24:41):
Amazon,

(00:24:41):
Barnes & Noble,

(00:24:42):
Apple Pay,

(00:24:44):
Apple Pay,

(00:24:44):
Apple Books,

(00:24:45):
Google Play.

(00:24:47):
They're all just waiting for it to hit their favorite platform so they can have it

(00:24:50):
in their cute little app and I understand that and I understand that but all I'm

(00:24:54):
saying is I would love it if BookFunnel became your cute little app

(00:25:00):
and you were just waiting for it to drop direct from me.

(00:25:04):
So it's deliberate.

(00:25:07):
It's time-limited exclusive.

(00:25:09):
The framing matters.

(00:25:11):
It is on purpose and it is what works for me.

(00:25:15):
But never fear.

(00:25:16):
It is coming to retail.

(00:25:18):
You're just not getting it early.

(00:25:21):
So that's my little diatribe on standard of care.

(00:25:26):
One more reminder,

(00:25:27):
it'll be on sale on my website store,

(00:25:30):
payhip.com slash booksbydlwhite or booksbydlwhite.com slash shop.

(00:25:35):
E-book, Perchance Audio, May 15th is that drop.

(00:25:41):
I will not have paperbacks by May 15th, like I'm not a miracle worker.

(00:25:45):
May 29th is the retail drop for e-book.

(00:25:50):
Possibly paperback.

(00:25:51):
You should be able to order it through paperback.

(00:25:54):
I'm going to be doing that through Draft2Digital,

(00:25:57):
and I might just do a separate printer for paperback just to have some copies

(00:26:01):
available at Black Romance Book Fest and at Wine with Writers.

(00:26:05):
We're going to talk about events next, but that's just kind of how that's going.

(00:26:11):
I know it sounds complicated, but it's just on purpose to put me...

(00:26:16):
in the best position I can to get this book to your ears, to your faces, to your devices.

(00:26:23):
So events.

(00:26:25):
It is event season.

(00:26:26):
I have two back-to-back events and then possibly something coming up this fall.

(00:26:32):
I'll keep you posted.

(00:26:33):
One is for sure just hasn't been announced yet.

(00:26:36):
And one is a strong possibility.

(00:26:39):
Just signups just aren't even open yet.

(00:26:41):
So of course, since the podcast is back,

(00:26:45):
I will be letting you all know but also please please please subscribe to my

(00:26:48):
newsletter it's booksbydlwhite.com slash newsletter you want to be VIP you want to

(00:26:53):
be inner circle you want to be in there like swim where because I really really

(00:26:58):
really try to get that stuff to my newsletter first even if it's a day ahead you

(00:27:02):
still get that in your inbox well ahead of when other people are paying attention

(00:27:09):
so

(00:27:10):
Black Romance.

(00:27:12):
But y'all,

(00:27:13):
I got like a little sinus thing going on and my sinus is so inflamed that it makes

(00:27:18):
my teeth hurt.

(00:27:19):
And so now it sounds like I have a lisp because I'm trying not to like snap my teeth together.

(00:27:24):
Anyway.

(00:27:26):
Black Romance Book Fest is in Atlanta, May 29-31, 2026.

(00:27:31):
BlackRomanceBookFest.com.

(00:27:33):
This event is sold out unless you're in the Facebook group and they have a couple

(00:27:39):
of tickets available.

(00:27:40):
But

(00:27:41):
you didn't hear me say that you didn't hear me say that at all this has been sold

(00:27:46):
out and pre-orders are closed but I will have books on site you know what I'm

(00:27:50):
saying because your sister cannot afford to not have books for sale on site my

(00:27:57):
books cost me $500 please come to my table

(00:28:00):
and Buy Books.

(00:28:22):
and then I have my signing.

(00:28:23):
I'm in group two from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

(00:28:26):
I don't know where that is.

(00:28:27):
The signing room.

(00:28:28):
I don't know.

(00:28:29):
I have an assistant who will help me and I hope she will know where it is.

(00:28:34):
And then Sunday,

(00:28:35):
May 31st,

(00:28:36):
I am not on a panel,

(00:28:37):
but I do have a table signing in Group 2,

(00:28:39):
2 p.m.

(00:28:39):
to 5 p.m.

(00:28:41):
Otherwise, I'm going to be around lollygagging and staring at authors and fangirling.

(00:28:48):
I pre-ordered a lot of books,

(00:28:51):
and I need to get them signed,

(00:28:53):
so I'll probably be standing in some lines.

(00:28:57):
So I will see you all there.

(00:28:59):
I am so super excited.

(00:29:00):
This is year two of Black Romance Book Fest.

(00:29:02):
It continues to be the premiere event in Atlanta for books and I'm uber,

(00:29:08):
uber excited to see you all.

(00:29:10):
And then I will be at Wine with Writers in Baltimore, Maryland.

(00:29:14):
If you're attending, I think this event is sold out, but check the website, winewithwriters.com.

(00:29:20):
My pre-orders are open.

(00:29:21):
I will put a link in the show notes.

(00:29:23):
You can also find the link on my link in bio.

(00:29:26):
Again, that's booksbydlwhite.com slash link in bio pre-order for

(00:29:31):
and all of the other authors that are going to be in attendance.

(00:29:33):
This is going to be a wonderful, wonderful time.

(00:29:36):
This is a fundraiser for Zora's Den,

(00:29:41):
which is a nice little retreat space set up out there in Baltimore.

(00:29:46):
So it's just going to be a really nice, intimate weekend with readers.

(00:29:51):
I don't even drink, but I get so excited about Wine with Writers and

(00:29:55):
I'm very excited to be with my good friends that run the Wine with Writers event

(00:30:03):
every few years.

(00:30:04):
So I'm just looking forward to relaxing.

(00:30:07):
Being for Theaters, having great conversations about books and selling some books.

(00:30:12):
And, you know, my idol, Miss Beverly Jenkins, is going to be there.

(00:30:16):
So I am way excited.

(00:30:18):
I did recently see her at the Conyers Book Festival a few weeks ago.

(00:30:22):
Unfortunately, I was just recovering from a cold.

(00:30:27):
and I couldn't hug her.

(00:30:29):
I didn't get close to her.

(00:30:30):
I just kind of popped in, listened to the panels, picked up some books and popped back out.

(00:30:36):
It was so nice to see her.

(00:30:38):
Any opportunity I can get to see Ms. Bev, I am going to take it.

(00:30:42):
So I also saw Vanessa Riley.

(00:30:47):
Danielle Allen Lauren Lacey not Carmen Casey Mills so it was super nice to see some

(00:31:00):
Atlanta-based authors as well so again as I mentioned I have more

(00:31:05):
So, yeah

(00:31:28):
That, my friends, is episode 137 of the book cast.

(00:31:34):
We are back.

(00:31:35):
We are so back and we are bad.

(00:31:37):
Glad to be back.

(00:31:38):
And I am glad you are still here.

(00:31:40):
If you enjoyed this episode, share it, rate it, leave a comment wherever you're listening.

(00:31:45):
Apple, Spotify, Substack, YouTube.

(00:31:48):
I have, I think, still supporters on Buzzsprout.

(00:31:52):
Substack

(00:32:03):
I want to thank you all for hanging in there and sticking with me.

(00:32:07):
If you would like to support, you can buy my books at booksbydlwhite.com.

(00:32:13):
You can buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com.

(00:32:16):
You can share the podcast or join the newsletter.

(00:32:21):
All the links you can shake a stick at booksbydlwhite.com.

(00:32:27):
Full show notes,

(00:32:28):
transcript links will be at booksbydlwhite.com slash bookcast slash 137 and on my

(00:32:35):
Substack at authordlwhite.substack.com Big,

(00:32:39):
big,

(00:32:39):
big,

(00:32:39):
big,

(00:32:40):
big thanks to my monthly supporters and everyone who has ever sent me coffee.

(00:32:44):
You keep this mic turned on nice and warm, even when I'm not in this closet.

(00:32:50):
The book cast is written,

(00:32:51):
produced,

(00:32:51):
and edited by me,

(00:32:52):
DL White The music and sound effects are from Pixavay I will be back next week In

(00:32:58):
theory Okay,

(00:32:59):
yeah,

(00:32:59):
I'll be back next week Because we've got a book coming We've got a book coming

(00:33:03):
Until then,

(00:33:03):
be well,

(00:33:04):
read something good I'll talk to you soon Bye-bye

(00:33:31):
Substack  by  DL  White