Episode 36: [BOOK CLUB] Just for the Summer, not the rom-com you'll expect

Our Book Club selection for July was Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez. It’s the latest contemporary romance by Stephanie’s favorite author that has received many accolades across bestseller lists and was a Good Morning America Book Club this summer. As Stephanie continues to work on her own contemporary romance series, which will be written using a pen name, Abby’s books and daily social media posts are a continuous source of inspiration, however, this book threw a curveball. A fair warning here, there may be some spoilers and unpopular opinions ahead, or simply opportunities for great conversations about what it looks like to discuss a book from a reader’s perspective and a writer’s perspective. The viewpoints do not always align. Just for the Summer is an example of success for an author who knows her readers and has established a solid backlist, even when it’s not quite the rom-com you expect. We can agree to disagree. If you go on Goodreads, there are plenty of 1-star reviews right alongside the 5-star reviews of Just for the Summer. Every reader is different. It’s a helpful reminder to anyone pursuing a writing career that even the authors whose books are appearing on best seller lists get the 1-star reviews. You definitely want to be careful about judging this book by its cover. The image doesn’t reflect the level of mental health darkness that develops for Emma. It’s a common discussion thread amongst Abby’s readers that they’re left navigating so many emotions when reading her books, but the love story doesn’t feel memorable in this one. We weren’t left feeling like we were forever hopeful for the main characters. It was surprising because the genius hook at the beginning of the book of a Reddit thread that brings Emma and Justin (the romantic heroine and hero of the book) together creates the expected rom-com vibe. While Abby does research her books with great care and sensitivity, it went too far into the family drama for Emma and wove in character connections from her other books that didn’t make sense to us. There was a difference between listening to the book and reading it. Stephanie shares how she felt like she wasn’t paying as close attention when listening to it. The narrators are so good and the experience felt similar to putting a Netflix series on in the background while you’re doing other things, so you’re not paying as close attention. A closer read, with the book in hand, brought to light the depth of Emma’s mental health challenges that presented a dark, troubling story line that overshadowed the sweetness of the love affair. We invite you to listen to the podcast to hear the details of our discussion. Our next Book Club selection is Go As A River by Shelley Read. We attended workshops by Shelley at the Mountain Words Festival in May 2024, and were inspired by her story and experience of her first novel becoming an International Bestseller. We look forward to sharing insights from her workshops and the book. We’d love to have you join the conversation with us, so if you’re interested in being a part of our Book Club podcast recording please fill out the interest form here. 

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Transcript

Elizabeth: 0:00

Welcome back listeners. You're here for another episode of the Inspired Writer Collective. This time we are doing our monthly book club book, which was Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez. All of our regular listeners know that this is one of Stephanie's favorite authors. And we've talked about a number of her books, um, within our various conversations, but this is the first time we've chosen one. As our monthly book club book, um and seeing as it's summertime and and this book takes place in the summer It seemed like an appropriate pick now. I full disclosure There's going to be so many spoilers through our conversations because we're going to be talking about our reading experience looking at it both as our expectations as readers as well as Um what we think worked or didn't work from a writer perspective So please know just from the top, there are going to be spoilers. Most of those will come towards the later part of our conversation. But just just know that going into it and um, Hopefully you've had a chance to read the book and you can comment and let us know what you thought about it Uh, we certainly have some strong opinions about it despite it being one of um, stephanie's favorite authors So it should be an interesting discussion. So stephanie, why don't you kick us off now you You not only listened to it, you also picked up a copy and then read it, right?

Stephanie: 1:27

yes, so I listened to it. And. The interesting thing when I listen to books is quite often I'm driving, I'm not fully paying attention. so, it's almost like the experience of, you know, watching your favorite Netflix series where you're just kind of going through the motions of watching it and it's the same thing when listening to it. Uh, and then, of course, reading it was a very different experience because I felt like I had definitely missed it. Pieces of it from when I was listening to it. And I'm sure others have probably had that experience too. Um, you know, I listened to it, of course, because I enjoyed the narrators and, you know, very good narrators. Abby always has very good narrators for her books. So it makes it very entertaining to listen to them. And it was. One of the things that me, and of course when we were first talking about this book and you had also read it, was that I had read it through the lens of a reader who just loves Abby's books, has always really enjoyed them, I hadn't really focused too much on how this particular book goes, you know, to a very dark side mental health, and it goes deeper than her other books. while I know she's very, you know, Abby is very conscientious about doing her research writing her books, is very thoughtful, I felt that this book went a little bit further, um, in the sense that felt like the main character, Emma's, you know, response to a difficult relationship with her mom and this idea of feeling very small and closing herself off from the world that She shut down so much that it didn't feel as authentic as, say, a character who a dysfunctional relationship with a parent and sets a boundary. Um, so that felt very different. And so, of course, are lots of comments all over Twitter. know, the internet about this and, you know, people have commented about that and because what's interesting is, is if you look at the cover of the book, which looks all sunshiny and two people running to the ocean, it looks like you're going to have sort of a little bit of a light experience and then it gets very dark.

Elizabeth: 4:10

For sure. And you actually got to see her talk on her book tour for this book, right? Did, did she speak to. Any sort of reason as to Why she chose to take it in that direction. Is she trying to branch out branch out into other like Fiction genres and used her, you know Contemporary romance platform to do that. What what was Did she speak on that at all?

Stephanie: 4:41

You know, she didn't really touch upon it. And I think some of that is because, you know, the audience was essentially that sort of super fan energy. Nobody asked about that aspect of the book. But if you follow her on TikTok, she does have a, periodically she does have the, you know, sort of using the popular meme with, Will Ferrell doing the I don't care, um, where she's saying like, just when my readers think they're going to have like a, you know, with a pina colada by the beach, you know, that's not what it is. And, you know, sort of that, like, know, I'm just going to do it right at the way she felt that it should be written. Uh, but yeah, she didn't really speak to that because that particular aspect of the book didn't come out. Though, it definitely is a point that if you go on Goodreads and look at the one star reviews was definitely what turned a lot of people off, even people who like me, you know, love her books and love her style of writing. And, you know, she, she is a great author. just took a turn that's to me so different from her previous books. And I know you've read a couple of her other books and you

Elizabeth: 6:11

I

Stephanie: 6:11

quite surprised at where it went.

Elizabeth: 6:14

remember reading this book and as i'm reading it i'm like texting you at various points Um, and we'll back up and start in the at the beginning in just a second But yeah, there there came a point that we'll talk a little bit more about a little bit later but there came a point in the book where I was just like Are you kidding me? and I texted you and i'm like Am I the only one that feels this way like this was like an insane direction to go and this was You over the top and unnecessary and dilutes what I felt like was the, you know, helpfulness or relatability or validation for so many people and readers of, you know, this main character's experience of Emma's experience. And then all of a sudden it like goes to such an extreme level that it becomes totally unrelatable. Um, and I, I remember that's when we started looking to see is like, is there any other chatter online about, you know, people being surprised by this or upset by this or. You know, like noticing that it was not at all as far as reader expectation and what her audience has grown to expect from her You know the beginning part of the book you have a cute little love story and the way it unfolds You have all the funny little quips and humors and she's so good with her dialogue so all of that was like, you know checking the boxes and then it was just like This dark shadow crept in and okay, we can tolerate that for a minute and then it just becomes like a demon You know, it's just so over the top, um And so we we can dive into that a little bit more later, but I do want to start with the in the beginning So we talk a lot of the time about like showing versus telling and how to build in the backstory And I remember texting you as soon as I read like the first page or two and being like, oh my gosh What a genius way To give the reader all this backstory in the beginning without feeling like you're just dumping backstory So do you want to you want to talk about that for a minute talk about the the way she's Opens the book

Stephanie: 8:22

yeah, no, I, I love this opening for the book because she uses a, the inspiration from Reddit, a Reddit thread of Justin, who's the male, uh, character and main character in the book. He's posting about how, you know, he's had this, you know, disagreement in a sense with one of his friends over, his living situation. And so he's gotten this dog that's, you know, not a very attractive dog. So he's named it after his former, you know, roommate, who's also a good friend. And, uh, and then there, it just goes into more details about, you know, who he is. And, um, And their, you know, connection and then the whole thing about having to move apartments. And now he's in this crappy apartment with a view of the Toilet King billboard. And so, um, and apparently I know from seeing her on her book tour, there's a particular billboard that's apparently all over Minnesota. It's not the Toilet King, but that's, she kind of played off of that. So there are a lot of things throughout the book where she's using a lot of references to specific places in Minnesota. And some people have commented like, Oh, there should be a little tour. You know, there's going to be like the Abby Jimenez book tour of Minnesota because of all the little places that she talks about. And so this was one in particular where, uh, apparently there's a, um, popular billboard, but she was like, Oh, that would be so. And she had actually gotten permission from whoever this of, you know, particular figure in Minnesota is to use his likeness in her book. But then she decided at the last minute not to do that and changed it to Toilet King, because she thought it would be, you know, of course, funnier to have something like that as to add to the humor. So, she is very creative in adding in the humor, but there's the Reddit thread and then of course it starts with the conversation between Emma and her friend Maddie and they discover the Reddit thread and there's the messaging starts and between Emma and Justin through the Reddit thread where he's at first like, you're not a reporter, are you? Because Cause they also have, share something in common, which is that, uh, if you're familiar with the movie, good luck, Chuck, there's the whole thing where everybody that in good luck, Chuck, you know, every woman he dates, the next person she meets is her soulmate. that's, know, Justin's experience is that, you know, his, his friend had met this other woman, you know, and

Elizabeth: 11:15

His ex.

Stephanie: 11:16

that was, his ex. Right. Exactly. Um, and you know, it was like love at first sight. Like she describes it as being like, uh, Abby uses the description of being hit by a truck, you know, sort of instant feeling of love. And so, uh, so yeah, so there's, there's that, that starts and then it starts to bring them together. So, you know, that stretches on for quite a bit. of the book is this back and forth and then eventually they're talking on the phone. So I mean, as I've mentioned before, and we've had this discussion before, is really good at dialogue and she uses dialogue very effectively to move the story along and to weave in The details, uh, but certainly the Reddit thread was just a great way to start and the Reddit thread is Am I the Asshole, you know, A I T A is the abbreviation and so, you know, you're immediately into, you know, the curiosity is piqued and then there's sort of a mini debate about is he really or not the asshole.

Elizabeth: 12:26

Yeah, it was such a genius way to like really bring the reader in provide all that backstory On I think he even discloses in the post about this whole like curse that he has and you know his living arrangements and the dog and the stuff and as a memoirist, I also appreciated how He as the character had changed the name slightly of his friend and the girlfriend, and it was like Brad or Bruce, or I don't forget how he changed it. But, you know, and then like faith versus hope. Oh yeah. Chad or Brad. Yeah. And then faith versus hope. Like, you know, as a memoirist, like it makes total sense. Like when you're posting about people, when you're writing about other people, sometimes you just change the names a little bit for a little bit of protection and then you move on and you, you know. You say what's going on? Um, but yes, I thought that was a genius way to open it up Um, it doesn't take too long before we get into the story and start to see her The way that abby brings in her Like already established characters from other books. Um like we get to see um, what was the brother's name benny who got the transplant from yours truly Cause he's a friend of Justin's and then, um, then Emma and her roommate, Maddie, they're traveling nurses and they end up renting a house from Uh, Alexis's ex, Neil, right. And so it's like, we already get to see some of these characters that we're somewhat familiar with. Neil definitely gets a, definitely like a little bit more of a shine on his character in this book. Um, which was interesting to see sort of his character development between part of your world. where he was kind of the bad guy and um, and then how he's portrayed in this book. Um, so you know you can definitely for the people who have read the whole like series and follow these characters it's really appealing to, you know, get to see them again and be exposed to them in small ways, but to know so much more about that character because, you know, you've met them in a different book, which is cool.

Stephanie: 14:44

Well, yeah, and the dedication in this book is specific to, um, readers. And so they're definitely, you know, a lot of the Easter eggs throughout and the references to the characters in previous books, which is a very creative way to, of course, you know, hook in the readers that you have from, you know, a perspective as a writer is thinking about like, you know, how can you make this about your readers? And so that's definitely one way to do it. And it also piques the interest of people who. Just pick up just for the summer and then hear about oh wait These other characters have significance in other places and then they Go and seek out the other books. So there is um, definitely from a marketing standpoint. I mean, there's definitely uh creative strategy there and I will say that you know, abby definitely has creative strategy. And, you know, for those of you who want to do the traditional publishing route, you know, she's definitely, I mean, Abby's, you know, all the way traditional, but she still has to do the majority of, you know, her marketing and she does it very effectively and does it very well. And. Is I would say is, you know, a good one to look to just for ideas of ways that you can market. And so we've definitely talked about that before, uh, because even if you're traditionally published, it doesn't mean you're off the hook for the marketing piece. Um,

Elizabeth: 16:19

Right.

Stephanie: 16:20

so, yeah, so there, there's that. And she creates those bringing in all the different characters, you get the whole perspective, but you also get to know, you know, her character development with, with Emma begins and you get to see, you know, more and more about who she is. And, uh, she's a traveling nurse. And they've made this decision to go to Minnesota. She and Maddie make this decision to go to Minnesota because she's formed this connection with Justin. And then, you know, she and Justin connect and it, you know, there are a lot of, you know, moments and he's kind of what the, you know, you would think of as what they call a little bit of a cinnamon roll character. Sort of the squishy guy a little bit with, with her, and provides a space for her soft landing. I do feel like she spends a good, there's a heavy emphasis on Emma just. Going, turning inward and being really so dark in her sense of self that, that does take away, I feel, from the pacing of the love story at times,

Elizabeth: 17:41

For sure. The love story, basically, It gets so sidetracked. So true to Abby's form, she uses family drama at the central part of her story in order to provide the source of tension between the couple. So like we saw it in part of your world, where Alexis is, you know, high power dad was an issue and Daniel was trying to buy the house from his, what was her position? Mom? Yeah.

Stephanie: 18:10

I can't remember. I think so. Yes.

Elizabeth: 18:13

His mom. And then yours truly, you know, we have, Brianna, who's younger brother Fidgey, needs a transplant, and that's the source of like a bunch of the tension in there. So it makes sense that Abby would bring in family tension. Justin's mom going to prison and him having to take care of his younger siblings and then Emma's mom, Amber. However, you and I both feel very strongly about the fact that this book, Took the story of Emma and her mom Amber over the top and it became a very distracting Like I would almost argue that the love story was the subplot and not the Emma and Amber story that became the main plot because that was the source of like the height of the conflict the dark night of the soul the You know, resolution at the end. It was, it was all along that storyline. It wasn't along really the love story. I also had huge issue at one point. Um, and you've read this more recently than I have. But I remember, you know, right, either texting you or calling you about it where Emma tries to make amends after, you know, getting small and disappearing for a while and she shows up at Justin's house and he says something like so out of character. Um, and I don't recall what the line was. He says something super dismissive when she's trying to basically do all things and it felt very out of character for his, like you said, cinnamon roll, kind of happy go lucky, always trying to make things work. And there was really no support given as to why he acted that way in that particular moment um To then cause, you know more tension to rise I mean, it really felt like it was like the their love story was being unnecessarily Drug out in my opinion and the fact that it's so out of character um, and now for the like super spoiler portion I was pretty upset when the storyline, okay, so we get a lot of like the Emma and Amber about her, Amber being an absent mom and her disappearing all the time. And I already felt like Emma had plenty of reason and validation and support for putting distance and boundaries up between her and her mom. But then Abby took it a step further and then tried to interconnect the stories to where Emma's mom is also Daniel's mom. And hiding the fact that Emma had this extended family and then tried to like suddenly change the narrative to the times when Amber would abandon Emma and leave her alone. She was actually over here having a good time with her family in Wakhan or however you say that imaginary town. Um,

Stephanie: 21:09

Okay.

Elizabeth: 21:10

Which didn't make sense to all of the early part of the book where you see Emma talking about how her mom would go chasing this guy or some money thing and then she'd run out of money and then she'd come return home really like downtrodden and Licking her wounds, but we know from Daniel's story from part of your world that she would go there searching for money when she was down and out and asking for money and, and then would bring, she would suddenly get, you know, money from that side of the family. So she wasn't really returning downtrodden. It did not make sense. I I felt like the continuity of the story didn't make sense. I felt like it was a further reach than made any sense It didn't need to happen I didn't need that level of connectivity between the storylines And it honestly upset me for the people who, for the readership that may have found

Stephanie: 22:06

Silence.

Elizabeth: 22:21

child dynamic and make it. So egregious of an abuse and neglect. I felt like really invalidated most people's experiences to kind of paint it as,

Stephanie: 22:35

Silence.

Elizabeth: 22:40

heinous thing versus just letting the story be where it was, where her mom is clearly unstable and she needs help and Emma thought that finally she would was being offered help. And this was going to be the thing and she turned it down and ran from it. Let it be that. That's great.

Stephanie: 22:59

yes.

Elizabeth: 23:00

That's strong. But then it became this whole, Oh, and by the way, she's actually got all this family. She kept you from, and she's actually going here. It made no sense. And I was, I was really irritated and I really wish I understood why.

Stephanie: 23:15

Mm

Elizabeth: 23:17

I don't know that that maybe that would be like a a twist because it certainly was I remember Texting you and be like wait, I didn't remember that amber was the name of the other character in that book Did you remember and you hadn't either even though we both I mean, I read that book recently So, I don't know if it was like the thrill of the twist and the unexpectedness, but it really It really upset me both from a writer perspective of like that feels like a far reach but also upset me for the readers that I felt like may have been able to relate to Emma's character and suddenly might feel like they aren't justified in the cutting off of their toxic family members because their situation isn't as egregious as the one painted in the book. That's, that's where I stood. I was disappointed. The love story was lackluster. You know, Justin was not a very strong character. And then the whole mother daughter thing took over.

Stephanie: 24:18

Yeah, no, I, I agree. I agree with all of what you just said, and I do think, you know, taking it that extra step was way too much because I do think that it was enough to, know, for Emma and Amber A reconnection point, but then the disconnect and then having Amber go through the same motions with Neil, where she's kind of pushing away this man who could potentially, you know, help her and bring her into a better place. But then, like you said, to add that extra layer with, Oh my goodness. Now, Emma, all of a sudden has this half brother, Daniel, and, you know, you know, suddenly her family is spiraling into this abyss of, know, where she's feeling even worse about herself. And I also going along with that as you were talking, and I hadn't thought about this before as much, but I was thinking like her friend Maddie in the story is a pretty strong character in terms

Elizabeth: 25:20

Yes,

Stephanie: 25:20

stance about everything. And to me, it would, it doesn't make much sense. Considering like, uh, Emma's a traveling nurse and she's got this really close friend that She wouldn't have relied more on that friendship because clearly they've been friends for a long time.

Elizabeth: 25:40

I mean she was like a sister. She lived with her right for a while. It's like a foster family

Stephanie: 25:45

She was basically, Yeah. She basically moved in with her in high school and was pretty much adopted by her, you know, Maddie's, you know, moms. And, you know, it was this whole thing and they were always reaching out to her and wanting to include her and, you know, and Emma always pushed back from that. And, It, seemed unrealistic that she wouldn't have leaned on her friendship more. Um, and that she leaned in a little bit with Justin, but again, you know, there were maybe a few cutesy moments. I mean, a memorable one is when he's, you know, rowing the unicorn floaty out to the island where the house is that she's on. And, you know, she's been sick and, you know, there's sort of that cute moment. But then it just seems to, as we've discussed already, just turn into, well, let's try to solve Emma's mental health issues. And it just doesn't seem, I don't know, there's an aspect of it that doesn't seem believable as a nurse to when you're taking care of other people. not be able to in some way take care of yourself. And maybe that's something that, you know, nurses struggle with sometimes because there's the stress of the job. And, and I know that Abby, you know, talks to a lot of people and gets, know, feedback from people who are in these specific fields. So maybe there's something about the travel nursing that's different from positions. I mean, I know it certainly can be very stressful. Um, so maybe it's a case of, you know, you can do for others what you can't do for yourself.

Elizabeth: 27:26

Yeah,

Stephanie: 27:27

But yeah, and, but it just, but I think again, there's just that place where the love story does get lost. Like I remember finishing the book and thinking, I'm not really sure like what the, you know, where it went in the, in the flow of the story. Um,

Elizabeth: 27:54

yeah I definitely didn't buy into the strength of them as a couple like I did with brianna and jacob or daniel and alexis You know you you leave those stories being like, oh, this is a match made in heaven This is such a strong couple and I did not feel that about emma and justin. They were a cute couple Um You know, but did I think that they had any sort of, like, staying power? No. Not at all.

Stephanie: 28:20

Yeah. Well, and I think there was an aspect of, you know, maybe it was the fact that, like, his family kind of had, you know, the dysfunction with his, uh, his mom going to prison. Like, he's trying to navigate that. And then he's, so he's navigating that while being faced with Emma, who's navigating her stuff. And I mean, it was cute the way they, you know, the way she wove in, uh, the sort of trying to, you know, Get rid of the curse with their, you know, like, well, how many dates do we have to go on and like different aspects their dating experience. And, you know, and he would send her little invitations and, um, you know, so there were cute things woven throughout, again, there was so much that. where it just went dark for so long and you're just thinking, I mean, it's almost painful as the reader. And maybe, and maybe that was her intention is, you know, going to that place of pain. I know she's talked about in different interviews that, you know, she does use a lot of inspiration from her own experience in life. So maybe there is an aspect of that, that's here. Uh, but do think that, you know, as someone who has, Set a boundary with a parent in my life that it doesn't have to be. That dark and their ways, you know, and maybe for some people it is, but I just feel like, especially for, you know, readers who are anticipating a light summer read, considering it was a like, it was a good morning America book club book and all this stuff. And I mean, there's so much hype around this book which is great for Abby. I mean, you know, but at the same time, There's that piece of, okay, I guess maybe at a certain point as an author, you can have some leeway when you have a strong backlist and, you know, readers will forgive and move on. And I mean, a lot of people do comment all over, you know, I follow all of her things, you know, where they're commenting like, Oh, this was the best. I love this book. This was so wonderful. And, and maybe it depends on the lens that you're reading it through. I mean, as I say, when I first listened to it, I didn't, you know, get, into that depth of the dark side other than listening to it towards the end. I do remember thinking like this feels like it's going on and on for a long time and maybe I tuned it out because it was going on for so long so then it did feel hard to read like to actually read through that part of the book because I was like this does feel like it's going on and on.

Elizabeth: 31:09

Yeah, yeah, so we're super curious what you guys thought if you've read this book, you know, did you love it? How does it rank within, you know, the number of her, of Abby's recent books as far as like, which ones are your favorites? Or did you also find yourselves questioning why it had to go that dark or why there needed to be that added twist at the end? And did that make sense to you? Are we missing something? Um, comment, let us know. We, we want to hear, you know, your take on it. Um, for me, this would not be the Abby book that I would recommend to somebody. I think I would recommend probably yours truly because I just love Bree's humor and the way that character is written. But she's also really good in part of your world as the best friend. So both of those I think are great. But this is not one that I personally would recommend. What about you, Stephanie?

Stephanie: 32:12

No, I agree with you. I, I loved yours truly because I loved the letter writing aspect of that connection between the main characters and the characters themselves. And again, I felt like Brie was a super strong female character who really, like, held her own and knew what she wanted. I mean, there was just a real sense of strength. And the, her, you know, relationship with her brother and his need for a kidney transplant did not take over the book in the same way. Um, I would also recommend the, uh, Happily Ever After playlist, which is, Actually, her first book, but as often people think of it as, you know, her second book because it wasn't well known initially. Uh, but that's also just a really fun one. Um, you know, the love story is wonderful in that one. So those are two that, I really, uh, enjoyed of her, of her books. Um, and I also say, you know, listener, if you're really curious, know, I would hop on Goodreads and look at the one star reviews because even a bestseller that's, you know, been on, you know, across every bestseller list, she's been on the New York Times bestseller list. She's been on USA Today. She's, I mean, this book just for the summer has received so many accolades. It's on so many different book lists of best summer reads for 2024. You know, it's everywhere that. Even the, you know, most the books with the most accolades still get one star reviews. So thinking like, I don't know about getting my voice out there, just go read one star reviews and even pick your favorite book and go see the one star reviews because even the best authors get the one star reviews.

Elizabeth: 34:11

Absolutely. So we're going to be continuing our monthly book club discussions. The book for next month is Go as a River by Shelley Reed. Now she is a local Colorado author and this is another author that both Stephanie and I got to hear talk on panels and in discussions at that recent conference that we went to in Crested Butte. So we do have some kind of Inside perspectives as far as the author's journey and everything too to add to that conversation So hope that you'll read along with us for that book Um, I know it had a you know a smaller platform in the beginning But at the time of the conference shelly was sharing with us that they had she had just signed 37 International contracts it was being translated into a number of different languages

Stephanie: 35:01

for

Elizabeth: 35:02

Now you should be able to find this book everywhere. It's going to be one that people are talking about and it is set in this little town of Um,

Stephanie: 35:11

Bye

Elizabeth: 35:12

which is now buried under the Blue Mesa Reservoir. So it was one of those towns that got flooded out in order to create the Blue Mesa Reservoir that's outside of Gunnison, Colorado, in western Colorado. And so this, this story takes place in that old town that no longer exists. Um, and it was a story that she spent over ten years writing. It's her debut novel. So, um, there's going to be some great discussions. I've already started reading this one and I love, there's so many great things to say about it already. Um, so tune in next month for that discussion. Please read along if you'd like and then listen in on our conversation. Subscribe to our channel. We also have our weekly newsletter that goes out and we always provide some additional Fun things within the newsletter related to our weekly podcast topics. So get check that out. Thank you for your likes Thank you for your shares. Thank you for your five star reviews We are here and continuing to do this because we get such great feedback from you guys about how much You You admire the fact that we're still here chugging along each week and also that you get stuff out of these episodes. And so thank you guys. We appreciate you all so much. So until next time.