Bookwild - The Ways I Went Bookwild in 2024

Episode Date: December 31, 2024

There isn't an author interview this Tuesday, so I did a year in review solo episode! I dive into everything that happened with Bookwild in 2024, including merging Between the Lines and Killing the Tea into Bookwild, the co-hosts that joined this year, bookish friendships created, repeat author guests, writing progress, Imposter Hour and Bookwild's Backlist Book Club!  Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

I thought I had convinced myself that I would just skip the Tuesday episode this week. A few weeks ago when I was looking at my publishing calendar, I saw that I didn't have any author interviews for this Tuesday. And I was like, well, that's okay. That would be a really good time to do a solo episode and do kind of like a year recap of book wild. So that was my plan all along. And then we got COVID and now it has turned into a sinus infection for me.

So if I say some things that don't make much sense, it's just because there is a lot of different medication going on through my system. I can't bring myself not to record an episode. I just can't. So we're going to go ahead and do this year and review. and hopefully my deep voice doesn't bug you or anything. And yeah, I just felt like I still needed to. There's been so much that has happened with Book Wild this year.

When we started off at the beginning of the year, there was still between the lines and killing the tea. So for anyone who is a newer listener, I started a podcast three years ago, almost exactly. And I called it between the lines. And I knew I wanted to talk with authors about the books that they write. I had no clue how possible it would be. But we also produced podcasts and social media content for our clients as well. So we had all this equipment and I was like, I know how much I love reading. I know I wanted to talk with writers. Why not try? And so I reached out to like six authors at the time and I think

five of them responded and said yes. And I was like, well, we are starting a podcast then. So between lines, started three years ago. And then as I engaged more with the bookstagram community, I met Gare Billings, who is Gare Indeed reads. Again, I'm saying this just in case there are some newer listeners. I think most of you know who cares by now. But we started talking more in the DMs and it got to a point where I was like, would you be interested in doing a podcast together? Because I started listening to podcasts years ago when I had a lot of drives time involved in work. And a lot of them are what I would call buddy episodes, not necessarily interviews. It's like two people who have good chemistry hanging out and typically talking about a certain topic.

And so I kind of pitched it to Gare and he was like, yeah, I have been thinking about how it would be cool to have a podcast. So I'm glad you asked. And I was like, sweet. So then we started killing the tea because we wanted to leave it open to being able to gossip about, you know, how survives, some pop culture. But it was mostly going to be about thrillers. Thus, we arrived at killing the tea. And again, I'm assuming if you're listening, you know some of this, but I'm just recapping some of it here at the beginning. We would typically like pick a topic and talk about different books that fit that topic, talk about what we were reading, what we're excited about reading. We've done some seasonal book recommendations and books we were excited about before they'd released.

And it was just so much fun. And it was like also the first time, interestingly, outside of Tyler, who is my husband, that I was like, oh, I have like chemistry with someone and I can just yap, yap, yap. Yap wasn't totally in our vernacular back then. But I was like, this is so cool that there's someone else I can talk to this much. And especially at the beginning, we just, it was like discovering, it just was discovering someone who has a similar or the same interest as you. And we had so many books in common that we had read. So like even though we hadn't met each other prior, we don't live in the same same.

state. He's in New York and I'm in Indiana. No technical history between the two of us, but we had so much book history. And it was so cool because it was really making me also realize in my day-to-day life, I don't run into many people who really, really reads, like people who would call themselves like truly bookish people. My sister-in-law is definitely one, but that's one. And then past that, I'm also so specific with my genre since I'm a little bit obsessed with pacing. And I just love thrillers. Mystery thrillers, I will say, one of the things I learned about myself this year, sometimes mystery is not enough for me.

I said it. Sometimes it is. And sometimes the characters and the voice and the tone make it really worth it. but I'm also not running into people IRL who are also reading a really specific subgenre that I am as well like I think every now and then I run into people who read nonfiction which is great but it was so cool getting to become friends with someone who like shared this interest in a way that like no one else in my life did and so we just have so much fun we still have so much fun we still have so much fun, as you know, because I'm guessing most of you still listen or have been listening

recently if you're listening to this episode. So it was just, it was so cool getting to start that and meeting some of his books to Instagram friends and still talking with authors on Between the Lines. So we did that for about a year and a half. And then, unfortunately, Gare got diagnosed with pots. I think he realized he had it before he was diagnosed. He's posted about it. So I've always said if you have more interest in that, go look at his profile. I'm not going to like dive into all of his health stuff. But these are the things that like he's talked about here and that are on his Instagram page as well. And so he got to a point where he was like, I need a break from this. I'm trying to figure this out. understandably so. I think we all understood the need for that, for sure. So that was around February of this year. So while my platform started off with between the lines and killing the T, when I knew he was going to have to step down, I basically kind of had a choice to make. Like, did I want to keep the buddy podcast going. Should I just let it go? Should I just talk to authors? And what I really started

to notice was how much I enjoy both. I really enjoy talking to authors about their books. And I also really enjoy talking with bookish buddies as well about what we're reading and just all of that. And so I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to let go of either of those things. Now, when I started between the lines, I knew that I loved the idea of eventually being a home, a platform for bookish content. Now, I know Barstool Sports is controversial to some people, and I understand why. I'm not defending anything that happens at Barstool, but Barstool is a really, really good example of it for people who don't always know what I mean when I say like a platform for multiple podcasts, but you basically end up getting support from

a large company and then podcasts that are like loosely related are all together on one platform. So even back then, that's what I had been thinking of. So I called it the Book Wild Collective was what I put as like the company producing between the lines for anyone who's like Book Wild. We all know what Buckwild means. And my maiden name is Buckner. And so when I first met Tyler, he would call me Buckwild sometimes. Truly because I get very passionate and worked up about certain things.

Also, I'm a little bit savage. Not like mean savage. I can be mean savage. But, you know, I'm not, I'm not a little bit. pretty little princess all the time i don't know why that's the one that came up for me but that it is so he always called me buck wild um because it fit my name at the time and then when i really started getting on bookstagram i was like book wild is a pretty cool name for like a platform that could be about all kinds of bookish content and so within that i just i knew i loved the idea of if i kept building

relationships with people, there would be the possibility that it truly could become a platform. Obviously, I mostly read thrillers, mystery thrillers. And so I love the idea of people who read other genres eventually coming on the platform. And so that's how all of that started, basically. Even when I was using Between the Lines, Book Wild Collective was like the YouTube channel. and it was just this general idea that I knew that I would love to be able to do in the future. So when Gare needed to take his break, I was like, I don't want to stop the bookish episode, bookish buddy episodes though. And I was like, I don't know if I would want it some buddy episodes to be on something called between the lines. And so I was like, oh, I've always had Book Wild.

let's go ahead and call it book wild. And some of you may have heard this story already. But one of the podcasters I follow most closely is named Taylor Shrekker, and she has a Patreon called Taste of Taylor. And her podcast is also called Taste of Taylor. But the full episodes are behind the paywall of Patreon. And essentially, she puts out five episodes. week and she has like probably like 11 12 I don't know for sure I haven't counted recently

different co-hosts that rotate through and she talks about pop culture and she's the best so for any of my girlies here listening who are also into people who can yap all the time and pop culture stuff definitely look up taste of Taylor but I had been listening to her for a little over a year in that format and what i enjoyed so much about it as a listener was you got to hear so many different people's perspectives throughout each week even about the same topic um sometimes she didn't even always agree with her co-host on certain topics and so it brought a really cool variety of people to hear from and to listen to while the anchor was taylor and so i started thinking and i was like i really like these episodes. I am going to think about who I think I could do episodes with. And so at the time,

I had been talking to Seth Lauer, who is Books in Badgerland on Bookstagram. And we've been talking just more and more in the DMs over the year. We have a lot in common, like kind of a crazy amount in common. Our personalities are extremely similar for good or for bad. She's a bully mom. I'm a bully mom. Our personalities match. I think I already said that. But in terms of like enneagrams, our number is the same. And our husband's numbers are even the same. So we just had so much in common. So we were talking about more than just books. And I was like, I'm wondering. if she would want to come do an episode. And so basically I just reached out to a few people. I reached out to her. I reached out to Hallie Sutton because we'd had an episode with her. Gara and I did

about the Hurricane Blonde. If you haven't read it, go read it, especially if you are a Hollywood thriller fanatic like me. And we all just had so much fun. I remember feeling like we could have talked for three hours almost. So I reached out to her and she was game and I also reached out to Audrey Egnor, who is Chapters and Converse on both Instagram and YouTube and she was down to do an episode as well. So those are the people that I initially reached out to just based on either having recorded with them in the past or having like a DM relationship developing with them, as I think we all know, we just had these DM relationships on Bookstagram sometimes. And so I rolled with that idea. And it was a lot of fun still having different people to talk to.

I think it brings like everyone has some of the books that they read that are like not super mainstream and not everyone knows about. And I think it's, it was a really cool experience getting to see how like having different people come in, we were getting access to all kinds of other books that I hadn't heard of or I hadn't talked about. And so it was really cool. And it also helped me start to realize when I started the podcast interviewing authors, it was because I love reading and I loved the idea of getting to talk to authors about the books that they write. And I was not thinking about community at all.

And I have to be honest, I was a little nervous when Gare needed to step away. And I thought he should, absolutely. I was a little bit nervous. And then I was like, wait, I have talked to more people. There are other people. And that was what started making me realize, like, of course, Like, I'm using a social platform with Instagram. Of course, you can kind of naturally develop a community,

sometimes without sitting down and being like, I am going to develop a community. So that was like really cool at the beginning of the year, starting to notice how much of a community there was that I had. Our recurring guests this year have been Steph and Hallie and Audrey. And then I also have a really fun episode with The Book Pair, Kaylee. Also, Amy, whose handle is mom advice. She shared some really great books that weren't thrillers, but that she thought thriller readers would love.

So that was really cool, too, getting access to just some different books that, like, aren't always going to show up in my feed. Okay. If you're watching on YouTube, we've had a hair change. I am burning up. And apparently I still have a fever. So that's what's up for the YouTube people who notice a change in the visual. For the audio people, you're like, I didn't even know anything happened. So Amy, mom advice on just mom advice, on Instagram, hers were really cool to just find out about more books that I wasn't always going to just like find in my feed.

And then also throughout all of that, I was also still interviewing. authors. I say it every year, but it was such a wonderful year of reading again. And it was just so cool connecting with the authors that I got to connect with this year. A couple highlights in terms of most listened to the ones that you guys loved the most or watched the most on YouTube. we had Kimberly Bell. There was Kimberly Bell, Lane Fargo, Kate Hollahan, and Vanessa Lilly were on for Young Rich Widows. Lots of listens to that one. Missing White Woman by Kelly Garrett, lots of listens, lots of views on YouTube with that one as well.

Ruth Ware was on for one perfect couple. Same thing. Really, the views are through the roof there. A Lovely Lie, we had Jamie Lynn Hendricks on for the fourth year in a row. I've loved following her book career, kind of like as my podcast career has progressed as well. That was really cool. I think that was the first time that Steph came on in an episode with an author. So that was another cool first moment, basically, for the podcast.

And then shortly after, Bodies to Die for, which is a book that Steph and I would die for by Lori Brand. That one had a lot of listens. And again, Steph was on that one with me as well. And we fan-girls hardcore. We are Lori Brand fans till we die. It did make it into the episode because, you know, she wants to keep some of her ideas private. but she told us about an idea she has for her next book that neither of us have stopped thinking about I mean, I haven't stopped thinking about it for sure, but we've also talked about it multiple times

since then because we just want this book so much. So that was a really special book. There was a lot about it that was super empowering. If you haven't read it or didn't listen to the episode, it's one that's about a woman who's really overweight and a woman who used to be overweight, lost all the weight, and started doing fitness competitions. And then murder starts happening at these competitions, essentially. And the way that she handled the conversation about our bodies from both the perspective of health and also not having shame around certain stuff was so powerful for me, so moving. The way that it ended, I got teared up multiple times at the end. I just don't think I've read a

better thriller especially that covers body image so kindly and shamelessly and also thoroughly. She covered all of the different conversations that we've had recently and in the past about women's bodies. So that one was super special. Had Rob Hart on for a second time or a third time. I think second. Yeah. Second time. So that was kind of fun.

And then May Cobb was on for the third time. We really had some repeats this year. You guys also really loved Chelsea Beaker's episode about Mad Woman. That one is still getting views on YouTube. The views are still going up with that. And the same thing with Marjan Kamali, who wrote The Lion Women of Tehran. And that one has a cool story that I'm going to share. If you've heard her episode, you've probably heard it already.

But for the sake of a recap, I have to fit this into the year. There are a couple publicists that will reach out to me with different books and pitch them and ask if I want to have any of the authors on the podcast. And so I had chosen a. a few, basically, from this email that I got. And I thought I was hopping on to record with one person. And Sweet Marjan popped up in the waiting room. And I was like, oh, no, I have not read this book. This was the first two. I've also never come to interview and had someone pop up that I didn't know. And so I was like, well, here we go.

So I, like, accepted, like, her request to whatever come into the lobby. And I was like, I was like, hey, I was like, so this is a funny story. I was expecting this to be, I can't even remember which author I thought it was supposed to be. And I was like, and I have not read your book. I was like, I just read the synopsis. I would be happy to still talk with you about it. And she said she'd listened to a few of my episodes and really loved how I talked about books. and so she was like, I would love it if you would read my book.

And I was like, let's do it, girl. I did, and it ended up being one of the most powerful books. I read all year. I don't want to get too much into politics. But reading it right before the election, not right before, but near that time, was a special experience. Like, just hearing how much, um, women in Tehran had so many rights for a really long time and they just got yanked out from underneath

them one night because a religious regime took over. So it was very thought provoking. It's so emotional, very moving and I just, I ended up loving it so much. So then it was so cool getting to talk with her about it. And yeah, this was one that you guys listened to a lot and watched a lot and I'm so it's so cool when those little synchronicities happen like in some ways I would say I was meant to read that book like the way that it just came to me that way so I love those little moments to Lauren Ling Brown that is a her Society of Lies is a Reese Witherspoon's book club pick and And that was super exciting getting to interview her and see the announcement that it was picked

and just all of that. That was really cool. A lot of you guys have been watching that one as well. Another fun thing that I had happened was Susan Walter came on for a second time. and also Sagite Schwartz came on a second time. So Sagitt came on for her short story, broken threads. So much fun. If you have not read it yet, you're missing out.

It's about an author, a writer who loses her job to AI. And she's had this book. she's like always wanted to publish but no one that has been interested in it and it's like a historical fiction she asks her influencer neighbor to if if she would like promote the book essentially and the influencer says what if we say that it's under my name and we split the profits and so that's what they do but then some messy stuff happens so it was very fun to have soggy back on the podcast as well. She has the best TV and movie recommendations, just so everybody knows. We have lots of conversations about TV and movies. And that's just been super cool. It's just so cool. I love all of the

authors that I have on here, obviously. And then there are some where like relationships develop outside of the podcast. And I love that part too. I just have I have more people in my in my community essentially. And it's so cool to me that as an introvert too, that I can connect with people online and become friends with people who get excited about the same things as I do, who love story as much as I do. Another one of those authors that I talk to a little bit more is Audra McLeoyer, who came on for the third time. We really had some nice repeats this year.

And we talked about her book, Hush Dear Sister, which is a kind of Gothic mansion, Hollywood thriller. All of that. All of it together. So she came on and talked about that. And I've had so much fun with her.

She independently published. herself now and has had a lot of success with it. And so we've gone through cover art images together for fun. And I get to read her books early. And it's just so cool. And it's cool having her on for a third time this year. Obviously, there are so many other authors that we're on. These are kind of the highlights in terms of views. Definitely wanted to talk about who my repeats were. So, yeah, the author interviews have just, they've been very fun this year. I got to read a lot of great books this year.

And I love all the people who have come on and talked with me about them. The Buddy episodes have continued to be super fun as well. So Steph and I just, we love revenge so much. We love female rage so much. We love found family and strong friendships, just all of that. So you definitely heard a lot of that from us this year as well. And so it's been fun talking with people, even with like subgenres that. really specifically enjoy. And then Hallie, Hallie Sutton and I have also done quite a few

episodes together this year as well. She's just so fun. I always say I hear about something from Hallie, something new, almost every time we record with each other. I'm like, well, I had no clue that existed until Hallie told me. She just has really niche knowledge, niche knowledge about a bunch of stuff, but she's also just as passionate about Hollywood thrillers and probably more passionate about Hollywood than me because she's actually been there and kind of lives there. I don't like she lives actively in Hollywood, but you know what I mean? And so we've had some really funny episodes. We've gotten a little more conceptual.

We did a whole episode about the difference between reveals and twists. We did a whole episode about scandals, real and fiction. And those episodes were just so much fun. So much fun. The other fun thing that has happened with Hallie is she, I think this was in June. And one of our episodes was saying she was going to do what was the challenge of a thousand words a day. I can't remember if there was a better name for it. But that's okay. I don't have to remember that right now. I'm surprised I'm remembering as much as I do. But back in June, she was like, I'm going to do this.

Would you be understood in doing it with me? And I was like, you know what? Yes, because I had let my writing fall off, which is so easy to do. And so I did that challenge with her. And it helped me build out this whole part of my book that I had been stuck on. And then I just needed to build this whole family's, lore so that I can understand completely who they were and who I was working with. So that was very fun.

It really helped remind me that you can fit it in. You might think you can't, but you can. And yeah, it was really cool. Another example of kind of like community that I didn't expect to find. That was another example of it this year. And then we also did a week of one back in November, or it was the very beginning of December this year. I can't remember. But basically, I have a book reading buddy and Hallie and also a writer buddy in Hallie.

And so that was just super fun. And to have it documented through our conversations on the podcast is really cool. because one thing I also just boldly decided to say on an episode we did with Halley recently was that one of my writing goals or two of them is to finish this first draft, get some amount of edits done on it, and to query it before the end of 2025. So that is out there and I need to be held to it. and I've said it publicly, so now I am. So yeah, that's another cool, a really cool part of just how that community support kind of happens,

even when you're not always thinking that you're going to be building a community necessarily. So I'm not completely in order here, but around May or June, Greg Wands, who is Greg of EG. Scott, who will be publishing under their own names in this upcoming year, Elizabeth Keenan and Greg Wans. Trust issues is amazing. It will be a part of my 2025 favorites, even though I read it in 2024. I just didn't include 2025 arcs in the books that I chose. for my favorites this year. And he said that he and Liz had been kind of thinking about starting a podcast and they didn't really know what to do. Did I have any advice? And so I sent them like my advice on like equipment to use and just everything, all the other admin details that you

need to figure out for podcasts. And I also mentioned to them, I was like, I have also had this dream of Book Wild Collective being a platform. And, explained it to them. And I was like, so I would also love to produce your podcast if you want to be a part of the platform. And so they had a very specific vision in mind, which I thought was really cool. And their podcast is called Imposter Hour. You can find it on YouTube and all of the podcast platforms. So the book they have coming out on January 28th is called Trust Issues. And it is about two siblings who, after their mom passes, they end up in this kind of war with the con man that she had most recently married. It's not their father.

And they had done a bunch of research into cons, impostors, that stuff. And then also how like imposter syndrome and con type characters are a little bit related or not related. And so they had all of that research kind of in mind from writing that book together. And then they both suffer occasionally from imposter syndrome, which I think a lot of people do. I know there are some people that don't. And like, I'm very happy for you. But I think a lot of people struggle with it in all kinds of areas of their life. And so they had this vision of having authors on and talking about imposterous.

Sopter Syndrome, opening up to creatives in general, musicians, actors. They just had an actor on an episode this week, Eugene Cordero. And I was like, I'm so excited about this. I obviously have imposter syndrome while I'm writing about like, who are you to write? You're just a reader or you're just like podcasting about books. So I was so excited to have them come on to the book while. collective platform. I'm getting to hear interviews with some authors that, like, I've always wanted to talk with,

not being petty here. And obviously, I'm not naming names. So, of course, I'm not. There have been a few who, when I reached out, also my podcast was newer at the time. But when I've reached out, they've either not responded or, like, sent me to a publicist. and then the publicist tells me no. Again, not mad about any of that. Everyone's time that they have available in their life is very different. But what has been really cool is they've had a few authors on that I wasn't able to get on to the podcast. And so as I've edited them, I've gotten to hear

about some of these books that I wanted to hear more about. So that part has been really cool. and it's also been a really good reminder to just keep writing. Like, you can have all the imposter syndrome in the world, but you can keep writing. So it's been really transformative for me this year as well, and it also became another thing I would consider more community that has developed. And they're just awesome to listen to to talk with. You guys have heard them. You know what I'm talking about. So I really, really, really loves having Imposture Hour be an addition to Wickewild Collective in 2024 as well.

Now, to come full circle, the reason that I first became aware of EG Scott when they were EG Scott, but Liz and Greg was through gear. because as a lot of you probably know, one of Gare's favorite books is The Woman Inside by them. And from the very beginning, he was like, this is a book you have to read. I can't remember if we'd know. We did talk about this on a podcast. I think we talked about it on an episode with them, actually. I read that book the same week that I watched The Patient. I think it's just called The Patient. on Hulu with Steve Karell and I can't remember

the other actor's name but the gist of it is like a serial killer tries to get a therapist to help fix him I can't remember everything that's in the trailer so I'm just going to tread lightly

but that's the gist of it definitely a thriller but also very emotional so for those of you who have seen it you know how it ends and it is a very bleak ending and it's very, it's very heavy the way that it approaches its conclusion is what I'll say. I cried a lot in that show, not just at the end.

So I happened to watch that the same week that I was reading The Woman Inside. So I finished The Woman Inside, which I don't think this is a spoiler. It's also been out for a really long time. to say that if it's Gare's favorite book, imagine how bleak the ending probably is. So reading both of those in the same week, there were a couple days where I was just like, wow, what did I just experience?

But I loved it. Love, love, love, love. I thought it was so good. And so the cool full circle moment here is Gare has been like their number one fan for a very long time. So he kind of got me connected to them and then I end up reading their book and then they came on an episode with Gare and I,

not this, I think that was last year. But the full circle moment to that is like they wouldn't be on this platform if I hadn't met Gare. I also wouldn't know them as well as I do if it weren't for him, which is this perfect segue to say that Gare started feeling healthier, I think in August. And so he came back. in rotation as a podcast co-host, which I think all of us were extremely excited for. I had so many people in my DMs excited when he popped back up on an episode. So that made 2024 even better is our boy Gare. He came back. And so we've had a couple of episodes with each other since then. but also he and step and i have such a fun group dynamic is what we discovered as well

and so we've been doing a bunch of really fun episodes altogether um we have a pretty pretty funny group chat too not to tease you guys with some stuff but stephen ger as you're listening you know what i mean um So it was really fun bringing that dynamic back, Gair's dynamic back. And we did an episode of Hallie and Gare and I all together as well. That was super fun. That's actually the episode that came out right before this episode. And so we ended the year on this really strong, powerful note, in my opinion.

for me, and from a book wild perspective, it's been really, really cool getting to know more people, getting to know more authors, getting to know more books to grammars, getting to know more readers, having more and more conversations in the DMs with you guys, sometimes about books, and sometimes we find out that we also have other interests in common. and so those have been really fun to discover. And just overall, it has just been a wonderful year for Book Wild. I've just had so much fun this year with all of it. And I'm very excited for 2025 because we have a couple other things in the works,

not to tease stuff, but since Tyler and I help our calls, with social media, we have been thinking of how we can best help authors with social media. And so there are going to be some offerings for social media, consulting, creation, all of that in 2025 as well. And I'm really excited about that. There's something really fun that's going to be happening in January along those lines. so that's pretty exciting. And yeah, it's been very exciting. The other thing that I did with this realization of community

is I got to a point where I was like it would be fun. I'd had a couple of people DM me over the years about having like a book club or like an episode each month where like people know ahead of time like, hey, this is the book we're reading and we're going to talk about. And so that had always been in the back of my, mind but I also just love the idea of okay now I do have this community kind of built up can we have like a place for ourselves and so Patreon is where I listen to some of my favorite creators um

it's not just podcast on Patreon just so you know back I think it was right at the end of October because November was the first month um I also started my Patreon um you can't the links are in the show notes. It's also in my Instagram, link in bio. Or you can go to patreon.com slash bookwild. Really easy to remember and sign up. There are two tiers at the $5 tier, the bookish tier. You get early access to episodes. They come out a day early. You get templates for posting, basically reading trackers for your stories and also a currently reading template as well. You can either download the JPEG or if you have Canva Pro, you can also go to the template link that I include each month. And also, you're just supporting the show and you're going to continue to get it ad free.

That's kind of something I would love to do. I want to be able to keep the show ad free. But obviously it makes it more possible for me to spend more time on it when there is some profit being made from it, essentially. And so hopefully as the Patreon grows, it can be a way that it keeps everything publicly as well, not needing to have ads. So that's what that $5 tier is. And then the $10 tier is the Book Wild tier. And with that, you get everything I just mentioned, but you also get to be a part of the Book Wild or Book Wild's backlist book club. So something Gare and stuff and Hallie and I have always talked about is how much like a new book comes out.

And then it's like we forget about it. And there's so much backlist that's so good that we all want to read. And so I was like, well, this would be a perfect way to make sure I'm reading at least one backlist book each month. And so you get access to that. You get access to Book Wild's Backlist Book Club. We read The Brightlands in November. And I had a really, really good discussion with Laura about it because, We had some things come up. So he had a one-on-one book club for that first month. But I loved the

conversation I got to have with her. I'm not saying her last name just in case she doesn't want me to. But that was a really fun conversation that we got to have. It's just so much fun talking with more and more bookish people. And we chose hostage by Claire McIntosh for our January pick. And that is going to be on January 19th at noon. We have a lot of different time zones going on. And so I think it'll typically be on Sundays so that we can kind of match up people's time zones on Saturdays or Sundays. So hostage sounds incredibly fast-paced and you know how much I love that. So I'm very excited to do that one in January. Also, I just realized I should have said Brightlands was December, not November. We picked it in November. But yeah, I'm really excited to see all the backlist books we end up

reading this year. I'm excited to talk with more of you on Patreon. It is kind of nice. Like, we have a group chat going that's, it's just nice to have, like, some stuff that's, like, not all on Instagram. And my plan is to keep growing that this year. So if any of that sounds interesting to you, make sure you go check it out. But it was another addition to the Book Wild umbrella or the Book Wild brand this year that I was really excited about and then I'm really proud about. And then I have a lot of fun with as well. So, 2024 for me was definitely Book Wild. And I only intend on getting book Wilder and wilder. So I'm just super excited to see what happens in 2025. I obviously I obviously need to query my book before the end of it.

I want to grow the Patreon community. I want to reach authors who need some help with social media or just don't want to or need to do that part. I am super excited about some of the interviews I already have booked all the way into May. like that's kind of that's exciting for me kind of knowing these interviews I'm going to have into 2025 as well and really want to grow the YouTube channel as well so I am super excited going into 2025 and I hope that all of you guys are too