Sarah Hawley

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Laura: Hi, Sarah. Welcome to What to Read next podcast.

Sarah Hawley: Hi, thank you so much for having me.

Laura: So happy to have you here. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Sarah Hawley: Yeah, so, I am an author of romance and fantasy and romanticy, all the nice stuff in the middle. I'm based in Washington State and have a background in all sorts of things, including archaeology, which I can talk a little more about later.

Laura: Yeah, let's talk about archaeology. What led you, like, was it like a childhood dream? Like, I just want to look for bones and then, or treasures.

Sarah Hawley: I mean, it was definitely a childhood passion in the sense that I loved everything ancient Egypt. I actually had a paleontologist Barbie doll and I would do all sorts of strange things like burial rituals with my Barbies. But I didn't think about it as a real career until college when I realized there was an archeology degree offered.

And then I did that. I got my master's I worked at a university in a lab there and then as a [00:01:00] museum researcher for a little bit. And I've excavated on four continents and it's been great. I don't do it anymore, but it was amazing. And I really do feel like it's affected my writing in a lot of ways.

I think I'm so big into world building. I love thinking about details. And I think some of that comes from the archeology background.

Laura: Yeah, so, like, let's think about, like, your writing process, like, your writing journey. Like, was it something you did on the side? Like, was it something that you always wanted stories? And it's just, it complements each other. Like, the life experience complements, like, the writing. And the writing complements the life experience.

Kind

Sarah Hawley: Yeah, they definitely complement each other. I've always been writing though. Like I was writing stories in elementary school and trying to write novels. Of course, they were like 20 pages long and not very good. So it was always a goal to be an author and I started working at it pretty seriously during grad school.

I mean, like I was always doing it, but I started working really hard on it in my 20s and wrote a book that did pretty well. That was not [00:02:00] good, which I feel like is every writer has that project. They're never going to talk about And then wrote a book that did not sell at the time But got me an agent and that book is actually now being published about oh god How long it's like seven years later and that's servant of earth, which is coming November was actually one of the first books I wrote So yeah, and since then, it's just been, it's been a really interesting, fascinating journey because I finally got published with fantasy rom coms, and there's three of them out now, and there's more books happening, and it's just so surreal because it's this lifelong dream that is happening, and I feel like I have to pinch myself every day.

Laura: Yeah, so first let's talk about the Glamour Falls, which are the fantasy rom coms. They're more cozier, not as intense as the Romanticy or the Fantasy. It's a pretty good bridge entry point to someone who may not feel comfortable with some, may not be uncomfortable with like otherworldly creatures, but just Getting into it.

So talk to us [00:03:00] about what is the elevator pitch for the Gloom or False series and we'll talk about like the different books in the series.

Sarah Hawley: Yeah, so the Glimmerfall series, there's three of them. They're interconnected standalones. So you can read them individually, kind of in any order. You'll get a few spoilers about the early books, but usually it's just that they're romance novels and there's a happy ending and you know that going in.

So it's just, you're not going to be that spoiled. It's a set in contemporary world, Washington state. in a small town, but it's our world with magic, so it's sort of an alternate reality. The way I always describe it is that it's a place where Taylor Swift exists, but so do dragons. And so that's sort of the you're plopped down in this magical small town where everyone's coexisting, all the centaurs and the fairies and the witches and everything else.

And the first book starts with, A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon, starts with a witch who's very bad at magic, despite its prophecy saying that she's supposed to be amazing at it. And she ends up trying to summon some flour to bake some muffins, and she accidentally [00:04:00] summons a demon instead for an unbreakable soul bargain.

And he can't leave until he gets her soul. So that's the, and then of course she ends up fake dating him because what else do you do when you have a disappointed mother? You pretend to date the demon that you summoned.

The tone is very whimsical, like they are high heat, they are steamy romances, but they're very silly. I make a lot of jokes in them, there's dad jokes, it's, and it's supposed to just feel like a happy, warm hug of a book. It definitely falls in the cozy subgenre where you're like, Oh, this just, I like all these people and I hope good things happen for them.

And even if the stakes sound high, like, losing your soul, it's sort of, it's this world where everything's going to be okay.

Laura: Oh my gosh. And then we got the newest release which is a werewolf guy seducing a vampire. So we got werewolves, we got vampires, we got other.

Sarah Hawley: Yeah. So, so the second book is A Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch, and that is about sort of the bad guy of book one gets amnesia and has to go on a road trip with a heroine's best friend who just wants to punch him. And so they're on a road trip to break this [00:05:00] recover his memories and defeat some evil demons.

And then book three is about Ben, who is a very anxious, very sweet cinnamon roll of a werewolf. He's the boss of the heroine in book one. He owns a plant shop and he is, he's 38. He's goes to a wedding. He's like, wow, it kind of sucks being single. He like starts drunkenly scrolling eBay late at night as one does.

And he finds a listing for a 99 cent plastic crystal that's supposedly possessed by this like sexy vampire succubus who's going to like make all his dreams come true. And he's like, that's hilarious. That's also wrong, he's just drunk enough to place the 99 cent bid and he wins it, and then is shocked when the crystal shows up on his doorstep, and there is, a 600 year old, very sexy, very angry vampire succubus assassin inside, and she is basically curse to obey his every command, which he does not want, she does not want.

They end up sort of trying to break the curse and free her. And along the way, there's just a lot of [00:06:00] absolute chaos in Glimmer Falls. There is a mayoral campaign. Ben is opening a cafe, there's some, a lot of Star Trek references and then there's also a lot of experimental theater as she, as a succubus assassin, realizes other things she might like to do that aren't killing people.

And so yeah, it sort of wraps up the little trilogy, give it a little bow, you see some of the previous characters you've met before and it's just a lot of fun.

Laura: Oh my gosh, that's a lot of fun. This reminds me, Ben's story reminds me of something I found out yesterday, there's like a Netsy witch, where basically you can pay 11 and she'll do a love spell for you on your behalf.

Sarah Hawley: I am not surprised,

Laura: And I'm like, Oh, you can just order a love spell on Netsy.

Sarah Hawley: you can order a lot of things. I ordered a haunted doll on Etsy once for 10. She has not haunted me, but actually I started writing this story because I was on eBay one night wondering if I could buy a ghost and there's all kinds of haunted and possessed objects. And I saw this listing for a [00:07:00] 99 cent vampire succubus trapped in a little plastic rock and I bought it. So I bought her for 99 cents and she arrived and then I wrote a book about her.

Laura: Well, there we go.

Sarah Hawley: There you go.

Laura: Capitalism to the next level. You can just get yourself your own future.

Sarah Hawley: Yeah.

Laura: Awesome. So let's talk about the book that you wrote seven years ago, and now it's coming out. So it's a fantasy, so it's a little bit, it's a chefftron. ball series. It's a run of earth and tells the elevator pitch like what is it all about and pre order or buy it if you're listening through this air.

Sarah Hawley: Absolutely. So Servant of Earth it's about this sort of scrappy young human woman who is abducted and forced to become a servant in the Fey Court. And they live in this underground kingdom that is split into five magical houses called there's Fire, Void, Light, Illusion, Earth, and Blood.

And so [00:08:00] she's assigned to serve the heir to Earth House who's about to undergo these trials called the Immortality Trials where the fairies have to earn their immortality and their magic. And because Kenna is seen as this sort of, unremarkable ultimately disposable resource they decide, the fairies decide that she needs to help her mistress cheat in these trials and that involves risking her life.

So there's a lot of magic there's a lot of monsters, there's a lot of just horrible things going on in this fairy kingdom. The king is awful and she finds herself drawn to this sort of, forbidden fire prince that she forms a connection with who might or might not be leading a rebellion against the king.

So she ends up sort of fighting for her life and for the trials and also for love and a better world and all of that. It is very dark. It is steamy. It's the first in a series. So it's not going to be a standalone but you are going to get a lot of the things you like if you're a fantasy reader and a romanticy reader and [00:09:00] all the magic and the strange creatures and all of that.

Laura: Yes and the next book comes out in June so it's you'll have like you don't have to wait a whole

Sarah Hawley: I know!

Laura: a year

Sarah Hawley: No, you don't! No, it's all very fast. Yeah, so the first book comes out November 12th. Second book should be coming out in June. And yeah, I obviously Servant of Earth is available for pre order all over the place. If you do it through Village Books, which is my local indie which I have links to all over the place on my website and social media, there's an art print that I just revealed and it's absolutely gorgeous and it's going to come with that.

So lots of exciting stuff to come on that one.

Laura: That is very exciting. So let's talk some book recommendations. What kind of book? Or do you go for do you go for like the paranormal fantasy or you go for straight up other genres to together just to take a break from everything?

Sarah Hawley: I read all over the place. I don't read a ton of non fiction, but in fiction I read a lot of things, but I would say my main genres would be [00:10:00] romance, fantasy, and sci fi is mostly what I do. And always, that's always kind of been what I liked. I grew up a big sci fi fantasy reader and then moved into romance more when I was younger.

Laura: There we go. So do you have any records? Do you have any books to recommend or listeners to pick up?

Sarah Hawley: Oh my god, I have so many! Okay, so I've got a couple books I'm reading right now, and then I've got books that I recently read, so I'll start with the ones I recently read. I really loved Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe. It is this really sweet, funny rom com about a web series producer and a hot conspiracy theorist.

And they team up to create the next hit web series. It's very Mulder and Scully. The characters are amazing. They're so sweet. I wanted the best for them. And it has one of my favorite things, which is just weird trivia that I can look up. Like she, she'll mention these conspiracy theories. And the next thing I have like 10 browser tabs open and I'm learning about all of the monsters.

So I absolutely loved that one. Another one just came out. I loved is My Vampire Plus One by [00:11:00] Jenna Levine. It's the sequel to my roommate is a vampire. It's a really funny paranormal rom-com. It's about this straight-laced accountant and an eccentric vampire. She ends up fake dating to get her family off of her back

And I just say like, I love any book that would have an accountant challenge, like a covenant of evil vampires because of her superior knowledge of the tax code like . It's just so funny. It's so great. Another romance I recently read with When I Count a Theme is No One Does It Like You by Katie Shepard.

It's this second chance romance with the divorced college sweethearts who have to work together to renovate an inn rosie the heroine is an accountant her estranged ex husband. Tom. He's a broadway actor they're very opposites attract and sort of they're sort of Excavating the remains of their relationship as they're redoing this inn but there's a lot of silly stuff because the people that join them in the renovations are this very famous actor a bunch of his, like, screaming fangirls that are just shipping all the different permutations of them, [00:12:00] like, they're, there's wild turkeys, like, it's really emotional, but it's also very fun.

Which I loved. Another romance. I've got so many.

Laura: Yes.

Sarah Hawley: The Truth According to Ember by Dana Ganava. It is a contemporary romance. It's about a young Chickasaw woman who's struggling to get a job. When she decides to check the Caucasian box on job applications instead of the Native American one, she gets an opportunity.

And as she's sort of climbing the corporate ladder, she has to tell a couple more lies on her way. She's really forced to sort of confront. Is it worth, are the lies worth it? Who am I and what do I want and what does the world want of me? And she also meets this very sexy IT guy at her new job.

He's amazing. And then she has to deal with someone kind of blackmailing them about their relationship. But she's such like a nuanced, fascinating character. I loved her. She's really flawed, but she's relatable. She's really good hearted. And it's just a book where you're going to be rooting for her the whole time. then last one, I have a fantasy recommendation, [00:13:00] so it's not just all romance and that would be The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song. It's a sort of sweeping fantasy retelling of The Legend of Mulan, where the character Meilin joins the army, she's trying to escape an abusive marriage and she ends up growing closer to the prince who's her commanding officer, but then she's also abducted by an enemy prince and starts to realize that the war she's fighting in is a lot more complicated than what it seems, and maybe she shouldn't believe everything she's told.

I loved her because I love any kind of, like, really nuanced or flawed or character, and Meilin is absolutely that. Like, she's definitely motivated by ambition anger, and greed, in a sense. Like, this desire, this burning desire for more and it was really great. And I also, I do have a favorite of the two princes which anyone who knows me will probably figure out who it is but I won't tell you.

Laura: Oh my gosh, I am excited for

Sarah Hawley: Those are like the five recent ones.

Laura: I am excited for these recommendations. So I'm from Milan. I'm like, Oh, I need to bump this up. [00:14:00] But I'm like, yes, this is like my kind of books that I need to read. So thank you for the recommendation. So Sarah, tell us we can find you online.

Sarah Hawley: Okay, you can find me online on SarahHawleyAuthor. com. Now I'm like, is that actually my website? Yes, SarahHawleyAuthor. com. And Hawley is H A W L E Y. I'm also on social media, mostly on Instagram the username is Ms. Sarah Hawley. And yeah I'm around and shouting about books all the time.

So I'd love it if you came and found me. And if you sign up for my newsletter my email newsletter, they tend to get a lot of updates before everyone else does.

Laura: I love

Sarah Hawley: If you want to do that.

Laura: I'm signing up for him. So thank you, Sarah, for being in the show.

Sarah Hawley: Of course. Thank you so much for having me. This was great.