Of Swords and Soulmates
Is this a kissing book? Of Swords and Soulmates features two couples (and sometimes more), with varying reading preferences and experiences, as they read, listen, and sometimes watch romantasy stories and discuss plot, fantasy elements, romance, spice, theories, and more. Join us for our non-expert opinions as we discuss, argue, rave, rant, and hopefully entertain. We may just help you find your next reading obsession or at least contribute to that TBR list!
Of Swords and Soulmates
Griefcat - When songwriters dive into romantasy, magic happens
When musical comedy duo Grief Cat wrote a song about fairies getting it on during band practice, they had no idea it would become their biggest hit. But that's exactly what happened when Annie and Louisa's romantasy-inspired jam "Fairies Fucking" connected with readers and listeners who share their passion for paranormal love stories.
In this delightfully meandering conversation, we explore how Grief Cat came to be (named after the concept of adopting a cat post-breakup), their musical backgrounds, and what happened when Louisa discovered Sarah J. Maas and dove headfirst into romantasy reading. With over 125 books under her belt already this year, she's bringing that literary passion directly into their music—and fans are eating it up.
The discussion ranges from favorite monster romances like the Duskwalker Brides series (featuring skull-headed monsters who eat people yet somehow make for swoon-worthy heroes) to what's missing in current romantasy storytelling. The duo wishes for more female monsters who aren't conventionally attractive and heroines whose power comes from embracing femininity rather than rejecting it. Their insights reveal how deeply they've engaged with the genre as both creators and consumers.
Between book recommendations, ukulele talk (Louisa's instrument Dolores would definitely choose Bucca di Beppo for dinner), and discussions about the unique magic of live performance, Grief Cat shares wisdom about staying authentic despite criticism. "Don't take feedback from people whose opinions you wouldn't value," they advise—a reminder that whether you're writing songs about supernatural smut or simply enjoying it, caring less about judgments from the cheap seats is always good practice.
With new music coming later this year including singles dropping in June, Grief Cat invites listeners to find them online and at upcoming events like Monsterotica Con. Follow them on Instagram and TikTok @griefcatpartytime to join their journey at the intersection of music and monster love.
Links from the News Segment and Show:
- Throne in the Dark by A.K. Caggiano traditional published covers revealed
- Instagram Link
- Releases 11/05/25
- Today's guest - Griefcat
- Monsterotica Convention is May 8-10!
Follow us:
Instagram - @ofswordsandsoulmates
Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/ofswordsandsoulmates
Views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants. The hosts make no claim to be literary experts, and their opinions are exactly that opinions.
Annie:All creative works discussed or reviewed are the intellectual property of the creators of said stories and is being used under the Fair Use Doctrine.
Mari:Hello and welcome to Of Swords and Soulmates, a podcast where we read, watch and discuss romancy stories and romancy-adjacent things. I'm one of your hosts, mari, and with me I have Kelly.
Kelly:Hey everyone, it's Kelly and of course, we have Ashley.
Ashley:Hey guys, it's Ashley. We also have Jonathan.
Jonathan:What's good everybody. It's Ashley. We also have Jonathan. What's good everybody? It's JP. I'm on the keto. I got all the keto side effects too. I got the keto flu. I got the keto rash. I didn't know it was a rash. It's a rash, it's a thing. Ashley had to look it up, it means I got something wrong. Too much bacon.
Mari:I had like carb, keto taco things for dinner that we just had earlier. They were real gross and I was like you know what, we can toss those, trying something new. No, thank you, denied, yeah, yeah, not good. So today we're going to be having a discussion with Grief Cat, the musical duo responsible for, amongst other jams, fairies, fucking, which is a bit of an ode to many of the romantic fantasy, monster romance, sci-fi romance stories, whatever you want to put in there, and so, with us today, you may have heard some extra giggles and extra laughs. We have Annie say hey, Hello, and Louisa Hello, excited to be here.
Mari:So, before we get into talking to them, we're going to do our normal thing and we're going to get into a little bit of news. We don't have a ton, but we do have two things. First thing is AK Caggiano, who we read Thrown in the Dark a few episodes back and talked about it, released the covers for the book. That's not going to be traditionally published. It's going to be released november 5th of this year, 2025, and it looks very similar to the the cover that was on it when we read it, but it's it's. It's definitely redone like it's got similar color scheme and whatnot, but it's a little bit different. I like it. It's pretty it pretty.
Jonathan:It's like permission to buy a new book.
Mari:Yes, I basically only read the e-version because I figured I wanted to read them all before I buy any of them and I haven't gotten to the sequel yet. But now I'm like, oh, maybe I'll just buy the new ones because they look pretty, it is pretty.
Jonathan:Yeah, I like to judge my books by the covers.
Mari:Amen, I like that the little fire imp dude is on it.
Jonathan:He was my favorite. Yeah, he wasn't on the original cover. I'm walking here. That's like get out of my way. You can't see you. What you got a problem? It's broad. Yeah, look at this broad.
Mari:So we listened to the audio of this book. Well, no, you listened to the audio I. So we listened to the audio of this, but well, no, you listened to the audio. I don't think I listened to the audio. But Jonathan, you did, and that character, just that one character. Nobody else had like this Brooklyn accent going on.
Jonathan:Everyone else speaks the King's English, except for this one dude. Forget about it. You know what I'm saying. I mean, you're just cruising along through life. All of a sudden you're one of hell's demons. It's Spitfire. All of a sudden you're out of here. You're serving a blood mage and he's got some fancy broad with him. Fuck out of here. And then everyone else is just like it's time for high tea.
Ashley:You do that so well.
Jonathan:I practice in the mirror.
Mari:Usually like six, seven inches away from the mirror, then I cry. Do you practice crying?
Jonathan:I cry. Do you practice crying? I cry in a shower. I don't know if you can see me. It's like rain, and showers are like camouflage for my emotions 100%, 100%.
Mari:Has anybody read the sequels? Any of the sequels?
Jonathan:No, no Me either how old fans we are. We haven't even gone on the book two yet.
Mari:Me either Like I want to, I enjoyed book one. I either, like I want to, I enjoyed book one. I just also have a billion other books I want to read and there's like book cons and things coming up, so I'm like I want to read the authors that are going to be at the events I'm going to be going to.
Ashley:So gotta prioritize that tbr somehow. It's only may.
Jonathan:We've got time, it's may yeah yeah, this isn't even gonna be released. May 8th today's may 1st dude q q1 is over. I'm screwed, I missed it I missed q1 by a month by a whole month you're you're behind here where am I?
Mari:alternate dimensions. The other news tidbit I had was similar, but it's carissa broadbent. Her war of lost Hearts series is going to be released traditionally published as well, and she released the covers for that. I have not read that series, but she was the one who wrote the Six Scorched Roses, the Crowns of Niaxia series.
Jonathan:I have been struggling with book two in that one.
Ashley:I didn't think you were going to read book two.
Jonathan:I read, well, we read, we did like 1.5, and then I went back and did one, and now I'm like slowly slugging through.
Ashley:That's interesting, mari, and I devoured that one. Yeah, that was like a post-fourth wing read. That's what got us out of the slump?
Annie:It is a perfect post-fourth wing.
Ashley:Yes, I think it's a little bit more serious, though Jonathan tends to like more modern tones, a little bit more quippy.
Jonathan:Quippy Bantery.
Ashley:Bantery, yeah, yeah.
Annie:The Zodiac Academy is what you're listening, what you're looking for.
Ashley:Oh, I don't know about that girl.
Jonathan:What is it? What am I supposed to be looking for? We'll talk about that we looking for.
Annie:We'll talk about that. Was there a first fight?
Ashley:No, no no, I've known you five, since we're already fighting, I just I think that one's a little salacious for him. I think he's going to judge me.
Jonathan:Mommy, daddy, no.
Ashley:What's his like you read it. Do we own it? We do not.
Jonathan:What's the name of that one called?
Ashley:Zod, though right, it's a billion.
Annie:It's a slog, it is a commitment. It is the world of Solaria and it is smutty and it's like smutty CW.
Mari:Is it a?
Jonathan:one-handed read.
Ashley:I mean, yeah, can confirm, but when?
Mari:you listen to them, aren't they all one-handed? You just made them blush.
Jonathan:I got that mag safe charger for my phone, I ain't going to hang on to nothing. Hands free over here.
Mari:I can say nothing. This weekend that this comes out, Monsterotica will be happening. So as it leads up to Monsterotica, I am overdosing on all the monster romance I can possibly inhale before then.
Ashley:That sounds like so much fun Monsterotica. I want all the pictures, send help.
Jonathan:Send financial support.
Mari:I'm excited. But the covers for War of Lost Hearts. I've not read the series. I want to read the series. I've heard good things about it. The covers look cool. It's got kind of. They kind of look like marble statues come to life.
Ashley:Statues. Yeah, I see the vision. I like it.
Annie:Those books are lovely Like I absolutely loved reading that series.
Mari:I've heard really, really good things about that series. It's on the TBR the never ending super long.
Annie:TBR, tbr, the never-ending super long tbr to be retired. Yeah, no, it's. It's a great series, like the male main character in that is he's everything so lovely so grumpy and perfect and sweet maybe we ought to read that for the uh podcast.
Mari:Sometime read the first one I would recommend it.
Annie:I would recommend it. I think it's a. It's a great series. I devoured it.
Mari:I mean, I also have a problem. Yeah, I like her style. I like her writing style. I've read I think I'm like one book behind on the Crowns of Niaxia, but I did read, like the novellas, the Slaying, the Empire, Conqueror, and then for the podcast we read Six Scorched Roses.
Jonathan:How many books are in Crowns of Niaxia? I thought it was like two and a half.
Mari:I think it's three duologies. Isn't that what it's going to be?
Jonathan:Was that like six? I think so.
Ashley:So my initial reaction was six, but I thought that was also inclusive of the novellas. Oh, I don't know. Yeah, I don't remember.
Annie:I don't think that includes the novellas. I think the novellas are going to be like standalones. I think it is going to be six and there's three out so far, so you're halfway there. Yeah, I'm 63% sure of all of this. You can trust me. That's enough, it's one of my things. Fake it till you make it.
Ashley:Yes, I like those odds. I'm in.
Annie:Yeah, it's over 50%. It's like a high F if you were in school.
Mari:We will take it.
Jonathan:I'm going to teach you how to turn those F's into B's.
Ashley:Well, technically a 63 is a D in South Florida. I don't know about the rest of the world, nice, we're going to graduate.
Annie:Way to go team.
Ashley:It counts Pass or fail.
Kelly:right, I wouldn't be bragging about graduating from Florida. Pass or fail right, I wouldn't be bragging about graduating from Florida, no I was going to say.
Jonathan:there's a whole thing in the news a couple weeks ago where you can just buy your degree Anywho what were we?
Mari:talking about the.
Jonathan:Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk.
Mari:Yeah, the Christopher Broadbent series.
Ashley:Any other news tidbits? I have news, but I don't know that it's considered romantic, but I was very excited. I sent it to you very late last night that they're releasing volume three for the Book of Dust series by Philip Pullman. And so while I don't, so arguably I've not read the second one, but I have read the trilogy of, like the Golden Compass series, and so while that's not I don't think true romantasy in any way shape or form, I don't think true romanticism in any way shape or form. It's definitely fantasy, but there was a whole love story, although they were quite young, but it was so innocent and so powerful that it traumatized me and I never reread it. So I am very excited for the Book of Dusk, volume 3.
Ashley:I think it's called the Rose Field. I haven't been able to find it on Amazon but it is on Barnes Noble pre-order. So anyone that was part of that cult. I also believe that it was a series on Max a few years ago. It got a lot of acclaim but I never got to. I didn't get deep into it but I wanted to. I heard very, very, very good things kelly, did you read that series?
Mari:nope, okay, I thought you had. I know we had a friend um crystal. We had a friend who really enjoyed that series. It has been on my tbr for a while but like I said it's a never, never ending tbr.
Jonathan:I would like to propose that we all enroll in the Book it program. Try to get ourselves some personal pan pizzas.
Ashley:You can't have pizza right now.
Jonathan:Jared by the time I finish reading.
Ashley:we can get a button and A button. You know how I feel about buttons.
Jonathan:It's the 40th anniversary of Book it this year.
Annie:Maybe they have cauliflower crust, who knows? Maybe, Deep dish cauliflower crust. I knows Ooh, maybe Deep dish cauliflower crust.
Mari:I don't know about that, that just sounds like you know discomfort in my stomach, Like I don't mind a cauliflower crust if it's a thin crust and loaded with cheese.
Jonathan:I'm going to print off and I can send this to your printer. I'm going to print off this book it tracker.
Annie:Yeah, you get to color it Book. It is actually like they're bringing Book it back.
Jonathan:I don't think it went away. I think we just stopped reading and eating that pizza Huh. I mean we didn't stop eating the pizza.
Mari:Yes, that, or it was either pizzas or growing up it was either the pizzas or the blockbuster like video rentals back in the day, depending where we live Cause army brat. We moved all over so I remember some of the places it was pizza and some of the places what you got was like movie rentals, which was nice, interesting.
Annie:Interesting. I was a pizza kid, for sure.
Jonathan:I was a pizza. I think, if, if we stop ordering pizza because of the kettle, our pizza guy is going to do it.
Mari:He's going to want to check up on us. He's going to make sure you guys are okay.
Jonathan:Oh, yeah, he gets mad.
Annie:He's single-handedly destroying the economy in your area.
Jonathan:Yeah, I feel bad. I feel like we've got to give him a break every now and again.
Mari:The only other news tidbit I had. I didn't put in here, but I did see it's not a huge tidbit, but Kelly Hart, who wrote Quicksilver, was teasing that she's starting to write the third book.
Ashley:I just saw that, literally five minutes ago.
Annie:Wait, when does the second one come out?
Mari:This year? Yeah, September, I believe. I know it's this year.
Ashley:Maybe November. I could be conflating that yeah 2025.
Annie:I'm here for it. That's a great book.
Ashley:Yeah, that was a fun one this year 2025.
Annie:I'm here for it. That was a great book, yeah, yeah, that was a fun one this year. I have so much trouble waiting for sequels and then like when the next one comes out, I'm just like not into it anymore. I have forgotten why I cared yeah, yeah, exactly it's. It's really hard.
Mari:I'm a completed serious girl whenever I can be yeah, I do like um, listening to, like i'll'll just, I'll download random podcasts and like, oh, this book is coming out, so let me just search that book and some random person will have done a podcast on it. I'm like, oh, you're going to be my review person, so good job, that's a good life hack.
Mari:Yes, yeah, much quicker than reading audiobook because I like the fastest I can do like an audiobook I can, I can read faster than I can do the audiobooks Audiobook the fastest I can do like an audiobook I can. I can read faster than I can do the audiobooks. Audiobooks fastest I can do and like actually understand anything is maybe 1.5 if I'm completely uninterrupted. So yeah, no, that takes too long solid life hack 100 all right.
Mari:Any other news bits from anybody? Okay, all right. So this is not our first time having guests we've had guests before but this is our first time having musical talent. And the reason we have a grief cat with us today is because I fell in love with one of their songs on the Tiki Talk. So I was scrolling at I don't know midnight on a random weekday when I should have been in bed or at the very least, reading, scrolling TikTok and heard the song, and I was like these people know me. So, yes, would you guys like to maybe introduce yourself, like, describe your music, tell us about yourself
Louisa:I Louis
Annie:We've been making music together since 2019. We're working on a new album that's going to be coming out later this year, which is really exciting, and the song that you heard actually might be on that album you know that it will be on that album.
Louisa:It wasn't originally on the on the list, but by popular demand we think we have to get it.
Annie:That song deserves to be printed on a vinyl record, exactly yeah, put thousands of dollars into this particular song, like I don't know what like siren demon pact you signed, but every time I hear it I am compelled to share it.
Mari:Everyone needs to hear this.
Annie:Oh, I'm so glad, I'm so glad, yeah, so fairies fucking are our biggest hit. Honestly, yeah, we've been doing this for five years and we just had to, you know, write a song about fairies doing it. Sometimes it takes a while to find your people. That's right, we found our people. We're so glad that we found you and we get to meet you in person pretty soon too.
Mari:Yeah, I'm super excited. Yeah, we're going to be hanging out at Monsterotica Con. So if anyone happens to have listened to this, like the days it comes out, which will be when Monsterotica Con is happening, and you happen to be there, like find us, say hi.
Annie:Absolutely like find us, say hi, absolutely. We love new friends. So grief cat, what's with that name? So we are a musical comedy duo and grief cat. It sounds kind of sad and also silly, but it is based on the german concept of kummerspeck, which means grief bacon or like the weight that you gain from emotional eating, you know, perhaps at pizza hut, you never know, because you're very sad about a book you just read. But a grief cat is the cat that you get after a breakup. It's like a made up concept, but I got a grief cat at one point. I told my dear friend Annie about it and she was like that's our band name and we became a band a couple of years later and it's been really fun. Yeah, it's definitely still alive. Which?
Ashley:is great Good.
Annie:Yeah, no, it's fun, it works for us. It's like a little bit quirky but enjoyable, and fluffy and loud, just like us Is Grief Cat, the kitty we heard meowing earlier. That is the Grief Cat. Yes, he's my fur son.
Mari:We've been blessed by the Grief Cat.
Annie:Yes, indeed. Yeah, he's like a sweet, cuddly and very loud black and grief cat. Yeah, he's a. He's like a sweet, cuddly and very loud black and white cat, Very fluffy.
Louisa:Very cute.
Annie:Is that his?
Jonathan:name? Is his name grief cat?
Annie:No, his name is Marvin.
Jonathan:Marvin, okay, yeah, it's very formal. I mean it's perfect, so, marvin. So if anyone wants to know their login for Spotify, instead of an I, it's an explanation point.
Annie:I have not utilized him in any passwords, otherwise I would not be missed opportunity.
Kelly:Missed opportunity. Where did you guys say you went to school?
Annie:yeah, yeah, funny enough, we actually have a song about that. Yeah, we have a song called.
Louisa:I just want to get inside your bank account and that is the whole song about that. We have a song called I Just Want to Get Inside your Bank Account. The whole song is just going on a date with somebody and asking really, really specific questions.
Kelly:I think that was the song that I thought was the best of the ones that Maury played. Yeah, thank you.
Mari:We went out of town earlier this week and we're driving home and I was like, listen, this is not a long trip. We're going to listen to all of their songs on this album and that's the one that for sure had us laughing, because otherwise I've subjected Kelly way too many times to fairies fucking over and over this. If I had to pick two songs that were my theme songs of the year so far, it is fairies fucking and we're in the middle of a hostile government takeover.
Annie:Oh, I mean, what a classic. Yes, that is my year. Such a good song, yeah.
Mari:So what got you guys into music in general, like even before you guys met and got together as Grave Cat?
Annie:I think for me I just always loved to sing and I was never like in a band or anything like that. And many, many years ago I was like you know what, I don't want to depend on anybody, I just want to play music. So I learned how to play ukulele and that was kind of my vehicle for songwriting and performing. And then I met Annie, but it was a kind of a later in life journey for me. Annie, what about you?
Louisa:I think I feel like I grew up in a family that wasn't very. I love my family but we're not very, like, emotionally vulnerable and so but like, growing up, obviously I had feelings and I wanted to say them. So I think I picked up the guitar as sort of the place to express feelings that maybe I didn't feel comfortable expressing elsewhere. And then as I got older, I realized that I guess I'm kind of funny sometimes too, and what's combining music and comedy is just delightful. So I ended up going that route. But I think definitely I got into music, first as a place of self-expression, and now I write about butts. So yeah.
Annie:Yeah, neither of us really started on like the comedy angle. It was always music focused and then the comedy kind of came later.
Jonathan:Yeah, you write about taught, but so right, like, like dragging all butts all I.
Louisa:I don't discriminate. All butts all three cheeks. I don't like that you wrote actually.
Jonathan:I don't like that. You wrote it Actually. I don't know if you know this, but this is where I learned to poop at work.
Annie:Yeah, yeah, classic.
Jonathan:Very classic From the vault.
Annie:Join the revolution.
Jonathan:The vault is what I call my butt, where I keep all my most precious items.
Annie:Tighter than Fort Knox.
Ashley:Let's go. I have no quips, so how I was not ready.
Mari:See, this is the downside. I can picture Ash's face as that happened. But like I need, I need.
Ashley:I was. I was like digging deep, I was like digging into the brain lobes, I had nothing.
Jonathan:Listen, if you keep giving me one line that's like digging deep, I can kick it up a notch. We can keep this going for a solid 15 minutes. We talk about whistling and everything all sorts of stuff.
Annie:So many options, so many options.
Jonathan:I'd like to learn about the ukulele. My nephew has a ukulele and I like it's. What's interesting to me here is uh, until you said it, it didn't really strike me as a mature instrument, although I know it is in the back of my mind, mostly because, like I think my nephew has one and he's like nearly two. So like 90 of the time his ukulele is set to hammer mode and it just puts things back and puts things back in place with force. I don't imagine you use yours like that. I'm curious. Now I have questions about your ukulele Be less curious.
Jonathan:Be less. I'm sorry, I'll go back to my box. No, you can ask her.
Ashley:You can ask them about the ukulele. You're not allowed to bring the ukulele. Here Are there.
Jonathan:Premium ukuleles are there, like are there like what?
Annie:makes ukuleles uh, like you can get really fancy ones like a, like a, you know, like any sort of guitar like you can. There's such a wide range of like different, like woods and things like that that can be made of most of my ukuleles I've got like gosh, I had like five at this point, maybe more. I had more at one point, but there's so many different types like there's multiple sizes like you can get like a teeny tiny, like pocket ukulele, soprano ukuleles concert. I usually play a tenor ukulele which is a much larger ukulele. If you want to go like for a bigger, deeper sound, you can go to a baritone which is two more like a guitar but it only has four strings.
Annie:But yeah, I mean there's a really really wide range and there's some really incredible like ukuleles out there making really great music. Like jake shimbukuro is is one that's pretty famous. But you can do crazy stuff with ukulele. I can't. I probably have a similar skill level to your uh, two-year-old family member, but you can. You can do a lot of cool things that's pretty rad, I like yeah for me it's more of a vehicle for songwriting do you name them?
Jonathan:you name your ukuleles I should. That's a good idea I think, yeah, I think I I thought it was a great idea.
Annie:I don't know why, yeah yeah, it really shot you down there. Yeah, I'm just gonna say that my new ukulele is called dolores. Done, there she is. She seems like a dolores, my favorite you. She's got a low g on it, she's. She's got a nice rich sound.
Jonathan:That's a dolores, she's a dolores, she's a dolores I think like if if you took dolores out to eat, where would you take her out to eat?
Annie:like what's the restaurant dolores would choose oh gosh, uh, I feel like dolores delore. If we're talking like chain restaurants, maybe like a I mean dolores might go to, like I don't know magianosiano's. It's family style, it's comfortable, but it's like a little more upscale than the Olive Garden.
Jonathan:Okay, I got you Like you know, Bucca di Beppo.
Annie:Yeah, yeah, I think she's a. Dolores loves a Bucca di Beppo. You know, bringing the cheese she can you know you can dress her up, you can dress her down. You've got options. I've got another ukulele I'm going to say is called Carla. Carla's kind of my day-to-day that I perform with and she's Carla's like a little lower budget, Like she's very loud. I think Carla would really like chilies.
Ashley:I love a chili or a TGI Friday.
Jonathan:That's so comforting Chicken tenders. Gal, I'm picking up what you're putting down, smelling what you're stepping in.
Annie:Yeah, I think she'd be into the mozzarella sticks, maybe potato skins.
Jonathan:Do they have the flat mozzarella sticks there?
Annie:Yeah, I have no idea the big cheese pull.
Mari:A good cheese pull Good cheese, pull All the cheese, all the potatoes.
Jonathan:I like a dame that appreciates cheese pull. Hey, annie, the cheese all the potatoes I like a dame that appreciates cheese bowl.
Ashley:Hey, annie, I got a quick question for you. Annie, sure I totally forgot it. Such a look on his face, you guys, it was like fingers on his lips. So epic you're just gonna have to imagine the most epic question possible I don't know, dude, how do you top which restaurant would your ukulele like I want to know about ann.
Annie:How do you top which restaurant would your ukulele, like I want to know about Annie's guitar. What restaurant would the seagull go?
Louisa:to. Let's see. Well, she's Canadian, so I guess Tim Horton Is that right.
Jonathan:Ken only has that one restaurant. She has a name.
Annie:Let's get some coffee girl. Let's get some coolers, let's go.
Louisa:She does not have a name. Let's see. If Louisa has Dolores, I'll go with Diane, why not be?
Annie:Double D's. We are tenacious, double D's.
Mari:Perfect. Oh which, if you guys ever go to the Asheville area, there's an amazing double-decker bus in downtown Asheville that has coffee and hot chocolate and they're open like super late and it's in a giant double-decker old British bus and it's called Double D's.
Annie:We absolutely have to go. We love Asheville. Yeah, asheville's cool.
Mari:Yeah, love it.
Jonathan:So the Tenacious Double D's. Do you draw inspiration from that, from from tenacious d? Is that because they're a little bit more on the fun side?
Louisa:yeah, like I was having trouble we're pretty boring, but we uh, we like, no, we do I didn't say, I didn't say that that was those were your own words, I did not say that shows and the times people compare us to tenacious d's, because when they see us live we are kind of jumping around and being I don't know kind of ruckus and yeah so and of course you know, tenacious double d's because of the obvious reason I don't know I got.
Kelly:I got more of a uh paul and storm vibe oh love paul and storm.
Annie:Yeah, we do love. Do love pollen storm. I think they're also from like the I love that.
Mari:So how'd you guys come up with the idea?
Annie:the inspir, inspiration for the fairy's fucking song I feel like that one just kind of like fell out of us. Annie introduced me to romanticy, like a little over a year ago I think it. It was like last February we were we were in Seattle to play a show and I needed something to read and Annie recommended A Court of Thorns and Roses and I started reading it and then I started going hard on books, like I think I read another convoy to the, to the cult.
Annie:Yeah, I've read over 125 books already this year. Nice it's. I've gotten like really aggressive, I don't sleep anymore and it's wild Cause like I've got like a day job, I've got like grief cat, like I'm a very busy person, I maintain a social life, but I'm still just like reading like crazy.
Mari:How many books have you read, mari? I don't know. You have my phone. Whatever Goodreads says, I mean I think it's not. I don't think I've read a hundred yet. I think I'm like a 90 something.
Kelly:Those are rookie numbers, Mari.
Mari:I know.
Jonathan:Three, four times a day before lunch.
Mari:I cannot compete because I'm trying to get through Opal Rain and her books are like 600 pages, so I will read what I read. Are you doing?
Annie:like Dustwalker Brides right now.
Mari:Yes, I'm on the fourth one. Which one is the fourth one? They're very good. Kelly's got my brain on my phone. I've got the book. Oh, the fourth one is the elf, chickie chicky, who comes. Hold on, let me get, okay I'll be back anyways.
Annie:Those are great. So, uh, I will. I'll quickly explain fairies fucking. So basically, I feel like you kind of get your inputs from your environment and then. So we were just kind of hanging out making music and we start making things up and we just kind of started singing fairies fucking and it the song really just kind of like wrote itself. It was just a silly moment in rehearsal. It's so catchy and it took a life of its own. It was never meant to be like a song that we released or didn't thing with. It was just kind of a silly thing and people loved it. So we ended up recording it professionally and releasing it.
Ashley:Got to give the people what they want.
Annie:Got to give the people what they want. Gotta give the people what they want, exactly Okay.
Mari:So the fourth one is Assault a Guide, the one where you have the Dust Walker, and you have the Dust Walker with the damaged skull, I believe, and then you have the chickie from, like, the demon realm. Got it Okay? Yeah, I'm with you, yeah, I'm. I was hoping to finish these before Monsterotica Con. That ain't going to happen. How?
Ashley:many are there.
Mari:But it's fine.
Annie:Six eight, oh eight, oh, my God, seven. I can't remember which one's my favorite, but there's like some really good banter and and fun stuff. You're going to love it. It's great. I can't wait to talk about all the stuff in person.
Mari:Yes, yes, hundred. Yes, yes, 100%, which we can talk about it here, like this is romantic-y, but like we talk about whatever Honestly, whatever generally book-related, we'll talk about it. So we're not super strict.
Annie:Yeah, I will say. Going back to the song really quickly, I almost feel like we need to do like an updated version or we need to do like a different song, because we didn't include anything about monsters, we didn't include anything about aliens. We didn't include anything about werewolves, so like there's still.
Mari:I think that's a whole album. You just, you just said four songs in a whole album.
Mari:You got to do a whole album, absolutely, and you also mentioned your Goodreads and, like I, you got to do a whole absolutely and you also mentioned your goodreads and, like, I stopped updating my goodreads because I didn't want anyone I know to know what I'm reading the power of shame. My viewpoint is if you're looking, you you fuck around, find out. Yeah, better be prepared for what you see. Yeah, just like. If you ask me what I'm reading, I'm gonna tell you yeah, I got it, I'll be nice about it and I'm not gonna go into it. If you ask me what I'm reading, I'm going to tell you I'll be nice about it and I'm not going to go into it if you're not interested. But I'm going to tell you what I'm reading because whatever it's reading, it's fine.
Jonathan:I like to throw that grenade in teams meetings at work. At the end of a meeting, hey, what's up are you reading and I just sit quietly and watch your faces. Is this the same space? Can I? Is this a safe space?
Annie:Can I tell you the truth and then, that's how you discover it, so yeah, so much, so much fun. It depends on the audience, in that in that meeting I would talk about it with some coworkers, but other ones no way yeah.
Louisa:Please don't look at my Goodreads is kind kind of. Isn't it kind of interesting that people are, it feels like more forthcoming about what they're watching on tv or like movies they're interested in, but like books are really more personal and maybe the subject matter of a lot of books these days is just a lot more intense than stuff that we watch on tv.
Ashley:I don't know, I was gonna say what's what's salacious on tv right now.
Kelly:Game of Thrones is over. How dare you read that smut? I've got to go watch House of Dragon right quick.
Annie:I just remember when Bridgerton first came out and everyone was like oh my god, I watched Bridgerton, I'm so obsessed. Blah, blah, blah, and I was like I know what you just watched?
Ashley:Right right Dirty ho you just watched.
Mari:Yeah, right, right, dirty hoe. So, yeah, funny story. Because I saw that show. I did not know what bridgeton was about. When I watched the first uh, when I got excited about the first uh, uh season whatever, I didn't know, I hadn't read it, didn't know anything about it I was just like, oh, there's the way netflix marketed the first season. Okay, the first that came out, they were like it felt very period piece kind of thing. I was like, oh, some like Jane Austen type stuff. I like Jane Austen, that'll be fun to watch. When I'm like in between watching Pride and Prejudice or whatever, sure, cool wolf, I am so glad I watched that solo because it took me a minute to rejigger my brain.
Ashley:I'm like, oh, okay, this is what this is you got caught in the shonda shonda rhymes web, like you didn't know that bitch was coming you didn't know she was behind the scenes and I think the show is actually better than the books. Don't don't, you don't need to the. The show is great. The show I thought was very well done. Uh, very true to the books. I have not read all 12 books, did you?
Jonathan:just advocate for somebody to not read books I don't think the.
Ashley:I think the books. Who did I? I thought I think the books are far more like hoity-toity sounding than the show was. I thought the show was very.
Jonathan:What is this about?
Ashley:They know I don't know. Bridgerton.
Mari:It's Regency era. Go back to your corner, jane.
Ashley:Austen era, yeah.
Mari:Bridgerton.
Ashley:We can watch Bridgerton, baby, if you want to. I think you're going to be a little nervous.
Jonathan:What is it? I'm nervous, I am not a rookie.
Mari:It's historical romance.
Jonathan:It's historical romance, not contemporary.
Ashley:I know.
Annie:The music is contemporary kind of. It's still kind of contemporary-ish.
Ashley:Oh, you know how you listen to the classical music, but it's like Taylor Swift songs your study music.
Jonathan:My study music right now is Kiwi Lewis. That's who I've been listening to.
Ashley:You're not paying attention to the words I'm saying.
Jonathan:Your study music. My study music Right now is instrumental stuff. Huey Lewis, that's who I'm listening to.
Ashley:You're not paying attention to the words I'm saying.
Annie:Huey Lewis, actually did all of Bridgerton, so I think you'll be in good shape Really.
Jonathan:I haven't been to him.
Ashley:I'm excited so much, so much.
Jonathan:Sat straight up for that.
Ashley:Yeah, no, I much Sat straight up for that. I don't think you'll care, but I thought the show was very exquisitely done and it was catchy and I thought the actors were just sublime, shonda.
Jonathan:Rhimes knows what she's doing. I'm going to bing it real quick.
Annie:It's soapy. It's soapy and delicious and a little sexy, but it sounds like the books are less so and I'm going to skip that. It was a little sexy, but it sounds like the books are less so and I'm gonna skip that a little more boring yeah yeah, I read.
Mari:I only read one of the the books and I didn't like it and I was like you know what? I like the show and I don't like the books, and it's okay for them to be different. Yeah, some people like both, some people like one better the other. The other books may be different, but I really I'm not that huge of a historical romance, historical sexy books. Anyways, I tend to like fantasy or monsters or like a romantic comedy kind of vibe. If I'm gonna do like, have you guys read outlander? I started to. I tried.
Mari:I have a real hard time I think that's like I feel like I want to like it, but I do.
Ashley:I think it's another one where the show is just better.
Annie:I didn't love the show either. So I read the first two books and I feel like the show, the dialogue, I don't know it. Just I feel like some of the acting isn't quite what I want. Um, especially like the girl that plays, like the daughter I'm, I'm sure she's lovely, but I just, I don't know, I just don't, I don't buy it.
Kelly:And the show gets a little bit like.
Annie:It just feels like a little bit like Is it torture porn that I'm thinking of?
Ashley:Or like oh yeah, season one is rough, season one was rough, for that, absolutely.
Annie:I wanted to like it more.
Mari:Same and I was like you know this just Once again, may just not be my thing. There are certain things I know I like and certain things I don't like. I like, I like historical romances that are like, written old-timey I guess they're classics, more like. I like jane austen, you know I like, you know some of those, those older ones, but I don't necessarily like a lot of the modern books that are written in a in an older time period.
Ashley:Well, you just blew my mind with torture porn. Jesus, what is wrong with me?
Jonathan:what are you talking about? It's such a crazy concept.
Ashley:I've never labeled it before jesus yeah, it's good.
Annie:It's good. I I it's not my favorite. I think that there's other things. Like you know, the setting is great, like it's sexy, it's fun, like it was an enjoyable read, but it's not something I'm going back to reread and I didn't make it past, like book two for me.
Mari:I tried to read it. I was like, let me give another one a shot because it's so popular. I must be missing something, and I was. I gave up after the second book. I'm like all right.
Annie:I'll move on to something else.
Louisa:Yeah, and you know I'm an aggressive reader from our, you know, 30 minutes of knowing each other. For me to hang it up, but I will say I love a Scotland moment like the Wolf King.
Annie:That series is really fun so far. Really enjoy that. I'm here for more Scottish reads.
Mari:I just read a book earlier this year. Oh gosh, I hope I get the title right. I think it's called Lock and Key.
Annie:Oh, I've seen this. Have you read this one? I want to read it. It's on my list.
Mari:It's the fun silly standalone like rom-com-y style monster romance like Lauren Blakely or something like that. Who's the author? Yes, I think so. I think is it a romance or a Loch Ness Monster? It's. It's a Loch Ness Monster shifter romance. Cool, let's, let's go in Scotland. I mean it's not like the best thing ever, but I'm like this was a fun read. It was fun for what?
Annie:exactly what it was you know, that's like a good like in between, like in between, like dark mafia. I love a dark romance. Another romance trilogy.
Mari:Yeah, when you're reading like eight books, I'm like let me just go into another world, right now give me a minute to go elsewhere and I love disassociating and just reading about shifters.
Annie:They get me out of this world, thank you.
Mari:Yeah, so what are you're both readers? What are some of your favorite genres? Favorite genres, favorite books?
Louisa:So I'm definitely less of a reader than Louisa. I think I'm on my seventh book this year.
Kelly:That's pretty awesome I definitely love.
Louisa:I mean, I I love romantasy. I'm not. I actually read daughter of no worlds. That was the most recent book I finished. I was, I don't know, I just wasn't feeling it.
Louisa:So maybe I need to take a pause from romantasy or just find a different kind of world of Romantici other than like, maybe, fae. But I do love Romantici and also, oh, I love retellings of stories, so like Circe Song of Achilles, although at the same time I'm currently reading A Thousand Ships, which is a retelling of, like the trojan war from the women's perspective, and I'm not into that. I wish I was, but I think there's just like too many characters kelly, didn't you?
Mari:didn't you read that one recently? Uh, the thousand ships, the from the woman's perspective. Isn't that the one you were trying to read recently?
Kelly:I did, I read it what'd you? Think it wasn't too bad yeah, it was, it was an. It was an interesting take on it. I think the concept was good. I think there was just some structural problems with the way the story flows.
Louisa:Yeah, that's kind of my problem with it too is that we're bouncing as soon as I start getting invested in I don't know, the Trojan women that are now being held as slaves. Now we've gone to like penelope odysseus's wife perspective. I'm like wait, but I was just, I wanted what, and there's just a lot of bouncing around. But I do like that genre. I think I might like the plated prisoner series because it's like oh, I just finished the first one in that it's like king midas, right, uh-huh, I think so.
Mari:Ash has read more than I have. I've just finished the first one in that series. It's like King Midas right, uh-huh, I think so. Ash has read more than.
Louisa:I have.
Mari:I've just finished the first one. I liked it.
Louisa:I'm going to read the second one. Yeah, I feel like that might be a good combination of romanticity but also a story that I'm familiar with. And then I also I do love my favorite author is W Somerset Maugham. He wrote human bondage, which is, like you know, a stuffy British novel. I do love, like a very stuffy, snooty British, highbrow British literature, if I have the patience to, like you know, this is some really small font and, uh, a penguin classic.
Louisa:I have to be really in the mood, but um, when they're great, I mean you know there's a reason. They're, you know, beloved by you know so like universally. So. So yeah, but you know, I do love romanticy. I I really loved a court of thorns and roses. That's why we're here after all these years and and so I'm always going to gravitate towards those books and watch TikToks of people reviewing books. Whether or not I read them isn't really you know, I'm just I like, I like the culture around them and yeah.
Mari:I think that's fun have you heard of the katie roberts neon gods series? No, so it's. It's like greek inspiration. So you have, like the very. It's a series called neon gods hercules no, that's jasmine monis no fucking love her.
Mari:She's great yeah katie roberts is k-a-t-e-e roberts, it's. It's like a modern, it's a modern day vibe. It almost feels like mafia style setup. But they're the greek stories and so, like the first story is so, there's no magic in it. The power comes from them being like powerful families or rich people in this world, and so there's like Hades and Persephone is the first one, of course.
Jonathan:Like all, of everything.
Mari:But there's also like the second one is Cupid, was it Psyche? And Eros. There's Hephaestus and Aphrodite one, the one that's. I believe the series is finishing up this year and it's going to finish with the Hera and Zeus one, but there's been like it does a really she does a really interesting job. They're very spicy, they're modern. So if you want something kind of light in between heavy or reading, they're not very big but you get a little bit of like that Greek storytelling vibe without much heft or like weight to it, and it really humanizes some of the stories, I think.
Annie:This is the same author that did Court of the Vampire Queen and.
Mari:Draft yes.
Annie:Ride right, okay, straight spot yes. Yes, yeah, I actually just added Neon Gods to my. I just put a hold on it on on libby last night, oh no, when I was doing my research for for future books. I'm very curious to hear what you think about the plated prisoner series. I have thoughts on that one, okay, so I'm excited to, I'm excited for you to read that, and then we'll we'll talk gotcha. It took me a minute to get into it.
Louisa:I, it's so funny, I. So I've been on this like romanticist kick. I also had read like a Brandon Sanderson book, so less smut, but like still in the fantasy realm. And then I read in February. I read a Toni Morrison book, I read Beloved, and my brain was like broke. Oh my gosh, like this writing is incredible and I'm, I'm not, I can't it's it's, it's beautiful and so heavy and thought-provoking and it's like but what? I just want some kissing, you know.
Annie:Yeah, uh, so kind of a well-balanced guy exactly oh man, I'm just reading trash but it's fun yeah, on my side I've been reading so a lot of romanticy for sure. I've like started to, like you know, dip my toes a little bit into monster stuff with like monster erotica con. I can't say that word monster erotica monster, monster erotica, monster erotica, yeah sorry.
Mari:Anyways, I've typed it so many times that my phone will automatically spell it out, but I can't say yes, so um, I I've read a little bit of monster romance to prepare me for that environment.
Annie:um, including all of Duskwalker Brides, which was great, really fun series. I liked that a lot more than I thought I would, because that was like the most like pure monster stuff that I've ever read. Like the Duskwalkers are basically a combination of like all the different animals and like humans that they've eaten.
Mari:Yeah, they're straight up monsters.
Annie:They're straight up monsters, like their heads are skulls. So it's like romance with like a human and this like skull creature Whoa.
Mari:And they straight up eat people. And they straight up eat people. I mean, they're straight up monsters.
Annie:To eat humanity. It is wild and it was a really cool and really heartwarming ride.
Mari:honestly, I really enjoyed it. Did you know that it's based off of that? You know it's based off an anime, right?
Annie:I think you told me that I actually didn't know that I didn't know that, but it's a really cool series.
Mari:Yes, yeah, so it's based off of the Ancient Magus Bride, which is a very prolific manga, and I think there's one season anime. I think the second one may be out. I'm not sure I'm behind on all that because I was just like once I saw they were like I don't know 30 something mangas. I'm like I will never finish that. I'll go back to reading regular old books.
Annie:I'd love to check that out. I've like never gotten into manga at all. I think it's really cool. So I think other stuff I've been reading I really love. Like I've been on a big dark romance kick but I also really love anything that's like a little bit. I like it when it's dark and funny. So like going back to I mentioned Zodiac Academy, I think, earlier like I love anything that those authors have done because like it's always kind of like dark and messed up but they always have these like wildly funny characters and like wildly funny banter. A lot of people find it cringy and like kind of high school-y, but I just think it it's fun, it's delicious, it's great. I love like Jasmine Moss who did Blood of Hercules, and like the Psycho Shifter series. Those are all really really fun. I think you would really like Blood of Hercules. Do not read the back. I feel like the back, like the blur, ruins it, just like dive in, yeah, just dive in.
Annie:It's better if you don't know what's going on. It's got like this like wonderfully kooky, unreliable narrator and it's just like a really fun wild ride. And then same thing with, like her Psycho Shifter series, which is like gosh. I think it's like six books of like reverse harem and it's like kind of split into like three. There's three books in the first part, three books in the second. Also a really fun ride and I think those worlds actually cross over a little. And yeah, again with like the darkly funny like. I think one of my favorite books that I've read, which kind of surprised me when I picked it up because I'm not like into masks, is Lights Out, because it's just so charming.
Mari:I've read that one. It's so charming.
Annie:The audiobook is just so fun and it's one I've actually gone back to like listen to a second time, which is kind of rare. Have you read Butcher and Blackbird. Yeah, we actually listened to that one together on tour. Yeah, we listened to. We listened to smutty audiobooks together when we tour. We also did Nocticadia, which is another one that I love. Butcher and Blackbird is great.
Mari:I read Butcher and Blackbird first and then Lights Out, and I was like, all right, I've got my, my, my kind of crazy. Well, like modern, modern killer vibe out of my system, so I went on to other books.
Annie:Yeah, they're really fun, but anything. I will read pretty much anything these days, but I definitely want like a romance element because I just think it's fun. Yeah, and vampires are what started it all. I mean love, vampires.
Mari:So what was, what were some of your early vampire books that got you into vampires?
Annie:I think I read Interview with the Vampire for the first time when I was like in fifth grade.
Annie:And that was probably my start into like. Oh, and also, my favorite movie growing up was the Lost Boys, which I don't know if you've seen. It's like that fantastic 80s film. So I think that is probably kind of what started me on like vampires as a kid and then like, of course, like later on definitely like read Twilight Fre on like vampires as a kid and then like, of course, like later on, definitely like read twilight. Freaking loved it. I recognize that it's not highbrow literature, but I will always forever love twilight vampire diaries. It's a fun all that stuff. And yeah, I need to. I haven't read as much vampire stuff recently, so I need to get back into my roots and read more vampire stuff so I'm currently reading amongst the 5 000 books I stuff, so I'm currently reading amongst the 5,000 books I'm currently reading.
Mari:I'm currently reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series I just downloaded.
Annie:I just got one from Libby last night. Book one go ahead, it's a remember.
Mari:It's like a 20 year old book. That's my only thing I'll say is give it some some, some grace with it being not a new book, but I really enjoyed it. And they're making I don't I don't remember which channel it is it's like passion flicks or something is making a series or movie series. I think it's a series of that first book, but I enjoyed it. I think I'm on like book three now. I'm waiting for book three on Libby it's. It's a it's a good vampire romp kind of um, yeah, a little bit, how would I describe it? It's modern. It's got a little bit of Kim Harrison kind of style to it.
Annie:It's like an urban, modern vampire kind of vibe, all right, like almost like a True Blood kind of situation.
Mari:Yes, I'd say, yeah, I'd say True Blood, but with like a little bit more, a little bit more romance, okay.
Annie:Yeah, oh, all right, but it's a fun time. I'm excited to check it out. Yeah, I downloaded it, but I haven't started it yet. Brilliant Books are the best. Books are great and I love having a Kindle so nobody can tell what I'm reading. That's the key. I wouldn't read as much if I didn't have my Kindle. Same.
Mari:Same. I've got my emotional support. Kelly teases me all the time. I everywhere. Even if there's no chance I'm going to pull it out and do anything with it, I still have it with me at all times. So what are some of the things you guys would like to see more of in current storytelling, whether that's books, movies, music, TV, whatever.
Louisa:Two things. One and I don't know if this exists, but you know the trope in a lot of books is like girl with beast of a man, like Beauty and the Beast. I want to see stories where that's reversed, where the conventionally attractive man is into this like monster woman and falls for the woman in monster form and maybe she turns out to be a hottie afterwards. Turns out to be a hottie afterwards, but like I want the romance to, or like the real relationship to form between like an ugly monster woman and hot man I don't think.
Louisa:I don't think, I don't know if reverse beauty of the beast exists. But I want to see that story. Do you know?
Mari:of anything, I have a book recommendation okay this is a five-star read for me so we met this author at RomanticyCon last year in Orlando. Dj Russo, R-U-S-S-O is her name. She's got a series I think it's called the Femme Fatale series, but in that series they're all where the monsters are the female characters and I believe all the other love interests are. I know they're all humans. I believe they're all men. I'm trying to remember. I think they're all male.
Jonathan:Is that no sugarcoating it?
Mari:Yes, that's one of them, but the one that I, that was my favorite. I don't know if it's just because I'm. I'm in a Gilman creature of the Black Lagoon mode right now, but she's got one called Sink or Swim, where it's a female creature of the Black Lagoon, and then this male like mafia dude who was like dumped in her waters because they like thought he was dead, he was sleep with the fishes, kind of situation and it goes from there. All right, it's fun, it's short, it's spicy.
Annie:I enjoyed it I thought it was a really really good I already found it, it's adding it to the tbr looks like that is two of the series.
Ashley:The first one is yeah, they're not coding it.
Mari:yeah, they're not. It's the most vague, interrelated. Like there might be one crossover sentence of one character from like a prior book, so you don't have to read them in any special way.
Louisa:Good to know. I'm very intrigued.
Jonathan:I would say, though, that the beastly side of like no Sugar Coating it, it's like a succubus right.
Annie:But she's fucking smoking hot. Yeah, she's a buxom beauty with raven hair and the most incredible rack he's ever seen okay
Mari:see, that's what she's got I was gonna say yeah, I was gonna say yeah, that's what that's what I'm saying.
Jonathan:So there was one that was a little bit fluffier. It was a little bit fluffier, but it was monsters, so it was lacking. I feel like we're halfway there. So we got like hot femme, but monster right. And what it was? It was like every pre-teens devilish dream was no, sugarcoating it right. Every pre-teen boys and some others like their, their dream like oh, your tail is a cock ring, I'll take it right, and then. And then you have what are you gonna do with that?
Jonathan:what are you gonna do with that next thing and then and then like what? But the other side of the thing was that like uh, there was this like very. It was like monster on monster, but like the, the dude monster was way more passable, so it was like it's like it's like 25 there. I think we need a blend of that kind of thing.
Annie:Well, I'm looking at sink or swim right now and I think that this line gives me hope for annie, um. So basically, this mafia guy gets dumped in Buna, the sea monster or whatever's backyard and left for dead. He's repulsed by her, of course, but she's nothing if not determined to make a new friend after a lifetime of loneliness.
Louisa:Oh my gosh, I love that. That's what I want.
Annie:He's repulsed, of course.
Louisa:Yes.
Annie:That's what we want. That's what we want. So not want. That's what we want.
Louisa:Yeah, so not enemies to lovers, repulsion to lovers, yeah, repulsion to lovers, uh, the moment yeah like I said she like even in, even in shrek, the dragon in shrek is still a sexy dragon. Like can't we just have a regular dragon, not a hot dragon? Yeah, but can the girl monster be just a monster who happens to be a girl and they fall in love anyway? Care for it.
Annie:Yeah.
Louisa:Anyways, so I'm definitely interested in that recommendation. That sounds interesting. My other thing that I would like to see more of personally, you know, like the trope of the, I'm a girl and I have to go to court and I don't want to wear this gown, even though it fits me perfectly. I want to wear my fighting leathers and I hate that I have to wear makeup.
Louisa:I want to see more books where the girl is powerful but she's powerful because of her softness and of her femininity and that, and like we don't have we don't always have to lead it into like a masculine fiery, you know, like the yang kind of energy. There's nothing wrong with that. I just feel like I don't know, like like I'm a strong woman and I can fight and do stuff and I want to wear a pretty dress and like there's nothing. There's nothing, uh, that takes away from one's power just because they have, you know, feminine energy and feminine qualities. I think my archetype for this is like in throne of glass. I had a really hard time with ailyn. I kind of I don't know because you know, like the, the typical, like feisty fighter girl, but I really liked irene, who in the who's like the healer, that is, like the main love interest in tower of dawn yeah and not only because she has curly hair and I have curly hair and that's important representation.
Louisa:But uh, but like she's a lot like softer, but like you need a healer and you know she's just. She's powerful, but not because she wants to fight and kill people. I think there's a time and place for that, but I want to see more female characters who are powerful because they lean into a softer energy rather than needing to yeah, there's more ways to contribute to the party.
Mari:It doesn't. Everyone doesn't have to be a fighter. Like Kelly and I played D and D and we were literally just having this conversation. Like the healers are very important.
Louisa:Yeah, you don't, you don't, yeah, You're not going out without, without healers. Uh, every you know like, uh, uh, everyone is welcome to the party, but I want to see more representation where people are powerful because of their softness.
Mari:That book we just talked about in the beginning, the Throne in the Dark by AK Caggiano. I think she fits that.
Jonathan:I like Bull Moon Rising as well. It's like she's got a much softer approach.
Mari:Oh yeah, that's another good one Does that Ruby Dixon. Yeah, so it's spicy, but it does fit that vibe for sure.
Louisa:I mean we're not getting rid of the spicy. You can be.
Annie:You can be soft without clothes.
Mari:Yeah, she. If I had to pick a person that she reminded me of, it was Evie from 1999, the Mummy it was that character.
Jonathan:She's evil, evil, evie's evil.
Mari:I love evie.
Jonathan:I love evie so much you, you like a good villain there's pansexual awakening movie period love it.
Mari:Um, back real quick to the the monster. There is a book, uh called someone you can Build a Nest In. In, in, in, yes, and it's a sapphic monster story.
Mari:What kind of story is this Basically the monster falls in love with a human and the monster wants to lay eggs in the human, but the way the monster procreates is like the eggs eat their way out like you know, alien style, whatever. So she's like I love you, but I don't want to kill you, but I want to smash you, but there's not a lot of spice, it's it's very, very low spice, but it's a really interesting story. Yeah, I I read it, not expecting a lot from it, and I ended up very much enjoying it and ending up ended up like buying the hardcover for my, my bookcase. Okay, it was really interesting storytelling gotcha.
Annie:Sometimes I wonder if I should become an author instead of a songwriter. I mean, why not both? That's true, that's true all right.
Mari:Who needs even what little sleeping you're doing now? Who needs it? You?
Annie:know I could these more hobbies, why not?
Louisa:Oh, what would you like to see, Louisa?
Annie:I really like where you're going with this. I agree with both those things and I would like to see them as well. I think that I would like to see maybe more books with people who are not 17. Or like oh, this girl's 18 and this silver fox is 35. A silver fox is over 50. I'm sorry, that is something I'm firm about.
Mari:Yeah, it's fine, you know, because I understand the lore of the author to write a young character, because then you can have them grow up and learn. They're almost a blank slate.
Mari:So like I understand why it happens. But that's one of the reasons I love, love, love T Kingfisher. She writes fantasy and horror and fairy tale retellings, but she's got a series called the Saints of Steel series. The majority of her main characters are, I'd say, in their thirties. Nice, yeah, t Kingfisher is like. She's got a really good kind of dark humor, very pragmatic, and she's got a really interesting world building and like magic and like lore system that I don't feel came from anybody else. It feels very original to her world. I am like so, um, the night that I started talking to you guys that same night it was probably like midnight, I think I also found out that T Kingfisher is going to be at Dragon Con in Atlanta that I go to every year. Oh, nice, I screamed so loud, I was so excited. It's a good thing. Kelly was working, but I still texted him at like midnight and I was like oh, oh, my God, this happened. So, yes, t Kingfisher, highly recommend her stuff.
Annie:I have been eyeing some of her work, but I haven't picked any of it up yet, so you're giving me inspiration that I need, maybe after I get through all 700 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.
Mari:Oh my, God, I think the 25th Black Dagger Brotherhood book is coming out this year, like 23rd 25th, something like that. Yeah, Wow, I'm on book three, so incredible.
Annie:I have a question because this bothers me sometimes when I read books that are like 20 years old. Do they describe like the clothes a lot Are people wearing, like peplum tops and like capris?
Mari:No, no Well you know it's not described a lot. However, the vampires are very Matrix. It has a very Matrix vibe. Everyone's wearing black leather and I'm just like sure you are Sure you're wearing your black leather in the middle of this New York City summer.
Jonathan:It worked for me.
Annie:I mean, that sounds like every Motorcycle Club book as well. Yeah, it worked for.
Jonathan:Wesley Snipes.
Annie:It did. Yeah, it did as well. Yeah, it worked for wesley snipes.
Mari:It did, yeah, it did. I mean I guess you have to be a vampire, half vampire, to pull it off, because I'm just like no, no, that shit is peeling off of you.
Annie:No, well, their skin would burn the light, so I guess they need to cover it with another hair of skin.
Mari:I don't know what is something people often get wrong about you.
Louisa:That we're successful, meaning, meaning, meaning, I don't know. Especially like in the DC area, I feel like we we run into a lot of people who are like oh, you guys are really blowing up because they see we have video a couple videos on Instagram that go viral every once in a while and like have like a decent following comparatively, but uh, like I'm a dog walker yeah, people are like we can't afford you and I'm like, seriously, just tell us we're cheap, don't worry, we are very cheap.
Louisa:Uh, we are not intimidating in the slightest. If anything, we're begging you to be our fan.
Annie:Please like us buy tickets to our shows.
Louisa:Yeah, I think that's the other thing is that we we do have an internet presence and we love to make content and videos and it's fun to connect with people all over the world and stuff, but we really are live performers first and people really do appreciate us even more after they come and see one of our live shows. That's kind of where we really blossom.
Louisa:So I think people kind of maybe get wrong that we are just like content creators yeah, content creators and it's like no, we're actually really like real musicians and we play gigs and we go on tour and we would love to see you live and meet you in person, uh, and not just behind a screen there's like something magical about live music oh yeah buying music is is absolutely fine.
Louisa:Obviously buy music from the artist you like, but like going to a show and listening to it live and having that like shared experience with other people who are there who are also enjoying it yes is its own magic yes, totally, whether, yeah, whether you are the ones on stage or you are going, even going to a show, just to be in the crowd and feeling that energy with people, you know that back and forth between the audience and the performer, I mean, yeah, there's nothing, it can't be replaced for sure. So I think that's something people get wrong about us.
Annie:Yeah, Great, it's the closest to magic in real life. Yeah, outside of David Blaine.
Mari:What's one piece of advice you'd like to pass along to others?
Jonathan:That was poignant Silence yeah.
Annie:Well done, poignant silence, I think. For me the piece of advice there's like a an old Ben fold song called there's always someone cooler than you, which I always really held on to, and it's like, yeah, somebody is always going to be cool, or like looking down their nose at you but like fuck it. Like, do what makes you happy, be yourself kind of follow, follow what you are interested in and that makes you live a fulfilled and interesting life. You know, you don't, you don't need to do something because, like you think it's what other people want you to do. You know, march to the beat of your own drummer and you'll, you'll only find joy from that, and you'll also find your community and your people that way too, I think.
Mari:Yeah, hear, hear yeah.
Louisa:I think for me and this is advice that I need to take myself is worry about yourself, worry about what you're doing. Maybe other people are finding success earlier than you, or I don't know. Maybe you see them. Maybe what you might consider selling out, or I don't know. Just worry about yourself and remember that not all flowers bloom at the same time, like your time is when your time is, if success in in that way is the goal. But overall, just like worry, worry about yourself, don't worry about what other people are doing and don't worry about what other people are thinking about you. And that's easier said than done. Certainly, yeah, jealousy is part of the game, insecurity is part of the game, but that's also just means that there's always something to work on and overcome, and it keeps things interesting can I get more?
Annie:more advice, cause I have more now, okay. So I think, like people are always going to, I actually forgot the piece of advice that I was going to give, so forget that. I've got another one. I've got. I've got knowledge of politics drop, okay. So I read something this week on Instagram I think an author said it, but I don't know who it was. So this is very relevant. But lately I've been struggling a lot with being overwhelmed because I have so many balls in the air. You know, you're juggling so many things constantly and this concept that was brought up in this post.
Annie:Yeah, there's so many balls. The concept that was brought up in this particular post was that some balls are glass and some are plastic, and so, like, you need to recognize that sometimes balls are going to drop. Like, try to drop the plastic ones first if you can, and that's been something that's really been helping me out mentally quite a bit. But now I remember the other piece of advice, which is you don't need to A you don't need to take advice from anybody. You don't need to listen advice from anybody. You don't need to listen to anybody, but don't listen or take to heart feedback or like talking shit from like somebody that, like you, don't know or that, like you, wouldn't care about their opinion.
Annie:You know what I mean. Like. So we have people telling us online all the time that, like we're like fat ugly, no one's gonna love us, whatever. But like, but at the same time, like would I ever take advice from this piece of shit? Like, do I look at their instagram profile and think, like wow, that's somebody that like is really inspirational? No, so why would I? Why would I put any stock in their insults of me? Like there's, you don't need to.
Jonathan:So that's the other piece there's a famous that reminds me of a famous quote not eloquently.
Annie:Yeah, no, there's some.
Jonathan:well, somebody said it eloquently once uh, theodore roosevelt, the man in the arena, quote oh.
Jonathan:So and it's the credit belonged to the man who was actually in the arena, whose face is marred by sweat and dust and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming, and it goes on. It's actually like heavily used by Brene Brown, the concept there is don't listen to the people in the cheap seats. Look around, if you're going to take advice or direction or criticism from somebody, they should be down in the shit with you.
Louisa:I love that. That is a beautiful inspirational quote for us to use when we post fairy spucking. Yes, Well, the Spread the wisdom. The fame and the glory belong to us as we fight in the arena In our fighting leathers yeah. Wearing sparkly rainbow jumpsuits and singing about fairies doing it, you know.
Ashley:Yeah, yeah.
Louisa:No that's a great, that's a great, that's a great, but also reminds me of the song has been by william shatner.
Annie:That's a worthwhile one to look up sometime. Yeah, but people call him has been, but like he's still out there trying and like doing new things, and that was 20 years ago so all right.
Mari:So where can people find you? We are all over the internet well, louisa's address mother's maiden name.
Annie:Yeah, so on instagram we are at grief cat party time because grief cat was taken, so at grief cat party time. We're also on tiktok as grief cat youtube. Is grief cat on TikTok as Grief Cat YouTube as Grief Cat, spotify, apple Music everywhere.
Jonathan:Venmo.
Annie:Venmo yeah, we do have a new album coming out. We're going to have singles dropping out, like I think starting in June we're going to start dropping some singles. So it's going to be a pretty fun year and if you like Ferris Buck and I think you'll like the rest of the album as well, for sure Exciting, yeah. But yeah, come hang out with us, be our friend. We're pretty responsive. If you ever just send us a note, we'll always talk and say hi.
Mari:They will. And then I did my usual thing of like 50,000 balls in the air and I was like, oh shit, I never texted them back. I think it was like, oh shit, I never texted them back. I think it was like a week. I'm ghosting you. I'm so sorry.
Annie:I'm real bad on TikTok yeah.
Mari:I drop those all the time. I'm so bad, so bad, all right. Does anybody want to bring anything else? Before I wrap it up? This was so much fun, all right. So that's going to wrap it up.
Mari:Thanks for listening to of swords and soulmates. Before we go, make sure to check the show notes, rate and review us. Subscribe to us on your podcast app of choice. It helps others to find us. Follow us on instagram at of swords and soulmates. Check us out on our website at of swords and soulmatescom, or on youtube, tiktok, facebook and pinterest with the same username.
Mari:If you'd like to offer a suggestion for a future episode, or just give us your opinion, reach out to us and email us or message us on any of those options. If you want to read along with us as we prep for a new episode, follow us on Goodreads at Of Swords and Soulmates, or for chapter-by-chapter interaction on the Fable app at the Of Swords and Soulmates book club, and we also have a Tome account as of Swords and Soulmates. Before we announce what we'll be reading for the next episode, we'd like to read a little review that someone left us on Spotify. This one was from Eloquent Muse and, like I said before. I've not been great about pulling these up. I'm having issues pulling up the whole image. Can somebody Kelly Jonathan?
Jonathan:Ash read it. It says love the part. If you double click on it, it will show what's hidden.
Mari:Oh, you're just going to be tech support for me, Got it, Got it Okay. So love the part where Kelly talked about books on badass women and minorities in history. I haven't heard many any guys get excited about the hidden stories of powerful historic women and no lie, I teared up at work listening. Also so many books to add from everybody on my TBR. Happy New Year.
Jonathan:Happy New Year to you too.
Mari:That tells you how old it was. Yes, happy Beltane. Okay, and last but not least, we hope you'll join us in two weeks for our next episode, when we will be discussing Five Broken Blades by Mai.
Jonathan:Cortland, I hope she kept the receipt. Those blades are so cheap they're just breaking. That doesn't sound like a bargain at all. The dad jokes are not flapping tonight. They're not hitting, not bad you.
