Queso, Tequila & Unhinged Romance Author Thoughts with Lasairiona McMaster

This week on What the Smut Are You Talking About Podcast, we are joined by indie romance author Lasairiona McMaster for an absolutely chaotic, hilarious, and surprisingly emotional conversation about romance books, fake dating, writing feral characters, and why queso should honestly be considered a personality trait.

From MM hockey romance and mafia books to rugby romance, emotional damage, and perimenopause-fueled unhinged thoughts, this episode truly has everything.

Lasairiona spills all the tea about:

• Writing emotionally wrecking romance books
• Fake dating, one night stands, brother’s best friend romance, and found family
• Her Cedar Rapids Raccoons hockey romance series
• Her rugby romance series
• Her upcoming MM hockey romance Splitting the D
• Why tacos, queso, margaritas, and pie deserve their own supporting character credits

If you love:

• Romance books
• Bookish podcasts
• Indie romance authors
• Hockey romance
• Rugby romance
• Fake dating
• Enemies to lovers
• Found family
• Brother’s best friend
• One night stands
• Spicy romance books
• Emotional romance with humor
• Unhinged bookish conversations

…then this episode is absolutely for you.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

What's up, Book Nerds? Welcome to What the Smut Are You Talking About podcast. We are a weekly romance book podcast where we talk about books and chaos. So yeah, pretty much anything goes.

SPEAKER_02 0:11

Join us as we talk about the books we are reading, what crazy shenanigans are happening in our lives, and who knows, we may have some fun guests drop by.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

So grab your favorite snacky snack and your beverage of choice and come hang out and see what the smut we are talking about this week. Welcome back, book nerds.

– Romance Author Interview with Lasairiona McMaster

SPEAKER_02 0:29

Happy to have you here this week. We have a wonderful author joining us today with characters that come to play in more ways than one. Happily Evers that make you throw your Kindle and then hug it tight. We would like to welcome indie author and amazing human, La Serena McMaster, with us. Hi, La Serena. How are you doing? Welcome. Okay, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

How are you? Thank you. How's your week, Ben? Stressful. We're trying to get a book over the line for editing next week, which you know about because you're in my document.

SPEAKER_02 1:02

Yay! I live in it, I breathe in it, and I'm dying to one day go to Ireland for the sole purpose for us to meet in person.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

I will pick you up at the airport. We can have margaritas.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

I I'm gonna hide in her suitcase. Bring it on.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

The more the merrier.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

PSA so backed up. They won't notice, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:19

No, they really won't.

SPEAKER_02 1:20

This is already gonna be one of our fun most unhinged podcast listeners.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

I don't know what gives you that impression. So demure.

SPEAKER_02 1:30

You all are in for the ride of your life, and we are going to dive in to all things La Serena and us chiming in our unhinged comments along with

– Tea, Diet Coke, Tequila & Queso Problems

SPEAKER_02 1:42

it. So what are you currently drinking and is it strong enough for this conversation?

SPEAKER_00 1:46

I am drinking, I have two drinks. I have tea and I have Coke Zero, and neither of them are strong enough for this conversation. No. And I thought I would be on camera, so I didn't want to have like tequila next to me.

SPEAKER_02 2:03

Judgment free zone. Judgment free zone, yeah. Courtney, do you have more than your Diet Coke? I mean, I know what's in your cup.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Listen, it's a tragedy over in the Griffey household today because I ran out of Diet Coke last night and I'm suffering. So currently I have a prime sitting here and I don't like it. It's like a berry flavor, and I'm like, ugh. Santrambone.

SPEAKER_02 2:30

I know. I am sipping on my tea. I have a nice cup of Earl Grey with some cream in it and a big heaping glass of water. Heck well. Everyone keeps telling me to drink water. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

The thing you're supposed to drink? Yeah. I have Hey, I think the first ingredient in Diet Coke is water, right? So yes.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

Some water is water to make tea. So yeah. Technically I'm drinking water too, Mary.

SPEAKER_02 2:55

I have yet to meet a flavor of tea that I don't like.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

So I've met plenty. I say the same thing about tacos.

SPEAKER_02 3:03

Yes. Tacos.

SPEAKER_00 3:05

I miss tacos. Yeah. I did at-home crunch wraps last night because I miss Mexican foods. So I did a fake Taco Bell for my son.

SPEAKER_02 3:15

Those looked amazing.

SPEAKER_00 3:16

They were very good. But we don't have queso here. So it was re it's really hard to. Yeah. I know. I know. Kidding me.

SPEAKER_02 3:23

That just hurt my heart. Corney has an unhealthy obsession with queso, and she technically should not be consuming queso because both of us should not be eating dairy. And only one of us follows that rule.

SPEAKER_00 3:36

I mean, if they told me I couldn't eat queso, I would say screw you too. And just eat the damn queso. Cheese is life, bro.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

I think it was last week I texted Mary and I was like, I'm going to get my taco and queso. So we'll see if it hurts my stomach or not.

SPEAKER_02 3:51

And then an hour later, she's like, Yeah, it still hurts. Yeah. Barry Mills.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Yeah. I love you. You are my people.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Yeah.

– Plotter vs Feral Gremlin Author Energy | Lasairiona’s Writing Process

SPEAKER_00 4:02

From tea to tacos in three minutes.

SPEAKER_02 4:07

Law, Serena, on a scale of plotter to feral gremlin, what is your writing process like?

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Well, I think it depends on who you ask. Because so I started out as a feral gremlin. I just sat in front of the computer and wrote whatever came into my brain. And that resulted in me having to unpublish 12 books. So I then moved into I know. I know. Yeah, I know, Courtney. It's it's it's still painful, it's still tender. And then I moved into complete opposite end and I went full plot. But that didn't work either because my characters, when I started to write, were like, that's not my story. I don't know what the hell this is, but that's not what we want. So I kind of fall somewhere in the middle. If you ask Tracy, my co-author, she will tell you I am a feral raccoon in a Word document. And she might not be wrong depending on the day. But generally speaking, I like to have some form of idea of where this story is going. And I do quite a lot of character work before I go in, so I like to know the characters pretty well. But once I'm in there, it's anybody's guess. Like all bets are off.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

So when did you make

– When Writing Romance Books Became Her Whole Personality

SPEAKER_02 5:21

your jump from this writing thing is fun to my gosh, this is now my whole personality? When I was like five years old.

unknown 5:30

Yay!

SPEAKER_00 5:31

Love it. I recently dug up all of my, I don't know if you guys get a school report at the end of every year from your like teacher for the year, and they give you like a breakdown of your grades and they write a little thing about how you go in each class.

SPEAKER_02 5:45

We we get our report cards.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

Yes. So I recently dug out my report cards, and from the age of five, it was she's got a great imagination, she tells good stories. Um and then whenever I went to college, I wrote my first book and put it on a shelf for I want to say eight years, nine years, should I be? And when we moved back from living abroad, I found a copy of it and I transcribed it from paper onto my laptop and I sent it to a published friend. And I was like, is there anything here? Should I pursue this? And she was like, Yes, not only do you need to publish this, but you need to write book too because I need the rest of the story. So it has always been in me to write and tell stories. And when I lived abroad, I wrote a blog about living abroad for like my friends and family to keep up with our lives because time zones and you know technology wasn't amazing back then. Yeah, I've always it's been part of me for as long as I

– Easiest Characters to Write | MM Hockey Romance Talk

SPEAKER_00 6:38

can remember.

SPEAKER_02 6:38

I have to know, in your opinion, Lal Serena, who has been your easiest character to write?

SPEAKER_00 6:47

Probably until recently, I would have said Justin and Savannah in Two for Interference. But Xavier and Artemis fell from me, like my upcoming MM hockey romance. Um, those characters have been waiting in the wings. So they're book seven of this series. And I think whenever I sat down to write them, they were like, We've got this, we know what we wanted to do. I mean, Artemis did not give me his story when I wanted it, because his was supposed to be published before book six, so before his sister Athena. And he was like, No, no, no, no, he wouldn't give me his story. So I had to change my publishing schedule undo Athena first. But once I sat down to write Artemis and Xavier, uh, they were like, No, we've got this. Here's your here's our story. And it was the easiest book I have ever written because it fell from me.

SPEAKER_02 7:35

I can't wait for listeners to check it out. It is absolutely awesome. It has heart and laughter and maybe a little bit of tears if you're a crier, but it it's exciting. I'm so excited for this one to be out in the world.

SPEAKER_00 7:52

It was a lot of fun, and I think I gave myself permission to just write the book I wanted to write, not like it wasn't gonna tick any boxes. I just needed to sit down, book seven in the series, and just write the book that was in me. And when it came out, I was like, huh, okay. Yeah, I like this. Because normally they're a pain in my ass. So I was quite glad that these two played ball.

SPEAKER_02 8:12

That leads into the next question. Have you had a character just completely hijack a story?

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Aries de la Venya in book two of this series. So Artemis' brother

– When Characters Hijack the Entire Romance Story

SPEAKER_00 8:21

Aries. This is one of those situations where I had a full outline. I sat down for weeks and I planned his outline and I had scene by scene, I had what he was gonna do, I had all of the tropes, and I sat down to write chapter one, and he tore it up in front of me and said, Fuck this shit, and flipped the table. He was like, No, I am not. That is whatever shit you thought that story was, that's not my story. This is my story. And he dragged me through by my hair and not in a fun way. It was not cool. And by the end of it, I was ready for the hills. I was like, I cannot, what just happened to me? And I think his book was one of the longest at the time that I had written. And I was like, I got to the end, and I like bedraggled Swamp Witch who hadn't washed in a month. And it's like, what the fuck just happened to me? I don't understand. And then I had a sec like this whole outline that his book was supposed to be, and the book that actually was, and the two did not marry

– Hardest Romance Book to Write | Fake Dating Rugby Romance & Mental Health Rep

SPEAKER_00 9:18

up at all. The tropes all changed, every every single thing changed in that book because he was like, No, no, I don't like what you've got. This is my story. So yeah, that was fun. What was your hardest story to write? Okay, so there are two for different reasons. Athena's was hard to write. So book six of my hockey series. Because of what she went through personally, her character went through, it was really hard to write. There are some triggers on that one. Plus, at that time, I had hurt my back and I was on medication and I was really in a low place. So trying to find creative energy when you're already for something that is hard to write when you're already at a like depleted from your energy was quite hard. The other one, Fly Half, so Rihanna and Robert was really hard for me to write. It was my most recent release. It's a rugby, an Irish women's rugby romance, and it is set here. And it's book one in a series, and every single thing I have known and written to date was changed with this book. So it went from male athletes to female athletes, it went from based in the US to written here in Northern Ireland, it went from college kids to grown-ups, every single thing. So they say whenever you change and write a new series to change one thing. So, like if it's written in one place, change it to another, but don't change everything at once. And I changed everything, and it was so hard. It was so hard. And then I got editorial feedback that was really hard, and I just shut down for three months. I couldn't function, I couldn't, like I was blocked, I couldn't do anything. So that one, that one left scars on me.

SPEAKER_02 10:57

That one, Courtney, has fake dating going on in it. It does.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

That's my Roman Empire. I will dial. Is it? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:07

That's why I dropped that little nugget for her. I was like, yeah, fake dating.

– Emotional Damage, Banter & Romance Books That Make You Cry

SPEAKER_00 11:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:13

So if readers are new to your stories, they definitely can expect so much emotion, but also laughter and banter and humor. It's definitely one of my one of my things that I enjoy most when I pick up a book of yours.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

Yeah, the emotional whiplash. Yeah. From laughter to sobbing in quarter of a piece.

SPEAKER_02 11:36

What is a tiny detail

– Easter Eggs in Romance Books & Reader Review Drama

SPEAKER_02 11:38

that a reader may never notice, but you completely obsessed over?

SPEAKER_00 11:43

I'll give you one that actually got me in trouble.

SPEAKER_02 11:45

We live for the trouble.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

And I've actually stopped doing it. And not intentionally stopped doing it, but I might have to go back and thread some in. Whenever I started writing, I would have had a book club or a hardcore reader in each of my series. And that I would always name drop authors' books who I either know and really love or were like was reading at the time and I was really enjoying. I actually think it was in Aries' book. I dropped in, I think it was Peppa Grant I was reading at the time. And I dropped in her book, like, oh, this is what we're reading, or you know, some kind of a thing about whatever happened in the book. And I got pulled in. I know, I know, don't read your reviews, but I read the reviews, and somebody was like, oh, and she copied Pippa on this, and she called her characters like Aries, and Pippa has an Aries, and yada yada yada. She's just straight up plagiarized this woman. And then she had the nerve to drop in the title and you know, whatever in the book. And I was like, What? So I went to my editor, who is Pippa's editor, and I was like, Jess, did I copy her book? Like, I what? And she was like, No, I'm the editor of both of you. Like, do you not think I would have said, La Serena, you have plagiarized my friends, had that been the case? And I was like, Yeah, I hope so. So, yes, I I got in trouble for my little nugget that I dropped in thinking I was great. Like, these are the books I love to read. And like, if you're done with my book, go read this great author's book. And then I got slammed for it.

SPEAKER_02 13:07

So wild because you're not the first author to do that. Like, I can't tell you how many books I read where other authors drop other authors' books is kind of like you said, a nod to them, like, hey, I'm enjoying this. I want, you know, my characters to enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

Yeah, I think if you like my book, you might like this book too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

Also, pick up the cowboy romance series right now and tell me, like, there's gonna be a Wilder in it. Like, that's like a popular name in Cowboy Romance. So that's just makes zero sense. Like, people kill me.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

I was like, what, what? My beloved little egg, like Easter egg that I've dropped into all of my books is now being shit on. Like, why should I not do that? And then my editor was like, Stop reading your fucking reviews, Lazarina.

– Unhinged Author Research for Mafia Romance Books

SPEAKER_02 13:50

She got you there. She got you there. She gets me everywhere. What's the craziest thing you've had to Google for, you know, research purposes?

SPEAKER_00 14:01

For Liam and Rowan's book. So that's the mafia that you are alpha reading right now. I had to Google if somebody could still talk with their tongue cut out. Yes! I know, I know.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

I'm sorry. It's really unhinged. No, no, that was oh, I I live, I live for unhinged. When I got to that section in the book, and if for anybody who is wondering, this is her co-wright with Tracy Delaney. So we are talking, we are dropping Easter eggs, listeners, on book two.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Somebody in book two will lose a tongue, and I Googled whether they could read it or speak or not. Because I'm not supposed to say stuff about this book, and I'm always like, oh, I'm so excited. Here, let me tell you everything. And she's like, for fuck's sake, would you shut up?

SPEAKER_02 14:45

It gets us excited, and I'm sure we have just as many unhinged listeners who are down for a little torture. Oh, I'm here for it. I love on your Instagram all of your different little sections of where you write, and I have to know what is your snack of choice while you're writing.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

I think it depends where I am. I don't tend to take snacks out with me. So every Monday I co-work with my friend Karina, who will soon be a published author, and I'm very proud of that. I'm like a proud mama bear. Yeah, we go to a local cafe and we start with a breakfast. So we have breakfast together, and then we write, and then we have lunch, and then we write. So that's like staple every week. There's a place out the coast where I get hot chocolate or tea. But if I'm in my house, again, it depends on if somebody I know has recently been to the US or not. If they have been to the US, my snacks of choice tend to be hot tamales and Russell Stover mallows, the chocolate-covered mallows, dots, pretzels, if I want something that's savory. Or like pita chips, because we don't have pita chips here unless we make them ourselves. So that tends to be my I have like an American stash in my closet.

SPEAKER_02 15:59

I love it.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

My best friend Amber sent me a care package last week from Iowa, and there were two boxes of hot tamales in there. Like everything that comes into my house tends to have either a hot tamale tax or a Cheez-It tax for Lewis. He likes the New York cheddar Cheez-Its. So anybody who comes to the house or sends anything to the house tends to include either Cheez-Its, Goldfish Crackers, or hot tamales for me or Russell Stower Mallows. Those are my, those are my snacks of choice.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

Well, if I could figure out how to send you queso, I would.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

Yeah, yes. And you know what? I would put you in every single book for the rest of my life because I miss queso so much. I thought I find it yesterday at the store. I got it for the the crunch wraps I was making, and it's a jar, it looks like a Testitos jar of queso. And I was like, oh my god, I've never seen this before. I'm gonna take it home. And I was so excited. I was so excited, I could have cried, and then I opened it and tried it, and it was like vinegar and sadness, and I was so upset. I was like, no, no, I would give my kidney for a jar of Testitos right now.

SPEAKER_03 17:00

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

Yeah, so queso is one thing I miss so much about living in Texas. So yes.

SPEAKER_02 17:07

Oh, and they probably had great queso down there.

SPEAKER_00 17:09

Yes, and we can't even get Velveeta here to make like queso. No. Yeah, why? You feel my pen, Courtney?

SPEAKER_01 17:17

It's just cheeses. Give them cheese.

SPEAKER_00 17:20

We have we have actual cheese, but we don't have like fake processed dippy cheese. Aside from people, Mexican food, Tex Mex is one of the things I miss the most, and I will dream about it. And every now and then I will be like, Do you? There's a couple of places here that consider themselves to be Mexican or to serve Mexican food, and it's just not, it's just not it. It is not, but every now and then I forget that it's not it, and I'm like, do you know what? I miss it so much, let's go try it again. It might be it this time, and then I just cry. I'm like, I miss Texas, I miss queso, I miss chips and dip, I miss margaritas, you know, on tap. I know first world problems, but geez, my kingdom for some queso.

SPEAKER_02 18:02

And I I think this whole conversation just makes me think I love how you wrote in the Cedar Rabbids book with the Mexican restaurant.

SPEAKER_00 18:12

Yes, because I'm homesick. I miss I just miss Mexican food. Do you know if I would lived in the US now, instead of writing in a local cafe, I would find a Mexican restaurant and just eat chips and salsa and chips and queso all day while I wrote my books. That would be my snack of choice if I was back there. It doesn't sound like a bad idea. No, it doesn't, does it? In fact, now I need to buy a Mexican restaurant just so I can write books in it.

SPEAKER_02 18:37

Alter goal readers.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

Yeah, buy my books so I can buy queso.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

Buy a Mexican restaurant so you can have all the queso whenever you want it. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

And it can be hot when it's brought to me. Yes, yes. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

Queso and Mars. Oh, I love it.

SPEAKER_00 18:54

This this was supposed to be a podcast about my books, but it's about cheese and tequila instead.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

So our first series that we're gonna talk about is your Laharna Ravens. And so I made some notes for our listeners that these are three sisters who were born to play rugby and are playing rugby, but when it comes to finding romance and matters of the heart, they uh kind of suck. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

I think that comes from having a dad who played and coached rugby as well, right? Rugby is their whole lives. They haven't ever been allowed to do anything but play rugby. So the idea that there's something other than the sport that they were born to play is like, what? Why would I why would you need anything outside of rugby? So I feel like they're just a little clueless.

SPEAKER_02 19:38

Book one is out now. We mentioned it earlier, The Fly Half and the Fling. And it is also in KU for our listeners, and it covers a one night stand, fake dating, which we know is right up a court sally, um, enemies to lovers, and there is a character with disability rep. Yes. Also mental health rep, which I was just gonna say there's mental health too. Is Robert and Rhiannon. She's a runaway bride. She is a runaway bride, and which leads her into a one-night stand with Robert, and she is the oldest sister, so I think that needs to be in there as well. Watching her find herself, I think, was probably one of my most favorite parts in this story because she is such a strong, fierce woman, and Robert just polishes that even more. He doesn't cage her, he shows her how strong and fierce she is through like a new lens. And I feel like watching her open her eyes to that and just grow through the story was one of my favorite parts.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

You make it sound so lovely. Well, word of love. I know, but when I write it, I'm like, oh, I hope nobody hits it. Like, did I do it justice? Did I like I'm the oldest daughter in my house? So I've got me, my younger sister, and my younger brother. And as an oldest daughter writing an oldest daughter, that book was hard for me. And there was a lot of stuff that in the first draft did not make it onto the page. And I sent it to my editor, and she was like, I know you think it's on there because you are high empathy, but it's not on the page. So the editing process was horrible. I had to add, I think it was like 14 or 15,000 words to that manuscript to actually get down what needed to be done. So I was like, Did I do justice to the fact that she was the oldest daughter and the pressures that come with that as being, you know, in charge of the younger siblings or responsible for being a role model to people, you know. And then hearing you talk about it, I'm like, oh, hashtag nailed it. I got a gold star from Miri.

SPEAKER_02 21:49

Yes, yes, yes, yes. And so book two is coming in 2027. So our listeners will have to wait a little bit, but that's because

– Brother’s Best Friend Romance & Future Book Teasers

SPEAKER_02 21:59

good things. Come to those who wait. The brief description we have is that it's one drunken night, no strings, and no consequences. Except so many consequences.

SPEAKER_00 22:10

Yes, it is Brother's Best Friend. So I wanted to do a common trope for all three of these sisters. So the common trope is one night stand. So I wanted to get to the good stuff early in these books, the spicy times. So one night stand is the common trope for all three. So all three of these books will have a one night stand at some point. So book two, I've started to write it. I haven't put you in the document yet, but I've got about 7,500 words because this week these characters were like, we are not waiting a single second longer. Sit your ass in the chair and write these chapters down. I feel like I've peaked. I've hit the roof of my my literary genius. And I don't know how to finish the book now because she walks in on him playing with her daughter, and he's wearing a backwards ball cap and he's like holding the baby up, and there's drill coming from the baby's mouth, and he's not even flinching, and her ovaries are just like and I'm like, I there there is nowhere else to go from this. Like, that's it. They're they're gonna marry now. The end. That's the story. She walks in, sees him with a backwards ball cap on, holding her VAV, and then that's it. She just marries him right there in the living room.

SPEAKER_02 23:14

That series

– Splitting the D | MM College Hockey Romance & Found Family Feels

SPEAKER_02 23:15

I'm excited for. I can't wait for the other two sisters. And we have Splitting the D, and it releases May 21st. And this is, as you said before, the conclusion to your Cedar Rapid Raccoon series. They are rivals. It is definite found family. And Courtney, you're going to love this one. There is pie. American pie? No, not American pie. Well, well, well, I know. I mean, we're we're getting close. We get close. We get close. We got close, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:47

There is definitely food is definitely a uh it's like an extra character in this, right? It's the sexy, the sexy additional character is the food in this one.

SPEAKER_02 23:57

Yes, the food, the food becomes a love language. Yes. So it is, it is, as you mentioned before, it is an MM college hockey romance, but it is so much more than that. And I love being able to tease because yes, I have read it. Yes, I already pre-ordered it. Yes, I'll read it again. Um order it in every form. Order it in every form. But readers, they can definitely catch up with the beginning of Cedar Rapids. You have the little novella Two for Tacos. So see, Courtney, here's our tacos again. We're all about the food. Yes. But there are a total of 12 story.

SPEAKER_00 24:44

Yeah, I don't know what I'm gonna do when my comfort series comes to an end. I'm gonna have to actually work. I love this series so much. It's my comfort zone. It's like my binky. It's my binky. I just I love it. Oh, and there's another one coming out too, in that I've got my Ophelia and Megan, the pie girl. See the pie, Courtney. Yeah, that's coming out in that series too. Yeah, more pies. See, food is my love language.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

I love that. Yeah. A girl after my own heart.

SPEAKER_00 25:10

Mm-hmm. You don't live in Texas and not come away with an obsession for pie and tacos and chips and caseo. You just don't. I love this so much.

SPEAKER_02 25:19

So, readers, definitely be looking out for it, it'll be on Amazon and KU, splitting the D, which releases May 21st. Now we get to move as if our whole first conversation wasn't unhinged enough. Now we get to move into our fun section of reading and unhinged thoughts.

– What We’re Reading

SPEAKER_02 25:40

We're going to do our vibe check with tropes and stories. Why don't you take it off and tell us what you're reading this week?

SPEAKER_01 25:49

Well, I started reading Sweet Spot by Stacey Hart because it just came out. Age gap, a good teach me moment. You know, I'm all about that. Workplace, grumpy sunshine. But as this episode was going on, I didn't realize, you know, La Serena had multiple personalities and has a separate pen name.

SPEAKER_00 26:08

And um You found my BDSM stuff, didn't you?

SPEAKER_02 26:12

Forgot to drop that in here, man.

SPEAKER_00 26:15

Because it's so good. She found my kink club. Yes, she did.

SPEAKER_01 26:20

So I was on Audible seeing what was um available, and I found a book, and it was like in part of uh Audible's like free program right now.

SPEAKER_02 26:31

For our listeners, her alternate pen name is La Serena Lewis. So there you go.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

That's where my mafia lives and my protocol series lives. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

I downloaded control that is uh free on Audible right now, if you have the Audible subscription. Yeah, so I think I'm gonna put a pause on Sweet Spot, and that's what I'm gonna be listening to. Listen to Thor. Yeah, you're listening to Thor today. Okay. Also, the cover artist, it's uh male cover. Victor, yes. Victor's love. Yes, I will mention this for Mary because I am a huge like trash TV person, and Mary does not. He was on Love Island. Love Island. Yes, he was.

SPEAKER_00 27:16

Yes, he was. Yeah, I was like, oh, that's an immediate download. Yes, click, click, click. Yes. You know how many people are dogging me to finish that series? And I I know, I know everyone wants it. And yes, that's fine. But also, I started the mafia one. I need to finish one. This is what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 27:32

I have too many series know how you do it. That's that's insane.

SPEAKER_00 27:36

I cry a lot. Just ask Miri. If I'm not in her inbox once a week crying at her, then something's really wrong.

SPEAKER_02 27:42

Truth, if I don't hear from her within a week, I'm normally dropping in her DMs and being like, Hey, babe, you okay? Poking me with a stick. Sticking in.

SPEAKER_00 27:50

Yeah. Why have you not had a Mentibee this week?

SPEAKER_02 27:53

Can't wait for you to listen to that audible court. You will have to let us know as you move along with it.

SPEAKER_00 27:59

I want every single thought, Courtney. Every unhinged thought, just drop in my DMs and give me it all.

SPEAKER_01 28:04

Yes, I just can't believe I haven't followed you yet on Instagram. I just followed you. I will give updates.

SPEAKER_00 28:10

Yeah, people message and they're like, Do you want to hear my thoughts about your yes, yes, I do. I want to hear every single thought. Unless you're being mean, in which case I don't need that. But you know, if you love it and you want your like obsessively, you know, completely unhinged, I will take every single thought you have. Oh, I love it. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 28:26

Well, what about you, Mary?

SPEAKER_02 28:27

What are you reading? We dropped the I am reading the Super Secret Squirrel project. Stolen Rebel. I finished Hot Shot by Stacey Hart and moved on to Sweet Spot, which is totally different vibes. We've got the baseball suite, sunshiny book, and then I'm like in a Google Doc of uh Mafia and Lost Tongues.

SPEAKER_00 28:52

So completely deranged Irishman. Love it, love it.

SPEAKER_02 28:56

It is what I am reading. What about you, La Serena? Anything you've been able to read or listen to?

SPEAKER_00 29:01

There's a local influencer called Courtney, and she recommended a hockey romance series to me, and I was like, oh, I've kind of hockey out. And she was like, trust me, I'm a professional. I started book one probably a week ago, and I am 75% of the way through book four as of right now. I am obsessed. It is The DC Stars by Chelsea Curdo. So book four, yes, yes, you get it, Courtney. I could hear from your voice that you get it. So the book I'm reading right now is The Hockey Player and the Trainer, and he loses a leg in an accident, and he has to essentially learn to be a version of himself that can't play hockey anymore. And it made me cry. And the last book made me cry, and book two made me cry, and book one made me cry. It is like, I don't know what Chelsea has put into these pages, but it is highly addictive. And they are um, I think she was picked up by Trad, so she's going to have paperbacks post uh published in the next couple of months, and I will buy this. Is a series that I have bought on Kindle and I will buy on paperback for myself. And I don't have a lot of room, so I generally don't buy paperbacks unless this stick with me or speak to me. And this series, I Miri, when I tell you, I am absolutely in. She writes such fiercely powerful women, and the men are just utter simps. And they have a book club and they have group texts, which you know I love. Yes. And it is funny, and she I'm very particular about single parent romances. I find they're not as simple as just throwing a kid in for you know for the plot. And she writes single parent really well. So I am her biggest fan, and I have been writing to her on threads and sending unhinged posts on my threads about our series because I have turned into a screaming fangirl over this whole series.

SPEAKER_02 31:01

That's what I'm reading, and everybody in the whole world should read it too, because it is just say I haven't dove down into any of her stories before, so Courtney has mentioned it, so she's like, she's mentioned it before. She's like, you need to read these books.

SPEAKER_00 31:14

Yes, and there's a crossover. So one of the women in the group chat is married to a football player, so I think I'll be going to the football series next. And I'm supposed to be reading a book for Book Club, and I'm like, screw that, I am in 100%. Nah, yes, yeah, it has taken over my entire personality. I love that so much.

SPEAKER_02 31:34

We all know by now that I'm not the biggest TV watcher, but Courtney. Anything new that you're watching this week?

– What We’re Watching

SPEAKER_01 31:42

Mike has been insane. I I have not had any time to really watch anything. It's so sad, I know. I did get caught up on Summer House, so I did I finally got to watch last week's episode, but it left me on a cliffy. To be continued. Me, me, me. Yeah. So unfortunately, no TV Rex this time.

SPEAKER_02 32:02

I'm with you there this week. We had our final basketball season for my son. They lost in the semifinals, so that was kind of sad. But the seventh grade team actually won the championship this year. Our middle school hadn't won the championship for seventh or eighth grade. It's been a long time. And so it was really, really cool to watch their game this week and watch them win. It was just, it was a lot of fun. We caught up on the rookie, which has Nathan Fillion in it, which is my Firefly captain that I am a huge fan of. So I guess one guilty pleasure, and I totally blame this one on my husband, even though he says it's me. We watch American Idol. So we are watching American Idol.

SPEAKER_00 32:48

I haven't watched that in years. I watched Scarpetta. Ooh. No.

SPEAKER_02 32:54

Not that Scarpetta. See, you knew right where my mind went.

SPEAKER_00 32:57

It is the same Scarpetta. It is based on Patricia Cornwell, which is why I was in. So it's Jamie Lee Cardis and Oh my god, Nicole Kidman. And no. It's a no from me, I'm afraid. Really? Yeah. So what I didn't realize was the Scarpetta series went, was written on through COVID times. And at some point it pivoted from the crime procedural, gritty, gory that the first books were to more like high thriller drama stuff. The series that they've made, it's an Amazon series. They seem to have written it more like a high drama thriller type thing with a lot of family drama. And like I don't know how much you remember about the books, but the series starts with Marino, the detective, being married to her sister. And I'm like, no, yeah, I'm like, no, no. I watched all eight episodes just so I could get a full picture of it, and I didn't like it. I did not like it. So that's a no.

SPEAKER_02 33:58

Now I'm bummed that the TV show doesn't me too.

SPEAKER_00 34:00

Avoid it. And then obviously I did another reheat for Heated Rivalry because that's part of my personality now, too. I just keep re-watching it. So it changed my DNA. That show changed my DNA. And I also watched an episode of something called Hollywood. Post-World War II Hollywood, aspiring actors and filmmakers do almost anything to make their showbids dreams come true. It's on Netflix. Cole put it on one night when I was doing something else, and we got sucked in. And I think we're on episode three or something. It was surprisingly good. And I'm not normally one to be sucked into like a post-war or anything, but it was really good. We will be finishing

– Unhinged Thoughts of the Week

SPEAKER_00 34:35

that.

SPEAKER_02 34:35

Interesting. Now we get to move into our unhinged thoughts for the week, where we take our thoughts, no context, no logic, just vibes, and we unpack it like it's completely normal. So, Court, we're gonna let you go with your unhinged thought because I have a feeling it is going to be met with resounding applause and agreement because I just read it in our notes.

SPEAKER_01 35:01

It's really funny because food has been a very big topic of this episode. But my unhinged thought of the week is why is it so hard deciding what to cook for dinner every night? Like it's the hardest part of adulting. I would rather do anything else than try to figure out what's for dinner. Truth.

SPEAKER_00 35:18

Yes. Whether you have a fridge full of food or it's empty, there's still nothing to eat, right? It doesn't matter if you have all of the food in the world. You just can't find something that you want to eat.

SPEAKER_01 35:27

And I'm tired of eating spaghetti every week. We eat dino nuggies, I can't tell you how many times. I do love the tacos. We don't eat tacos enough. I don't know. Like, I've tried meal planning, but it's like never heard of her. Like, I try it, but I never stick to it. So I'm gonna try again this week. So knock on wood. Hopefully, I'll stick with it. But with this being said, like if anyone has any go-to favorite easy meals during the week, my DMs are open. Give me all your ideas. Takeaway. What about you, Mary? What's your unhinged thought of the week? Mine's gonna be giggling before she's even said it.

SPEAKER_02 36:00

I know. So my my unhinged thought of the week is why can't people drive the speed limit? I'm not even talking about going over the speed limit. Simply driving the actual speed that is posted for the road. Like nothing makes me road rage more than when I'm following somebody who's doing 10 or more under the speed. Like 35 miles an hour and you're doing 25, 55 miles an hour and you're doing 35. Why get off the road? Or I will push you off the road.

SPEAKER_01 36:34

I refuse to go grocery shopping on Sundays just because of this. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 36:38

Because not just on the roads, but in the aisles of the store too. You've got the people who are on the road doing tan under the speed limit, doing under the speed limit in the aisles as well. And they're just like, move.

SPEAKER_02 36:48

And the people who take up the entire aisle. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 36:51

I tried to bear and rind one on Friday, and she took a sidestep to block me. I was like, bitch, don't you even. Today is not the day. And I am not the woman.

SPEAKER_01 37:03

Move, bitch. Get out the way.

SPEAKER_00 37:06

I came really close, I will tell you. I messaged Colin. I was like, do you know what? I'm tapping out. I don't care if we have no food. I am done. I will go to jail if I don't get out of this.

SPEAKER_02 37:16

So now that you've heard our uh slightly unhinged thoughts, La Serena, do you have one for us?

SPEAKER_00 37:23

So my unhinged thought is why are all of my thoughts since I turned 40 fucking unhinged? That is my unhinged thought, right? Every single thing in my brain, almost from the day I turned 40 last year, is fucking unhinged. And it's like if people heard my inner monologue, I would be in prison or highly medicated more than I already am. Don't know what it is. But like perimenopause has entered the building, right? And it is fucking shit. I feel like I am honest to God, don't understand how like our mother's generation did it because they didn't have the internet to Google is itchy ears a perimenopausal symptom?

SPEAKER_02 38:05

Do you know what I mean? Which truth it is.

SPEAKER_00 38:07

Let's let's put that out there, reader, listeners. Truth it is. Just had to deal with all of these symptoms and probably be gaslit by their doctors because they're women, right? And they're eccentric and hysterical. It's like every single thought is unhinged, and every single day there's a new symptom. There's a new perimenopause symptom. And you love this one. Perimenopause has stolen my nouns. I have now become the master of charades. I will point at something and say, I need the thing, the thing that you use to eat cereal. And Colin Lewis will go, Do you mean a spoon? Yes, that. I need that. Pass me that. Which would be funny if I wasn't an author and needed words every day.

SPEAKER_03 38:51

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 38:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:52

Welcome to Perimetopause, ladies. Courtney gets a little reprieve from this. She gets to look forward to this in a few years. I'm 42, so I'm right there with you. Right there with you, little Serena, on all of it because hello, I've been in my feral 40s for two years now. So unhinged thoughts just run around like jumping gazelles through the fields of my mind.

SPEAKER_00 39:13

It's almost like the filter that we had for the first 40 years of our lives just gives up at 40 and is like, I'm done. You're on your own now, woman. You go forth and just be unfiltered. And it's it's liberating, but it's also a bit like you don't need to say every thought out loud, Lazarina.

SPEAKER_02 39:30

Bear with you. It's like I'm across between Betty White and Sophia from The Golden Girls. Yeah. Sometimes I have to catch myself and I'm like, nobody wants that intrusive thought. Just chew your gum. Just keep your mouth shut.

SPEAKER_00 39:46

Yeah. I think whenever I've tied up some of these series, I might do a perimenopausal series and just have these 40-year-old women who just don't give a shit.

SPEAKER_02 39:54

Yes. Do it. Yes. I can't tell you how many readers would be here for it.

SPEAKER_00 39:59

Yeah. The things I've learned. Like my scalp has gotten itchy. And I'm like, did my son bring home lice? Like, why is my scalp so itchy? No, no, it's a perimenopausal symptom. All right then. That's game on. Do you know what? Fuck it.

SPEAKER_02 40:13

I have found hair oil has been the best remedy for that.

SPEAKER_00 40:16

Do you know what? If you told me right now to go and rub the blood of my enemies into my follicles on my head, I would do it just to take get a break from scratching my scalp. Fully understand. Fully unhinged. Fully unhinged. I keep sending Colin Reels, like Insta reels of like perimenopause stuff. And he's like, Oh, you're not that bad. And I mean, no, no, this is a warning. This is what's coming. This is not me now, but this is in your future. And he's like, Oh, uh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 40:44

Try having a three and a five-year-old with all the noisy ass toys. I like literally, I want to take a baseball bat to some of them.

SPEAKER_00 40:52

My kid is 12. His noise now is screaming down his headset on the Xbox. So they just get louder. They don't have the toys anymore, but they stay loud.

SPEAKER_02 41:01

Oh my god. They do. I mean, I'm mine's 14. At that age, court, I definitely would misplace some batteries. And I can tell you, when we moved from our house and moved into the one we built, our son was three-ish. And unfortunately, during the move, his entire box of play-doh just did not make the move. It went missing. No. He he asked, he's like, I don't know where my play-doh went. And I'm like, I don't know either, honey. And yes, I do. Yeah, yeah. Truth, mommy threw it away. It was not coming into the house. Oh my gosh. So our unhinged thoughts went wildly unhinged. But we are going to wrap things up. And listeners, if you have unhinged thoughts, please drop them below in the comments.

SPEAKER_00 41:52

Make us feel better on our Instagram.

SPEAKER_02 41:54

Make us feel better. If

– Upcoming Author Events & UK Romance Book Signings

SPEAKER_02 41:56

you're a perimenopause listener or a menopause listener or a post-menopause listener, we would love to hear your unhinged thoughts on on the reality of what we just described. But we would like to give a huge thank you, La Serena, for you joining us. And we know that Splitting the D is the final book in Cedar Rapids Raccoons and comes out May 21st. Um, do you have any events that you are doing this year? I know not in the US.

SPEAKER_00 42:27

I have some in the UK, but I don't have any over there. I've got one in July, one in August, and one in October here.

SPEAKER_02 42:36

Wonderful. What's the one in July? Just in case we have listeners in the UK.

SPEAKER_00 42:40

You never know. It's called Wonderland in Nottingham. Yes. And then Indie Litcon is in August in Manchester. And then I'm doing Authors at the Armories for my third year in a row in Leeds in the fall.

SPEAKER_01 42:54

So Woohoo! Fun. Fun fact before I took my podcasting break, this podcast actually hit the top 200 in the UK. The UK Apple.

SPEAKER_00 43:04

No, where?

SPEAKER_01 43:05

Yeah. Woohoo! So it was very short-lived, but we we did hit that.

SPEAKER_00 43:10

Then all of your UK listeners need to come.

SPEAKER_02 43:14

I know. We need to hit the top 100 in UK now. Like that would be exciting. Yes. Let's make it happen. Where can our listeners

– Where to Follow Lasairiona McMaster Online

SPEAKER_02 43:23

find you? We will drop links to your socials.

SPEAKER_00 43:26

Behind them. And behind them. Watching over their shoulders.

SPEAKER_02 43:31

I was I was gonna say that's what he said, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:35

They can find me everywhere. I'm on Insta. I'm doing more Insta lately. I have a TikTok, but I don't really use TikTok. Facebook reader group. So if you're still on one of the few on Facebook, then I have a Facebook reader group. I have a newsletter, which is oftentimes as unhinged as my unhinged thoughts.

SPEAKER_02 43:54

Love your newsletters.

SPEAKER_00 43:56

Yeah, I'm I'm everywhere. That's what she said. I'm everywhere. Love it.

SPEAKER_02 44:01

Well, thanks again for joining us. We have enjoyed our unhinged session and having you here with us today.

SPEAKER_00 44:11

Thanks for having me. It's probably the one and only time you'll ever let me come back on here. She's there forever. She's on the no-fly list.

SPEAKER_02 44:19

Never, never, never. Never, never. I feel like tacos and tequila needs to sponsor us.

SPEAKER_00 44:25

Yes. Yes. If they would like to send me queso and tequila and taco, I'm here for it. I will take it all. If old El Paso wants to hook me up, I'm in.

SPEAKER_02 44:38

In the meantime, you can catch us causing chaos over on Instagram at WhatTheSmut Podcast and me personally at On Point Digital Services.

SPEAKER_01 44:48

And I'm over on Instagram at Courtney Leanne. If you want to join us for a chat, there's a form linked in our notes. So be sure to fill that out because we would love to hear from you.

SPEAKER_02 44:57

If you enjoyed today's episode, please consider leaving us a review.

SPEAKER_01 45:01

Reviews help other smut readers find us, and honestly, they make our chaotic hearts very And if you really love this podcast and want to show support, we've got a listener support link at our show notes. Supporters get shout outs, special giveaways, and maybe even some exclusive chaos you can't find anywhere else. We also have sponsorship opportunities as well. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll catch you guys next time.