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FULL TRANSCRIPT: Bianca Blythe Samples All You Need Is A Duke

[00:00:00] Katherine Grant: Welcome to the Historical Romance Sampler Podcast. The place for you to find new historical romance books and authors to fan over. I'm award winning historical romance author Katherine Grant, and each week I'm inviting fellow authors to come on and share a little bit of their work and themselves.

They'll read a sample of one of their books, and then I'm going to ask them a bunch of questions. By the end of the episode, you'll have a sense of what they write and who they are. Hopefully, you and I both will have something new to read. So what are we waiting for? Let's get into this week's episode.

All right, so we are here today with USA Today best selling author Bianca Blythe. Bianca writes fun and frothy happily ever afters for the Wallflowers and Spinsters, Dukes and Rogues who fill her Regency romances. Born in Texas, Bianca spent four years in England. She worked in a 15th century castle, though sadly that didn't actually involve spotting dukes and earls starting about in Hessians.

She credits British weather for forcing her into a library where she discovered her first Julia Quinn novel. She remains deeply grateful for blustery downpours. After meeting her husband in another library, she moved with him to sunny California, though on occasion she still dreams of the English seaside, scones with clotted cream, and sheep filled pastures.

For now, she visits them in her books. Welcome, Bianca.

[00:01:34] Bianca Blythe: Thank you.

[00:01:35] Katherine Grant: So excited to have you today. So what are you reading for us?

[00:01:39] Bianca Blythe: So I'm reading All You Need is a Duke which is the first book in my Duke Hunters Club series. So it's about a group of women who have this wild idea when they're in school together that they can all marry dukes.

And then they quickly realize that that's impossible and they become wallflowers. Pretty quickly, but they still they still are very good friends, and they might actually all end up with Dukes anyway, so.

[00:02:09] Katherine Grant: That's awesome! So anything we need to know about the scene, or will we understand when you jump in?

[00:02:15] Bianca Blythe: Yeah, it's, it's from the beginning, so. Awesome. So, the first rule of being a wallflower was to acquire a superb seat. Margaret Carberry, daughter of the Scottish tycoon of the same surname and relation of absolutely no aristocrats, was no longer a novice at attending balls. Her mother accepted every invitation.

Margaret strolled toward the quiet section of the ballroom, furthest removed from the musicians and dancers, just as she did at every ball. Juliet and Genevieve would be here, and she wove through the horde of partygoers with expertise. Women wore thin white gowns, embellished with pastel ribbons and trimmed with lace, an obvious effort to counter the summer heat.

Men flashed strained smiles, discernibly uncomfortable in their complexly tied cravats, jewel colored waistcoats, and snug tailcoats, the latter a product of a season of feasting. The second rule of being a wallflower was to not interact with anyone. Margaret didn't need to see the expressions of the guests shift when they worried they might need to converse.

Though the upper echelon didn't tend toward timidity, few desired to be seen speaking with her. Matchmaking mamas and proud papas no longer pondered whether they should drag their second and third born sons to meet her. And Margaret no longer felt awkward attempting to talk with the ton.

After all, the results were always the same. The crème de la creme frowned at the first lilts of her Scottish accent, and when they ascertained the identity of her father, they hastily excused themselves. Even those in possession of imposing debts deemed it preferable to endure uneasy encounters with their tailors and slash their servant number than jeopardize their respectability.

The ton was suspicious of her presence at the occasional festivity, seeing it as indicative of an unnecessary downgrade of society, reminiscent of ideals that might be shared by the pitchfork wielding peasants who once roamed the other side of the channel. Her father might be wealthier than many of them put together.

She might have attended the same finishing school as other daughters of the ton. But that didn't mean she belonged. Margaret would simply find a good seat, then chat with her dear friends. Even Mama wouldn't expect her to find a husband at the last ball of the season. Margaret smiled, even though, when she'd first attended a ball, her lips had hurt from the effort of feigning delight.

Now, she almost enjoyed attending these evening engagements. The throng thickened, and Margaret placed her hand on her turban to hinder any instincts the feathers might have to flutter away. The only thing worse than wearing a feathered monstrosity would be to wear a destroyed feathered monstrosity. No matter.

This was the last event of the season. It was almost over. Perhaps she hadn't found a husband, but she wouldn't be the first woman not betrothed after one season. Besides, Papa was hardly impoverished. Perhaps Mama would agree she didn't require a second season and that she could simply find a cottage in Dorset and live blissfully ensconced with her favorite science tomes.

Violins hummed pleasantly, Margaret's body lightened and she quickened her gait. Suddenly, something wet cascaded down her dress and a definite alcoholic scent invaded her nostrils. She furrowed her brow, but she hadn't imagined it. Icy liquid cascaded down her back. Fiddlesticks. A champagne flute shattered below her feet on the Duke of Jevington's polished pine floorboards, marring the elaborate chalk design, and Margaret bit back a scream.

What had she done? Evidently, Margaret's newfound experience at balls had not prepared her for avoiding toppling glassware. Liquids seeped over Margaret's gown. Double fiddlesticks. She patted her back tentatively and dropped her gaze to the broken shards of glass imprinted with an elaborate gold design.

Well, the design was currently less elaborate. A few matrons shot Margaret horrified glances, widening their mouths and furrowing their brows in uncharacteristic disregard for the potential formation of wrinkles. A footman hastened toward her, clutching a white handkerchief. He dove to the floor, gathering the glass shards.

Some debutantes angled their torsos toward the commotion and smirked. Their puffed sleeves remained unmarred by any sudden liquid contact, and their embroidered fabric exuded an alcoholic-scent-free perfection. Margaret's stomach twisted. This ball was supposed to be enjoyable, and she'd ruined it!

Someone grabbed Margaret's elbow, and when Margaret turned, she saw her mother. "I saw what happened," Mama said briskly. "How clumsy of you! I marched straight over." "I'm sorry," Margaret stammered, taken aback by her mother's abrupt appearance. "I don't know how-" mama waved her hand in an uncharacteristic, lackadaisical manner.

"It's of no importance, my dear." Margaret's mouth dropped open. Most things were of absolutely importance to Mama. Making a good impression on the Duke of Jevington certainly ranked at the top of Mama's desires. This was his ball, and he was unlikely to be enamored by the woman who transformed his glossy polished floor into a danger zone.

Not that the Duke would be enamored even if Margaret hadn't somehow accidentally toppled a glass of champagne. Even other wallflowers deemed Margaret dull. No Duke desired to have a Duchess who stumbled when she spoke, and his cheeks reddened at short intervals. The fact Margaret was apt to speak about facts with the same enthusiasms as others rhapsodized about lofty acquaintances was little solace.

"You must get dry." Mama linked arms with Margaret as if wary Margaret might decide to scamper toward the other dancers in her dripping attire to attempt a reel. They inched toward the exit as more people swarmed into the ballroom. Some people regarded Margaret curiously, perhaps wondering why Margaret had decided that pleasant music, dancing, and food were experiences to be abandoned rather than savored.

Others were occupied with craning their necks towards the wonders of the painted scene. Ceiling complete with cherubs and ilian skies, even if neither sight was frequent over Grosvenor square. Finally, Margaret and her mother moved past the sturdy carved wooden doors and onto the glossy black and white marble towels of the Duke's foyer.

Margaret stepped toward the cloak room. Leaving early was embarrassing, but at least they hadn't spotted the Duke. That had to be a triumph. The moment seemed deficient in glory, but Margaret raised her chin. Anyway, more alcohol dripped down her back. And she shuddered. Mama pulled Margaret's sleeve. "Let's go upstairs."

"Upstairs?" Margaret's voice trembled. Guests didn't venture upstairs. "But, but," Margaret halted. She felt ridiculous reminding her mother about societal rules. After all, her mother had taught them to her. Mama giggled, even though Mama never giggled. Margaret narrowed her eyes. Her mother was acting most oddly.

She may have longed for her mother to be less strict and dogmatic, but she certainly hadn't expected Mama to transform into a woman who went about cavorting about the Duke's townhouse. 'No need for you to be stodgy, dear, Mama said. 'If I say it's appropriate, it is." Mama had always seemed to be the epitome of appropriateness before.

Margaret hesitated, but her mother yanked her toward an imposing staircase. Coldness, not merely attributed to the champagne spillage, slinked along Margaret's spine. "We mustn't go there, Mama," said. "The duke's accommodations are there." "Nonsense." Mama whispered, "You cannot have champagne on your dress, it's unseemly.

Besides, the duke is in the ballroom." Mama's eyes sparkled and her lips remained curved in a manner more commonly found in people attending comic operas. She proceeded purposefully up the marble stairs, sweeping the hem of her dress against the balustrade with such force that some of the bows on the hem of her gown unraveled.

Clearly, Mama's ladies maid, had not prepared for Mama's energy. Margaret shuddered at what Mama might do upstairs, where she might indulge in any snooping tendencies. Mama could hardly wander alone in the private corners of the townhouse. Margaret glanced in the butler's direction. Thankfully, he was consumed with guarding the door, not the things that happened inside the townhouse.

Margaret sighed and followed her mother, sliding a lace gloved hand over the banister. Gilt framed paintings of various lovely landscapes, presumably of the duke's extensive properties, lined the stairs. Everything was beautiful, even if art enthusiasts were unlikely to climb up the steps to scrutinize the paintings.

Whatever other paintings were in the townhouse would be even more special. The unlit landing seemed foreboding, but a maid soon approached them at the landing, clasping a lantern. Margaret shrank back. They'd been discovered. Fiddle faddle. Margaret shifted her legs, preparing herself for an icy stare and a firm word, the sort Margaret's classmates had received at their finishing school, but which had never been directed at her.

Margaret obeyed rules, even the unwritten ones. She knew better than to wander upstairs, even if the Duke was not currently roaming the darkened corridors. This was when the maid would tell them to leave. Instead, the maid nodded at Mama. "This way." Margaret blinked. Had the maid witnessed the incident and ascended another staircase?

But maids were generally not present at balls. Perhaps a footman had informed her? Margaret furrowed her brow. The maid strode briskly, marching past sideboards and oversized blue and white porcelain vases that looked lavish even in the poor light, and Mama and Margaret hurried after her. Their feet sank into luxurious carpets that muffled their steps, but the odd silence didn't soothe Margaret's ever faster beating heart.

Beatific smile radiated on Mama's lips, even though normally she might grumble that the maid's speedy gait was unnecessary. Finally, the maid halted before a door. "This is it." "Thank you." Mama pressed something onto the maid's hands. "I'm afraid I'll need your help." The maid nodded gravely. "Of course, she's quite large."

In the next moment, the maid clasped hold of Margaret's wrists and dragged her inside the room. "What are you doing?" Margaret blurted, struggling against the maid's sturdy clasp. Confusion coursed through Margaret. Maids weren't supposed to pull one into rooms. No one was supposed to do that. "Mama?" Margaret pleaded.

Fingers shoved Margaret. Fingers that did not belong to the maid. Both the maid's hands were clasped about Margaret's wrists like makeshift handcuffs. The lavender scent her mother favored floated about Margaret in an unmistakable fashion. Mama was forcing her into the room. Mama wasn't even prone to giving hugs.

Yet now she shoved Margaret's back, the bed's to the right, the maid said in a professional manner, as if she were explaining the room's layout to a new guest who'd entered the proper way, with an invitation. "Please release me," Margaret said in her most authoritative tone, "what on earth is happening?"

"Ensuring your future peace and happiness," Mama squealed, "isn't that wonderful?" Margaret's heart plummeted. An idea occurred to her, an abominable, atrocious, and alarming idea. "Whose room is this?" Margaret's voice wobbled, struggling against a suddenly dry throat, as if she'd entered the Sahara, and not an opulent room in rainy, damp England.

'The Duke of Jevington's, Mama declared, 'Your future husband. Heavens! Margaret squeezed her eyes shut. Unfortunately, when she opened them, the world remained the same as before.

[00:14:08] Katherine Grant: My goodness. Gotta read what happens next. Well, thank you for reading that excerpt. Before we jump into the interview, we're going to take a quick break for our sponsors.

Hey samplers! It's Katherine Grant. I am interrupting this episode to tell you how to get a free book, the Viscount Without Virtue. First, go to bit.ly/hrs fan, go through the checkout process. This is where you add the promo code, HR SFAN as your last step. Just download your free ebook to your ereader.

Alright, well let's get back to this week's episode.

All right. Well, we are back with USA Today bestselling author Bianca Blythe, who just read a very enticing excerpt from her novel, All You Need is a Duke, which is currently available everywhere, right?

[00:15:03] Bianca Blythe: Yes, it is.

[00:15:05] Katherine Grant: Awesome. So I'd love to start, you know, there was so much in that opening scene that was really great setup of the characters and the world.

So I'd love to start by hearing, like, how do you go about creating the specific house of the Duke of Jevington and all those great details about like the vases and the artwork and the carpet? Do you do anything Do you do new research every time you're creating new characters?

[00:15:35] Bianca Blythe: Yeah, I mean, I really like Pinterest.

I think it's wonderful at, you know, giving you ideas for rooms. You can see a lot of rooms yeah, available there. And I like just taking the time to describe them. Yeah.

[00:15:50] Katherine Grant: Yeah, I mean, it does so much to set up a scene to place those details. Do you find yourself adding research into your writing process or does it just kind of come naturally?

[00:16:04] Bianca Blythe: Yeah I think it comes naturally now. Obviously when I started, I spent a long time listening to audiobooks and reading books about the Regency period, biographies about famous people, then now I have to do a bit, a bit less of. That but as far as, you know, describing a room, I will, you know, I'll sometimes actually ask my readers for help.

That's sort of a fun activity to do to engage them. I'll ask them in my readers group. You know, I'll, I'll give them two options for desks, for burrows, for sideboards, you know, and I'll ask, which, which one, you know, do you think is better? Or what color should Margaret wear at the ball? What color dress should she wear?

And they really love doing that. And it's, it's sort of fun for me because I don't mind going in either direction. And then they, they get that, yeah, they get to feel involved in the book, which they are. They completely are. Yeah.

[00:17:02] Katherine Grant: Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. So one question I have is, you know, in the bio it mentions you've written 20 books.

How has your mentality towards writing grown or changed since book one to sustain 20 plus books?

[00:17:20] Bianca Blythe: Yeah, I mean, I guess it's I feel like I've gone through every stage when I started my first book. I was working very closely with review partners. And I think I I Wrote the book and then they had input on every single chapter.

I used ScribeFile Which I at least back in the day. It was wonderful. I have no idea how it is now But but that was really great to get feedback From different authors in every single chapter and also to learn how to give feedback myself at the same time And then yeah, I think I went through a period like a lot of people did a few years ago, when it was almost like a militaristic view of you have to write as many books as possible.

Which even if you knew that sort of damaging that's not really great. It was so so pervasive in the writing culture that I sort of found myself doing that as well. And I will say that the year I wrote the most books, six books, so not not very many compared to others but I am a More slow writer was the year that I made the least amount of money because I didn't have the time to promote the books, to really engage the readers and get them excited about that so now I, I write more slowly, and that's, that's fine too, yeah.

Yeah.

[00:18:39] Katherine Grant: Yeah, it is a really interesting balance of business versus creative when people are saying, you know, you have to release a book a month. It's like, well, how can I write a book a month? How can I write a book a year? It's a very strange thing back in the day. Right. Yeah. . Yeah. So and I know you've written some historical mysteries too, and I love reading mysteries and I tried writing a mystery for one of my novels and I was like, wait a second, this is not as much fun as writing a romance.

And so I quickly was like, I'm scrapping that. I'm just doing romance. So I'm curious from you, you know, do you also feel that it kind of is a different craft or it requires a different head space?

[00:19:24] Bianca Blythe: I. I suppose so. I do like switching them back and forth because I like researching different time periods as well.

I wrote one series set in the 1930s, you know, leading up to World War II. You know, that was, that was fascinating. Obviously I like, I like history. My latest series is set in the Gilded Age in Boston, where I'm originally from. So that was sort of personally fun for me to see what things were like.

And as far as the mysteries, I actually grew up reading more mysteries than romances. My, yeah, I didn't read a romance for a really long time. Like my babysitter had romances that I read when I was nine years old. They were these Christian romances. We were, like, we were living in Japan, and she was a child of missionaries, but she had all these Christian romances.

So for a long time, I just thought it was, like, a Christian thing. And I remember taking my, you know, insisting my dad take me to the Christian bookshop. I'm Catholic, so I was like, oh, the Protestants have these great books. And then, you know, being very disappointed, like, I was not seeing the romances there.

Yeah, so, but yeah, eventually I discovered them and absolutely love the genre. It's all about, you know, women and giving, making sure women have happy endings. And I think that's, It's so fun. I mean, obviously, what, whatever gender composition is in the book, but I just, I think it's so empowering and so nice.

Instead of these, yeah, literary fiction books. Right.

[00:20:56] Katherine Grant: Centering the joy is so great. So did you move around a lot growing up?

[00:21:02] Bianca Blythe: So my mother is from Norway. And so every single summer, we would go to there for almost, you know, for three months, they are both professors, both academics and then would normally do some road trip through Europe at the time.

And then when I was 16, I did an exchange year in Germany. When I was 17, I did a gap year, because I had skipped a grade. So I did a gap year in Paris and in Rome. And then, you know, there's this, yeah, I lived in England for a long time. I've lived, I, yeah.

[00:21:36] Katherine Grant: Yeah, so you were born in Texas, and then you were in Japan for a year, were you then back in the United States?

[00:21:44] Bianca Blythe: Yeah my parents moved to Massachusetts when I was fairly young, so. Okay.

[00:21:49] Katherine Grant: Yeah. Yeah, I'm just so curious about that. I feel that My third culture kid experience comes out in ways I don't expect. So how do you feel like having this very cosmopolitan upbringing and experience, you know, living in Paris and Italy and all of that?

Do you feel like that informs your writing?

[00:22:11] Bianca Blythe: I don't think it's a necessary to have that experience to be a writer at all. I think I think anyone, I think one of the great things about being a writer is that absolutely anyone can do it with any background. I don't even need a high school education, you know, to be a writer. I have more, but it's not necessary.

And I think it's so great that it's such an accessible career to, to so many people. Probably some of the themes I choose are more related to my, you know, my personal life, but that would be true of, of anyone. Yeah.

[00:22:43] Katherine Grant: Yeah. Yeah. For me, I feel like I've been surprised to see this theme of belonging and people who are in communities, but don't completely feel that they belong.

Which isn't something I think about a lot. But then when I step back, I'm like, Oh, maybe that's from my experience of being this third culture kid. So have you noticed any themes like that popping up across your 20 books?

[00:23:05] Bianca Blythe: Well, I mean, I guess Margaret in this book, she is she's Scottish and she's, you know, the people in London are a bit suspicious of her.

They don't think that she really belongs there even though she went to, you know, the correct school and, and everything, they're still, you know, she's not one of these major families that, you know, past generations all, you know, hung out with, yeah, that's, that's certainly the case. I've, I've also, yeah, I, I've tried to, or maybe naturally incorporated people from different backgrounds.

Before Bridgerton, I had a black heroine in my, my book, for instance in Mad About the Baron, which is a woman from Barbados who yeah, her, her mother dies, and then her grandmother writes her father, who's the sea captain, and he actually comes for her, and he, you know, he takes her, you know, You know, to England and his, her stepmother's a bit, you know, a bit suspicious.

So she spends a lot of time just writing, and she becomes this sort of super, super wealthy romance author, which was a career that was possible back then. And then, you know, fun, fun things happen. It happened in that book. I have another character who's in a wheelchair. And she meets her, you know, her two kids in the series in Bath, where he's recovering from injuries, and her parents, you know, are still forcing her to go to Bath.

You know, she used to walk when she was younger, and then she was dancing because she was such a lively child, and she fell down, and her parents, you know, still really hope that she can somehow, you know, walk again. So she decides to matchmake him, and then, you know, things happen. So, so yeah, I do try to, To include different, different perspectives and different stories because, you know, that was, you know, all part of, you know, every period of history.

So yeah,

[00:24:55] Katherine Grant: absolutely. And part of the world that we live in is a very diverse world with very diverse people. So who are some of the authors that influenced you?

[00:25:04] Bianca Blythe: Julia Quinn was the first author that I read. So obviously her, Lisa Kleypas Tessa Dare yeah. I was living in Eastbourne when I read the Spindle Cove series, which is basically set right there.

And that was just so fun for me at the time. And, and her books are so funny and amusing. Yeah.

[00:25:25] Katherine Grant: So what do you think it is that about their work that speaks to you? Is it the humor?

[00:25:31] Bianca Blythe: I think so. Yeah. I think they're happy books. I like, I like writing happy books and giving people happy endings. I feel like that's a nice thing to do in life.

Yeah.

[00:25:42] Katherine Grant: Yeah. Awesome. And can you tell us anything more about this 15th century castle that you worked at?

[00:25:50] Bianca Blythe: Yeah, so yeah, it was called Herstmann's Castle, and I so I got a graduate degree in something called intercultural relations which was basically letting me so that I could have a career working in international education And, you know, I was working in Boston, and one of my jobs, I was, you know, welcoming students into, into the U.

S., and another job was sending, you know, American students out. So, yeah, but I I did an internship in England yeah, Keele University, if maybe, maybe some, some English listeners know that. And then, I, I got a job at Hurstminster Castle, which was Which was run by Queen's University in Canada.

It was their their site in England. Like, a Holocaust survivor had become a billionaire, and he really, really liked Queen's University, and he asked them if they wanted a castle, and they were like, okay. Like, the story is he first asked his wife if she wanted a castle, and she was like, no, that's not necessary.

But then he bought it anyway for his, you know, his old university. Yeah, so I, I worked. I worked there, I was the academic travel manager, and so I was planning, I was working very closely with professors, and sending students off, you know, every weekend all over England, and then a few times a year, we would, you know, take them to Switzerland and Paris and all these places,

[00:27:14] Katherine Grant: So.

Wow, that must have been cool, but also probably kind of uncomfortable to be doing office work in a, in a castle.

[00:27:21] Bianca Blythe: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it was, it was strange. It was like the second floor, right? So it was in the servants old accommodations. So not a lot of light. But then obviously we would, you know, go downstairs and the room is much bigger, taller.

And so I would give all the presentations in the ballroom. And the conference room was their old dining room where Winston Churchill apparently used to come to dinner all the time. Yeah, so it was. It was really, really fun yeah.

[00:27:51] Katherine Grant: Yeah, what a great moment in life to have. Yeah. Alright, well it's time for our fun little segment called, Are You a Romantic?

Are you a romantic?

Alright, which do you trust more? Your heart, your gut, or your brain?

[00:28:10] Bianca Blythe: I mean, they're all so important. And if you only trust one, you're probably missing, missing something. So it's not the most fun answer, but you know, you see people only trusting their hearts and maybe bad things can happen.

They become, yeah, easily influenced and things. And, you know, if you only trust your mind, you maybe ruminate all the time and don't actually come into any answers like I, yeah, like philosophers. Maybe for, for example, you don't want to overthink things. And if you just trust your, your gut all the time, it, it, it's nice, but it depends so much on what your input is.

And so you can't simply trust that you have to make sure you're getting, you know, information from, from lots of sources and so that your, your gut can make the best decisions essentially.

[00:28:59] Katherine Grant: All right. Do you believe in love

[00:29:01] Bianca Blythe: at first sight? Yeah, certainly. I think I think people have said that they've experienced that, and I would not discount if, you know, if that's what they feel, then, you know, that that's Yeah, that's what happened.

That might well be what happened. Yeah, I mean, I certainly got to, I think all forms of, you know, you can have love develop after, you know, decades. You're like, you know, you're like, Oh, the best friend looks actually kind of interesting, blah, blah, blah. And so, yeah, I think, and you can also get together with someone incredibly quickly.

Yeah, I'm, you know, I met my husband in the library. We got together pretty quickly.

[00:29:40] Katherine Grant: All right. Is there a difference between lust and love?

[00:29:46] Bianca Blythe: Yeah, yes, certainly. Love would be feel tender to someone. Yeah, you, you want to help them in a way you might, might not care about, if you just, yeah, experience a little bit.

Maybe you're just

[00:30:01] Katherine Grant: feeling that lust.

Alright, do you believe in soulmates?

[00:30:07] Bianca Blythe: Yeah, I don't think everyone necessarily finds their soulmate. I mean, when you think about the world, right, we all used to be stars, right? And Like in science. And then we were, you know, maybe it's possible that, you know, you find the person that you, you know, used to be that same piece of rock.

Yeah, exactly. Like, why not? And you're, the energy just is so right. You know, for, for those, for those people who meet and they, they can, they can't explain it. My husband is an electrical engine engineer, and he's always talking about energy. You'll go into a room or, you know, or go to house like good energy, bad energy.

And it's, you know, the same with people. Like sometimes you meet, you know a new friend and you're like, Oh, this, this works perfectly. And sometimes you just, you don't click at all. And you're like, This is strange. So yeah, I, I think there are things we don't, we don't understand in the world, so, but

[00:31:05] Katherine Grant: that's beautiful.

Soulmates. It possible. That's . I love the idea of stars being reunited. Okay. And do you believe in true love if it's different than soulmates?

[00:31:19] Bianca Blythe: Yeah, I thinks some people are, are amazing. Yeah.

[00:31:26] Katherine Grant: Okay. All right. Last question. Katherine Why is romantic love important?

[00:31:31] Bianca Blythe: Bianca I mean, I, I wouldn't say that it's important necessarily, like you can have a, an amazing life and maybe just have some friends that you get along with really, really well.

And that's fine. Or, or you read, you know, even just lots of books makes you happy. So I think if you're. You know, if you're not experiencing, you know, one of the listeners is not experiencing romantic love. I think, I think that's, that's fine. Just enjoy your life. It's, it's it's nice to go through someone with life to, you know, someone who really knows you.

It's not, it's not necessary. And you can meet different. You know, you can meet different people over time, so.

[00:32:13] Katherine Grant: Katherine So your answer is, it's not important.

[00:32:15] Bianca Blythe: Bianca Yeah, I guess that is my less, less romantic answer.

[00:32:22] Katherine Grant: That's all right, you're the first person to challenge the premise of the question on the podcast, so.

All right, well I'm gonna call you, it's interesting, you Are romantic until suddenly it's not important. So what do I decide? I think you are a inclusive romantic.

All right. Well, thank you so much for joining the podcast. Before we go, how can our listeners and viewers find you and your books?

[00:32:54] Bianca Blythe: Yes, you can go to Bianca Blythe books. com. All my books are there and I have bundles of books as well. So yes obviously I'm on Facebook and other social media places as well.

[00:33:06] Katherine Grant: Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Bianca. I really appreciate you coming on the show.

[00:33:11] Bianca Blythe: Thank you.

[00:33:12] Katherine Grant: That's it for this week. Check out the show notes where I put links for my guests, myself, and the podcast. Until next week, happy reading.