This is 99% invisible. I'm Roman Mars.

Quignote our episode today is really fun and joyful, but it does include talk about sex

and mentions of sexual violence, so use discretion.

When producer Katie Mingle's mom Pam Mingle retired from a long career as a fifth grade teacher,

she started writing books. First, she published a time travel novel for young adults,

then she wrote a Jane Austen spin-off novel, and eventually she decided to write a romance.

My mom, a huge Jane Austen fan, took a page from her favorite author and set her first romance

during the Regency period in England, so around 1812. The plot involves two people who start out as

friends, Cass and Adam, and get engaged because Adam needs a reason not to marry someone that his

family wants him to marry. Cass and Adam aren't in love, and they don't necessarily plan on

actually getting married. But then they start to fall for each other, and of course there are

many, many obstacles in their path, which they have to overcome. That is of course my mom.

I'm Pam Mingle. I am the writer of six published books, four of which are romances.

In 2015, a small publisher called entangled, bought my mom's first romance manuscript.

They decided on the title of false proposal, and eventually they also came up with a cover design

for the book, which they showed my mom. I believe they sent me, yes, they sent me an email that had

the cover attached, and said, isn't this a beautiful cover, and we love it, and we hope that you will.

Well, what did you think when you saw it? I thought it was lushly romantic, I guess, is what you

could say. I think I was a little startled by the, you know, the bending backwards and the

very sort of dramatic pose. I didn't necessarily expect that, but I thought it was

beautiful, and I loved the colors.

The cover of the book is a deep, purpley blue background, and it probably features an image of a man

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