after that separation and then going through the divorce, I was like fast drafting purely out of spite and like escape and just like not wanting to be defined by the moment or this experience.

And so I wanted something. I wanted to hold on to something. I wanted something that felt like it was mine. And so I actually think like what felt like it would be almost impossible to write and do

and do well, it ended up kind of being that wish fulfillment.

Like, what do I wish I could have had?

What do I wish I could have, how do I wish I could have been seen and known and loved?

It, like, reminded me of, like, what I love about love.

Welcome to The Stacks, a podcast about books and the people who read them.

I'm your host, Tracy Thomas, and today we are joined by Adrian Thurman to discuss her debut

novel, Don't Tell Me How It Ends. This book follows

Kaya Harper, a floundering 20-something who's sworn off romance until she's asked to be the first

client in her sister's matchmaking business. As she suffers through bad dates and failed matches,

she finds herself falling in love with the tow truck guy,

Roe Jackson. Today, Adrienne and I talk about unlikable women characters and their place in the romance

genre, how she came to become a romance writer after years of odd jobs moving around the country,

and the ways her own divorce empowered her to write this love story.

Our book club pick for April is Room Swept Home by Ramika Bingham Risher,

and we will discuss the book with Mahogany Brown on Wednesday, April 29th.

Everything we talk about on each episode of the Stacks is linked in our show notes.

And if you like this podcast, if you want more bookish content and community,

consider joining the Stacks Pack on Patreon and subscribing to my newsletter unstacked on

substack. Each place offers different perks. You're going to find a ton of community

conversation over on the Patreon, and you're going to get a lot of my writing and hot takes

...