NO SPOILERS in this conversation with author Emily Temple.

*** Carinn & Kate introduce their conversation with Lit Hub editor and debut author, Emily Temple. We recount the highlights from this thoughtful, introspective chat about a book that invites BIG questions. (00:45)

*** Emily describes The Lightness in her own words, what it is like to debut a novel during a pandemic and how it feels for her “baby” to be out in the world after six years of work. (07:19)

*** Carinn reads a mesmerizing passage about the "types of girls" at this Bootcamp for Bad Girls before we unpack whether every woman has these feelings inside. (12:45)

*** Emily comes from a family of lawyers, but also seekers. We discuss whether lawyers are people who are always looking for something. (16:56)

*** Emily shares the story of her road to publication, from a prestigious MFA program, to the random connections and mentors who helped her along the way, to the weighty expectations of how to do it all again for book number two. (19:51)

*** The world has a hard time with complicated women; that rejection comes from men, but also other women. We ask Emily about a line from The Lightness and whether she thinks it is “because of the lies that we are told about other girls?” We loved what she had to say about how women are judged when they break the mold and the “rules” constructed to contain us. (28:00)

*** As always, we talk astrology, and Emily (a Libra) shared that every month she writes a column on Lit Hub with book recommendations based on astrological signs. (30:53)

*** We get personal and discuss mommy issues. Emily really makes us think about how as we get older we realize the ways we can affect our parents, no matter how much we want to fight against the idea. (35:05)

*** Hear why Emily makes us wait to get the name of the first person narrator. (43:21) 

*** Find out the unlikely, but totally cool, fictional complicated women that inspire Emily (spoiler...the answer involves Kat Stratford, a princess and Buffy!). (46:45)

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Stay Complicated!

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