KWL – 332 – Writing a Small-town Sports Romance with Elena Armas

#332 – Writing a Small-town Sports Romance with Elena Armas

In this episode, we are joined by New York Times and international bestselling author Elena Armas, author of The Spanish Love Deception and The American Roommate Experiment! Elena is a life-long romance fan who got started writing and publishing three years ago.

In this episode, we are joined by New York Times and international bestselling author Elena Armas, author of The Spanish Love Deception and The American Roommate Experiment! Elena is a life-long romance fan who got started writing and publishing three years ago. We chat with her about her latest rom-com romp, The Long Game, which is a small-town, contemporary sports romance between a soccer exec and a former soccer star who band together over the summer to help coach a struggling children’s soccer team. Get ready for a lot of laughs and a lot of love in this one! The Long Game is available now from Simon & Schuster Canada and wherever books are sold.

We ask Elena about her journey from chemical engineer to author, learn more about her inspiration behind writing The Long Game, hear more about her process behind her previous books, get an overview of her publishing journey, chat about her book blogging past, and much more! Don’t miss this delightful episode, and make sure to check out Elena’s books.

In this episode:

• We hear about Elena’s experience as a Bookstagrammer and book blogger before she began writing romance
• Elena gives us some insight on her publishing journey, and how she got started writing – alongside her full-time job as a chemical engineer
• We get an overview of the process Elena went through to get traditionally published, and how it felt to go viral on TikTok six months after her first book’s release
• We hear a little more about her self-publishing days, and how the transition from working on her own to having an agent and a publisher impacted her
• Elena tells us what it was like working with an editor, including combatting editorial misconceptions
• We get into the details of The Long Game, and hear more about what inspired the book, including Elena’s love of football (also known as soccer)
• Elena talks about many of the characters in The Long Game – including the two main leads, a farm animal-obsessed nine-year-old football player, and a literal goat
• We talk about where Elena gets her inspiration for her heroines, and how her own experiences are reflected in these characters
• Elena talks about why it’s important to her to feature Spanish characters and diverse narratives in her novels, and how she goes about writing these narratives
• We hear about the second book in this series, The Short List (coming fall 2024)
• Elena tells us her experience using social media to engage with readers, from being a book blogger to a published author
• And much more!

Useful Links

Elena’s website

Elena on Instagram, TikTok, X and Facebook

Elena’s books on Kobo

The Long Game

Mentioned in this episode:

The Spanish Love Deception

The American Roommate Experiment

Cassandra Clare

Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead

Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer

Episode Transcript

Transcription by www.speechpad.com

Rachel: Hey, writers. You’re listening to the “Kobo Writing Life Podcast,” where we bring you insights and inspiration for growing your self-publishing business. We’re your hosts. I’m Rachel, promotions specialist at Kobo Writing Life.

Laura: And I’m Laura Granger, Kobo Writing Life’s author engagement manager. Today, we spoke to Elena Armas. Elena is a Spanish writer, a self-confessed hopeless romantic, and a proud book hoarder. Now, she’s also the bestselling author of the “The Spanish Love Deception,” “The American Roommate Experiment,” and the upcoming release, “”The Long Game”.”

Rachel: Our conversation with Elena was so much fun. Laura and I had a blast. We talked to Elena about her journey from chemical engineer to book blogger to bookstagrammer to bestselling author. We talked a lot about her upcoming release, “”The Long Game”” and where she drew inspiration for that story. And we just had a really great time talking to her about her publishing journey. It was so much fun, and we really think you’re going to enjoy.

Laura: Hi, everyone. Today, we have bestselling author, Elena Armas, with us. Elena, can you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself?

Elena: Hi. Hello. Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me. I’m very happy to chat with you guys. Very excited, also, to talk about “The Long Game.” Yeah. So, I’m Elena Armas. I mean, you already said it, so that was not needed.

Rachel: Your accent on your name is much better.

Laura: Yeah, we need you to say it just so we can get the full experience. Yeah.

Elena: Right. So, I’m originally from Spain. I’m Spanish. I’m now a writer. It wasn’t that way three years ago, I think. Three or two, maybe one two. Yeah, I write romance books. I love romance in general. Anything romance I love and books specifically. And now I get to write them. So, that’s awesome.

Rachel: Three years. That is such a whirlwind, considering that, correct me if I’m wrong, your third book just came out, or it’s coming out in five days.

Elena: Yes.

Rachel: And so you said you love books. And you started your journey in publishing as a bookstagrammer, and I’m so curious, what, kind of, made you make the jump into, “I’m going to write a book”?

Elena: Craziness, basically. I was very cocky when I decided that. I don’t know what the heck I was thinking, to be honest. But, yeah, I was a bookstagrammer for a long time. And before that, I actually had my WordPress blog. And, I mean, I was like a full-on book blogger in my free time. It was my hobby. So, as a full time job, I used to be an engineer. Well, technically, I guess I’m still an engineer that writes romance books because that’s my full-time job now. But, yeah, I was doing the blogging gig for quite a long time.

And so I was around books a lot. All my free time was spent reading, or reviewing, or posting about the books I read and reviewed. And the reason why I decided to do the jump was no reason whatsoever. I just thought it would be fun to give it a go. Writing or being an author had never been my dream. I was already very happy with being a blogger, with being able to spend so much time around books and with having publishers send books to my house for review like all these advanced copies and review copies. I was already so thrilled that I got to do that.

So, when I had the idea for my debut with “The Spanish Love Deception,” I just decided to write it because I was…I don’t know what got into me. I somehow thought that I could do it, and I decided to do it. And, I mean, I cannot say that I regret it because look at me now. I’m thriving. But, yeah, I wish… I was saying this in a different interview, but I wish I had written my thoughts in a diary so I could read them now, but I never did that and everything is a blur now. Everything is a very, very faded memory. And unfortunately, I cannot give proper answers. But more or less, I think that was my mindset back in the moment.

Rachel: Well, I feel like it’s one of those things where a lot of people are like, “Oh, I could write a book. I could write a book.” And you said that you were cocky thinking you could do that. But to be able to actually follow through, I think, is a lot more rare than people who think they can write a book versus people who actually do. So, I commend you for your cockiness, because it turns out you were right.

Elena: Thank you, thank you.

Laura: It’s kind of like that inspiration that maybe some inspire or… What’s the word I’m looking for?

Rachel: Aspirational?

Laura: Aspirational. Some people have aspirations to write but maybe haven’t taken the leap to do it yet. So, it’s maybe the comparison that they need to take that leap. Yeah.

Elena: Totally. I always say that. That’s why I wrote in my…in the dedication of the book, I wrote never give up. Well, with different words. Now, I cannot quote myself. I just panicked. But we’re not quitters. No, yeah. To those chasing dreams, we are not quitters. Never give up or something like that. I’m sure I wrote it. I just cannot remember it. But that’s the gist of it. Sometimes you just need to take a leap, be a little cocky, and think that you can do it in order to do it.

Rachel: And you mentioned that, I mean, your full-time job before you became a full-time author was a chemical engineer. And I’m so curious when the reading piece, kind of, split and how did you balance those two? Because those are two very different. Reading and writing romance and chemical engineering are two very different sides of the brain.

Elena: I mean, I think my mom would be so appalled if I say this, but I don’t think I was ever a particularly good engineer, I think. My brain always… Sure, I had this duality. I loved maybe both things, and I love the fact that I could do both things, that I would love books and literature, that I could also work as an engineer or develop and have a career in engineering. I love that.

But the engineering was never really my passion, my passion was books. And I have been an avid reader since I was a kid. I’ve always read a lot. And when I discovered the romance genre, it was like a world opening before me. And so every bit of free time, I would spend reading romance in any shape or form that I would find. I started with young adult fantasy like heavy on the romance, right? Then I flipped or I crossed over to young adult romance. Then I crossed over to proper contemporary romance like adult. And from there, it was just all romance all the time to the point that I had the idea for a book and then everything else happened.

Laura: Was there one specific book that, kind of, drew you into that like YA fantasy romance genre to start?

Elena: That’s a hard question.

Laura: Maybe not one specific one. Maybe a few at once.

Elena: I mean, I think I went… Like every reader, I went through phases. As much as I was an avid reader, I wasn’t reading a lot all the time. At least not until I became a blogger, so to say. So, for fantasy, for YA fantasy, I think one of my first obsessions was obviously Cassandra Clare. I mean, it’s not technically. Well, yeah, it’s fantasy. It’s also like paranormal, urban. It’s like a mix. It’s like a good, good mix. And she has so many amazing series that I devoured. Then, also, oh my gosh, what’s the name? The “Vampire Academy”?

Laura: Yeah, “Vampire Academy.”

Elena: Richelle Mead, right, or…?

Laura: I think so.

Elena: Michelle Mead or Richelle Mead?

Laura: Yeah, I think Richelle Mead, yes.

Elena: Yes, obviously, I also devoured that. Then, of course, I’m forgetting about “Twilight.” How could I not mention Twilight, which was the phase? But, yeah, those books, I think they triggered something in me. And then when I got to the contemporary romance like adult contemporary romance, there was something brewing like the obsession for love stories. It was already brewing. So, it was very organic and very easy for me to submerge myself in the world.

Laura: Is it weird, kind of, being on the other side of book-related social media now, having been that bookstagrammer that’s devouring all these romance books? Is it weird to have people, kind of, talking about your book?

Elena: Some days it’s weird, and some other days it feels like breathing. Some days I’m shocked how natural it is for me to talk to my readers about my books and to see them read them. And some other days, I’m just shocked to realize what I’m… I have the “how did I get here” moment realization pretty often. Maybe once a month, I have it, which is very odd because it’s these vastly different feelings, which I guess a lot of people have as well. I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I guess I get a different kind of feel because I was a blogger before. I was not just a reader. I was a blogger, and I was so involved in the world of new releases, new books. I would keep track of everything. And now seeing other people do that for me, as natural as it feels because it was something I was doing, it also feels weird. So, yeah, it’s like a mix of very different emotions all the time.

Laura: Depends on the day.

Elena: Yeah, it really depends on the day. Yeah.

Laura: So, let’s talk about that kind of whirlwind journey that you had. Can you tell us about how you got into the publishing journey and what it was like, kind of, handing your baby, “The Spanish Love Deception” to an editor and a publisher?

Elena: So, the tackle, right? So, self-publishing, again, I wish I had written my thoughts and what I was feeling in that moment on a diary, because I think it would be so interesting to see what was going through my mind when I clicked publish on that KDP site and the book became available for everyone to purchase. I do remember that moment being very anti-climatic. Back in the day, I just clicked and then it was done and nothing had happened. Really it was very not anti-climatic. I wasn’t expecting fireworks or anything, but it was a strange like in the movies just like boom in the background. No.

But, yeah, it was so weird. I just remember the weirdness of it thinking, “Okay, so I feel the same. I don’t feel anything.” But I guess, with my journey, everything came six months after the book was released, the book was live on KDP. And that’s when it went viral on TikTok. And that’s what flipped everything around. That’s what caused the 180 to ensue.

So, signing the deal with Atria, with Simon & Schuster and giving them “The Spanish Love Deception” and also “The American Roommate Experiment,” which was by then was just a zero draft, as I like to call it. It was just a very ugly, filthy draft of nonsense, but it was already book-shaped in my mind. So, giving them that was, again, a very strange experience. I was used to being on my own and doing everything on my own. And suddenly I had an agent, and a publisher, and an editor, and a team, you know? So, yeah, it was strange.

It was all like a learning curve. And I think the fact that it happened so fast triggered my imposter syndrome to be twice as what anybody would expect. You can feel like you shouldn’t be there, or you’re not an expert, or you’re like a baby author in diapers. You don’t know what you’re doing. But to me, it was massive, massive, massive imposter syndrome. I was thrusted into it. And I was like, “I don’t even have words to describe how I was feeling.” I mean, I think now I’ve calmed down from it. And now at this point, so after what has happened, and the books I’ve put out, and what I’ve written, and what I’ve learned, now I think I’m finally able to say I, kind of, know what I’m doing. Maybe. Not always but some days, so I’m happy about that. I also totally forgot what you were asking. I completely lost my point.

Rachel: No, you nailed it. We asked about your publishing journey and you walked us right through it. I have a follow-up though. Was there anything about the editorial or the publishing experience that really surprised you?

Elena: I don’t think I can answer that because I didn’t know anything about it. I was not some aspiring writer who had researched on how books are published. I had no idea. The only things I knew about publishing were the things that I learned as a bookstagrammer. They would do marketing campaigns and publicity. And this is what they would do. They send books to bloggers. That’s all I knew. I didn’t know how someone would get an agent, for example. Because when I self-publish, I decided that I wasn’t good enough to even think of the possibility of being represented. What for? I’m an engineer. I’m just doing this for fun and to see what happens and no expectations. Really I had no expectations and no goals. I just wanted to publish the book because it was written and someone had encouraged me to publish it, because they said it was fun and cute. And I thought, “Why not?”

So, I couldn’t be surprised about anything because everything was new. If anything, the only maybe stereotype that somehow I had learned from, I don’t know what, maybe Twitter or being online, somehow some people believe that editors forbid you to do stuff or they control the book or they tell you what to do. And the work with an editor is like a collaboration. It’s not at all like that. It’s more of a suggestion basis kind of work. It is like they’re there to support you, to guide you when you’re lost, and in my case, to trim my manuscript a lot because I write so long. I ramble and ramble, as I think you can already get the rambling vibes from me. Yeah, but it’s a collaboration. So, I don’t know. Whoever I got that from who’s someone on the Internet, rest assured your editor is going to be there to support you.

Laura: And we also really wanted to talk to you about your latest release, which is coming out September 5th “The Long Game.” So, can you tell our listeners a bit about it? Because this is your first release outside of “The Spanish Love Deception” and “The American Roommate Experiment.”

Elena: I can try to tell you about it. I’m so bad at this question. I always get it wrong, and I always say, “Oh, my God, I’m so bad at it,” but I’m going to try. Okay, so “The Long Game.” Yeah, “The Long Game.” I like to call “The Long Game” my small-town baby, because it really is, in essence, a small-town romcom. It also has the soccer sprinkle of fun on top of it, so it does have a lot of soccer elements. It has a lot of parallels to Ted Lasso, that’s why it’s coming up a lot on comparisons and reviews. And I’m seeing a lot like the Roy Kent, Ted Lasso vibes, which are correct. They are correct. I mean, there’s a lot of…not a lot, but there is enough soccer in the novel. For people to have enjoyed the show, maybe they would enjoy the novel.

But, yeah, in essence, it’s a small-town romance about two very grumpy main characters, two leads who are, yeah, grumpy, as I said. And they dislike each other at first sight for different reasons. There’s like a meet ugly involved. And at the same time, they are kind of forced to work together. I say “kind of” because that’s a journey, but yeah, they’re forced to work together on bringing a little league soccer team of girls of nine-year-olds to new heights in this small town where the book is set. So, that’s where I’m going to leave the summary, because otherwise I will just narrate the first three chapters and I don’t want to.

Rachel: No, you did a great job summarizing. And I actually wanted to touch on the soccer element. And I’m curious, was Ted Lasso the kind of impetus to be like, “Oh, soccer,” or are you a soccer or football fan yourself?

Elena: So, it’s hard not to be into soccer being raised in Spain. It is hard. I’m not huge on sports to be honest. I don’t do the sports. I lack reflexes, which is an issue for most sports. So, I’m more like the book girl reading in the bleachers. I’m not the sporty girl. But, I mean, lately I have been watching and consuming more sports entertainment like tennis, Formula 1. It’s really easy now to be engaged with a lot of sports because of how media… Somehow they seem like more accessible now for some reason that I haven’t stopped to analyze or think about.

But the reason why I picked soccer from all sports is because it’s probably the one that I know the most of and the one that I have watched the most. As I said, in Europe, soccer…I mean, I’m calling it soccer right now. It’s like … if I’m honest. To me, that’s football. But, well, yeah. So, it’s a sport that I’ve watched and consumed the most. So, it was the one that I was more comfortable with and more familiar with. And also, for some reason, I wanted specifically to write about a female lead from the States that is thrusted…not thrusted, but it’s like trying to thrive in the world of soccer in the United States, which is so different to the world of soccer in Europe. And I have always found that so interesting and so, I don’t know, intriguing. So, I wanted to explore that with a book. That’s also why the male lead is not American, is English, English-Italian, but he comes from Europe and she’s like from the U.S. And they find all that contrast when they are trying to work together. That’s something that I really wanted to write besides leaving the sports aspect aside. So, those are all the reasons basically.

Rachel: Oh, I love it. And I guess I never really thought about the difference between American soccer culture and European football culture because they are very different. And my next question in our notes is just two words, and it’s, why goats? Because I loved the inclusion of this little girl who is just obsessed with her farm animals. And I’m just so curious where that idea came from, because I love them so much.

Elena: Oh, I’m so happy to hear that actually. I mean, I don’t even… When I was writing the first scene with the girls team, a bunch of stuff came to me. And one of the things was this little girl with her goat and how she would consider the goat her best friend. Not a farm animal, just like a character that would breathe and that would have a personality and traits, and that it would be like a character. So, I thought that was so cool and that I could do so many things with it that that’s where Brandy, the goat, came from. And that’s also why brandy is blind. She suffers from anxiety. If she gets stressed, she starts pooping all over. I just thought it was so fun, that it would be so fun to read that in a romance novel when you’re not expecting a goat to be a main character. And I thought, “I want that in my book.” And then I got to have the goat on the cover, which was also great.

Rachel: loved it so much. And this just occurred to me. Was it a lot of fun to write dialogue for nine-year-old girls? Because adults are always in their own head. They’re thinking about things before they say it, but kids are so uninhibited. Was that a challenge or did you have a lot of fun writing those characters?

Elena: It was a mix of both things. So, at first, it was a little hard to pin down the voice of the nine-year-olds, because you have to… I mean, you cannot make them sound too childish but also not too mature. So, that was a bit tricky to get right. And I had help from a few people who would go through the dialogues and be like, “No, no, no. This is too sophisticated for a 9-year-old.” I mean, I don’t have kids. Also, I don’t have cousins that age either. So, I was basing these characters on research from people who had either kids or relatives of that age or who would work with kids of that age. So, at first, it was a little bit tricky. But then it was so much fun. I think Maria, who is one of the kids in the team, she ended up being one of my favorite characters in the book because, I mean, she ended up having this distinct sassy voice that I just love so much and that I had so much fun writing. And my better reader said that… And I took it as a compliment because she has kids, and she said that she was just awesome. And I was like, “Okay, you have kids his age. You like this kid, I’m done. My job here is done.”

Laura: The small town of Green Oak is almost like a character itself as well. How did you, kind of, develop the town, the characters and did you draw inspiration from anywhere?

Elena: That’s a fun question. So, I say that because, at first, the novel was not set in North Carolina or Green Oak. It was set somewhere else, but I will not say where but somewhere far, far away. That was very impractical, and it was making my life very, very complicated when I was trying to write. So, I decided to look for a place that would bring me comfort because that’s what I needed when I was in full panic mode being like, “Uh-oh, this is not working,” with the previous setting.

So, I went for a town like Green Oak and for North Carolina specifically as an homage to one of my favorite shows growing up, which was “One Tree Hill.”

Rachel: We were just talking about “One Tree Hill” today.

Laura: Yeah. If you guys could see me and Rachel’s faces, because we both love “One Tree Hill,” but we had a gasp at the same time.

Elena: Yeah, I saw your faces and you were like… I loved it. That’s my reaction to you. It is my reaction to you. And that’s the reason why this book is set where it is. I mean, “Green Oak” is not like Tree Hill. I think it has a lot of differences. But in part, it’s like drawing inspiration from that show and from all the shows that I love like “Gilmore Girls,” like all these small-town shows that I’ve devoured and that they have made who I am as an adult, I feel like, because all the entertainment that we consumed growing up, especially when we are young adults, I think they, kind of, shape us in a way. So, that’s why the book is set in a town like Green Oak, and that’s why specifically North Carolina.

Rachel: Not until you said that did I really realize how many shows that aired in that late ’90s, early aughts are set in small towns. I’ve never thought about that before.

Laura: Yeah, that’s a good one.

Elena: There’s so many.

Laura: There’s so many.

Elena: Yeah, there’s so many. Yeah.

Laura: And I can, kind of, see the “Gilmore Girls” relationship in that there’s all these fun festivals and events that they do that are in the book that are, kind of, definitely Gilmore Girls vibes.

Elena: Yeah. All those events, by the way, they are like all the things going on in Green Oak throughout the novel, I spend hours reading… I’m going through websites of small towns in North Carolina. You find the most amazing stuff. Some towns, and they were tiny, but some of them had the most amazing brochures of activities ever. Not even big cities could offer that variety. I was in shock. So, I was like, yeah, I need to have everything here. I need to pull from everything. And that’s why they do so many things and that’s why we have a mayor like Josie, who’s trying to keep the town moving and to have fun things. And, yeah.

Rachel: I loved it. And Josie kind of gave me, like, Taylor from Gilmore Girls vibes if Taylor wasn’t so grumpy and full of himself.

Elena: Yeah, yeah, a little bit.

Rachel: Josie is much more chill.

Elena: A little bit. Yeah, she’s chill. Yeah.

Rachel: And one thing we wanted to talk to you about was Adeline and her journey throughout the book because, I don’t know, I feel like the need to succeed and prove yourself and not disappoint people is really common, but especially when you’re a woman in a male-dominated field like soccer/football. And I was just curious what it was like writing this journey for your character.

Elena: So, I think all my leads, either female or male, they have little things about me. I mean, it’s really hard to write and not drop these pieces of yourself in your characters. It’s super hard. I don’t think I will ever be able to do it. So, you leave little things of yourself. And what I happen to be doing, which I just realized recently with my female leads is I, kind of, pour my struggles and my insecurities on them. I mean, it makes sense if you think about it. But, I mean, yeah, when you realize you’re doing it, it’s not so fun because you’re like, “Uh-oh.” But other than that, it’s quite therapeutic when the book is finished. You’re like, “Okay, well, one less to worry about, I guess.”

So, some of Adeline’s journey through the novel, I could reflect a little bit on how I was working in a male-dominated world. I was doing as an engineer. It’s no secret that STEM is, kind of, hard for women. It is not the easiest career path that you can take. And I had my share… I was lucky enough that I never got to experience anything horrific, but I had my share of experience with that kind of issues.

So, for Adeline, it was maybe a mix of that like a woman wanting to prove herself and to get to the point where she’s valued for her work and not for her last name or who’s her father or that kind of thing. And then, at the same time, Adeline also goes to, like, an anxiety journey that she doesn’t know she’s suffering from. Like, she’s very clueless. She has a lot of things that she has bottled up growing up and also working under her dad. And she thinks she has to be a certain way to be successful on that. She has to force certain emotions or certain attitudes or dynamics. And so she’s pretty much clueless, and all of that eventually explodes in anxiety unresolved if we can call it that way.

So, that’s partly some of what she experiences. It’s also partly from what I have experienced in that. I don’t know how to call it. Let’s just say that this new journey that opened up for me, as happy and as positive and as amazing as it was, it was also quite stressful and it was a lot to process. So, I ended up finding out things about myself that I didn’t know before, that they were either always there or triggered by all these things happening to me.

So, you know, dealing with anxiety wasn’t especially easy. I still struggle with it. So, I thought that it would be a good thing to give Adeline, to give my female lead, to give a similar journey, even if it’s quite, quite different, but to give her a similar journey, and to see her thrive at the end, and to find herself in this new life that she has.

Rachel: And like you mentioned, it must have been pretty therapeutic to be able to put that part of yourself on the page and, kind of, not relive it but get to work through it in a way.

Elena: Yeah, yeah. It is scary, and it’s not fun all the time, but I also think that is… I think it’s necessary to write about these things in books, because a lot more… There’s so many people who struggle with so many things. And to see yourself in a character in a book, even if the book is just a light romance or a romcom, that it doesn’t need to be taken too seriously. But to see this part of yourself in that book that you’re reading, sometimes it does make the difference, especially if you don’t know how to talk about that, or if you don’t understand it yourself. So, I also thought it was important to have it there in one way or other. I think that’s why all my female characters have certain things that… For “The American Roommate Experiment” with Rosie, I just dumped all my insecurities as a writer on her, which was again hard but fun, I guess.

Laura: You also include a lot of Spanish culture in your books. For example, Adeline and her mom and her family. Why is this important to you being a Spanish author?

Elena: So, I just think representation is so important, and real life is diverse, so books should be diverse. Like to me, it’s just applying logic. Why the heck not? When I decided to make Catalina, Lina the female lead from my debut novel, “The Spanish Love Deception,” when I decided that she would be a Spanish character from Spain, I did that because I hadn’t seen real representation of my culture in books. I wouldn’t even pick books where they would travel to Spain, because I was just avoiding that, because the few experiences that I’ve had, they were full of stereotypes and things that don’t specifically make you super happy to read about wrong. So, I was like, well, if someone’s going to write her or write something like that, it has to be me. And that’s also why they traveled to Spain for the wedding, and that’s also why her family has such an importance in the story.

And also, I think that a lot of different cultures could relate to mine. So, it was like a win-win situation. The worst thing that could have happened was me doing them a disservice, like the culture and the personality or the character that I was trying to write. And luckily I think, I mean, I’m happy with the job that I did, and I love when readers tell me, “Oh, my gosh, I love her family. I could relate so much to her, and my family is the same.” And they’re not even necessarily Hispanic. They are from everywhere, like anywhere in the world, so that makes me very, very happy. It’s like a huge compliment.

So, the reason why I try to include those kind of things, even if not in a main character, in a secondary character in my books, is because life is that way. I think books should represent how life is, and that’s diverse. So, that’s why Adeline is Cuban-American, and her mom is Cuban, like an immigrant, and is still, well, dealing with her fair share of experience and stuff. And I think I will never stop having little winks or having maybe big parts of my books being about that.

Rachel: One of my favorite moments in the early parts of the book is when Adeline’s on the phone with her mom, and her mom is very upset and is speaking Spanish, and her dad is like, “I don’t understand you.” And as somebody who, unfortunately, only speaks one language, I have been on the other side of that. And I loved how there was no translation because the English-speaking reader is not supposed to understand. You’re supposed to feel like the dad who’s like, “I don’t get it.” And I love that. I thought it was both hilarious and relatable, unfortunately.

Elena: Oh, thank you. I mean, yeah, I see that happening quite often. Yeah, sometimes when there’s two languages living in your brain, sometimes there’s a flip somewhere and it’s usually flipped when you’re angry. And words just leave you the way they leave you.

Rachel: I loved it. And one thing that Laura and I are both very excited about is yesterday you made an Instagram post that the second book in this series, which is called “The Short List,” is going to be coming out in the fall of 2024, and it’s Matthew and Josie’s story. Did you always know “The Long Game” was going to be the beginning of a series or did you just discover these characters while you were writing and you got excited to tell their story as well?

Elena: A mix of both. I think I wanted this to be the beginning of something. I was a little scared to get out of “The Spanish Love Deception” world or universe. I’m not going to lie. I was hesitant to even think about possible second book, like a follow-up to “The Long Game” because I didn’t know if I was going to be any good at it. What if the setting didn’t work? What if the characters sucked? These are the classic questions that you ask yourself when you’re writing something new. But the moment that I started writing and the moment that I introduced Matthew specifically but then Josie, I was just like, “Yeah, nope. They’re ending together at some point. I’m just going to make it happen.” So, yeah. So, a mix of both.

And then you should have seen… So, the only reason why I announced that yesterday before “The Long Game” came out was because I wanted to talk about them on tour, and my editor was like, “But this is too early. We don’t announce books so early. We don’t even have pre-order links or anything. The book is not finished yet.” I was like, “I don’t care. I want to, I need to, and I’m going to do it.” And they let me. This is actually one thing that I was stubborn about. I was like, “No, we need this out already.” But I’m that excited, guys. I think, if everyone listening could see my smile right now, it’s huge.

Rachel: We can confirm. And since you’re so excited and you’ve been given the okay to, kind of, talk about it a bit, can you give us a little tease of what we can expect from Book 2 a year in advance?

Elena: Yes, I can. I can. I had a lot of screaming in my DMs yesterday, “How dare you. This is 2024. Why do you do this to us? It’s like more than one year.” But I can totally give you a few things. I don’t want to say too much because, again, I’m still working on it, and I tend to shoot myself on the foot when I talk about things that are unfinished. So, I’m going to try to be cautious about it.

So, the main thing with this book is an engagement of convenience. So, our main characters, Josie and Matthew, Matthew who’s Adeline’s best friend, and Josie who’s in Green Oak, let’s leave it there, who’s a Green Oak resident and a mayor of town. And that’s basically a lot of stuff around town. They get engaged, or I’d rather say fake engaged, fengaged, because it’s mutually beneficial for both of them because of a situation that has arised.

And, yeah, so there’s a lot of forced proximity, obviously, because they’re going to have to spend a lot of time together, and they don’t really know each other. They only know of each other, and they are pretending to be engaged during a period of time. And it is set in Green Oak again, which I love. This time, it will be a winter book, not a fall book. We are moving forward. It will have maybe some Christmas elements that I’m very excited to see. It will not be a Christmas book, but a winter book, and we will get to see where Adeline and Cameron are at that point in time.

So, it is making me very excited about writing, and it’s not like I wasn’t excited when I was writing “The Long Game,” but it was a hard book to write because it was the first one that I wrote within the traditional publishing world, the whole process from developing the story to putting the book out, everything inside this traditional world. So, it was hard in a lot of ways. But this one, I’m having a lot of fun writing it, and I’m having…it’s putting a big smile on my face when I think about it and when I talk about it. And it also has like a lot of ’90s and 2000s romcom vibes, a lot of winks here and there. So, yeah, I’m excited. You should be excited too, guys.

Rachel: I mean, we’re excited…

Laura: And it must make you feel nice to get those DMs, even though half of them are jokingly mad at you, that the book is so far away. They’re already excited to see the release. So, that must take some pressure off from not knowing if you’re going to have the same kind of excitement after “The Spanish Love Deception.”

Elena: You’re so right, actually. Yeah, that’s going to help a lot. I think the fact that I said—and I knew this, that’s why I said it—engagement of convenience, everyone went nuts. Everyone was like, “Girl, where’s my wife? Oh, my God.” Everyone went bananas. And I kind of knew that this kind of trope gets that level of excitement, which is amazing. But now I’m realizing also puts pressure on me, which I’m not super thrilled now. I just realized right now live on camera. But, hey, as I said, I’m cocky. I’m going to do it anyway.

Laura: We have faith that you can pull it off. So, you mentioned your social media a little bit with that announcement yesterday. As a former bookstagrammer, what kind of social media tactics do you bring to your author career now?

Elena: No tactics, basically.

Laura: But you’re using those tropes, so you have some tactics there.

Elena: I guess I unconsciously know what might get people excited, I guess, and I’m not new to social media and to engaging with people or readers specifically. So, I guess I do have some sort of game plan at some level in my head. But at the same time, I swear. Me on social media is basically blurting out crap all the time. And that’s why I always say to my followers, “Thank you for putting up with me. This has been real.” Every time I go up like/followers, I’m like, “Wow, you guys are insane. I don’t know what you’re doing there, but okay.”

Laura: It’s because you’re authentic. So, it’s fun to follow someone who’s authentic and not too too planned with everything they’re doing. It’s a real follow-up.

Elena: Thank you. Thank you. I mean, I love to use memes. I love to joke around. I love to record reels with bad hair, which I should really stop doing. But to this moment, I think my favorite… You didn’t ask, but I’m going to tell you anyway. My favorite moment on social media ever was when I got a DM. And it was a user that had never interacted with me before. Usually I always try to answer to as many people as I can. I go through my DMs, because I love those interactions. I’m not doing this out of pre-orders or anything. I just love hearing people out.

And one time this reader, I had never interacted with that person ever. And it was like a message request, because if you’re not following them, it doesn’t show us a DM but as a request, and I go through those too, by the way, which I shouldn’t sometimes. I really shouldn’t. And she was saying… And it was just a plain message saying, “Wow, you’re my favorite millennial.” And I thought, “Oh, my gosh. One, I’m old. And, two, wow, I love that.” I just thought it was so genuine and so funny. And I put it on my bio, and that’s what’s on my bio like not New York Times bestselling author. The first thing I have there is someone’s favorite millennial, because I’m someone’s favorite millennial. And I find that so funny and so amazing. And I’m proud that she wrote me that. I was in tears in that moment. I was like, “Wow, I’ve made it”

Rachel: I saw that on your bio and I was like, “I feel like there’s something there.” But my follow-up is, have you considered making merch? Because I would wear a t-shirt that says “someone’s favorite millennial” on it in a heartbeat.

Laura: That’s a great idea.

Elena: Oh, my god, that’s a good idea. That’s a great idea. Smart.

Rachel: You’re welcome. That’s for you.

Elena: Thank you. Let’s talk about this.

Rachel: I want one.

Laura: Even a sticker or something.

Elena: No, but that’s cool.

Laura: Or both. Why not both?

Elena: Yeah, the full set, like a tote bag, like everything, the whole thing.

Rachel: A full matching tracksuit.

Laura: A full matching tracksuit.

Rachel: I’m not kidding.

Elena: That’s too much.

Rachel: No such thing.

Elena: No such thing. No, but that’s fun. Yeah, the merch is definitely on my to-do list for one day. But that’s going on the top. Let me tell you, that’s going right on top.

Rachel: I’ll be the first to pre-order, guaranteed.

Elena: Love that.

Laura: So, in your bio, you mentioned that you’re a hopeless romantic. Do you have any favorite romance books or movies?

Elena: Oh, yes, I do.

Laura: I know that’s a hard question.

Elena: It’s a really hard question. I mean, as for movies, I’m going to say the classic rom coms, all of them are my favorite. I’ve seen them all. All Julia Roberts movies or Sandra Bullock’s movies. I think it’s so Millennial to go back to that, but someone’s favorite, by the way, Millennial. It’s really hard for me not to love them. I think there’s a generation that kind of grew up with them. I cannot pick one. I’m stressing myself because I want to pick one, but I don’t want to. Maybe “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” I think is such a good movie.

Laura: That’s a very good pick. That’s a good one.

Elena: Yeah, it’s a very, very solid movie. And from that decade, there’s some movies who seem great but they haven’t aged that well. But this one specifically, it has aged so well. And it’s a proof of how good the script is. It’s just so cool. And as for books, I don’t think I can answer that. It’s so hard. What? Why do you do this to me?

Laura: How about this? Do you have a favorite trope to read in or to write in?

Elena: So, to read in, let’s focus on read in because write in I think I want to write them all because I love them all basically. But to read in, I do love a tortured hero. So, that as a starting point, that’s good. It’s a specific one, but at the same time, it’s not so specific that you can find that in a lot of books that are maybe not marketed that way.

Lately, I have been reading a lot of paranormal romance, and I’m a huge fan of the rejected mate trope in werewolves like shapeshifters, like fated mates. So, when one of them is rejected, I’m just like eating that, I don’t know, like popcorn. It says something about me that I don’t want to get into right now. But, yeah, lately, that has been a big one for me, rejected mates.

Rachel: I was going to say you can dig into that when you eventually write your own paranormal romance series.

Laura: Yeah, we’re going to have to keep an eye out for that coming soon.

Elena: You can keep an eye out. I mean, everyone knows it’s going to happen at some point. It’s just a matter of when. But, yes, I mean, people know me online for being, one, a millennial, and two, obsessed with Twilight. So, how could I not write paranormal romance? So, yeah, it’s happening at some point. I mean, for sure. Now, I’m picturing my team. My agent will be like, “What did you say?” Whatever.

Rachel: Well, at least I can say for myself, I’m a vampire girly. So, if there’s a vampire romance in your future…

Laura: Yes, we’re going to read it.

Rachel: Guaranteed two readers over here.

Elena: Awesome, awesome. Then I can come here, and we can talk about that and rejected mates.

Rachel: I love it. And just before we let you go, because I know we have taken up a lot of your time this afternoon, do you have anything else that you are working on that you’d like to mention? And where can our listeners find you online?

Elena: So, for now, I’m just putting all my focus on obviously “The Long Game” but also the “The Short List.” So, that’s all I’m focusing on. I have a million ideas for new projects and a lot of things going on at the same time, but that’s where my whole focus is on at the moment. I can’t believe I was so good answering that, right?

And where can people find me online? Yes, so I am on Twitter. I’m @elenaarmasbooks and then on both Instagram…old habits die hard, Instagram and TikTok, I’m @thebibliotheque spelled in French because, when I came up with a handle, I was very fancy. There’s no reason. I’m not French. It just sounded cool. And that’s all. Then on Facebook, you can also look me up. I have a readers group where you can join. And every once in a while, I leave info there, and I think that’s all.

Rachel: That’s perfect. We will include links to all of your socials and your books in our show notes so people will be able to find you.

Elena: Awesome.

Rachel: Thank you so much for joining us today.

Laura: This was so fun.

Rachel: This was so much fun.

Elena: Oh, thank you, guys. I had a lot of fun. Thank you for having me really. I love chatting with you, so I will be back at any other moment that you want me here.

Laura: We will seek you up online.

Rachel: We’ll be bothering you.

Elena: Deal.

Laura: Thank you for listening to the “Kobo Writing Life Podcast.” If you’re interested in picking up Elena’s books, we will include links in our show notes. If you’re enjoying this podcast, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe. And if you’re looking for more tips on growing your self-publishing business, you can find us at kobowritinglife.com. Be sure to follow us on social media. We are @KoboWritingLife on Facebook and Twitter, and @kobo.writing.life on Instagram.

Rachel: This episode was hosted by Laura Granger and Rachel Wharton with production by Terrence Abrahams. Editing is provided by Kelly Robotham. Our theme music is composed by Tear Jerker. And a huge thanks to Elena for being our guest today. If you’re ready to start your publishing journey, sign up today at kobo.com/writinglife. Until next time, happy writing.