Olivia Cuartero-Briggs Interview - The College Try

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[00:00:54] Hello and welcome to Comic Book Yeti's Cryptid Creator Corner. I am one of your hosts, Jimmy Gasparo, and I have a returning guest! I love when people are on the podcast and then they come back. It's like, oh, they had a nice time. So they want to come back and talk about more comics that they're making and they have coming out. And so I am here with Olivia Cuartero-Briggs and she is back talking about her new graphic novel, The College Try.

[00:01:18] It is coming out through Maverick. It's going to be out at your local comic book shop February 18th, 2026. Make sure you let your comic book shop know that you want a copy. But please, welcome back to the podcast, Olivia Cortero-Briggs. Olivia, how are you doing today? I am great. I think we're both kind of snowed in at this point, yeah? Yes, yes. My neighborhood, I mentioned it earlier before we started recording, but my neighborhood has not been plowed. So I'm not going anywhere.

[00:01:49] Yep. But yeah, and just kind of shoveling a little bit like in phases to shovel stuff outside. And the kids have gone out. They've, they've gone sledding a little bit and ran around and ran around with the, the neighbors. And then we have a dog. Our dog, Barry is like, is a one year old golden retriever. And our neighbors were fostering a dog.

[00:02:15] Our neighbors around the corner were fostering a dog and then they, they foster failed. So now they have a new dog, Cooper, who is about eight months, who is a big dog as well. They're both 75 pounds. So that was the other great thing today. We walked over to the neighbors and Barry and Cooper got to run around and play in the snow. So we had a, we had a doggy play date. That's lovely, but I'm concerned about this foster fail. What does that mean when you're foster failed?

[00:02:41] That means when you try, that means you, you sign up to foster a dog and you, you know, you're going to foster the dog and hope that somebody else is going to adopt the dog. And then you fail at that and you end up keeping the dog. So, Oh, so it's like a happy ending. Okay. I was like, so I'm, I'm such a dog lover. You can see this is my dog Milo in the background here. He's actually half golden retriever. He's an Afghan hound, golden retriever. Very, very strange mix.

[00:03:08] I get comments everywhere I go, but I'm, I'm such a dog lover that I'm, I just heard like dog and fail. And I was like, what does that mean? Yeah. Okay. Okay. I mean, yeah. So they were, they were, they were fostering the dog and then they decided to keep the dog. So it's, they say that they, yeah, they foster failed. So, so Barry is in my, my dog, Barry is in desperate need of friends. So Barry and Cooper got to play in the snow today. And that's always, that's always a lot of fun to watch them run around because Barry,

[00:03:36] I've never had a dog before that loved the cold and the snow so much. He will, uh, we have bells that hang on our slider that lead to our deck. And so he, rather than having him bark, we trained him to ring the bells. That's amazing. So he goes, he goes up to the slider. He hits them. He rings the bells, uh, to go outside, but he, he doesn't go to the bathroom. He just goes and he will just lay in the snow on the deck. He just loves being out in the cold.

[00:04:04] And so I wish I could say the same for my dogs. Um, but the issue is I'm in Brooklyn. So, uh, there's no plowing whatsoever. It's just people out there with shovels. I feel horrible for them. We're completely buried. I barely made it home. I took my daughter to see Little Shop of Horrors, uh, this afternoon in midtown. And, uh, you know, they went uptown with their dad via the subway train, but it's, it's covered

[00:04:30] where they are, but I have exposed train on my way home and the train just, I knew I was going to have trouble getting home. I was surprised I got across the bridge, uh, cause the train goes across the Manhattan bridge. But once we got to DeKalb, it just stopped and the announcement was like, so we basically decided we're not a Q train anymore. We're an N train now. So good luck to you. We're all like, what? Um, so, but thankfully, I mean, and this is just, New York is so full of magic. Things happen all the time.

[00:04:58] It just so happened that two other women who were right there on the train platform, both lived within, like, we all live within five blocks of each other. So we all got into a car and, um, and drove down. But like I was telling you before, this is the only city in the world where you can hail a cab in a snowstorm and the cab driver gives you shit for being out in the snow. It's like, we're, we're paying you. Yeah. Three or four times. Cause I was, I ended up sitting up front with him three or four times. He was like, what are you guys doing?

[00:05:27] And I'm just like, Oh my God, please. I'm a grown ass woman. Okay. I needed to get my kids where they needed to go. I don't need to be lectured. Um, um, but yes, I'm never going to be. Yeah. I mean, it is like, it is very lovely. I just, I know you don't like snow, but I think it's lovely. It's actually not even snow now. It's just ice falling from the sky. Yeah. So it just now looks like it's just tinsel coming down. So I think it's kind of great, but my dogs don't love it because here they put salt everywhere.

[00:05:58] So they're walking around on the sidewalk and their little paws are burning. And this morning they were both just like whimpering. I felt so bad, but now there's no one out. So I just walked them literally right in the middle of the street because there's no cars, nothing. And the snow is, you know, up to your ankles. So yeah. Yeah. Um, winter fun. Uh, I mean, I we're trying, I'm, I'm doing my best. The kids help the kids help cause they, they like going outside. So that, that, that is a big help.

[00:06:26] I never miss a chance in this podcast there to talk about a musical. So you went and saw a little shop. Yes. We saw a little shop before us today and it's great. I mean, my, I went with my youngest, my six year old. It was the first time that she sat through an entire show of this at this level. It's an off Broadway show. It's on, um, on 43rd street theater there. It's been there for a couple of years now. And, um, I'm just, I'm so ridiculous. I, there's something wrong with me. I mean, I grew up, my father was a set designer.

[00:06:56] And so I grew up in Manhattan Plaza, which is right on 43rd and ninth. And, and so I used to go to Broadway shows all the time and off Broadway shows. And of course, every single play that my dad did set for. And then I was an actress for many years. So it's just inundated with the theater, but there's something about musicals to me. Like when people start singing and dancing, sometimes it doesn't even matter what they're singing and dancing about. I immediately have to cry. I don't know. I don't know. I'm jacket.

[00:07:25] This is like, I get for clumped. I get, I get so moved that I just cry. So like three times during little shop, I'm just, I'm crying. And my daughter's like, are you okay? And then she kept testing me, but she doesn't like, look, she's got to like poke and just make sure that I'm not, you know, wet in the face. Um, so yeah, it was a lot of like her monitoring to make sure that her mother was not losing it. I don't know what it is, but especially like the, the, the chorus girls in that show, the, the, the three chorus girls.

[00:07:55] Oh, they were like so great. And the woman who played Audrey was just, she was absolutely phenomenal and really, really moving. And so, yeah, I I'm like exhausted now because I cried my way through the shelf of horse this afternoon at a matinee. Well, that's okay. It's a, it's a great show. Little Shop of Horrors is one of my favorites. Um, it's so good. It's so good. I grew up on it, but I just, I, I feel bad for every, every Seymour since, uh, since Rick Moranis, because he really, he just nailed it.

[00:08:24] So it's, it's such a high bar. Um, but yeah, I think last time we talked, we talked about Kiltrain. Last time. Yeah. And did I tell you that I've always seen that as a musical, like a stage musical? Yes. I think you, I think you might've mentioned it. Yeah. I mean, I'm developing it for TV right now, but I've always thought that that should be, I would be such a bad-ass stage musical. And I was thinking about it again today. I was like, I wonder if we could just like do like a pop-up show in the subway or something.

[00:08:53] Cause New York is the kind of place where you can do that kind of thing. Um, yeah, you could, I, the fun thing though, about like a music. Well, first off, there are so many musical that, that people wouldn't think are musicals a lot. Like there's, you know, there's a ton that make it to Broadway, but bringing a musical to Broadway and, and you know, this, you know, listeners, if you're not familiar, it's unbelievably expensive. And so, you know, there's no money makes no money. There aren't many.

[00:09:21] I mean, every once in a while, something hits and does make money, you know, but for every like Les Mis or cats or Hamilton or a book of Mormon, there was like a glory days that opens and closes on like the same day, you know? So there's, there's a lot more of those, but, but there are a ton of musicals out there that like local and regional theaters do.

[00:09:46] Like I was, I was friends with, uh, folks that ran a theater group in Delaware and they did, I mean, they did evil dead, the musical. They, they did a star Wars musical. They did a toxic Avenger musical. So there's a ton of musicals out there that you wouldn't think. And like, right. Killtrain is something that is, you know, odd enough of a musical property, but that could definitely work. But the, but the idea of putting it like on a big stage with like, have like splash

[00:10:14] guards for the blood splatter splatter zone, like, like evil dead, the musical. But if you could do this on a rotating stage in order to simulate the, the, you know, moving from train car to train car, to train car. That's so funny. That's always been my idea that it's actually, it's just one train car, but it's split in half. Right. So that you're, you have your set deck people that are changing the set on the other side for when it rotates. That's so funny. All right. I think we can, we got to do this, Jimmy. We got to make kilter and the musical happen.

[00:10:43] Well, I would just like to say, I don't, I, that I, I did direct the, the, the Delaware regional premiere of evil dead, the musical. Did you? Yes. I've only ever directed a musical one. I only ever directed a musical once. And it was the, the Delaware premiere of evil dead, the musical back in 2008 or 2009. I saw it off Broadway and loved it. And then I told the people I was working with at this local theater and they got the rights and they're like, well, you're going to direct it.

[00:11:13] So it's the only time I ever directed a musical and it was a wonderful time setting up a splatter zone. And I had a great cast. That's awesome. Uh, yeah. So I know I, that, that's really my only experience ever directing a musical, but I, you know, sometimes you say something like that and I start to get ideas. So. All right. Well, at least I know where to find my director and Hey, maybe a cool theater. If they're doing stuff like that, that's awesome. Yeah. It's not what it used to be.

[00:11:42] It's not, um, it's, it's become so commercial. Um, and yeah, the, the, the, the quality has dimmed somewhat. I know they had a rough time during the pandemic, but the last few shows I've seen, I was, cause I, you know, I grew up next to Broadway and I was seeing these incredible shows. And this was during a time, you know, in the, in the nineties and before the nineties. Um, like, you know, leading into it, we had our own celebrities on Broadway.

[00:12:08] It wasn't, it wasn't Hollywood coming into Broadway and selling tickets, which I understand is kind of a necessity now, but I do think that the, the best theater in New York is not being made on the Broadway stage. It's, it's, it's the underground productions. It's the, you know, off, off Broadway productions, the workshop productions, you know? Yeah. So, um, so yeah, it's, and it's still, New York is still a place where if you, if you have a cool underground production that you put together yourself with crowdfunding, people will go see it. They will.

[00:12:38] So, yeah, I've, I mean, I, I've seen some off Broadway stuff and I've seen some stuff that was off Broadway and still had, you know, like Hollywood actors or like known actors. Like, um, a friend of mine had tickets and who lives in Connecticut and wasn't able to, you know, uh, I think his girlfriend at the time wasn't able to go. So he had reached out to me cause he knows I like musicals and I didn't, I didn't really even know what it was.

[00:13:03] Um, but I just knew it was like off Broadway, but still, um, it ended up being, um, the, the, the David Bowie musical. That was like the sequel to, um, uh, what's the, what's the David Bowie movie? Like star man. The one, is that the one where he comes? He's the alien that comes to earth. It was at that point.

[00:13:27] I should have realized that the movie was the man who fell to earth, which David Bowie starred in and the musical was Lazarus. But I didn't remember that at the time and going back and editing it, I wanted to put a little voice note in here. So, um, yeah, there we go. But they did like a, um, they did a musical sequel to it that Michael C hall from like Dexter fame. Oh my God. Yeah, of course.

[00:13:57] And Kristen Milioti was in it as well. Um, you know, she's, she was like the mother on how I met your mother and she's been in a bunch of stuff since then. But yeah, it was, it was, I didn't know too much about it and it ended up being the night. It ended up being their first show after David Bowie had passed. And it was like one of the most, I think for the last 20 minutes, I was just like sobbing in tears.

[00:14:22] It was like one of the most moving theater experiences I had, uh, ever been a part of, but it was a phenomenal cast. I want to say, I think like, um, Anna Sophia Rob might've been in it as well. Who's done a ton of stuff on Broadway, but yeah, it was, it was great, but I love Broadway. I love musicals. So, um, all right. Oh, but I guess, I guess we should talk about comics. Um, we could just talk about New York and Broadway, but, uh, so a couple of things.

[00:14:51] I was so excited. I got to actually meet you in person at Baltimore comic-con this past year. And I'm going to be back this year as well. Um, they're giving me a guest table this year, which I'm so, I'm so honored. So yeah, I've moved up in the ranks. Yeah. It's really awesome. So maybe I'll have one, like a big corner table and maybe they'll still put me in artist alley, but either way I'm it's free. So yes, I felt extremely honored, but that, I know it was wonderful to meet you in person.

[00:15:17] It was like, it took me a minute because it was out of like, you know, now it's IRL. Um, and yeah, you were there with your kids. Yeah. Yeah. My brother and I were there and we both, uh, took our, our, our oldest daughters. Um, Charlotte's 13 and my brother's, uh, my brother's daughter Autumn was 14. It was their first like comic-con. So it was right around my daughter, uh, Charlotte's birthday. So yeah, they had a great time. They, that's great. They walked around, they got some stuff signed. They bought some things.

[00:15:45] They, you know, they had a, they had a nice time. So it was, it was wonderful, but I was going to say that I, I picked up the trade of, of Kiltrain as, and I also picked up, um, uh, a Mary Shelley, uh, monster hunter. Yeah.

[00:16:00] As well, which I really, which I really enjoyed you and, and Adam glass and the artworks by done by Hayden Sherman, which like, I mean, I think he did that back in like 2018 or 2019, but like the career, like Hayden Sherman has had. Yeah. The career Hayden and stuff Hayden Sherman has worked on since then is crazy.

[00:16:21] And, um, but Mary Shelley monster hunter was a ton of fun, but the trade getting to read everything again in Kiltrain, like in the trade, it's just, it's so good. Um, I listeners, if you still have not checked out Kiltrain, I highly recommend it. I just, I really love the story. Well, I told you the news about Kiltrain too, right? Yeah. Yeah. So we're, I'm, I have already written the first book of volume two.

[00:16:47] So, uh, the story goes on and, um, I won't, I don't want to spoil too much, but I will say that you might not need to be as afraid of the subway anymore, but if you're living in New York and you got to get to long Island, I might avoid the Metro North. That's all I'm going to say. Um, okay. Well, I can't, I can't wait. Um, yeah, I, I really, I, you know, it's Kiltrain is one of those stories that I think

[00:17:14] has a really interesting, you know, premise like, uh, like at, at first blush, it's kind of a, well, you know, not ridiculous, but it's, it's a, it's a somewhat of a, you know, farfetched kind of premise where you're like, Oh, they, they're, they're killing people on the, on the train in order to decrease the population. And it's like, well, that would, you know, let's set like the, the real, the, the real world of it aside, you know, like that's like your kind of outlandish premise.

[00:17:44] And I think sometimes stuff like that sounds really good and, but can be tough to, you know, land the plane in the, the execution, but especially the ending of it. Like sometimes you have these really great premise stories that don't always hit like a satisfying ending. And I was just so impressed with, with Kiltrain, like, because like that, the, that the ending

[00:18:13] of it, like that last issue is so well done. It is so well written, well drawn. And it is really a very cathartic experience. Like as a reader, I just so impressed by not, not just the story as a whole, but really how it ended. Cause I think that can be tough to do when you have such a, you know, a big premise and like a lot of story to tell.

[00:18:41] I think it can kind of be tough to really come to a satisfying conclusion. And I've really felt you just nailed it with Kiltrain. Oh, thank you. I really appreciate that. Yeah. It's, um, it's interesting. The, the feedback that I get about the ending in particular. Um, Oh really? Yeah. Because, um, you know, interestingly, a lot more men seem to have read this book than women, even though it's a, it's a woman's story. And I'm, I'm very happy about that. That's I, I think it's great.

[00:19:08] I think more men need to be reading women's stories just generally, but it's also exciting for me that it engaged them. Um, but there's like, there's a huge swath of these dudes that are like you that felt like, you know, the ending really paid off and they felt it and they were, you know, emotionally connected and they, they understood the message and the empowerment. And then there's a smaller group of men, but not insignificant that I can tell were made

[00:19:29] uncomfortable by the fact that the ending was a message of, of empowerment that, that it was a, it was a bigger emotional punch than anything else. And then of course you have like the very Hollywood, like, you know, I don't, I don't want to spoil it too much, but it's, it's, it's kind of like the, it's, it's the big Hollywood hero ending. Right. Um, that aside, the real climax is, um, it's completely emotional and has so much to do with empowerment and specifically female empowerment.

[00:19:59] And so, you know, my dad was actually one that was like, well, I, I don't know about that whole emotional ending. And I'm just like, oh man, you could just, you can tell the men who are comfortable with their emotions and the ones that aren't. And, um, I just, I, I feel like it's very telling and it's interesting because I think that with most books, when I would get that kind of feedback, I'd be like, oh shoot. But with this book, I, there's something very gratifying about the fact that some people

[00:20:27] are made uncomfortable by, by, by female empowerment. It's like, okay, I did something in, in such a, in such a strong kind of, um, well built and overt way that if you are not totally cool with yourself as an empowered dude, you might be made uncomfortable by this. I don't know. It was kind of, it was gratifying, um, either way. So, but you know, it's, it was a very complete story, right? That, that arc for Vanessa was very complete.

[00:20:55] So in crafting, you know, the arc for the second book, I really had to think about, well, okay, so she's already gotten to this place of knowing she's a badass and working through all of this past trauma and kind of like things that were done to her. So what would be the next step of that journey? And I thought, well, once you've kind of conquered and gotten past what has been done to you

[00:21:22] or what you've, you know, kind of suffered in your life, then you have to answer for what you've done. And so that really is the emotional journey of the second book is that, um, it starts out, Vanessa's a fugitive. She's, she's killed people, right? She wasn't supposed to escape this kill train. So now the city's after her and they are campaigning very heavily against her. They want everyone in the city to know that she's a bad person.

[00:21:51] And so they've dug up some stuff on her. And I was very, um, it was very meaningful to me that like, yes, these things are bad. And some of them are taken out of context, but it doesn't make them not true. So how do we handle the things in our past that we are ashamed of, uh, whether or not they're in context and even in contextualizing them, how do we not let ourselves off the hook? How do we deal with who we've been and where we've gone, um, in, in an adult healthy way

[00:22:20] and not like excuses for ourselves. Right. Which Vanessa would do. It's not in her character. So she's, she's going to pay for it. Um, but yeah, so that was, um, that's the journey of the, the second, uh, volume. And I won't tell you how it ends. Oh God, it's another, it's another kind of heartbreaker. I wonder, I wonder, I wonder, my editor would kill me. Mad Cape would kill me. Um, I want to read it. I want to, I want to experience.

[00:22:48] I mean, especially, you know, you wrote the, in the trade, you know, you, you wrote a little bit of, um, I don't know if it was like a, an introduction or. I always insist on putting an author's note in there. Like dear reader. I drive them crazy. You know, which I appreciate. I like to know that. It's why I do this podcast. I like to talk, like, you know, talk to folks about their story and about, you know, why they're, you know, making what they're making.

[00:23:15] Whether or not it's just, oh, um, this thing happened to me and this is how I deal with it. I, I turned it into a story or it's, or if it's just like, I had this like weird idea and I just thought it'd be cool. Yeah. Right. Whatever it is, let's talk about it. Doesn't, you know, um, you know, but, uh, I think I had read, you know, cause I, I had read kill train first and then went and like read the trade recently to kind of prepare, you know, for this talk.

[00:23:43] And something you had said in that, when you kind of see it, uh, come out in the comic book, um, is one of the more remarkable, you know, parts of it is how Vanessa really, you know, sees herself. And especially when her daughter says like, you're a great mom. And she's like, I'm trying. And like, you kind of see her kind of, you know, kind of come to terms like with it's, you know, you can see that Vanessa feels like a failure for over a lot of things or a struggle.

[00:24:13] And she's struggling with a lot of different things. And that's a big part of like kill train, her kind of coming to terms with how she sees herself. Um, but yeah, doing that through, you know, her relationship with, uh, an old friend and then doing that through the relationship with her daughter. I just, and it's surrounded by so much blood and guts, so much viscera, like listeners. Don't, don't get, don't get me wrong. Don't get me wrong.

[00:24:39] If you, if you listen to the first kill train episode, this is going to be, we're going to talk about the college tribe promise. Cause I love that too, but this is like kill train part two. It is this really, really emotional story about this woman coming to terms with how other people see her, how that does not match how she sees herself. And then there is just so much beheadings, so many beheadings.

[00:25:06] I mean, I wanted to do like the heading count. Yeah. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's unbelievable. And then the, the odd thing is like, you could have told a story like this that was as emotionally resonant and covered this theme. Uh, and you could have done it in like a million different ways. And the fact that it works so well in something called kill train that is so bloody disgusting is absolutely. One of the things I love about comics.

[00:25:36] This is like a story about it. This is like Gilmore girls, but they're, but everyone's getting murdered on a train. I don't think you understand what this comic is like. I've never gotten that comic before. That's amazing. That's amazing. That's great. Yeah. It's like, I I've gotten the purge meets speed, uh, but on the subway train, but the speed meets Gilmore girls. That is amazing.

[00:26:03] You have to account for the, the, like the emotional. The emotional relationship of Vanessa and Corwin. And then Vanessa and, and, and Kay, you know, the purge meets speed. It doesn't, doesn't do. I think that, that the emotional quality of that justice. But, um, yeah. Yeah. All right. Enough about kill train. Everybody go read kill train. Go get it, please. You can still get it. And they're going to be like a two. So you got to read one to get ready, uh, to get ready for two.

[00:26:32] But now we're going to totally switch gears. And if you want a signed copy, I, uh, I just got, I just got a bunch more copies from the publisher. So if you want a signed copy, you're welcome to order through my website. So unfortunately you have to pay for shipping. If you order it from me, I'm sorry, but I don't charge anything extra for the signature, but, uh, yeah, you can get a signed copy from me if you want. But anyway, yes. Onto the college track. Well, I'll put links in the listeners. As always, I'll put links in the show notes for, for all that stuff.

[00:26:57] So you'll be able to just click on a link in the show notes and then it'll take you right to those places to either Maverick and mad caves website or Olivia's website. So now we're going to totally switch gears. Um, completely, completely. No, I don't, I don't really think there's any blood and guts in the college try. Um, but what, uh, like what a wonderful story.

[00:27:24] I mean, I, I love kind of like time travel-y stuff. I know magical realism is the best. It really is. Yeah. So the college try Rachel goes to her, what? 20 year. Reunion. Yeah. And ends up going back to her, to her sophomore year, like in college, like, uh, just wakes up and she is in the body of herself when she was in a sophomore in college.

[00:27:53] I, I do though. I was, I, I don't complain a lot. I like to keep it positive. Oh, that's okay. Come on. Give it to me. But I want to say, uh, I got to page three of the college try and Rachel is on a date. And, uh, she says, it's like men in their forties are so old. They don't even want to try anymore.

[00:28:19] So that as someone who's 46, I mean, I know I'm not out there dating. I'm married, uh, and I, two kids and all that, but still, it was a little hurtful to read a sentence that had forties and so old in it. So, okay. But look, she's in her forties too, right? She's in her forties too. Yes. She's ragging on dudes, but come on, Jimmy, you know, story structure in the beginning. I do. The character has unlikable qualities and she's not behaving well.

[00:28:47] And we're going to see this whole arc to get her to realize that she's been going about things all wrong. So, yes, actually, but the opening scene was kind of to show like why she's terrible at dating. And yeah, if you're going to insult a dude to his face, it's not going to work out well. I'm honest. He didn't seem great to be, to be honest, but, uh, he was fine, but he had cats. Yeah. Yeah. He had a lot of cats.

[00:29:14] I, I, I did love the fact that Rachel, uh, you know, Rachel was a standup comedian. I mean, one, because I'm just a fan of, of standup comedy. And I do think, I think it's, I will, would hope that now and you know, 2026, like things do change, but I really do think like female comedians in particular, female standup comedians, like, like historically speaking, have had a much tougher.

[00:29:43] Go at it. Like they, I feel like sometimes female standup comics can get away with a lot yet less there. There's a lot more criticism on them. I do feel like, I do feel like it, it, it's changed somewhat, but I mean, I'm not in standup comedy, so that's just anecdotal.

[00:30:02] But I was very, very briefly, uh, when I was in my very early twenties and I had just moved out to LA, I mean, everything about this book is personal and I'll get into all of it, but, um, yeah, I wanted, you got it. I wanted to make her a standup comedian because I want, I want, I love characters that are just funny. I love funny characters. Right. So I, she needed to be funny to me because I gave this chick so many unlikable qualities that if she wasn't funny and entertaining to watch and just like energize, you wouldn't like her in the beginning.

[00:30:31] And you have to like her to go on this journey. Um, but she really, she's got a long way to go at the start of the story. Um, but I did, uh, when I was in my very early twenties, I worked at the laugh factory. I was a hostess at the laugh factory. And when you're seeing comedy every night, it's, it's, it's like a rhythm. It starts to get into your bones. And I used to start, you know, thinking like a comic and I would go through my day and it was just like, it was in my head. I was finding jokes and I was just like, okay, well, why don't I try and do this?

[00:30:59] And so, um, I, of course I had all these friends in standup because I was working at the laugh factory and there was a little place in Beverly Hills. Um, that was being hosted by, uh, this comic, uh, Jay Davis, who's been comedy forever. He introduced me. And so she, she put me on one night. I even, I went up after one of my favorite comedians, Brian Scalero, who could not believe that it was my first time on stage. But anyway, so I do my set and I am so nervous that I don't even remember what happened.

[00:31:28] I had to like, my mom was there and I like had to ask my mom afterwards if anybody laughed. She was like, yeah, they did. It was fine. But I do remember very well. So I'm on the stage that there, there was a male, um, MC who was like, you know, going in between sets. I'm standing on the stage and like, there was like, it was like a half wall behind me. So from about like, you know, maybe like just above my waist down, there was a mirror on the back wall. And then it was like regular wall up.

[00:31:55] So I get off stage and the, and the MC that comes up after me said, well, I don't know what she was talking about because I was just staring at her ass in the mirror the entire time. Can I get an amen? Man. And everyone echoed him. And I, I was so hurt. It's like, I just, I had prepared my seven minutes. I had like the tightest seven minutes and I had gotten up there and, and, and gotten through it. And it was, it was like, it was a blaze.

[00:32:26] And that was, that was what I got after I got off stage. And I hated it, but at the time I didn't question it. It was like, oh, well, that's what I signed up for. It didn't, it didn't seem like, like something like wrong had happened. It was only years later that I looked, but when I was watching Hacks that I looked back at that moment and I thought, oh man, I should have torn that guy a new one. But I didn't, I just totally accepted it and moved on. But yeah, the comedy world for women.

[00:32:55] I don't know what it's like now because I'm not in it. But I do support it. I love Eliza Schlesinger. She's also exactly my age. She's like perfect for me. But yeah, it's a, it's, it's, it's a tough racket and you have to be, you have to be a very certain, you have to be a certain type of person to survive that. You have to be kind of tough.

[00:33:19] But as, as anyone in comedy can tell you, it's, you'll never meet a non-wounded comedian in some way, shape or form. And Rachel is very much that character. And the reason I wrote this book, you were, you were kind of talking about the premise. Yeah. It's, she, she, the reason she goes to this 20 year reunion is because, you know, she's single. Obviously we talked about how she's like terrible at dating.

[00:33:43] Um, you know, she gets this anonymous note and she convinces herself that it's from this guy that she dated in college that, uh, broke up with her sophomore year. So the only reason she goes to the reunion is that, you know, a chance to win him back. And then when that doesn't work out, she ends up getting punched in the face by this chick. And that's how she ends up going back in time, which sounds totally random, but it ends up like making sense later on.

[00:34:07] Um, uh, but yeah, so she ends up going back to 2003, which was a trip in and of itself to like write what went wrong because I am a huge quantum leap fan. Oh gee, quantum leap. Um, love me some Scott Bakula. That was like my only celebrity crush ever. Like not even, you know, James Vanderbeek from Dawson's Creek. Now I was, I was Scott Bakula girl. Um, so, but you know, of course the, you know, the, what she thinks needs to be right.

[00:34:35] It is, she's not exactly going in the right direction, but she, she figures it out. And, um, you know, a lot of this came from when I was at, it's such a weird Oberlin story to tell because I feel like anyone who like didn't know they were gay, but was gay going into Oberlin, like came out, like came out gay. Like, but somehow I, I totally missed the message and I like went in and questioning and like came out straight, but I wasn't, it was like totally, I don't know.

[00:35:05] I, I, I, I missed the boat. I missed the education. I spent too much time probably in the theater. Uh, but there was, um, I, I dated, you know, primarily guys, but there was, you know, this actually there were two chicks that I'd had crushes on. Um, when I was at Oberlin and, um, you know, one of the, one of them, I, you know, we kept like kind of, you know, finding each other year after year, but I never explored it. I never went for it.

[00:35:31] And I think, you know, at the time I always feel like I'm giving myself an excuse, but it was the early odds. It was, it was a little bit different. And the feeling for me very much was like, this was during a time where like coming out parties were huge. And every gay movie you saw was a coming out story. There were no stories about like gay people, just being, you know, like just normal folks that still like go to the grocery store. I don't know what I thought that like, if I were to entertain this relationship, I'd have to like walk around with rainbow flags everywhere.

[00:36:00] Like, I don't, I don't know what it was that I thought, but it felt like either you're all in or you're all out. And, um, I thought I had to change who I was. I didn't realize that that was none of that was very. And so I always looked back at this, at this time in my life and regretted it. Not for the reason that like we would have ended up together or anything, but just that I would have had the balls to do it. And to, you know, see what it was like and know that part of myself.

[00:36:29] Um, so that's, and I've carried this around with me for a long time. And the idea for the college try I had for a couple of years before, um, uh, Madcade picked it up. I, I haven't, I don't think I had pitched it that many times before. I think it just kind of happened, like, it just happened to be like a perfect open window for this idea. And I was like, Oh, here. Um, but yeah, it was really personal for that reason. And, and the banner moment. I did that. Really? I did that. I know.

[00:36:58] And I felt terrible about it. And so, but this is like how much of a dork I am. I've thought, cause, okay. So for those of you who don't know, and this isn't spoiling anything, but there's like, uh, there's a subplot in the story where in the past, Rachel made fun of this girl's banner. She made a, she made a school banner and Rachel didn't know that she had made it and she openly mocked it in front of people and really hurt this girl's feelings. And I did that.

[00:37:23] I had no idea that this chick had made this banner and, uh, I, I mocked it in front of some friends and she told me off later, but because I didn't know that she had made the banner, I didn't know why she was telling me off. I was just like, okay, cool. So it took me a little while to put the pieces together, but once I did, I felt terrible about it, but I never reached out to a pot. I mean, we weren't friends, but I never reached out to apologize. So I felt like all this time has passed. The apology has to be pretty big now.

[00:37:53] So why don't I put this story in a book? And, um, and it's, uh, you, you don't have the dedication page in the PDF that was sent to you. I don't think, but, um, I dedicated it to the two chicks that I had crushes on at Oberlin because they seemed to know a lot more about me than I knew about myself back then. And, uh, then there's also a dedication to Natalie and it says that I was a jerk and a half. So Natalie, if you ever hear any of this or read the book, if you ever find it, I'm really sorry.

[00:38:19] I really was a jerk and a half and I should have apologized to you a long time ago, but you know, 20 years. We're still here. Yeah. Yeah. That's, I think that's really sweet that you, that you did that. Um, I, I do. Uh, well, and it's, it also is kind of like a, a, you know, a pivotal moment in the beginning and like, you know, later on in the story. Um, yeah, it keeps coming back. Yeah. It does keep, you know, coming back, uh, to haunt Rachel or at least to be, you know, something that she has to, uh, has to deal with.

[00:38:49] All right, everybody, we're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. Y'all, Jimmy, the chaos goblin strikes again. I should have known better than to mention I was working on my DC universe meets Ravenloft hybrid D and D campaign on social media. My bad. He goes and tags a bunch of comics creators we know. And now I have to get it in gear and whip this campaign into shape so we could start playing. Another friend chimes in. Are you going to make maps? It's fair to say it's been a while since I put something together.

[00:39:18] So I guess question mark. It was then that I discovered Arkenforge. If you don't know who Arkenforge is, they have everything you need to make your TTRPG more fun and immersive. Allowing you to build, play, and export animated maps, including in-person Fog of War capability that lets your players interact with maps as the adventure unfolds while you, the DM, get the full picture.

[00:39:42] Now I'm set to easily build high-res animated maps, saving myself precious time and significantly adding nuance to our campaign. That's a win every day in my book. Check them out at Arkenforge.com and use the discount code YETI5 to get $5 off. I'll drop a link in the show notes for you. And big thanks to Arkenforge for partnering with our show. I think I'm going to make Jimmy play a Goblin Gorlock just to get even. Welcome back.

[00:40:09] I graduated college, what, like 2001? 2001. So, yeah, it was, it was, there was a part of this kind of like the nostalgia element of it because like Rachel goes back and when she realizes like, you know, what is, what has happened? She's now back in sophomore year of college. Like all the little nods to that, that period of time, you know, 20 years ago were like very funny. I know. I could have gone on for pages and pages with those.

[00:40:38] I had to put it all in one page, unfortunately. But yeah, so I only got in, I got in Skechers. I got in Blockbuster Video. I got in Bush Protesters. Yep. And a phone book. And a computer lab. An iPod. Yes. And an iPod. And an iPod. And an iPod. And JNCOs. JNCOs. The JNCOs I thought was really funny. Love JNCOs. Hang on to, if you still have your JNCOs, either put them on eBay or hang on to them. I think they're back now, right?

[00:41:08] They are. Oh my God. You should see the pants that my daughter is asking me to buy her now, my 11 year old. I'm like, I don't know. How are you going to walk in them? It's like, you're going to be a walking balloon person. But, but you know what? I'm not like my parents and I don't laugh at her. I'm like, fine. You want that? Here. See if you can pull these off. If you can, if you can shuffle your way to school and back in them, then you're good. But yeah, I loved all that, that aspect of it.

[00:41:36] But yeah, I like how, you know, because we see Rachel in the very beginning, she's kind of moved in with her friend Scout. Scout. And so Scout, they, they do each other in college. So Scout is back in the picture, but I like how she had a friend to kind of like confide in, you know, that, uh, she had, you know, to was able to tell Scout like, Hey, I'm, you know, I'm from the future. Although it's funny how there's like no way for her to prove it because all the things

[00:42:05] she really knows that they're not going to happen for like a long time. Um, but yeah, I, I, I really liked their, I really liked their, their friendship. I kind of really liked seeing Rachel kind of like having to do it all again. But yeah, I did like the quantum leap of it, you know, like for any, any quantum leap fans or, well, I guess for listeners who aren't familiar with quantum leap, Sam goes back in

[00:42:32] time and Al tells him what he has to fix and he can't leap to his next assignment until he fixes. But the difference of course, he leaps into different bodies and Rachel has left in for herself. So she kind of knows more or less like what's going to happen when, but she does. Oh, there's no, there's other nods to things that happened in the early odds because um, Rachel stages a flash mob.

[00:42:56] And if she were to have saved a flash mob in 2003, that would have been the first flash mob. But then of course, what she realizes that no one knows what a flash mob is. And so they get in trouble with campus security because they think they're flashers like that. Right. Yeah. Yeah. They're going to, yeah, there's a lot of fun stuff. And that's why it's interesting to me that, you know, they decided, Mad Cave Studios decided to put this under the Maverick umbrella because, you know, I mean, it takes place in

[00:43:22] college and these are young people and it's, it's a rom-com, but it's really four people our age, you know, it's. And, and anyone, I guess, who's, you know, fantasized about going back in time. And like that scene you were talking about where she tries to prove that she's from the future. I've, have you not thought about this a million times? Like if you went back in time, how would you prove to anyone that you had gone back in time? I know. I think about it. I think about it. I think about it all the time. I know.

[00:43:52] Me too. How would I do it? It was like, I don't, I don't, I don't know any, I, I think about it a lot. But, you know, it's like a fun daydream or thought experiment one because like I like the football, as we record this, the, the football, the AFC and NFC championship games are today. So I like watch football, but I don't watch it closely enough to like, remember, you know, who won what year. Like I couldn't, I couldn't do that.

[00:44:22] If I went back in time and they're like, Oh, who, who wins the world series this year? I'm like, I don't, unless it was the Phillies, I got 2008. I had, that's what I got. That's what I got. And I know that they lost in 93 to the blue Jays. So I got, I got two unless like, but if I don't go in one of those years, there's, I can't use that. I can't use a sport to prove, to prove it. But yeah. And you also can't use it for investment advice, which is another thing that I always fantasize

[00:44:51] about going back in time and telling people what to invest in. So that is also a scene in this. He ends up with a very handsome check when she, uh, which by the way, that's one thing that I kind of had to fudge because if, if, um, oh gosh, what is the character's name now? Bianca, right? Yeah. If she actually were to follow the advice that Rachel gives her in the past, she would have made so much more.

[00:45:17] Like I had to, and then I was like, okay, so what would like, oh, at first, okay. When I first drafted the book, it was like, she, Rachel's like, all I want is like, like 5%. 5% would have been so many millions of dollars that I felt like the readers would hate me. So I had to like make it 1% and then I had to like dial it back even from that number. Um, but yeah, that was, that was a really fun sequence. And it was funny because I think like that was one of the scenes where my editor was like,

[00:45:46] oh, can you cut this stuff out? And I was like, no, I cannot. I have fantasized so many times about going back in time and giving people investment advice that this has to stay. So yeah, I really, um, what was that movie where like the, it's, it's the dad and the son, like talking over a radio signal from the past to the present frequency. Do you remember? Yes. Okay. I remember how he tells you to invest in Yahoo.

[00:46:16] I think it's Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel. Isn't that it for frequency? Very good. Yeah. But then, uh, there's also, there's another actor in it. It was also like in Truman show and I'm forgetting his name right now, but he's the one they tell to invest in Yahoo, which is so funny now. Cause like, did you, but anyway, I always loved that scene. So, and I loved that movie. So that was another, like, probably like subtle inspiration for this as well.

[00:46:46] No, I, I really, I mean, I thought it was, I thought the book's very funny. Like I really laughed throughout a lot of it. Um, I, I mean, I don't know how much I, I, like, I thought Rachel was fun to watch. Um, or well look at, I mean, it's not a movie, but like to, to, to read and like, you know, go through the panels. Like I, I thought she was a bit of a disaster. I thought it was like kind of fun.

[00:47:12] I don't know how much I, I, I liked her until maybe halfway through the book. Right. Like when she kind of started to get it, I, I really did. Um, you know, um, I really liked Scout. I kind of, I, I thought I liked, you know, how, um, you know, cause they're trying to make their, their, their movie for the, like the project that they're doing. Um, that I, and I liked a lot of the, the, the other characters, like the, the, you know,

[00:47:39] her core group of friends, Bianca, you've already mentioned. And I, and Matt, I think was, is the other, is the other guy. Yeah. Um, and then, uh, yeah, I really, I really liked a lot of the, the characters in it. I really liked the friendships and interaction. I, I really liked her trying to figure it out. And I thought the, the interesting thing about Rachel character wise is she is kind of

[00:48:04] so obsessed with thinking that she knows what, like rather than, I think if it were me, right. And I go back in time and I got to figure out what it is. Like I'm much more of, um, uh, much more cautious in terms of like, what is the plan and executing it? Like Rachel is so confident that she knows what the right thing to do is that she just flings herself in any direction.

[00:48:32] Like to sometimes like, like not great consequences. And, you know, I mean, I, I, I admired that a little bit that she was a bit of her like own worst enemy and trying to figure out what it was. But like once she kind of like settles in and it starts to click. Um, you know, she's, she is, she is very sweet. She's got a big heart. You know, she just sometimes gets in her own way. And I just thought, right. I don't know.

[00:49:01] That's, that was, I mean, you wrote her. That's just what, that's just what I thought when I'm reading it. But no. And I, it's, it's, uh, it's a really important note because I think, you know, when you're constructing these stories where you have a protagonist that, you know, has a long way to go, right. You know, you want to give them, they say that you can, you can construct a pretty gnarly anti-hero as, but if they're good at their job, then people will want to watch them, which I thought was really interesting. Okay. So I kind of took that advice.

[00:49:28] I knew I wanted to take a deeply flawed person and take them on a journey of, of self-realization and coming out of it on the other side, a better person. And to really have those journeys kind of pay off, you need to start them in a place where you don't really dig them that much, but she's funny and she's good at her job, right? She, she can make people laugh and, you know, she says things that are funny. I, the opening, God, the, the, the jokes I like, it took me so long to settle on what jokes to have in that opening and the date, the, the, the golf course with the putter

[00:49:58] in the, then there's a, a Terminator reference. Like it was, that took a really long time. Um, but another, a way that I feel like, you know, for any of you that are creators out there or wonder kind of like what goes on, uh, when you're thinking about, okay, so how do I create an unlikable character at first, but you're, the audience is still rooting for her. And I think the key to it was exactly what you said. It's scout because even if you're not rooting for Rachel necessarily,

[00:50:28] in the beginning, you're rooting for scout because the, the reader knows immediately what's up for the most part. There might be some guessing. I think so. Like you, yeah, you know, pretty, pretty like shortly into it. Like who wrote the note, who is in love with Rachel and you know, you, you want to see, you want to see her get what she wants. So again, even if you're not necessarily rooting for Rachel, you're like, Rachel, you're such a disaster case. You're still sitting there going, I really want to see scout get what she

[00:50:57] wants. Please fucking figure it out already. So, um, so I think that that's, that's a way that you can have these types of, you know, kind of controversial, you can, you can have a protagonist that the reader would not want to have lunch with at first and still follow the story. So it was, it's interesting. You're, you're not the first person to say that. Like at first I was like, Oh, but I loved scout. So, so it's, yeah. You still follow the story.

[00:51:27] Oh yeah. And I mean, it, it does like, and some of the things you put in there, like, like you said, like it's, you know, this isn't a, this isn't, this isn't a thriller. This isn't a mystery where you're trying, you know, like Rachel's trying to figure stuff out. It's a, it's a big departure from the blood and guts we were talking about earlier. Well, it is a big departure from that, but, um, I mean, structurally, structurally it's sound. Um, and it is very funny. And I do, I do really enjoy, I did really enjoy spending time with these characters.

[00:51:56] And I mean, and I just, I mean, I, I, I, I said this already, I'm repeating myself, but the way that Rachel just is convinced she knows, like even before she goes back in time, like when you said the reason she goes to the reunion is because she thinks this guy wrote this note and he went, he's got, he wants a meter after like, I mean, it has been 22 years and, uh, this guy, she dated sophomore year of college and scout is just like the guy that like

[00:52:25] made you breakfast and then broke up with you. Like I did, did, did you date him for four months? It's like, and she's just like hell bent on. I know what's up, but like that is credit. The note does. I mean, there are like a lot of similarities to that. You know what I mean? And you can see why she would have put those pieces together. Oh, oh yeah. I can see. Yeah. I can see why, but it does. It makes sense as to why she does it,

[00:52:51] but like all those little things that you kind of seeded into it, I just think were, you know, where they were good for the story and they were good for scout and like Rachel's friendship. But they, they also told a lot about both of their, you know, characters, I think as well. Like one of those things you can put into a story that tells you a little bit about what's going on and tells you a little bit about the people. Like the fact that Rachel was still so convinced it was Jason Smith.

[00:53:22] And the fact that the fact that scout, you know, um, was just like the guy you dated for four months. Uh, I just, yeah. So I really loved it. I just, it was such a departure. I mean, I, yeah. So in between shoveling, I reread Mary Shelley, monster hunter, Kiltrain and the college fry. So I've had it. I've had a day. Um, a lot of emotions. I'm feeling, I'm feeling a lot of things. A lot of women's issues.

[00:53:53] Well, you know, I got a wife. I got, I got two daughters. So, you know, it's, I'm, I'm getting an education. It's good. It's good. We're growing. We're changing. Yeah. Yeah. You're already inundated. I guess it's a good thing that you like musicals and you know, you're, you're, you're well suited for where you are. I am. I am. My, my, my oldest daughter. Reading all of that. Yeah. No. Oh, my pleasure. Um, I was excited to get to talk to you again, but my oldest daughter, Charlotte, the one who you met,

[00:54:22] who was at Baltimore comic-con with me, she, she's really into musicals. She's doing her school show. They're doing Shrek. Junior this season. So she's into, she, she's donkey. So she's really excited about that. Oh my God. That's great. Yeah. And, uh, in the spring, what a great part. I know. We're very, very, very excited for her to do that. And then, um, in the spring, I'm taking her to Philly to see, uh, the, the outsiders musical. We haven't seen that yet. Oh, yeah. That's here.

[00:54:50] I don't really know much about it. Um, is it supposed to be good? I live under a rock. All I do is like write comic books, pitch comic books, write TV pitches. Like I, I, people were getting on my case cause I haven't seen Sinners. I haven't even seen, um, oh my God, this new show that's on HBO that everyone's talking about. Heated Rivalry. I haven't even seen. Oh yeah. I haven't. I, I only just started watching the pit because my wife started to watch it. So season one.

[00:55:19] Uh, I, I, no, I started on season two. She had watched season one without me. So I started on season two of the pit. Okay. Well go watch season one. It's really, really good. And I'm glad that they survived because, you know, I think there was a pretty big lawsuit. It was supposed to be ER too. Yeah. And then I heard like, Oh wait. Sorry. I heard this. I heard that the, I, um,

[00:55:50] I heard that the estate who has the rights to ER wouldn't give them the rights to basically have Noah, Noah Wiley's character be the same. I don't think it was. Well, I don't know what I heard. It wasn't that they were withholding the rights, but they wanted to be paid for them. And the production realized like, Oh, well we can get around paying if we just make him a different doctor. And they kind of got caught. That sounds like a very Hollywood, Hollywood lawsuit. Yeah.

[00:56:20] It also like when I heard about, I was like, that's totally something I would do. Um, but yeah, so I've, I've, I've started season two, boxed a couple of episodes. That's very good. I haven't seen sinners yet either. I got to watch sinners. I want to check that out. Yeah. Especially since now like 16 Academy award nominations, I got to watch it. So we have to watch it. I know. I just, I just started it, but I'm terrible. Like I can't, I, I realized my whole life.

[00:56:49] I think I felt bad about the fact that like, I don't know 90% of the movies that like cinephiles reference and like TV people and all of this. And I've just accepted that there are people who make things and there are people who watch things. And I just, I'm just someone who makes things when I sit and watch things like my, um, I had now have like two failed marriages under my belt. And this is probably why, although I, I have to give credit to the second one because he never gave me any shit about this, but I cannot sit through anything.

[00:57:18] I get up constantly. I like want to get something else to drink. I want to like go check my phone. I'm going to like, you know, get another snack. I go to the bathroom like 15 times. I, there's something about me that like, if you ask me with sitting down and watching a show, like I just, I can't, I cannot relax. But if you sit me at my computer and it's like, you know, write a, write a pitch or an outline, like I won't get up until it's done. It's, it's very, very strange. And it's sad. It's sad for me because I have this beautiful couch and I look at it all

[00:57:48] the time. And when I'm tired, I like, I fantasize, I'm just going to be on my couch and get some popcorn. I want to watch a movie. 15 minutes. And I'm up walking around looking for something to do. It's terrible. Well, well, we'll both, we'll both try and watch sinners. Um, yes, I, I used to watch it. I used to watch everything. Like when, when Netflix first came out and you could get the DVDs through the mail,

[00:58:12] I went through AFI's top 100 movies and I watched every one of them, uh, that were available through Netflix. And then, I don't know. maybe that's, maybe you're right. Maybe that's what it is. Cause like right around the time. And I had kids. Then I had kids. And so that stopped it for a while. But now like in the past five years, I've, you know, I've had the podcast and then I started writing comics myself.

[00:58:41] And now I say, well, okay. You have something of yours to read and then we can do this in reverse. Um, my, well, I listeners of the podcast know, but my, um, yeah, my, my first, it's at all ages. It's like a kid's graphic novel is coming out through paper cuts. April 21st. It's called Penny and the Yeti. I'll, I'll send you a copy there. I'll send you a PDF if you want to read it. You're working with Mad Kid Studios too. Yeah. I am. It's all in the family. Congratulations,

[00:59:11] Jimmy. That's huge. I can't. Yes. Oh, wait, I'm very excited. So we're probably going to be like signing books together and stuff at some point. Maybe. Yeah. I gotta, I'm, I'm trying to figure out what it is I'm, I'm, I'm going to do, but my local comic shop is going to have a signing on May 2nd with, you know, traditionally free comic book days. That'll be my first signing. Um, so yeah, I'm looking forward to it. You said, okay, so it's coming out in the spring. So, uh, you have to come to New York comic con in the fall then because Mad Cave Studios always has a big ass booth and they have signings like

[00:59:40] all day long. Yeah. I'm trying to make that work out. Yes. Oh, great. Well, I'll send you a, I'll send you a PDF of it. If you want to check it out. No pressure. I would love that. Okay. Well, thank you. but Olivia, this, this has been, uh, an amazing way to spend a Sunday evening after, uh, walking dogs and, and shoveling the snow. Um, listeners, uh, if you can,

[01:00:09] if you can still get it, uh, or, I love it on my website too. I have a bunch of copies. Oh, okay. I will put a link to the show notes as I said, but kill train. We got everyone. You got to kill trains. Amazing. You got to read kill train before kill train too. But yes, the college try. I, it is a rom-com. It has some, some, some quantum, uh, leap in its DNA, but it, it is just,

[01:00:39] it is a wonderful story. It was so funny. Um, and I, I really loved it. So it'll be out February 18th. Um, it's coming out through Maverick. It's time for not Valentine's day. Yes. Just, just in time. Well, you know what? If you have a crappy Valentine's day, then you can go and get this. And you're like, Oh, what a lovely, lovely story. I wish I had this story, you know, but hopefully everyone that listeners, you do have a nice St. Valentine's day. If you know, you celebrate that sort of thing, but Olivia,

[01:01:09] thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you, Jimmy. all right. Listeners rate, review us, do all the thing they tell you to do about podcasts. As I say in every episode, cause it, it really, it does help. And yeah. Uh, thank you so much for listening. Um, good night. This is Byron O'Neill. One of your hosts of the cryptic creator corner brought to you by comic book Yeti. We hope you've enjoyed this episode of our podcast. Please rate, review, subscribe, all that good stuff.

[01:01:36] It lets us know how we're doing and more importantly, how we can improve. Thanks for listening. Okay, Nicola, Quizfrage. Homeoffice-Bastade oder Fahrtkosten? Was bringt uns mehr? Moment, ich check das kurz. Oha, Homeoffice gewinnt. Bringt uns 150 Euro mehr im Jahr. Ja, richtig. Aber wieso weißt du sowas? Weil, Wieso Steuer die Erstattung live anzeigt. Das ist einfach die Steuer-App für alle Fälle. Ja, und Fragen beantwortet sie auch. 24-7 und ohne Beamten-Deutsch. Das ist einfach die App,

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