'The Fake Santa Apology Tour' with Julie Olivia

I would like to welcome romance author, Julie Olivia. Julie, how are you? I'm good. How are you? I'm doing pretty good. So you have some pretty awesome romance books that are under your belt. And before we kind of take a look at a couple of those, especially one, since we're getting into like that Christmas festive time, tell us a little bit about who you are, where you're from, and what really sparked your interest into becoming an author? Yeah, so I'm Julie Olivia. I was born and raised in Georgia. And yeah, I've just kind of always been a storyteller most of my life. I wrote a lot of stories when I was growing up in like elementary school. And then I switched to illustration for a while. There was a lot of like, comic book work in there and things like that. But I, in college, I was a mass media arts major over at UGA and I did some script writing, some video editing. And after college, I joined a writer's group and I just like absolutely fell in love with the long form storytelling. And I discovered the indie genre, the indie romance genre. in like 2018 i think and my first fully finished book was a romance it was just the story could not get out of me fast enough i just absolutely fell in love with the genre so yeah i've been just writing it ever since um we're coming up on like seven years of my like first book being out which is just so bonkers to me like in the best way but yeah And so when you're just having like some you time reading, what would you say is like your favorite genre? Oh, definitely romance. Um, I like a lot of different genres. I mean, I've been a reader my entire life. Um, but romance is definitely, I mean, top fave. Like once I discovered it, there was like no going back. It was, it's so good. Yeah. And there's so many different avenues of romance, like so many different like tropes that come with it. So like, no matter, I feel like no matter how much you read romance, like you never get the same story twice. Oh, absolutely. And then, like you said, there's so many subgenres of it, too. Like, you might be reading cowboy over here, but then over here, you've got, like, dark mafia, and it's just, there's such a broad spectrum. It's, there's, like, something for everybody. Yeah, I remember because I'm a thriller and horror girly, but I used to be like really heavy on romance. Now I kind of do that when I kind of want to clear my palate a little bit. And I remember I read my first like Dark Mafia book like series and I was hooked. I was like, oh my God, it was the perfect mix. of like violence but love and everybody's tough but you're getting shot at. Like I just loved it. That's awesome. It's so funny too because like I'm the opposite of you where like I love horror and it's my palate cleanser. So like we we're reading similar things here. Yeah which is good that kind of gives you like good ideas for your stories which which I think is great. And so like I said as we get into the holiday season you do have a book out it's called the Fake Santa Apology Tour. So tell Tell readers a little bit about what's involved in this story. story. Yeah, so that is a novella I wrote a handful of years ago. It was such a fun book to write because the concept is that she only dates like mall Santas, like people who whose their job is to be Santa. And there's a lot more depth to it than that and things like that. But yeah, no, I mean, she just she's a children's book author and she snowed into this town and she She encounters someone who she. She met when she was much younger and he now, of course, looks like Santa, Silver Fox. Um, so yeah, no, they are just like, going around touring different mall Santas. It's honestly a difficult book to describe. But it was it's such a fun book. And I was in like a massive writing slump at the time. So it was like the book that like, ripped me out of it. And yeah, it just means a lot to me. So I love it when this time of year comes around. And I can talk about it again. Now, since you like horror... And we're talking about mall Santas. I'm going to go off key a little bit because there's a book I just read that I think you might like a Christmassy horror book. And it's called, um, the very naughty list and it's by Michael D a Clark and Clark is spelled with E at the end. And it's about a guy whose whole identity is his job as a mall Santa. And so he ends up getting fired because of like technology and like an incident that happens. And... He comes back for revenge. I'll just leave it there. I am into that. You said Michael D. Clark? Michael D. A. Clark. D. A. Clark. Okay, I'm going to have to look that up because that, yes, absolutely. Yes, and it's two books. So I only read the first one and it's like, I think 112 pages. So it's a really quick read. I read it within like a couple hours. And so book one is like... Kind of the rise and the fall. And then there's a book, too, that's supposed to take place, like, years later when he gets out of jail. But now people are, like, I think trying to pay him to, like, do all these, like, to get revenge on other people. But they don't want their hands tied to it. So he's kind of in, like, I'm Santa Claus, so I should grant you your wish. Who do you want dead type thing? Oh, I love it. Oh, that's a good rec. Okay. Yep. I am writing that down immediately. Yep. Yep. So cozy up to the fireplace and read. I'm starting to read. And so, Julie, before I let you go, is there anything else that you would like to say to fellow book lovers out there, especially as we're getting into the Christmassy time? Oh, geez. I mean, just have a good time. Like, I know that there's probably a lot of people out there who maybe wanted to do more reading this year or are really wanting to take advantage of the cozy season to read like, absolutely do it. Like enjoy that time. Enjoy wrapping up your reading this year. There's just like, so many good holiday books out there, whether it's romance or horror, just like cuddle up next to that tree or that fireplace and like, just go for it. But yeah. And then make sure you add Julie's book to your TBR so that way you can keep that list growing, especially if you're off work or get snowed in. There you go. So Julie, thank you so much for what you're doing and for taking the time to come and chat with me and fellow book lovers out there. Yeah, thanks so much for having me.