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If you love late-bloomer romances, sex-positive storytelling, and YA coming-of-age vibes, today’s episode is for you.

In this conversation, I chat with debut author Zakiya N. Jamal about her two 2024 releases — the YA romcom If We Were a Movie and her upcoming adult romance Sparks Fly. We dive into the behind-the-scenes of book packaging, the realities of writing two debuts in one year, and why she wanted to flip the virgin-trope on its head. We also get into her writing process, K-drama obsession, telenovelas, Turkish dramas, and the book recs she’s currently loving.

📚 Books Mentioned 

If We Were a Movie by Zakiya N. Jamal — YA Romcom | \Coming-of-Age | First Love| Audio ✅

Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal — Contemporary Romance | Late Bloomer | Virgin Trope Flip | Sex-Positive | Audio ✅

The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson — Thriller | Campus Drama | HBCU Setting  | Audio ✅

Mate by Ali Hazelwood — Paranormal Romance | Werewolves | Steamy | Audio ✅

🕒 Timestamps 

[00:00 ] — Intro + Overview of Zakiya’s debuts

[01:00 ] — What If We Were a Movie is about

[02:00 ] — How she ended up releasing two debuts in one year

[03:00 ] — What book packaging is + how it works

[06:00 ] — Transitioning to her adult debut Sparks Fly

[07:00 ] — Rewriting the virgin trope: crafting a sex-positive late-bloomer heroine

[09:00 ] — Dating culture, late blooming, and real-life parallels

[10:00 ] — Plotting vs pantsing

[11:00 ] — Writing under contract + deadlines

[12:00 ] — Her favorite part of the writing process

[13:00 ] — Self-care: K-dramas, sitcoms, telenovelas, Turkish shows

[16:00 ] — Book recommendations she’s loving

[17:30 ] — Romance recs + non-romance reads

[18:00 ] — Where to find Zakiya online

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