[h2]Episode[/h2]
The guys talk about what they’re looking forward to at the Dreamspinner author conference in Orlando, as well as the brainstorming they’ve been doing to prepare for a pitch they’re going to make on a trilogy they’ll write together. Jeff takes a moment to talk about this week’s Hat Trick anniversary–it was three year’s ago that he signed the contract for the first novel. He also mentions the series being mentioned on Brandilyn’s Top 10 LGBT Fiction list that was released on February 28. Since the episode was recorded early, the listeners were referred to this page to see the answers to the question “As a reader, what’s your favorite POV and why?”

Jeff introduced USA Today best-selling author Sarina Bowen and called out the success that the book Us is already having while it’s in pre-order. Sarina then joined to talk about the upcoming book, which releases on Tuesday, March 8, as well as her writing process with Elle Kennedy and what’s coming up for her later this year (including the first book in the new Brooklyn Bruisers series). Sarina also asks the Question of the Week: “Which character archetypes are you just done with?”

Remember, you can listen and subscribe to the podcast anytime on iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, YouTube and audio file download.

[h2]Show Notes[/h2]
Here are the things we talk about in this episode:

• JeffAdamsWrites.com
• WillKnauss.com
• The Hat Trick Series by Jeff Adams
• Brandilyn’s Top 10 LGBT Fiction from Prism Book Alliance
• GayRomLit (GRL) website (registration for 2016 is Saturday, March 12)
• From Sarina Bowen’s interview:
  • Sarina Bowen’s website
  • Sarina Bowen on Facebook
  • Elle Kennedy’s website
  • Elle Kennedy on Facebook
  • Him by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy on Amazon
  • Us by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy on Amazon
  • Jeff’s reviews of Him and Us on JeffAndWill.com
  • The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen on Amazon
  • The Ivy Years Series by Sarina Bowen on Amazon
  • The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus on Amazon
  • The Score by Elle Kennedy on Amazon
  • Off Campus Series by Elle Kennedy on Amazon
  • Brooklyn Bruisers Series by Sarina Bowen on Amazon (for pre-order)
  • The Locker Room Group on Facebook
  • Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney on Amazon
  • Personal Days by Ed Park on Amazon

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[h2]Question of the Week Episode 21 Responses:[/h2]
While listeners can leave comments on the website each week, answers come in from various other platforms as well (and we can only read a few answers on the show). Here are all the responses we got to the question “As a reader, what’s your favorite POV and why?” Thanks to everyone who took the time to answer.

• Nancy: I really don’t notice point of view unless it interferes with my enjoyment of the story. I’ve read some first person that are too much in the character’s head and it can feel static, as if nothing happens. It makes the story seem very one dimensional and less interesting.
  That said, I really don’t think about the mechanics when I’m reading. Is the story good, are the characters interesting, do I care about what is happening? If it all works, I don’t think about the mechanics.
• Angel: It really depends, lol. I’ll say that I like third person past tense best – deep POV third, where you’re in the character’s head. Part of that has to do with an aversion to first person, and part of it has to do with that narrative distance you have with third. The reader has more of an option to form their own opinions about people and situations. Past tense? I want to feel like I’m being told a story.
  First person makes me think of A) terrible teenage fiction and B) porn. However – big however – when it’s done well, it gives you that immediacy that sometimes, especially in emotionally charged stories, you need as a reader. It ALSO gives you a limited viewpoint, less of a choice to disbelieve or discount the opinions of the narrator. In certain stories, this can make all the difference. (Carol Berg’s Transformation comes to mind. Again, first person present is more conversational, less narrative – just not what I prefer.
• Gillian: I read third-person and first-person very easily. I don’t really prefer one over the other. However, I do have a slight bias against dual third-person POVs. I’ve read a lot of romances where you’ll have the author show you one character doing one thing, and then switch to the second POV character narrating the exact same scene without giving us enough new information to make the retelling meaningful! That’s not a POV thing so much as lazy writing, but it does mean that I approach dual POV stories skeptically, until the author proves that they can pull it off. I also like a bit of mystery in my romances, and when you alternate POVs, you lose that ambiguity about other characters motivations. Of course, you make up for it in other ways.
• Amy: My favorite is whatever lends itself best to the story being told. For pure romance, I tend to like alternating 3rd person limited omniscient. For YA, I think first person often works well. And for lit fic, either single POV 3rd person limited or 3rd person omniscient work well (but the latter is really hard to do without head-hopping, which I find distracting and annoying). None of those are hard limits for me. If the writing is good, POV is typically the last thing I care about in a book.