**Patron Saint of *Morally Grey* Romance: Monty Jay**

To say we’re obsessed with MJ is putting it mildly. They are the brilliant creator of not one but two cult-favorite series, *The Hollow Boys* and *The Fury*. Despite being deeply competitive in all things sports and games, their beautifully generous spirit shines through in every interaction we can see, from remaining an open line for their readers and aspiring authors to their instant dedication to the Patron Saints of Romance project. They are unapologetically authentic, unafraid to share their struggles alongside their moments of pure joy. MJ’s writing is a stunning extension of their passion and deep emotion that captivates everyone lucky enough to find their stories. And we mean *captivates —* they may be in the top percentile for inspiring series themed tattoos among their readers (we might even have one on our to-ink list). *To the Styx? To the Styx.*
Can’t get enough of MJ? Same. Don’t miss the release of the first book in the highly anticipated second-generation *The River Styx Heathen* series, Wrath of an Exile, dropping August 2024. For even more:
Website | MJ’s Loner Society | Instagram | TikTok
Monty Jay is a dark romance author with titles published in multiple countries. Their books are for hopeless romantics with wicked hearts looking for their next morally grey hero. They call the Appalachian mountains home, along with their two furry friends, Poe and Maeve. When they aren’t writing you can find them reading anything Stephen King, in a tattoo chair or binging a new true crime documentary.

MJ ON THE RIVER STYX HEATHENS, Hockey, ASTROLoGICAL SIGNS, AND CATS IN PUBLIC:

“If you explained this to a Victorian child they're gonna have a stroke.”

Patron Saints of Romance Collection Conversations Transcript

Monty Jay: Thank you so much for inviting me I'm really, really privileged to be a part of this opportunity. I'm very excited I don't know if it recorded me telling how excited I am about it it's great to just be a part of such a great cause and I'm just thrilled to be here.

Hockey is my love. I am a big hockey fan like probably one of the biggest hockey fan in the world actually not probably the world but like in my brain I am. I love the Boston Bruins that's my team! I will go to war for those men. don't... I am probably... I'm probably, I would say, like, above average fan. Like, I watch every single game and during playoffs I'm watching multiple games at one time. I, like, watch the draft. I watch hockey podcasts to stay up to date with things. It's very much so, like, my... I guess when I'm not writing, it's very, like... It's a nice place to go play solstice.

My dad is a huge sports fan, like the biggest sports fan ever. If anytime that you're at his house, ESPN is always on and he is a wealth of just random sports knowledge. We both played sports, like I played sports in high school and I had a scholarship to play softball for college and so we were like a big sports family, but just his knowledge of sports all around really kind of like inspired my love for sports also. Hockey just happened to be the sport that was like really it for me. I was like these men beat each other up on the ice with knives on their feet. That's crazy. There's no other argument than that really. No need another one. Like it's just and it's they lose teeth and go back out there like it's crazy. You know, like what other sport do you know that does that? Now take this tiny puck into this tiny net with this huge person in front of it with knives on their feet. That's crazy! If you explain this to a Victorian child, they're gonna have a stroke. You know? So, that's my explanation for my love of hockey. It is in me deeply. I actually did not grow up in an area, I grew up in the South, so hockey was not in the Big Four. It was football. I played, like, travel softball all up and down the East Coast, and I stayed with families, like, up East and they were big hockey people. And when I wasn't playing softball, we were at a hockey rink with little brothers, people on the softball teams. And that was how my love started. It was magical. I was like, I'm never leaving the sport ever.

Danielle with Violit Hour: Love that. And what made you kind of like translate that then over to assuming that your first series maybe wasn't the first piece that you were writing, did you kind of know? going in that like, this is going to be a subject matter for me to get into when it comes to really tackling a book series? Or how did that progression go?

I think it was more I was trying because when I first started, I was actually trying to decide if I wanted to continue school. I was getting ready to graduate. And I was trying to figure out if I wanted to keep going to school for psychology, or if I wanted to do something else and COVID like, it was like right before COVID. So in 2019, when I started working on Love and Hockey, as just a side project. And then COVID hit and everything was kind of like online. Nobody was going anywhere. I had all this time. I was like, oh, okay, I'm going to write a book. And I wanted to do something that felt familiar to me, something I knew a lot about. I know so much about hockey, plays professional hockey herself. And I was also professional. I was also not professional.

I don't mean to say professional, nobody blames me. I was also a very like heavily like sports person. I played sports competitively. So I knew what that was like. So honestly, you just kind of went for like familiarity because I was going into territory that was uncharted, kind of like going towards a career that I did not know would be successful or if anybody would like it. So I wanted to feel as comfortable as possible and sports was like the way that I wanted to do that and hopped into my favorite and talked about it all day every day at OutTalk, Don Cherry, and Hockey Talk. So this is my, this is my comfortability. I think I can form a series around this. And now that I'll be able to finish it and will enjoy it, regardless of if it's popular or if I'm successful at it or not. So I hope that answered your question. Sometimes I'm very bad at answering questions.

That was spot on. And I will also just say you were very successful at that. So thank you very much for doing that series. I love it so much. actually. So the way that I had to start reading your work was with the Hollow Boys series. So was a little bit later on in your writing career. Is that true, most start there?

yeah. The Hollow Boys are like my, I would say I'm like an infant author, which I don't really, it's really bothered me on the scale of success. You know, I just want to be able to do this for a living, write books. You know, that's a dream. I don't care what kind of success comes from that. As long as I get to sit in this chair and write stories, I'm a happy camper.

But I would say from my perspective, I guess on my scale of my success or popularity, that's everybody's go-to. The Hollow Boys is infamous — are readers' phenomenon. That's what everybody likes. Which is fine.

They're so, so good. Do you have a favorite?

Of the Hollow Boys or like my books?

Both actually would be the question but let's start with the Hollow Boys.

Okay so for the Hollow Boys my favorite Hollow Boy is probably Silas. It is definitely Silas, I love Silas. But my favorite book is probably The Blood We Crave Part 2 which is Thatcher and Lyra. So a little bit of a split there but Silas is my favorite Hollow Boy.

Good split actually. Have you found that any one of them tend to be more popular? Like is there a bigger following for one of the Hollow Boys? Is it Rook?

It's Thatcher. It's Thatcher. Thatcher and Lyra are a bit of like a cult phenomenon in like the Hollow Boy fandom. I feel like I'm saying these things and I need people to understand that I'm not saying that I'm a cult phenomenon, but like within my own M .J. Bubble here, Thatcher and Lyra predominantly are the cult phenomenon. They are, they ride or die number one. That is their, that's their pick.

So I laugh and I tell people all the time, the most highlighted quote in The Lies We Steal, which is the first book in the series about Alistair and Briar, the most highlighted quote is Thatcher's description. You're kidding! I swear, I could look it up right now and tell you how many, I think it's over a thousand highlights. You can look it up on your window.

That is so wild to me. I swear

Okay, I believe I know who everybody is most excited to read about, think, and it's was Thatcher. Thatcher's everybody's favorite.

my gosh, well they are a couple goals for sure, so it's definitely understandable.

I don't judge them for that. Like, I love them too, so it's fine.

Yep. And with them, so I was poking around a little bit on some of the teasers that you had shared about the next series and

Notice that there is a little bit of a second generation, not a little bit. It is a second generation storyline with the series. is there anything that you can share? No pressure, obviously.

What can I share with the next spin? It's fun. So I'm, I'm trying to out, can you sometimes have a problem with spoiling my own things by accident? I'm like Tom Holland in the Marvel series. They have to like keep a mouth with a muzzle on him so he doesn't spoil shit. Definitely. I love that. What is the next one? So the next one is the River Stakes heathens and it's all the Hollow Boys children. Thatcher and Lyra don't have kids, but they will be, they'll have cameos in the series. I can say that it is super, it's fun. It is rebellious, gritty and sexy and I love it very much. That's what I can say about it.

That's a solid pitch. We will take it. I am so excited to read it.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

Did you ever think going in that you would do a second generation or how did that kind of get inspired?

So no, actually. I actually told myself I was like, after I finished the Hollow Boy series, I think I might go back when I initially first started. First In the Lies We Steal I said, when I finish this series, I'll go back and write a next generation for the Fury, for my hockey series. Cause I had mentioned like maybe wanting to do that. But then I started getting into the hollow boys and I was like, I don't ever want to go back to contemporary romance. Actually. I really enjoyed being in this genre. I knew that this is where I wanted to be. When I first started, I just knew that. Comfortability wise hockey was easier and contemporary romance was easier for me. I didn't want to jump into something like the hollow boys when I first started, which probably silly on my part, because I went two different directions here. I built like a following for the Hollow Boys through like the hockey series, and then I was like, hey guys, by the way, just letting you know, we're gonna go over here now for a second, which was probably stupid on my part, but you know what, it is what it is. I don't think that's stupid at all, So when I initially started, hadn't planned on wanting to write a second gen for them, and then I was writing, I wanna say I had just finished the Blood We Crave part two and I was starting Silas's book and there were just I had wrote a bonus scene for Thatcher and Lyra and Rook and Sage and I talked about them having children or whatever and I was like — this character came into my mind. It was actually Ezra Caldwell who is Alistair and Briar's son this little voice was in my head and I wrote this like 5 ,000 word scene from his perspective and I was I'm gonna write a next-generation because after Ezra it just like everybody else kind of like came into place like I figured out everybody's stories and their titles and I was like this is perfect like I have to write them now and I'm very much so a like a creative like passion driven author and which is very difficult for me sometimes I hit writer's block way more often than I would like but if I'm not passionate about it I'm not gonna write it and that's just who I just have always been, I'm just gonna follow whatever passion is pulling me and they were like, yeah, ride us, ride us. And I was like, okay. So.

I love that. I feel like that passion comes across so well in your writing. You know, you can just feel it in those stories.

Thank you. I'm so glad you complimented me. Be laying on my bed, I'll cry.

You know what? You made me cry so much through your writing. I'm allowed to return the favor once.

You're returning the favor, it's fine. Exactly. I'll allow it.

I love the name Ezra, by the way, love a lot - your characters are so interesting and unique. When did they come into the equation for you as you're developing your story? Is it right away? Is it throughout the process?

No, they definitely come first. I'm a very, like, character-driven writer, so a lot of people are either, like, I mean, I think it can be a combination of both, like, majority of the time people are like, you're either plot-driven or you're character-driven, yada yada yada, they have like different categories for everybody. And I would like to say that I'm a more character-driven writer. My characters come first always, and then I'll build a plot around these characters that I've created kind of thing. So names for people are so important to me. Even if I do not acknowledge what the meaning of said person's name is, I want it to somehow tie into these in the books because I love an Easter egg. It's like my favorite thing. So a lot of it's just been like scouring Pinterest baby book names just like anytime a name pops up I have like a notes app where it has all of the names on there that I like for potential main characters and I just and their meanings and it just means a lot to me to like have a cool name and like the meaning is somehow tethered to what it like what I'm writing.

Absolutely! I love that you have the notes. I feel like the notes app has been a common theme in every conversation that we've done within this series, and I'm just like, we could probably publish a book just with all of the author's notes.

Anybody, I was going to say, if anybody got into this, into my notes app, my god. The amount of like, just quotes and snippets and character ideas and plot ideas that I have in this notes app? Geez. Well, like, you know, at 2 a .m. I'm like lying in bed and I feel like getting up and going to my computer. I'm like, let me write that down. That's a good idea. Drop it down. It's like conversations with people when I'm out in public. I'm like, wait, let me let me write that down for for later. So I write it down when inspiration strikes on whatever is available and most of the time with my phone.

And are there the boring life notes in there as well? Like, is it amazing epiphany about a character and then your grocery list or what's what's the combo?

That's so funny So like right beneath I have I have a quote for the I have a go for Wrath of an Exile Right on this first one and I'll actually share this one because I'm gonna be sharing it next week So it'll be like a little thing but it says in Ponderosa Springs this version of Romeo and Juliet isn't a tragedy Isn't a tragic love story. It's war. So that's like the first one I

And the one directly below it is my cleaning schedule. So it's like living rooms, vacuums, washbasins, clean towels. It's amazing. I have to have lists for things that I feel like normal people don't have lists for, but my brain needs organization. it's it's like quote, cleaning schedule, grocery list, quote, plot idea, plot device, tropes. Like it's all, it's a mess. It's a mess in

I need to clean it out, honestly. I have too many. I have too many right now. It'll plug, it's gonna plug me in till I clean it out now.

So you're very organized then. Is it in every aspect of your life or sort of more in the, I don't even know how you would put it. I mean, it sounds like that's every aspect, but as far as like organizing your thought process or like, is your, you know, like physical location also very organized? no. I like looked around my office.

I mean, yeah, I would say it's decently organized. I would like to say that I'm a disorganized, organized person. I like to have my thoughts in order. So like, I like to plan my day. I also have bipolar disorder. So, and one of the symptoms I have is, something that ADA people with ADHD also have problems with, which is like not being able to organize thoughts or like hyper fixation on certain things. So, when I wake up in the morning routine really helps me with my mental illness. So like waking up doing the same thing when I'm working every single time is very helpful and beneficial. And having a list where I can like mark things off so I feel good about what I've done today kind of thing really helps. So I try to make lists for everything. I do the same thing in my writing. I'm a plotter. I do not pants. Can never pants. Don't ask me to. I'll throw up. I'm a type A control freak who lives kind of sometimes in a disorganized space, but like, I know where everything is. If you don't, that's a you problem. I know where my stuff is. That's how I explain my organization. It's a little messy, but like, my messy. Like, I know that like, I have a ring in like the left drawer down over here that I need to wear like two weeks from now. Or like, there's a t -shirt in my closet that goes up in the corner.

You may not be able to see, but I know

Ordered chaos. I love it.

Yeah, it's my life. And it works. So we're just gonna keep working. We keep rolling. Don't fix it if it's not broken.

Exactly. Exactly. And when you write, so routine, could you maybe walk through even just like what a typical day would look like for you?

So a typical day. A typical day in my life. Um, a typical day in my life, I try not to work on Sundays. Sundays are my reset days. And like Saturdays usually hang out with people. Sometimes I don't, sometimes I'll work. But Monday through Friday, so like on a, I would say like on a everyday Tuesday, I will wake up probably around like 10. I'm not gonna front and say I'm like these homies who wake up at 6am. That's crazy! I don't have kids. I'm not waking up at 6am. So I usually wake up about, roll out of bed about 10, and then I do like journaling or I'll do a daily tarot, one or the other, both. And I like to stretch my body. I don't really do a workout in the morning, but I do like to stretch. I'll make coffee, I'll make breakfast, and when I'm writing a book, I'll make the same breakfast every single day until the book is done. Mostly because I feel like I'm tricking my brain into getting into work mode. So it's, we're getting up, we're having the same coffee, having the same breakfast. So my brain's like, okay, we're getting ready to go to work. That's what's happening. And then I'll get ready. I know that that's like a weird thing for people who work from home. They're like, why not just wear sweatpants and throw your hair out? I'm like, cause I'll go back to bed, okay? I need to feel as if I'm getting up and going somewhere or I'm gonna lay on the couch and binge Netflix. That's just who I am as a person.

Completely.

So I'll get ready and I'll sit down and I'll read what I wrote the night before, the day before or whatever. And then I'll jump in that way. But honestly, if I'm being honest, I usually don't write during the mornings. I do like my social media things. Like I'll talk to my PA about like what we're planning for the week when it comes to like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, whatever. So all my social media things, all of my branding stuff. And then I'll take a break. And then I write at night, because I'm a night owl, so I'll sit down and write at about seven, and I'll write from about seven to one a two a something like that. I'm a bit of a night owl. I'm a big night owl. I don't know why, but my brain just doesn't feel creative in the morning. I feel like my brain is firing on all cylinders at night, and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that nobody needs me. 10 p .m. or 12, everybody's asleep. Nobody's tagging me in things. Nobody's like asking me questions. Nobody like needs any information from me. Obviously I love interacting with people who don't be wrong. My task is, and everybody's asleep when I'm working, so it kind of like gives me peace. I don't have anything to worry about. I'm just kind of working. So that is, that's a typical day in my life. I don't know, it's very good, but that is, that's what it looks like.

No, I mean, that's amazing. I think all of the time about the fact that it is even different modes of your brain as far as like what a day-to-day with an author is required to do. you've got your business pieces, you've got your social pieces, and to shift into creative production. That's not nothing, like that is a different form of thinking and it's very hard.

It's very hard. And that's why I think I like to do that stuff in the morning. And also my brain takes so, I take so long to wake up. I'm like, I don't wanna do it. So like, that's why I do like the business side first in the morning, cause I'm, you know, half awake. And I don't need to be creative, I just need to like do the things on this list that I created for myself that I usually make like the night before before I go to bed after I write. It's like a well -oiled machine, okay? I do the thing in the morning, I do all my business things in the morning, all my stuff in morning. I'll take a break, I will go outside, I'll close my cats. We went to PetSmart the other day and I got them little treats, we had such a good time. Wow. I thought one of them was gonna lose their mind. It was the first time I'd ever went out in public and I was like never again. Never again, Maeve, never again. You are locked in the house forever.

Sorry, keep going. I really want to circle back to the cats.

But yeah, now I came home and then like I said, I'll sit down at like seven and at that point, I will have like rested. I've eaten. I've kind of like lounged around or like done all of my errands outside of my house. So for some reason my brain just wakes up. It's like, hello, we're ready to create. And I have like, another like dark academia feel in my office. So I click this light off, I have this mood lamp in here that like flickers like a candle. I'm like, yeah, this is it. There's no sunlight. It's dark and everybody's leaving me alone. So it just works for me. I wish that I could be the author that wakes up at 6 a .m. and have all their things done by four, including all of their writing. I commend anybody who's able to do that. I commend all of you because honestly, I wish I could be you. I unfortunately cannot though. You know what works though, you know, and so much is said and setting and like putting yourself in that space. Do you listen to music when you're writing or is it silent? no, it's kind of, I gotta have music. And that's like a big thing is like finding the right music because if it's not the right music, I won't be able to focus. I need something that I like and can kind of just like the beat and the lyrics and it's not something too much it's not something too little it's just right so it doesn't distract me too much I like listening to instrumental occasionally but sometimes it kind of like drowns me out because like the violins make me sleepy but I have to have like the right music so I'll take a long time to curate the playlist for the book so that I can kind of play it and it just mindlessly plays in my head and I'm not even recognizing it's there but it is there at the same time.

Is it typically the same playlist then like throughout a single book?

Yeah, I tell people this all the time all of my playlists are on Spotify, may I put them in my book, but all of my places my playlists are on Spotify and those are the ones that those are the songs that I listen to like over and over and over and over and over again like this is the same playlist the playlists I created for you listen to is the exact one that I listened to while I writing like I hope that any song I didn't listen to I put all the ones I did on it like this is the playlist that I listened to while I writing it I'm like it's right there I'm so sorry. are blowing my mind because one of the things that I love about the author community are the playlists. I never actually put that together that that is literally the playlist that you are listening to while you're creating the book like to me in my mind it always happened after the fact or something like this is the vibe.

No. That's incredible.

I have to, I want to listen to things that are the vibes. like, if I'm like Thatcher and Lyra, I wrote the majority of their duet to like three songs. and then there were a few others that were like sprinkled in randomly for certain chapters, but the majority of their book was like written to three songs. It's like on repeat, the vibes were just there for these three songs. I was like really like vibrating at the same frequency with the songs.

Yes! I stand behind this so much. I feel like just to be able, I'm also very routine-driven. like doing the same thing. I think it's so important to get into mindset. even throughout the week, I don't know if you've ever looked into writing about like why the days of the week are named as they are, but apparently like Monday is supposed to be Moon Day and not supposed to actually be like within our own American culture. We consider that to be like the day of productivity. But if you look at the way that the days are written according to, you know, the moons and the stars and all the wooey stuff, Monday is actually supposed to be like a slow reflective day.

I'm a little witchy, so I get it. Trust me. Yes. I have like a little witch shelf over here with all of my like tarot and my herbs and my books and my candles and my S -thun. All of that stuff is in right over there. So yes, I have like a, it's honestly like, I had this argument with my grandfather, the Farmer's Almanac is just the universe. I want to tell the men of agriculture so bad, they're knowing it. So I have like a 2024 like a witch calendar which shows you all like the important moons, the eclipses, retrogrades, all those things for you know like spring equinox and winter equinox and all the things for like spiritual rituals or healings and things like that. So I keep it up. And I was trying to, I was having an argument with my grandfather — was like, this is the same thing as a farmer's almanac dude. You do realize that where you're basing where you're cleaning your plants and when you're cleaning them based on the trajectory of the sun and the moon and the star and the star dude.

A thousand percent.

Like this is such a fact.

I mean, that is amazing. I've never thought about it that way.

I grew up in the South and I worked in a bookstore. So a lot of it was like men, like southern men would come in and be like, hey, you had this year's farmers all in that. And in my brain, I'm thinking you have no idea that you are no different than me saying I'm a Leo sun! You are no different than me. We are the same person and you don't even know it. But you know, I love it. It's cool. Connecting without being knowing ever connected.

Exactly. It's all about perspective, really. Can we quickly circle back to the cat in Petco and what the situation was? Are they on a leash? A carrier? Like what is happening?

I have a book bag for one and the other one has a leash. So I have a little book bag that has a little netting in it and it just sits in the book bag. And Maeve, who is my littlest one, she was in the book bag. can get on a leash because he's been taken outside before. And he bathes himself. He's laying somewhere in here. Or they're on the couch sleeping. I don't know. They're usually together. Poe is the oldest and he knows how to do it. He does it well on the leash. So we were he was on the leash and Maeve was losing her mind in my backpack. Because you know, gotta pet some of those other pets in there. You know, there's dogs. You know, all these things. It's very - odd to see a cat on a leash, I realize. So everybody spurs in the cat on a leash. And I was like, yeah. But she's losing her shit in my book bag clawing at the mesh to find out. She's like trying she's meowing. She's a very quiet cat. She doesn't really meow in house. I'm like, what is wrong? Are you okay? So I had to like, emergency purchase like this little she eats she loves the little squeeze patay things like this little like the squeeze of the and then like being licked or whatever. So I emergency purchase one of them, grab them, purchase them, give her it in the bag and Put her back in there so we can finish shopping. So she would calm down. I was like, I'm never bringing you out in public again. Your brother is behaving himself and you are being a menace to society right now. am crying. I know, like you're going to think I abuse you and you are treated like better than fucking regular humans. What are We're trying to normalize cats in the store and you're really going against the grain here. I know, normalize bringing cats out in public. They like being outside too. I am, thinking about — there's this house that we really want that we're looking into moving into. Cross your fingers somebody.

Everybody's sending good vibes for MJ getting this house.

But there's this perfect window to make a patio. I really want to make them one. It's like it built onto the window and it's basically just like a glass box that they can go out in and sit and have a little fun time. And I really want to because they really like going outside, even though Maeve acts like a jackass, but they really like going outside. They're really like window perches. They have the little hammocks in front of windows because they really like looking outside. I'm a heavy cat lady. I am a cat person. So I love it. don't have kids. Polly animal. Cats are my thing. that's great thing. Those are my children.

Is the house that you're looking at, because you are in North Carolina — is it local or you want to stay in the area that you're currently in long term? Is that too much of a personal question?

No, no, it's actually not. I'm an open book. I'll tell you anything. don't care. I am. It's not. It is local. I don't want to live here long term. It's actually a house that's it's for sale by like renter, like rent -a -own kind of thing. We live in an apartment and I don't really mind living in an apartment because I my dream is to build my own home and I don't want to live in North Carolina forever.

By the time I'm like a little bit older and you want to like settle down somewhere in the PNW or like in Maine, those are like, I love them so much. That's like my goal. But for right now, I just want more space. I want to have more space and we found this house that's like rent to this one. Please. Because I really want it, but I don't know if I'm gonna get it. So, crossing my fingers.

Sending all of the energy your way.

Thank you. I appreciate it. Nothing wrong with North Carolina. Can I just say I think that's fine. I still want to live in the South anymore. I really love the V &W. My aunt Lawa used to live up there and I used to spend some summers up there with her, so I just love the V &W. I love it very, very deeply in my bones. So. Well, I feel like it goes with the general aesthetic too. Like if you are most creative and like a, you know, dark and moody type of atmosphere, that's it. I don't like the sun. I want it to rain. I want it be cloudy. And I know that people say like, you say that until it rains all the time. I'm like, I'm saying that as somebody who wants it to rain all the time. If I'm so very serious, I don't like the sun. I don't go out in it. I'm clear. I'm translucent. Okay? I don't go out in the sun. I don't like it.

We're birthday twins and we are also like pale, pale, pale twins and I feel exactly the same way. I'm like, I think I'm developing an allergy to it. Like every time I'm out, just feel a little loose. I don't like it.

I mean, I'll go out because I know you need vitamin D to survive and stuff like that. But like, no. Which I think is funny because I'm a Leo and the sun is our ruling planet. And like everybody's always thinking about Leo loves the summer. Leo loves the sun. And I'm like, I think you need to look at your birth chart because I also have a Virgo moon and a Virgo, like a, like a 7 ,000 Virgos in my chart. So I think you need to adjust based on birth chart people because I do not love just look at mine now this is very inspirational I love birth charts I love them I love looking at people's birth charts because I'm like I'm gonna figure out secrets about your personality that you never knew about do you think of your characters that way as well like when you're doing your character development yeah yeah they all have they all have zodiac signs I all I have birthdays that I don't like everybody has a birthday and if I don't put it in the book everybody has a birthday because I might associate them with the zodiac signs and sometimes I'll go into a little bit more heavier detail and I'll give them like a sun, moon, and rising. I just won't tell anybody, it's just me. It's just for my call. My brain. Just for me. That is incredible. Yeah. My author friends like, Maren Moore and Trilina Pucci will, they give me so much shit because they're like, too much. It's too, you're too extra. You're going into it too deep. And Maren is really funny because she calls it MJ Riz when I do this crazy stuff like this. I always think she's so funny when she says that but they were like, they give me I love them today and they are so supportive but they will laugh when I'm like like Alastair is a Scorpio and Thatcher is a Virgo and I'll be like what are you doing? What are you doing? I'm like we're by the rain I need it to like move forward and they're like I we support you that's crazy though. We support you that's crazy though.

The three of you are such a fun crew. How did you initially meet or get close? Like how did that play out?

My God, I'm trying to think. I've been so, me and Trilina have been friends, probably been friends the longest. We met, I actually met on a podcast and she was just like talking about her books and things like that. And after the podcast, we messaged each other on Instagram. And I think that was like, my God, like two, maybe three years ago. I don't know.

It was a while ago, but we messaged each other on Instagram and we just never stopped talking to each other. we became friends. We moved from Instagram to like messaging on the phone and stuff like that. And then we were calling each other. There's not a day that goes by that I don't talk to them. And she's just been such an inspiration and such a supportive person in my life when it comes to writing. Being an author is a very lonely job at times. It's just you and your head and your characters. that can be really debilitating, especially when you're struggling getting through certain things and it's hard for people who don't write to kind of like understand what you're going through because they're like, we'll just write it, you know, like, or just fix it while it's like, I wish I could, but I can't, you know, but there are issues that are happening that you don't understand and I don't know how to explain it to you. But like with other authors, it's so refreshing to kind of have like solstices and like soundboards that understand like what you're going through, what you're struggling with and to like, confide in those people is I feel like so important in the community to have people like that by your side. It's I is priceless and I adore her. She is I love her to death like would do anything in the world for her. She has been over backwards to help me and my career and just like not even my courage needs a person. I just have to be very funny about my mother. It's not funny, but it is funny. What are we about to say? Let me just say that my stepmother had a very like very, very scary health scare. A few, several months ago, she had poor swelling on her brain and was rushed to Vanderbilt University for emergency like head surgery, so, brain surgery. So it was like a very, very scary time in my life. I've been lucky enough that death hasn't really kind of like approached any of my close loved ones. I've lost great grandparents and I have lost a grandparent, but I've never kind of lost somebody who would say that's extremely close to me. And I know it's a part of happening to me. And Trilina was like, she called me. It's an eight hour drive from my home to the Andermilk and I drove the whole way. She stayed on the phone with me for like three hours of the drive. Was going to like pay for my hotel room when I got down there, because I hadn't even booked a hotel room yet. just like the support she gives as a friend is incredible. And Maren is the same way I'm with Trilina a lot and I know I'm not a good friend because I'm trying to get to that. But now I feel like I'm fighting with my friends a lot, but it's fine.

And then Maren is the same way. I met Maren in a writing group, but we just stuck like glue and never fucking left each other. We have such... Our personalities are so like this. We're full of stuff with each other. She's very like pink and very like legally blonde Elle Woods. I'm very like Wednesday Addams, but we like work together very well. That's my honie. She, in the same vein, is just like the most supportive and loving kind soul I've ever. We went on like a seven, like a two week road trip together and there's nobody else in the world that I would go on that road trip, but besides her, so I love Maren and like I've went, I've drove down to their children. Like it's like, they're not friends at this point. They're genuinely my family. would do anything for them. And without them, I would not be here in my career. Not even a little bit, not even close.

That's incredible. It's so important to have a base like that. And I feel like to see the community be able to support each other in that way where I think you could easily look at each other as competition, right? Or share of mind or anything, and so really to have a deep connection like that is incredible.

I think that's like the difficulty in finding friends in the same industry, you know, is like, so everybody gets like, I think everybody has like it as an artist. And I think writing is an art and I know people feel differently about it. It's my art. I think it's an absolutely. Everybody has like a creative ego, you know, that has to be checked occasionally. I have a creative ego and at times there are going to be times in this career, like in this career where you feel like, like you, I would say that I'm not really like envious or jealous, but there are definitely times when I'm like, I really wish that I could also have the opportunity or something like that. Right. but it's really hard when you're trying to like make friends here because you're afraid like, is this person seeing me as competition? Is this person like, you know, doing is this person really wanting to be my friend? That kind of thing. And I guess my advice to, like, authors who are looking for friendship and community in here is just, like, be the most authentic version of yourself that you can be. That's - that's and it's cheesy to fucking say that, but I'm so serious. If you want friends and you want to build a community, like, be the most authentic person of - version of yourself, and you will find your people, promise you. There are people out there. And I don't think it's a competition, personally. There are so many books out here in the world for people to read and love and not love and just all of that, that has enough space for all of us to be successful. I think it all depends on what you define success as for yourself. But yeah, I think community is so important. And if you need community, you can message me. I'm very nice and I like people. is excellent advice.

And that really is so kind. I mean, you've so generous to be able to do this and I think that comes through in such a big way. I always am the most starstruck when it comes to like talking with authors. I think that writing is absolutely an art form and to be able to share that and be able to see you as a human being and interact with you in that way is incredibly meaningful.

I want to make myself as human as possible on the internet. And a lot of it because like I am a reader too. Like I was exactly where readers are or even like beginning authors who hadn't published a book or working on our first one. Like I was exactly where you're at. like anytime that like an offer wants a message about like any, I mean, I'm not saying I have the best of eyes ever. Okay. Let me just put that out there. I'm learning too. It's a learning curve. But I will hold your hand through, you know, what you need your hand held through. I'll tell you what worked for me or what I did and you try and help you because at the end of the day, it is a community that I want to build to be better and to be bigger. And the only way that we can do that is if we help people like new or coming into the community, you know, like I needed help and there were authors that helped me when I first started. Kandee Steiner was an incredible resource when I first got started. She's so kind and so willing to give information. And I would like to, the only way that I can think of repaying her is by doing the same thing that she did for me for newer offers. So I mean, if you ever have questions or anything like that, and I will help in any way that I know how. And for readers, like, when people reach out to me and talk to me, I will do my best to, like, message every single person that. Within my own brain width, I will do bandwidth, I will do whatever I, you know, to message you back, because I'm a reader, too. I know it's like to love and offer his work and, want to talk to them and write to them about it, you know? I want to be as human as possible because I am, you know? I'm just a person writing these little books and hoping that somebody out there likes them and that's the biggest joy in the world. Trying to be as authentic and as human as possible so that people will see that. So when you comment on somebody's stuff, makes you more human. makes you like when people comment on all your things, they're talking to an actual person. It's not like they're talking to a bot or something at when they say something off the wall. It feels a lot more positive to me personally. Absolutely.

It's so meaningful. It really is. I've already kept you over the time that -

My god, it's my fault! No, no, no. I appreciate it.

I will sit here with you, MJ, for the next five hours and ask you everything. I'll talk about everything. Don't. I'll leave you with one final one, which is maybe just a little bit more for your readers and the fans of you – how is the best way to support you? How do we keep up with you? Where can we see you? All that good stuff.

Oh, my god, I'm so bad at this. So the best way to keep up with me is Instagram. That's where I'm like heavily most active. I'm most active on Instagram. I go live there occasionally. My Instagram is just @authormontyjay and you can follow me there. I post funny stories. Sliding my DMs you can message me on Instagram. I usually reply if I see it And if I don't you can keep messaging me until I message you back because I will. Facebook I have a reader group called Monty Jay's Loners Society which you can find on Facebook and then other than that you go to my website Which is authormontyjay.com and you can contact me through my website. I love hearing from readers I love talking to you guys. It's super fun. I enjoy every single second of it. And yeah, that's that's my dot. Best way to support me? Leave reviews. That's it. That's the best way to. There you go. Leave reviews. Even if you didn't like it, you still leave a review. That's fine, I don't care. Don't mind me. Done deal.

That's kind of a hot take, I think. is that my hot take? About?

Yeah, I don't mind bad reviews. There's this quote from somebody, I don't know who the hell it is, but there was this quote that I saw when I first started writing, because I used to read those bad reviews and cry. I used to be fucked. You know, like miserable. And there was this quote that I saw that was

You either want somebody to love your book with a fiery passion or hate it with a fiery passion because at end of the day, you made them feel something. And it may not have been what you wanted them to feel, but they felt something at the end of the day. I think that even bad reviews can be good for, you know, certain things, you know, like a bad review that somebody reads could be exactly what somebody wants to hear to read that book.

And I think that it's important for people to share their opinions. That's our freedom of speech to be able to share what we feel about things. And I live in a world where I'm putting something out in a public domain and sharing that with the world. And it's the world's job to determine how they digest it. And it's not my job to tell you or please you about how you feel about a book. So yeah, think, you know, review it if you like it, review it if you don't like it. I appreciate it either way. You took your time to kind of do that for me.

I appreciate it, at the end of the day. Such a powerful perspective. I have... I swear it won this interview soon. I have a tattoo on my leg that is an ambigram that says love right side up and hate upside down and I'm always found by that principle of like... That is a through line. It's powerful emotion. Yes. I did not think all the way through on this where I now look down and see the word hate a lot so... You know, lessons learned for... Tattoos are permanent and things like that but...

I don't think even hate can teach us something about the world, you know? So I try to be as positive as possible. I personally would like to spend my time talking to people about things that bring me joy. Like I want to talk to people about books that I love, not books that I don't enjoy. But like I said, it's not, I write these books. For me, I write because that's how I want them to write it. This is my art. I want to write it the way that it is in my head. And then I like to share it with people. And it's like I said, it's not my job to show you how to digest this art. You feel the way you need to feel about it. The fact that I even made you feel anything at all makes me feel good about myself. So I don't mind bad reviews. I don't read them anymore. I don't read any reviews really. just kind of, did what I was supposed to do. I did what I wanted to do. I wrote a book that I loved and I gave it to the world. What happens after that is no longer up to me. And I have just learned to kind of roll with that. There you go. And that's what's important.

Well, thank you so much, MJ. This has been phenomenal. They get to sit down with you, tell Maren and Trilina that we love them as well, like give our love and support to the entire crew. And thank you so much for being a part of this initiative.

It means a lot and you've just been so generous with your time and sharing everything with us so I can't thank you enough. Thank you, I appreciate it and thank you so much for reaching out. I really feel so truly honored to be a part of this so thank you. I really appreciate you sitting down with me and having this little chat. It was very fun.

My gosh, the feeling is more than mutual. Thank you again. Have a great night.

You too, bye.

Bye.