Good morning, good morning, my friends.
Welcome to the show.
We are actually starting out with
something a little bit steamy
this morning with handsome rags,
elegant balls and matchmaking Mamas.
The world seems to be going
crazy for Bridgerton now.
The Regency Romance produced by
the Shonda Rhimes is the most
watched Netflix series in history.
Here's how you know it's super popular.
It was spoofed on Saturday Night
Live starring the dreamy actor.
Reggae Jean Page and he plays the
Duke in the very first season of this.
So Bridgerton is actually based on
books that were written 20 years ago by
best selling author who also happens
to be a Seattle resident Julia Quinn.
She explained what it's like to
see her characters on the screen.
What was it like when the Shonda
Rimes not only said I'm a fan,
but I want to make a series out of that?
Take me to that moment.
I
couldn't believe it.
I was sitting in Starbucks as one
does 'cause I live in Seattle and
pretending to write as one does
in the Starbucks an I get a phone
call from my agent and he said I
just had the most interesting call.
I said oh, he said he heard of Shonda Rimes.
Yes, after I had the initial
conversation with him and you know
basically she asked or her people asked,
are the rights available and is she
interested in having her books adapted?
And I can't believe he even called
me to consult 'cause I'm like.
You got back and I immediately
texted my best friend.
All caps will try to call her.
She didn't answer text.
Her all caps call me.
She thought someone had died
because this is not how we usually
communicate and it just kind of
went on from there and it was this
amazing experience because so many
writers I know not romance writers,
but other fields have had books
adapted and they were not adapted
option and they look I've had.
I've a friend.
She said every book I've written
gets optioned and none of them
get made and that's not uncommon.
And so then you just say, well,
you know you get a little money,
you be happy with that.
But every step of the way,
it felt like this was actually
going to happen,
and I think something happened,
but don't get your hopes up.
You know how Hollywood is,
but then something else.
What happened?
I think I think this might actually happen,
and then it just kept getting better.
I mean, first it was Shondaland,
then Netflix came on and then
before I knew it, they're like,
oh,
by the way we have Julie Andrews,
at which point I may have
died and come back to
life. Everything about it has been amazing
and spectacular and shandra chose.
She chose to use a multiracial cast,
something that you've been very much behind.
How do you think this is going to help as we
go forward and telling these stories both in
literature and in life?
So with Shonda and Chris Vandusen,
use the showrunner making this big,
diverse, inclusive cast what it's doing.
It's allowing more people to
see themselves in the story,
which I think is incredibly
important because it is ultimately
a happy story and that's what
romance novels are there all about.
The happy ending.
Yeah, that's the only thing
they all have in common.
People say aren't they all the same?
They're not,
except that they all have a happy ending.
Which is why we read them.
Yes, and but I want everyone to be
able to imagine themselves in the
happy ending and I will be honest,
I'm not sure I understood how badly
this was needed until I started
seeing the reaction of people who
don't necessarily look like me
and their hapiness with the cast.
And you know,
the casting announcement for Season 2,
the lead female character is going to
be played by Simone Ashley who is,
I believe British Indian, you know.
And I've seen all these people
saying like a Brown skin girl.
She's going to wear the fancy ball gown and.
It's bringing so much joy to so
many people and so much hope
and so much representation.
I think it's amazing and the feeling
that I get most of all is gratitude.
Because this.
Creative team has been able to expand
my universe in ways that I don't know
that I could have done on my own.
'cause one thing you know people
keep looking at the cast,
which is wonderful,
but what they don't realize is
that the writers room behind
the cast was incredibly diverse.
And anytime you get a larger group of people,
no matter what their backgrounds,
you get just a larger group of
imaginations and lived experiences
to help build out a story.
And so they were able to expand my world.
In this gorgeous, spectacular manner,
and I couldn't be happier or more proud.
Absolutely another.
Another issue that I love that you
tackle in your books is feminism.
You hit that head on,
especially at a time when that that was
not really a thing to be spoken about.
Why is this so important to you,
even when you're working in another genre?
Well, I think.
I mean it comes back to who I am.
I have always considered myself a feminist.
I don't know that I could write a book
that isn't infused with some level
of this idea that men and women are,
well, not the same are should be,
are and should be inherently equal
and have the same opportunities.
Now I write in a time period
when that was very much not true,
much more so than today.
I mean, we're still certainly
not where we need to be today.
It was a much bigger issue then,
and So what I try to do.
Is to show women.
Kind of you know either breaking
free or at least elbowing at the
constraints that they have and to show
off in the beginning of this journey.
Because I think for a lot of people
it's difficult to picture yourself as
maybe the woman who's like you know,
knocking down the wall and you
know running over the ramparts.
But maybe they can picture
themselves as the woman who has,
you know,
slowly and carefully pulled out a
brick or two in the wall so that
somebody else can knock it down,
and I think it's so important to
celebrate all of those women as well.
And so I feel that I have written a
lot of stories where you have these
women who might not be viewed by
history as extraordinary because
they're not the ones who have been
the first to attend University
or to have you know,
integrated something or things like that.
But they are the ones who are
laying the groundwork for it
by recognizing inequality and
inequity in their own lives and.
And pushing back against it to
varying degrees of success.
I love that I love that I love that it
hasn't have to be like you say knocking
down the walls but it's just noticing
and speaking out in the way you can,
which is something we can
all continue to learn today.
And Speaking of love,
Are you ready to indulge in the romance yet?
I mean, we've got more to tempt you
with coming up with Julia Quinn.
We have a lightning round of Bridgerton
questions like who's her favorite rake
that's coming up a little bit later.
So stick around. Welcome back.
We're still talking about romance and I
cannot get enough of bridgerton or author.
Local author Julia Quinn after our interview,
I put her through a bridgerton
lightning round.
Check it out.
Which character would be your best friend?
Oh, and LB. Yes yes.
How many seasons would you
wait before you got married?
Oh well, you know I met.
My husband was 18 and I married
him when I was 26. So I guess
8 eight seasons are very well very well.
Which character would you
want to throw a ball for?
Penelope again deserves it.
She deserves all the good things.
Who is the biggest rake?
Oh Anthony, I think yes.
Yeah Season 2 is going to be. Woo.
I love the little tease.
Literally, that's all
I know is that it's going to be.
If you could, which character
would you like to sit
down and share a meal with?
Old lady Danbury.
Although the characters I wrote,
Lady Danbury, but I wouldn't
mind Queen Charlotte,
who's not in the books,
but she's in the show,
but she's just incredible.
So yeah, maybe that would be fun.
Which Bridgerton girl
has the best style?
Oh I. I'd say Daphne right now.
Yeah, we'll see I know a lot
of people have Eloise's style,
but like those bows to me seem
too constricting.
It does seem a little constructive.
I love her sass, oh,
she's also fairly love this style,
which would have been your
preferred feminine pastime.
Alright, writing letters or needlework?
Writing letters.
I'm with you on that.
I would probably
stab myself. My hands would be covered
with ink, though I don't know how
people do the quills and when I'm
left handed my hands are already
covered. Thanks, that's true.
Yeah bonnet or no bonnet,
no bonnet. Well they didn't
have sunscreen so maybe bonnet.
Good point, right? Who is so fun.
Julia is also passionate about supporting
local bookstores, and in fact,
she stops by the University bookstore
in Seattle several times a month.
Nicnak wink, wink, nod, nod to autograph,
and personalize any books you order online,
so details on that are on our website.