Coffee, Coffee, Conversation with BK Borison
Dear townspeople,
We have something new for you today!
Gilmore To Read started as a small idea for a book club featuring books that our listeners who love Gilmore girls might like to read. Since 2023, it has transformed into two book clubs (Reading Is Sexy and Where You Read I Will Follow) hundreds of readers, and a podcast segment featuring so many dazzling writers whose stories and work (and hot takes on Gilmore girls) have created one of my favorite parts of the Gilmore To Say multiverse.
And now, I’d like to introduce you to a new addition of the Gilmore To Read umbrella— Coffee, Coffee, Conversation: Gilmore To Read Q&A. We’ll have authors who are a part of the Gilmore To Read club (once a book club pick, always a book club pick!) as well as authors I want to bring to y’all, but couldn’t schedule on the podcast. There are too many good writers writing good books to be limited to hearing from only one of them a month.
For today’s featured writer, we have a member of the Gilmore To Read club— December 2023’s Reading Is Sexy pick— who first mentioned this book on her episode of Gilmore To Read back in February 2024. How appropriate does it feel that our own first-time caller of a Gilmore To Read Q&A is the author of FIRST-TIME CALLER.
WITH B.K. Borison <3
PHOTO: Marlayna DemondUSA TODAY Bestselling author B.K. Borison writes cozy, contemporary romances featuring emotionally vulnerable characters and swoon-worthy settings. When she’s not daydreaming about fictional characters doing fictional things, she’s at home with her family, more than likely buying books she doesn’t have room for.
Calling all hopeless romantics!!!
I got to read First-Time Caller last year and immediately fell in love with Aiden and Lucie and the loving brush B.K. used to paint her hometown of Baltimore. It is inspired by Nora Ephron’s Sleepless in Seattle with an unique take on the story.
Lucie is the single mother of a precocious and precious daughter (something we all love and recognize!) working as a mechanic. And that very daughter calls into a romance hotline, Heartstrings, because she thinks her mom is lonely and needs some help in her love life. Enter Aiden Valentine— the cynical host of a romance hotline who has lost hope in love with every call that comes into the radio show. But Lucie brings back his spark as she joins him in the booth to find love in someone who might be listening. And perhaps love is listening closer than any of them realize…
For our Gilmore lovers— if you love independent single mothers and their smart daughters, close knit communities, grumpy men with hearts of gold, and a voice that feels sharp, witty, and fresh with every story told, you need FIRST-TIME CALLER on your shelf.
But let’s hear more from the author herself in Coffee, Coffee, Conversation—
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/@authorbkborisonHi Becca! Welcome to Heartstrings— I mean Gilmore To Read! We’re so glad to have you!
BKB: There is absolutely nowhere else I’d rather be. Thank you so much for having me.
Before we dive in, coffee is essential to the Gilmores’ world. And luckily, you have a beloved coffee shop in the opening chapter of your new release First-Time Caller. What coffee are you ordering at Skullduggery? And what name are you giving the barista to shout out?
BKB: I am getting an iced brown sugar latte, even if it’s twelve degrees outside. And I’m going to give her my name to shout, because in my day-to-day I have a stunning lack of creativity/fear of high-pressure situations.
Now that we’re properly caffeinated– congratulations on your 5th (!!!!!) book and your second series. What are you most excited about for this release?
BKB: Can you believe?? I am most excited for people to see something outside of Lovelight. I think the Heartstrings series has all the things people love about Lovelight, but it feels a little bit more grown up. I’ve changed so much since that first book, and I think my writing has, too. I’m excited for readers to feel that when they open this book.
Lovelight series by BK Borison Let’s time travel a bit. Gilmore girls released in October 2000. What were you writing in the year 2000?
BKB: Oh, god. Something horribly embarrassing, probably. Definitely fanfiction of some sort. My parents recently retired and moved out of our childhood home and my mom found mountains of spiral notebooks in my old room. Thank god she didn’t open them. I told her to burn them immediately.
Gilmore girls is the comfort show for our listeners and book club members. What is your comfort movie/tv show/book and/or album that you return to when you’re out on the road feeling lonely and so cold so to speak?
BKB: Jessica Joyce and Hannah Bonam-Young have both recently come out with books that have turned into comfort reads for me. They’re both incredible writers and everything they do feels like slipping on a warm sweater.
On that note, what sort of media are you consuming when you’re in the drafting era of a book?
BKB: Not much, truly. I try not to read too much when I’m drafting because it feels like it messes with my own voice. Or, in the case of reading Emily Henry, makes me feel like I’ll never write anything of substance again. I do listen to a lot of music, though. Right now for the book I’m currently drafting, I’ve had Maggie Rogers on repeat.
An essential part of Gilmore girls is the setting. People fall in love with the town as much as they do the main characters. In First-Time Caller, you made me feel like maybe I should move to Baltimore to fall in love. What about your hometown feels like the perfect backdrop for a romance series?
BKB: I wanted my hometown to finally get some love! Whenever I tell anyone I’m from Baltimore, the knee-jerk response is to either say: “Oh, The Wire!” or “Oh, Hairspray!”
While both are incredible works, I wanted to create something that felt like a love letter to the Baltimore I know. Cobblestone streets and bars with all the windows open. Boats in the harbor and shortbread cookies. Baltimore can feel incredibly small when you’re living in it. I wanted my love for the city to come through on the pages.
First-Time Caller is your take on Nora Ephron’s Sleepless In Seattle. What drew you to wanting to retell that story with a BK Twist?
BKB: I love that movie. It’s my favorite movie of all time. Nora Ephron made me want to be a writer. This book is a love letter to so many different things, and the way she told stories is definitely one of them. I watched an interview with her a while ago where she said Sleepless in Seattle isn’t a movie about romance so much as it is a story about loneliness. I think about that a lot, and I wanted to do something similar with this book. I wanted to honor the story she told while taking my own creative liberties.
Lucie is a content single mother working as a mechanic when her daughter calls into a radio show to get her mother help in love. Lucie is tired of trying to make dating work. In her honor, what was the worst date you ever went on?
BKB: When I lived in DC, I went on a date with a guy who suggested a walk along the National Mall after dinner. He got us lost, and we ended up walking (and walking and walking) over three miles to find either a cab or a metro station to return me home.
And when thinking of your hero Aiden, a cynical radio host of a romance hotline struggling to feel the spark at his job, what do you do when you’re writing and can’t find your own spark?
BKB: I try to read things that inspire me. Sometimes I reread things I’ve written in the past to try and prove to myself that yes, actually, I do know how to write a book and I’ve done it before.
The first line in First-Time Caller— “Love is a lie.” What reminds you that’s not true?
BKB: I have two children who are filled to the absolute brim with love. When you’re a kid and you haven’t been hurt by the world yet, you trust and believe in everything. So, when I wake up in the morning and there’s a five year old curled against me, I know that’s not true.
Favorite line from First-Time Caller with no context?
BKB: Listen up, Lizards. There’s a new daddy in town.
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/@authorbkborisonHeartstrings is what connects Lucie & Aiden and pushes them into a delightful dynamic due to forced proximity. What is your ideal radio show and what are the listeners calling in to ask about?
BKB: I listened to a lot of Delilah growing up, which heavily inspired the overall feel of Heartstrings. I think in the era of podcasts, we’ve moved away from this sort of call-in set up. I wanted Aiden’s show to feel like something nostalgic, while still touched by the modern world. I have found myself wishing it were real a bunch over the last year. Something wholesome and overall kind, without all the gimmicks of trying to make someone else look foolish. I think we could use more earnest, kind things.
First-Time Caller is the first book in the Heartstrings series! What can you tell us about the rest of the series?
BKB: Each book is lightly based on a Nora Ephron classic. Book 2 will be When Harry Met Sally and Book 3 will be You’ve Got Mail. I’ve just finished up the first draft of book 2, and I think readers will be pleased with whose story it is.
They’re so hot…You are one busy writer because your next release, Good Spirits, comes out in October. It is a bit of a departure from your first five books as you dive into a world of magical realism with a Ghost of Christmas past romance. What would you say to a reader on the fence on following you into a contemporary fantasy world?
BKB: While it is different, I’d like to think it has all the things that readers seem to enjoy in my writing. The magic takes place in our world, so it’s less world building and more world … seasoning? I suppose? It’s whimsical and colorful and it gave me permission to have a little bit more fun with my work. So if you’re looking for a cozy, escapist holiday bop, I think you’ll be pleased with Good Spirits.
What is a book you would recommend for Gilmore girls fans and what will they love about it?
BKB: Jessica Joyce’s The Ex Vows. No one does quiet yearning quite like Ms. Joyce.
[Side note, readers: Jessica Joyce was on Gilmore To Read in 2024 if you want to hear more from her! ]
What’s your favorite indie bookstore our listeners can buy First Time Caller from?
BKB: Greedy Reads in Baltimore! And if you’d like a signed copy, East City Bookshop in DC.
Thank you so much for joining the first Q&A! And thank you to the ever lovely BK Borison for giving us her time and mind for this. Comment below what your favorite BK novel is or if you’re feeling like its is going to be First-Time Caller!
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/@authorbkborisonFirst-Time Caller by BK Borison comes out on February 11th, 2025. Get it wherever you get your books (or at one of BK’s indie picks!) OR if you want a beautiful Lavender Haze cover, get the Walmart exclusive edition! They look gorgeous in both color ways. Follow @authorbkborison on Instagram to stay up to date on future releases! You won’t want to miss them.
And If you want to keep up with Gilmore To Read, follow us on Instagram or join us on Patreon as a free member to join the conversation!
This month, Reading Is Sexy (our romance club) is reading This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan and Where You Read, I Will Follow (our Rory-ish club) is reading Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors!
Until next time, happy reading!
Haley
And it wouldn’t be an edition of the GTS Gazette without a poem! I gave Becca the creative liberty to pick a poem, song, or quote she resonated with.
submitted in this edition by B.K. BorisonNora Ephron has this quote where she says, “I look out the window and I see the lights and the skyline and the people on the street rushing around looking for action, love, and the world's greatest chocolate chip cookie, and my heart does a little dance.”
That’s how I feel about this book. :) —B.K. Borison