Authors: Erin Spencer & Emma Sable
Narrators: Ava Erickson & Andi Arndt
Length: 6 hours 51 minutes
Publisher: One Night Stand Studios
Released: Jun. 30, 2020
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Liv just wants her best friend Bex to find love. Bex just wants to stay in bed with Outlander. With 40 just around the corner, divorced single mom Bex is too busy being a chauffeur for her teenage daughter to bother swiping for dates. Her best friend Liv, who is married to the supposedly perfect man, swoops in from London on a mission to get Bex out of her own bed and in to someone else’s. Liv pushes Bex into a week-long whirlwind of dates, awkward kisses and missed connections. What could possibly go wrong when Bex agrees to Liv’s harebrained scheme of saying Yes to every possible suitor? And why is Liv so intent on fixing Bex’s love life, or lack thereof? Just what do you find out when all of your no’s turn into the yes factor?
Erin Spencer and Emma Sable are two Southern girls who met in L.A. at a mutual friend's engagement party. They bonded over their shared love of fried shrimp, queso and The Golden Girls. After a girls' night out in Hollywood to celebrate Emma's birthday, the two were inspired to begin writing The Yes Factor, their first novel together.
To celebrate finishing the novel, Erin and Emma travelled to the Amalfi coast where they enjoyed a week of sunshine, pasta and Pinot Grigio. And where a few notes might have been scribbled for their next book, too!
Erin lives in L.A. and Emma now lives in London.
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Q&A with Authors Erin Spencer & Emma Sable
- Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
- Erin: Absolutely! Because I am an audiobook narrator myself and I own an audiobook production company (www.onenightstandstudios.com) – I am very involved in the audiobook world. Everything was read aloud when we were writing so we could make sure that it flowed and that the dialogue fell off the tongue naturally. We really wanted the dialogue to feel real and conversational between these best friends, and there is nothing like reading your writing out loud to test that!
- How did you select your narrators?
- Erin: Andi Arndt is a queen in the romance genre and she’s also a good friend. Ava Erickson is someone I know quite intimately, because, well…she’s me!
- How closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording process? Did you give them any pronunciation tips or special insight into the characters?
- Erin: There is a certain amount of trust that authors need to have with the narrators that are cast for their audiobooks. It’s not just about finding the right “voice” but the right actor that you feel can elevate the work in their own way. We knew that Andi was the right choice just because we know her work and we know her as a person and we trusted her completely. There is a reason this audiobook was nominated for a Voice Arts Award – the narrators were emotionally invested in the material and brought it to a whole new level with their performances.
- Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing?
- Emma: My writing is so informed by life and just the every day experience and emotion of it. For The Yes Factor, as a woman of a certain age (on the other side of 40!), I was really drawing on the questions you ask yourself as you get older. Am I with the right person, what’s important to me, what makes me happy. Basically mid life crisis stuff! :)
- And more specifically, I was inspired by some very L.A. real life experiences from my ten years of living in that crazy town!
- How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for writing?
- Emma: During the pandemic, I struggle with burn-out on a daily basis. Times are so tough right now for everyone and it can feel almost impossible to focus on creative endeavors. Reading has really helped me get through it and keeps me inspired to put something down on the page (even if sometimes it’s only one sentence a day).
- Are you an audiobook listener? What about the audiobook format appeals to you?
- Erin: Audiobooks are like a movie for your ears! It triggers a multitude of senses and can make the simplest words jump of the page and impact you in a big way. I love audio just for the fact that it adds a whole other layer of emotion!
- Is there a particular part of this story that you feel is more resonating in the audiobook performance than in the book format?
- Emma: I’m so blown away by the emotion that Ava and Andi brought to the characters. Bex and Liv are both written in first person POV, so each character has a lot of internal thoughts and musings in their chapters. Ava and Andi captured that so well, which I think gives the writing even more resonance than on the page.
- If you had the power to time travel, would you use it? If yes, when and where would you go?
- Emma: um, YES. It’s hard to choose just one place/time so I’ll give you two — 1900s Vienna for the art; Christmas 2019 to hug my friends and family and to not take any of it for granted!
- If this title were being made into a TV series or movie, who would you cast to play the primary roles?
- Emma: Christina Applegate for Liv, and Constance Zimmer for Bex.
- What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
- Emma: That they need to loosen up! Seriously though, the written word is there to be enjoyed and celebrated in any way possible, whether it be “real reading”, audio, or braille. The only cheating for reading is Cliff Notes! (Not that I would know anything about that…not at all, nothing to do with The Mill on the Floss in 8th grade…)
- How did you celebrate after finishing this novel?
- Emma: Erin visited me in London then we went to the Amalfi Coast! There were lots of carbs. It was magnificent.
- What gets you out of a writing slump? What about a reading slump?
- Emma: Oooof, the dreaded writing slump. Sometimes I’ll spend hours procrastinating when I know I should be writing but I just can’t seem to put one word down. My writing community really helps in those dark moments. We keep each other motivated — it helps to know you’re not alone with feeling blocked.
- As far as a reading slump, I’m never in one (unless there’s a new season of Selling Sunset, Below Deck or Succession…then I’m in a reading ‘break’).
- What bits of advice would you give to aspiring authors?
- Emma: Keep writing! It’s what I’ve been told by writers that I admire and it really is the best advice. Just write something every day, even if it’s a few sentences. Don’t get obsessed with word count. Enjoy the process and be kind to yourself.
- What’s next for you?
- Emma: Erin and I are writing the sequel to The Yes Factor, and I’m working on another book of my own.
Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
- Erin: Absolutely! Because I am an audiobook narrator myself and I own an audiobook production company (www.onenightstandstudios.com) – I am very involved in the audiobook world. Everything was read aloud when we were writing so we could make sure that it flowed and that the dialogue fell off the tongue naturally. We really wanted the dialogue to feel real and conversational between these best friends, and there is nothing like reading your writing out loud to test that!
How did you select your narrators?
- Erin: Andi Arndt is a queen in the romance genre and she’s also a good friend. Ava Erickson is someone I know quite intimately, because, well…she’s me!
How closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording process? Did you give them any pronunciation tips or special insight into the characters?
- Erin: There is a certain amount of trust that authors need to have with the narrators that are cast for their audiobooks. It’s not just about finding the right “voice” but the right actor that you feel can elevate the work in their own way. We knew that Andi was the right choice just because we know her work and we know her as a person and we trusted her completely. There is a reason this audiobook was nominated for a Voice Arts Award – the narrators were emotionally invested in the material and brought it to a whole new level with their performances.
Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing?
- Emma: My writing is so informed by life and just the every day experience and emotion of it. For The Yes Factor, as a woman of a certain age (on the other side of 40!), I was really drawing on the questions you ask yourself as you get older. Am I with the right person, what’s important to me, what makes me happy. Basically mid life crisis stuff! :)
- And more specifically, I was inspired by some very L.A. real life experiences from my ten years of living in that crazy town!
How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for writing?
- Emma: During the pandemic, I struggle with burn-out on a daily basis. Times are so tough right now for everyone and it can feel almost impossible to focus on creative endeavors. Reading has really helped me get through it and keeps me inspired to put something down on the page (even if sometimes it’s only one sentence a day).
Are you an audiobook listener? What about the audiobook format appeals to you?
- Erin: Audiobooks are like a movie for your ears! It triggers a multitude of senses and can make the simplest words jump of the page and impact you in a big way. I love audio just for the fact that it adds a whole other layer of emotion!
Is there a particular part of this story that you feel is more resonating in the audiobook performance than in the book format?
- Emma: I’m so blown away by the emotion that Ava and Andi brought to the characters. Bex and Liv are both written in first person POV, so each character has a lot of internal thoughts and musings in their chapters. Ava and Andi captured that so well, which I think gives the writing even more resonance than on the page.
If you had the power to time travel, would you use it? If yes, when and where would you go?
- Emma: um, YES. It’s hard to choose just one place/time so I’ll give you two — 1900s Vienna for the art; Christmas 2019 to hug my friends and family and to not take any of it for granted!
If this title were being made into a TV series or movie, who would you cast to play the primary roles?
- Emma: Christina Applegate for Liv, and Constance Zimmer for Bex.
What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
- Emma: That they need to loosen up! Seriously though, the written word is there to be enjoyed and celebrated in any way possible, whether it be “real reading”, audio, or braille. The only cheating for reading is Cliff Notes! (Not that I would know anything about that…not at all, nothing to do with The Mill on the Floss in 8th grade…)
How did you celebrate after finishing this novel?
- Emma: Erin visited me in London then we went to the Amalfi Coast! There were lots of carbs. It was magnificent.
What gets you out of a writing slump? What about a reading slump?
- Emma: Oooof, the dreaded writing slump. Sometimes I’ll spend hours procrastinating when I know I should be writing but I just can’t seem to put one word down. My writing community really helps in those dark moments. We keep each other motivated — it helps to know you’re not alone with feeling blocked.
- As far as a reading slump, I’m never in one (unless there’s a new season of Selling Sunset, Below Deck or Succession…then I’m in a reading ‘break’).
What bits of advice would you give to aspiring authors?
- Emma: Keep writing! It’s what I’ve been told by writers that I admire and it really is the best advice. Just write something every day, even if it’s a few sentences. Don’t get obsessed with word count. Enjoy the process and be kind to yourself.
What’s next for you?
- Emma: Erin and I are writing the sequel to The Yes Factor, and I’m working on another book of my own.
Multiple Audie and Earphones Award winner Andi Arndt is the narrator of hundreds of audiobooks, and a member of the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame. She's known for romance titles, loved working on The Yes Factor with her dear friend, and has also narrated high profile releases in literary fiction, mystery / thriller, and bio / memoir, including Notorious RBG.
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After sailing around the world and watching nearly a thousand sunsets from the bow of her boat like a true Viking, Ava Erickson settled down and started telling stories. Those stories can be anything from laugh-out-loud-funny rom-coms to ones with a more sexy twist. When she found out she was nominated for an Audie for her audiobook narration, she called all her girlfriends together and went to Provence, France, where they drank rosé and ate lots of bread and butter.
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