- 5 weeks ago
CTP (BOOKS/AUTHORS WEEK APR 2026 Mon) Spectrum Minds And Messy Focus (S3EAprSpecial3)
Exploring more of the fascinating intersection of Activism, Community Engagement, Faith / Religion, Human Nature, Politics, Social Issues, and beyond
We talk about spectrum thinking across ADHD, OCD, and autism, then move into how romance fiction can show neurodiversity with honesty and heart. Maria Jane shares the story behind Perfect Office Pact, where good intentions collide with privacy, consent, and complicated love.
• framing ADHD and OCD as spectrum-like experiences, including rumination and compulsive checking
• why we use “spectrum” language to avoid stereotypes and increase empathy
• how Maria Jane builds autistic representation into romance characters
• why relationships take work, including communication and acceptance of quirks
• the core conflict of Perfect Office Pact, including an HR privacy breach and crossed boundaries
• Mira’s morally gray pact and the ethics of leverage at work
• how the Perfect Romance series stays standalone while still interconnected
• perfectionism, recovery, and learning to accept being imperfectly human
SEND US FEEDBACK: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2210487/fan_mail/new
https://tinyurl.com/SubscribeToCTP
CTP Audios: https://tinyurl.com/CTPonBuzzsprout
CTP Videos: https://tinyurl.com/JLDonBITCHUTE
https://tinyurl.com/CTPgear
Exploring more of the fascinating intersection of Activism, Community Engagement, Faith / Religion, Human Nature, Politics, Social Issues, and beyond
We talk about spectrum thinking across ADHD, OCD, and autism, then move into how romance fiction can show neurodiversity with honesty and heart. Maria Jane shares the story behind Perfect Office Pact, where good intentions collide with privacy, consent, and complicated love.
• framing ADHD and OCD as spectrum-like experiences, including rumination and compulsive checking
• why we use “spectrum” language to avoid stereotypes and increase empathy
• how Maria Jane builds autistic representation into romance characters
• why relationships take work, including communication and acceptance of quirks
• the core conflict of Perfect Office Pact, including an HR privacy breach and crossed boundaries
• Mira’s morally gray pact and the ethics of leverage at work
• how the Perfect Romance series stays standalone while still interconnected
• perfectionism, recovery, and learning to accept being imperfectly human
SEND US FEEDBACK: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2210487/fan_mail/new
https://tinyurl.com/SubscribeToCTP
CTP Audios: https://tinyurl.com/CTPonBuzzsprout
CTP Videos: https://tinyurl.com/JLDonBITCHUTE
https://tinyurl.com/CTPgear
Category
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FunTranscript
00:00Hello, welcome to another episode of Perstitutionalist Podcast.
00:06I am your host, Joseph M. Leonard.
00:09That's L-E-N-A-R-D.
00:12It looks French. It's not. It's Leonard without an O.
00:17Thank you for tuning in, as Graham Norton used to say, on his show.
00:24Let's get on with the show!
00:25For those looking on the five behind-the-scenes video channels, sneak peek videos,
00:37you will see, oh, first let me say, this is a cheat intro again,
00:43kind of like I do on Saturdays if I'm presenting a video exclusive from prior, the same cheat.
00:52You'll see the same, or here on the 40-ish audio-only platforms, this same mini-intro,
01:03but I am wearing the Book of Kennedy Project Carpe Diem book shirt
01:09because welcome to Books Slash Authors Week, just one week for April of 2026.
01:21Prior, I had Books Slash Authors Weeks, this time, to get caught up on some back interviews of authors.
01:31I'm doing a singular Books Slash Authors Week for April of 2026, Monday through Friday.
01:43Also, I want to say, at the end of each episode, I will tack on one of my newer, more
01:52recent,
01:53and Suno created songs, if you remember, my dad, Ted Leonard Jr., the Polka Kings, tinyurl.com,
02:02the Polka Kings, to see that tribute page, Sam.
02:05He had a record deal.
02:06I used to write and record music the old way, you know, get out a piece of sheet music
02:11and write out the actual song on the sheet music, the chords, the notes, the lyrics, but all my equipment's
02:24been long sold off,
02:26but thanks to Suno AI Music System, I'm back to writing lyrics and releasing music again.
02:37Thank you, Suno.
02:39So, each day, Monday through Friday, of Books Slash Authors Week, 2026, April,
02:49I will tack on a Suno-aided-created new song from Joseph and Leonard, J. Leonard Detroit, on Suno.
03:01So, thank you to them, and I've already delayed things, so without further ado, let's get to an author.
03:09Joining me today will be Maria Jane to talk about autism.
03:18Autism, there is a spectrum.
03:20In March, I had a show with April Lankford talking about autism,
03:28so please check back on that episode in the back catalog.
03:33I will be talking to Maria Jane in April.
03:38I don't know exactly when the episode with Maria Jane will air, but there's a different kind of spectrum.
03:47I figured I should do an intro about first, and it's regarding ADHD and OCD.
03:58Those are both spectrums, and you might think that they are absolutely separate, but not always.
04:07Like myself, I deal with issues at times of lack of ability to focus on something, ADHD and OCD brain
04:24type,
04:24where other times I can't stop focusing on something, obsessed, obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessed,
04:36and the brain won't shut off about something.
04:41Will not, and over time, learn, and I wrote songs about this, to let it go.
04:48Yeah, you know, think the Disney song, right?
04:51Let it go, let it go.
04:53You have to learn to try to let some things go.
04:58And there's the other OCD more people are aware of and think and know of at least Howie Mandel
05:11famously become a spokesperson for OCD in so much of him being germophobic.
05:20And his OCD is in the form of, like, he can't just wash his hands once.
05:27He obsesses over it and washes them ten times, which I lightly touch on in one of my songs.
05:36So I have a Suno playlist, ADHD slash OCD, at tinyurl.com slash JLD on Suno, short for Jalen or
05:53Detroit,
05:55on Suno, S-U-N-O music system, tinyurl.com slash JLD on Suno.
06:05So I wanted to at least refer to the spectrum, ADHD, OCD, and those who deal with a combo of
06:20the two
06:20and OCD as kind of, in a way, two different things.
06:27It can be obsessive-compulsive-like in one of the songs that I wrote about it, addressing the issue.
06:35Did I check the door?
06:38Did I check the, oh, did I leave the stove on?
06:44Oh, check the stove ten times.
06:47That's an obsessive-compulsive disorder, as well as also just in your own head, your brain never shut off.
06:57A different kind of OCD, just obsessively rethinking through things, but not, you know, worrying about something over and over.
07:10At any rate, okay, I don't want to drag this intro out.
07:15I just felt it important to do a setup to discuss.
07:21It's spectrum-like.
07:23Like, autism has a spectrum.
07:26There are different levels, different degrees of it, so I'm going to leave it there, and next up will be
07:38the discussion with Mary Jane, again, which will be recorded in April.
07:43Not sure when it will air, and again, check back before or after listening to the episode with Mary Jane,
07:54April Langford, the show that dropped in March of 2026.
08:00Thank you all, take care, God bless.
08:03Let's get to the next segment with Mary Jane.
08:07Joining me today, as promised, Mary Jane, and I say as promised because Mary doesn't know, I recorded a whole
08:19intro before she got here.
08:23So, I went into ADHD, just so she knows, and OCD.
08:30Those are spectrum issues also, and often in relation and conjunction with other compounded problems, as is autism, also is.
08:43And I spoke with April Ratchford on, it officially dropped April Fool's Day.
08:50I know April Latchford is a real name, and it was a real episode.
08:56It wasn't a joke.
08:58Talked about autism.
09:00But why I mentioned that and did an intro before Maria even got here is Maria is also, Maria Jane,
09:10the book author name, is also an autism awareness warrior.
09:16She approaches it and helps awareness by having autistic characters in her books.
09:26So, that to me is connection and segue there, and I'm really glad Mickey, a mutual acquaintance of ours, was
09:38able to connect us.
09:40Welcome to the show, Maria Jane.
09:43Thank you, Joseph.
09:44I appreciate you having me.
09:47Yeah, well, I'm really glad you're here.
09:50Before we get into the books, and I've got a million questions running through my head.
09:55Not enough time to get to them all, but let's start with where were you born and raised and significant
10:03places you might have been between and that sort of thing.
10:07Right.
10:07I grew up in South Georgia, rural South Georgia, and I went to college in Atlanta and then moved to,
10:15I guess, sort of the Northeast.
10:17Lived outside of Philly for nine years, and now I've lived almost 20 years here in the Denver area.
10:25Okay.
10:26Well, I like the Colorado Avalanche more than I do the Philadelphia Flyers.
10:31So, despite all those years of me being in the Detroit area, where in the, you know, the 90s and
10:382000s, we had that wonderful fight rivalry going on where the goalies even fought.
10:46I was a goalie growing up myself when I was involved in a fight, so I was like, yeah, it's
10:52about time the professional goalies got out and got in a fight.
10:55But you're not here to talk sports.
11:02What prompted you to want to have autistic characters in a book?
11:08Well, you know, I have several people in my life that are on the spectrum a little bit and wanted
11:16to explore more about how you have relationships with these people and how you can grow relationships with these people.
11:24And I was reading more about it, I was, I mean, they have, the reality shows now are so good
11:30that you could just, like, experience the culture and experience the people.
11:35Um, and it just made sense for me to kind of incorporate a character, um, just because I'd been doing
11:43so much research and so much reading and so much paying attention to this community that, um, I, it made
11:53sense to make this character, um, have that challenge.
11:58And if you call it a challenge, I don't, you know, sometimes I don't, I don't like to call it
12:01challenges.
12:03Everybody has their own challenges.
12:04So it's just a different flavor.
12:07Amen.
12:07I'm glad you put it that way.
12:09Right.
12:10Everyone has challenges of some sort.
12:13It's often in some cases, depending where they are on the spectrum, a gift.
12:21So it is indeed all how you look at it and, uh, embrace the reality of it is what it
12:31is until there comes some mirror miracle cure to help.
12:40All we can do is deal with symptoms, like with a lot of diseases, the best way we can.
12:47Yeah.
12:48And you had mentioned their shows.
12:50I don't have Netflix, but I'm aware there's that life on the spectrum show.
12:55Is that love on the, love on the, love on the spectrum.
12:58Love on the spectrum.
12:59Okay.
13:00Even more romance related.
13:03I knew it was something like that.
13:06So that is the one you were referring to.
13:10Yes.
13:10And there is a romance series.
13:12It's a fictional series and I'm going to not remember the title of it now,
13:17but about a high school boy who, and it follows him through most of high school and how he deals
13:25with his day to day of being in a traditional high school and how he transfers to college and, you
13:36know, and how he navigates all of those things.
13:39And, um, it, I think it did a really good job of showing his challenges as well as his growth.
13:45And, um, he was seeing a therapist and he had relationships, even though they look different sort of than your
13:51normal relationships.
13:53Um, and the people around him, like I would embrace people around me embraced him.
14:00Right.
14:00And, um, we're able to be in those spaces with him.
14:05I wrote down a note, relationships work, all relationships are work.
14:12And that's why many relationships go to pot is because people think they could just coast through them without putting
14:20any work.
14:21So all relationships of any kind with anybody else needs to be worked at.
14:29Yes.
14:29Definitely.
14:31And everybody has their little quirks.
14:33So, you know, my house has to be really clean.
14:36So I'm somewhere on that spectrum myself.
14:40Yeah, I'm on the OCD brain.
14:44Just, I, I flip flop ADHD, OCD, uh, sometimes having trouble concentrating on a particular issue.
14:53And other times I'm fully OCD brain where I just can't stop thinking I can't sleep because the brain won't
15:02shut up, shut off.
15:04I mean, yeah, well, shut up or shut off.
15:07However you want to look at that.
15:08I'm not on the OCD kind of, uh, Howie Mandela-ish.
15:15Now you're kind of on that spectrum.
15:18You've got to have an absolutely clean house where he too is obsessed with the cleanliness, that sort of OCD.
15:28Yeah.
15:29And I, I, and maybe, you know, who knows nature, nurture, it all factors in there, right?
15:35Yeah, yes, it does.
15:37Yes, it does.
15:38My parents probably nurtured that in me.
15:41Oh, clean the house.
15:43We'd love for you to clean the house.
15:45I used to be that way.
15:47And I joke all the time.
15:48I'm going to lift up my green screen for those of you on the behind the scenes channel.
15:53Well, I'm not a hoarder, but I am a slob.
15:57Look at all that stuff on the ugly couch under the green screen there I'm trying to hide.
16:03The house is a mess.
16:05I gave up on being a neat freak years ago.
16:08But also for behind the scenes, if you're looking, I'm holding up the relief that I got from Mickey Mickelson.
16:17And your book is called Perfect Office Hack.
16:22Yes?
16:23Yep.
16:24That's it.
16:26And, well, I'll go to the genesis of the book, but on here it says, Declan Jordan crosses a line,
16:36a massive line, and he'll probably lose his job if Myra files a complaint.
16:42Well, the first thing that grabbed me was, Declan, why that name?
16:49Yeah, so that was kind of interesting.
16:51I have my reader email list, and I decided to send out to my readers, like, what name should be
17:00for the major character, and they picked the name.
17:03You crowdsourced it in a way.
17:05Yeah, I crowdsourced the name.
17:09Well, that's a perfectly valid and good reason to do that.
17:14But as an author myself, I am always curious.
17:20Usually there's a point, a purpose, a reason of some sort behind every name.
17:28It's usually not, oh, give me the phone book.
17:30Oh, page 11, randomly.
17:33Oh, there it is.
17:34Abbott.
17:36Right?
17:37There's usually a reason.
17:39So, indeed, what was the genesis, or where did the title come from?
17:48The perfect office hack.
17:51Right.
17:52So, Meera is the main character, and she's starting a new job at a real estate firm.
17:58Declan is the owner of the firm, and he was also her professor when she was in real estate school.
18:05So, she kind of assumes that he doesn't like her.
18:09Like, she's very outspoken, and she's quick to answer questions.
18:13And I guess we don't really see that part, but her impression is that he doesn't like her.
18:20But he's hiring her anyway, right?
18:22So, she still has to come to this job and deal with a potential boss who maybe doesn't like her
18:28very much.
18:29And then, the first day she gets, well, that's kind of a side thing, so I won't get into that.
18:34Yeah, we don't want to give too many spoilers, right?
18:37No, so very, but Meera's in a relationship at the beginning of this with a, and I don't even remember
18:44his name, but it's not important.
18:46Anyway, so Meera is with her boyfriend, and she is walking with her boyfriend, and they have a breakup, and
18:57they have an argument or a breakup, and she's upset.
19:02And so, she walks away, and she realizes that Declan, the boss, is sitting there watching this whole encounter and
19:09has seen what happened, right?
19:12And has heard a lot of maybe her personal information that she didn't really want to share.
19:17So, if you fast forward a couple of weeks, it comes up that they are going to this training session,
19:24and Declan's going to go.
19:26Meera, as a new employee, is going to go, and there are a couple of employees going.
19:29She's anxious about this, you know.
19:32Anyway, but Declan decides that he's, well, he overhears that Meera doesn't know who her dad is.
19:42And he decides on his own to find her dad.
19:45Uh-oh.
19:46So, he steals personal information from HR, right?
19:51He goes in the computer system, he finds the personal information, and he does this search because he's a computer
19:57guru.
19:59And he finds her dad, basically.
20:01And then, when they get to California, he drops it on her.
20:04Hey, well, I really came to this meeting because this is where your dad is.
20:08And she is, well, number one, she's grateful that, okay, yes, this potentially is her dad who she might not
20:16have had a chance to meet otherwise.
20:18But number two, this guy has stolen her information and major breach of, you know, personal identity, personal lying crust.
20:27So, she decides, well, I mean, yeah.
20:33She could go to the board and have him fired.
20:35Yeah, let's leave it dangling at that as the tease.
20:41Because, again, I don't want to give too much of the book away.
20:44We want to tease people into wanting to, of course, buy and read the book.
20:50So, the obvious then question with the lead-in to this is, who is autistic and how does that play
21:00a role?
21:01Right.
21:02So, Declan is the autistic character.
21:05He is very high-functioning, very smart person, but the personal interaction is a challenge for him.
21:13So, he crossed this line.
21:15Right, that makes perfect sense to me there now, yes.
21:21Yeah, he crossed this line to help her because he felt something for her.
21:26And he wanted to help her, you know, however misguided the help may have been.
21:32But it was within his ability to help her, so he did.
21:37But, you know, there are a lot of lines that got crossed there.
21:41Yeah, a lot of complex emotions there.
21:48As you said, the, well, yay, I kind of eventually wanted to know who my father was.
21:57But this was not the way to either get that information or have it presented.
22:07So, it gets rather complicated in there, I guess.
22:12Right, yeah.
22:13And where the pact comes in is that she decides, okay, well, he crossed the line.
22:21I could tell, or I could take advantage of this.
22:24So, Mira becomes a very morally gray character, too, right?
22:30Ethically challenged in that sense also, yes.
22:34So, she decides that Declan needs to help her, like, give her weekly sessions to help her learn real estate,
22:43the real estate business, and help her get ahead in return for not telling anyone what he did.
22:52A little harsh in the terminology, but blackmail, extortion.
22:57Yeah, yeah, a little bit there.
22:59And it's very new for me to write a character who does something like that.
23:04So, I was surprised with the storyline myself.
23:06Well, it's not direct blackmail or extortion for a direct payment, but, I mean, money through increased access and increased
23:19knowledge and then ability to make more money on her own for herself, she wouldn't have otherwise gotten to without
23:29that.
23:30So, in and of itself is very complicated there, too.
23:37Yeah, well, maybe she would have gotten there, but maybe not so fast, right?
23:40Right, yeah, thank you.
23:42That's the better way to put it.
23:44She tried to kind of cut some corners and speed the progress along.
23:51Yeah.
23:55So, this is not your first book, though, right?
23:58No.
24:00It's the fourth.
24:01Yeah, it's the fourth book in the Perfect Romance series.
24:04So, each book in the series highlights a different character.
24:08All the characters are related to each other.
24:11They all went to the University of Kentucky together.
24:12So, each book is a standalone, and you can read it in and of itself, but you kind of are
24:18able to see the other characters as they progress throughout their lives, too.
24:23I love what you did there because I'm doing the same thing with my Life and Living series of books.
24:29They're semi-interrelated based on topic, but they're each their own standalone primary characters with some occasional throwback or crossover
24:41name drops.
24:42But if you only read one book, you don't miss out.
24:46So, it sounds like the same thing here.
24:49Any one book can be read.
24:52They don't necessarily have to be in order if you want to read the whole series.
24:57Right.
24:58I think eventually it might matter because some people might be together when you didn't realize they were together or
25:06not together.
25:06But that's probably very small details.
25:10You would still want to know what happened, right?
25:17Yeah.
25:19Again, necessarily order-wise, you could think of it as a –
25:24If you go back to book two after reading book four, then you think of book two as kind of
25:31a flashback.
25:34Yeah.
25:37So, it wouldn't really completely disrupt –
25:40Like some books, some series are very much chronological anchored.
25:51And if you don't read them in order or you miss a book, you miss a whole lot.
25:57And it sounds like I did, and you tried to minimalize that as best possible.
26:05Definitely, yeah.
26:06And each – but it's very – the reason for, like, including diverse characters –
26:13I mean, Mira is a Hispanic character.
26:15Declan is an autistic character.
26:17Other characters in the other book are Asian American and Black characters.
26:21So, I really wanted to give that whole flavor in the series of multicultural relationships and multicultural experiences
26:30and learning more about just acceptance of diversity.
26:36Yeah.
26:37Now, again, ADHD, OCD, now my brain's off it, too.
26:43You know, remember the song?
26:44It takes every kind of people.
26:47I forget who sings that.
26:49But, yeah, no, diversity and inclusion is not a – is indeed a good thing if meant in the national
27:01U.S. e pluribus unum sense,
27:05from many one, as opposed to kind of unfortunately woke,
27:12which is more about identity politics and dividing the cultures rather than really bringing them together,
27:21and diversity about paying homage to other cultures, not appropriating other cultures.
27:31Do you cover any of that at all because of the different varying types of characters?
27:40Really? No.
27:41It doesn't get political at all.
27:42I mean, these characters were drawn together in college, and they were in the same sorority,
27:48and that was their bond initially, and then they've just grown, and now they're out of college.
27:54They're all, like, seeking their careers, and their happily ever afters.
27:59So, that's kind of what has joined them in the beginning, and then we just kind of see them diverge
28:05outer from that.
28:07Well, yeah, the way I see it is you're indeed in the e pluribus unum kind of camp with this.
28:17Indeed, they came together with like – through the same college, somewhat like-minded,
28:27regardless of skin tone or origin, and understand that other people are still – still bleed right inside.
28:39Yes, and it's unfortunately exterior forces that keep wanting to divide us all all the time.
28:48Yeah, we definitely all – most people have had the experience of falling in love and getting broken up with
28:54or all of those human things.
28:58Right, right, yeah.
29:00That's pretty much the same human nature, human condition that I go into my Life and Living series also.
29:08Right, we all deal with those things, and if we could focus on things that, indeed, we share and bring
29:17us together,
29:17whether the world in general would be better, without having to talk about it.
29:24I would think potentially people would see that as an unspoken underlying thing, maybe.
29:34Right, I mean, I just wanted to bring a lot of different characters to the stage, I mean,
29:39because that's what reflects what we see every day, right?
29:44So, yeah.
29:48Oh, yeah, I got to confess, I'm just – today is one of those I'm just so tired kind of
29:57days.
29:58So, you know what, we all have themselves, like, days upon days leading up to this.
30:08It's, oh, yeah, a million questions, and now that I'm talking to you, though, they've all left my brain.
30:17Are you currently working on a – when did Perfect Office Pack release?
30:25That released – no, 2020 – must have been 2024, maybe, or 2025.
30:32No, it's 2025.
30:33It was February 2025, so a little bit over a year ago, right?
30:37Okay, so –
30:38My brain is not working, but, yeah.
30:40So, yeah.
30:42The next book comes out in – so I'm having re-releases of the first two books in April and
30:49May.
30:49So that's Perfect Imperfect Always.
30:51And then the fifth book, Perfect Secrets, comes out in June.
30:56Okay, yeah, that was the obvious next question I was leading to.
31:01Is there a next book?
31:02And, indeed, we've already covered that.
31:05So it's all set and ready to go, or you're working on it now?
31:10No, it's all set.
31:11It's on pre-order on Kindle.
31:14This one's set in the Denver area, so that was kind of fun for me to write of where I
31:19live now.
31:20And with two new characters who you will learn their story as well.
31:26That's good.
31:29You get to live other places through other people in books that way.
31:35I really like that.
31:37So where do the other ones – what settings do the other ones take place?
31:42So the first book is kind of a weird book.
31:46It's called Perfect, and it is an alternative ending, kind of choose-your-own-ending romance.
31:53So it follows – yeah, the main character, Chloe, through five different parts of her life,
31:59and she makes different decisions.
32:01And depending on those decisions, she moves to Paris, and she moves to New York City,
32:08and she meets different people, so a different person is her happily ever-after person,
32:15depending on where she is and what choices she makes, right?
32:18And I kind of wanted to highlight that, you know, depending on your decisions,
32:25which path your life takes, that there could be a multitude of people
32:30that might be potentially there for you to find and fall in love with, right?
32:35Like, just because your life may take a turn that you didn't expect
32:39doesn't mean that, you know, all is lost.
32:43Amen. That's good.
32:45And I like the title because, in a way, I hope you meant it ironically
32:51because there's no such thing as perfect, and that's part of the point here, right?
32:56There's not that one perfect person.
32:59There are many potential mates or partners, and some people forever live their lives
33:11in a small pond and never exceed that pond.
33:14That doesn't mean they won't find someone.
33:16And others are world-renowned travelers, and they may have a hard time finding someone
33:23in a way because they're almost meeting too many people, if that makes sense.
33:30Right. And the idea that maybe the person you fall for or your partner
33:34that seems like the perfect fit is perfect for you, not, you know, they're so, yeah.
33:41And it all always – and we all – I started recording music again.
33:48I'm using the Suno music system.
33:51I just wrote a song the other day called Complex Beings about this,
34:00and another called Hectic Living.
34:04Things are so fast-paced we need to slow down.
34:07You know, it's like – do you remember Matt Davis is all?
34:12He had the song, Stop and Smell the Roses, right?
34:16You got to stop and smell the roses along the way or you'll miss a lot.
34:24Even different parts of our lives, we go through seasons of change at times.
34:32It may not be the same person we were in high school, in college, and after college.
34:40Right, yes.
34:41So that book is the perfect book – or perfect, the book.
34:45It's sort of highlighting that, right?
34:47You're a different person.
34:49That's what I'm getting, yeah.
34:50Yeah.
34:52Different things are important as you grow and mature and get older.
34:57So, yeah.
34:58Yeah.
34:58Okay.
34:58So it just wasn't some weird thought.
35:02I did pick up properly on that, yes.
35:05Yes, you did.
35:06You hit the nail on the head.
35:09Okay.
35:10Right.
35:11And then the second book, Perfect Always, is Chloe's story.
35:15So in the beginning, I thought I might write, like, a full-length novel based on each one of those
35:22parts from the first book.
35:24And then I thought, well, I think people really need the real story, right?
35:31So Perfect Always is Chloe's story of who she decides, you know, who is her happily ever after person.
35:38And then from there, as close to Perfect is Bree as the main character.
35:43And then, of course, Perfect Office Packed is Mira.
35:47And then coming up, Perfect Secrets is Danny and Tanner are the main characters.
35:52I really love the title as close to Perfect because, again, there's no such thing as perfect, especially on this
36:03fallen world.
36:05No, the only perfect person I ever think is perfect was when Jesus Christ walked the planet.
36:14And that the rest of us are flawed and frail, imperfect, and trying to do the best we can.
36:23And that title really suggests that to me.
36:29Right.
36:29And it's a little, I mean, my history is, I was, well, I have told you what a neat freak
36:34I am.
36:34So you know that about me.
36:36And growing up as a young adult, I developed anorexia, but a lot of it was around those needing to
36:45be perfect in every way and needing to control things, right?
36:50And through recovery, I was able to let go of a lot of those, okay, you don't have to be
36:58the straight-A student.
36:59You don't have to look perfect all the time.
37:03It is those imperfections and those challenges which binds us all together.
37:09And that was, like, my major learning from that experience.
37:12So I think this series is a little bit about that, too.
37:16Like, all of our imperfections kind of make us all perfect, although not perfect.
37:23You see what I'm saying, not perfect, but, you know, perfectly human.
37:28There you go.
37:29Yeah, very, very human.
37:31Again, none of us are perfect.
37:33We are all human.
37:34As we said earlier, we all have our quirks and whatnot.
37:39That is what makes us all individuals and somewhat unique and why Martin Luther King Jr., content of character, you
37:49can't lump people together based on a group identity or shouldn't.
37:54But those quirks and those imperfections and recognizing everybody has one, whether some might be better at hiding it than
38:07others, right, or something like that.
38:10But we all have them, and that can be a bonding thing.
38:16Definitely, yeah.
38:18And trying to live that perfect life, like, just isolated me from people.
38:25So it definitely was the opposite of what I wanted.
38:29And also, I'm worried people hear as close to perfect.
38:36And my mind might go immediately, well, you're settling.
38:41Well, we make compromises and settle, and I don't really want to say it that way, I don't think.
38:50But it's not settling.
38:53It's recognizing and understanding everything in life are trade-offs and compromises.
39:01And the only way you're going to meet a perfect person for you is to clone yourself to be the,
39:11right, to actually be you and marry yourself.
39:15Yeah, right?
39:16Again, all relationships are work.
39:19No two people are ever going to agree 100% of the time.
39:25Definitely, and hopefully, if you're cloning and marrying yourself, you're accepting and loving yourself, too.
39:32I mean, that's, like, a huge check right there, right?
39:35That's a whole other problem, too.
39:38Yeah, generally, there are things we don't like.
39:41I'm so glad you said that, right?
39:43Because generally, we all have things we don't like about ourselves, too.
39:49And I've got several episodes that I talk about the need to go to the bathroom mirror, look yourself in
39:56the face, and be honest with yourself.
39:59A lot of people can't self-reflect, and they lie to everyone, including themselves.
40:07And we need to be honest in ourselves first before we can really, truly be honest with someone else.
40:15Yes?
40:16Yes, definitely.
40:18I mean, yeah, you sometimes keep on blinders about things you don't want to face, I guess.
40:27Okay, well, yeah, I've kind of been all over the map with you today.
40:33That's okay.
40:34I feel like we're circling all the fun topics that are definitely related to this series.
40:39Yeah, yeah, in a way, yeah, your series and my series, the Life and Living series, kind of mirror each
40:47other in a way in this human condition talk.
40:51Look, and I rail about it all the time, people that want to live in a bubble and delusion, devoid
41:00of countless, forever of humanity's understanding of human nature.
41:09Our technological progress may have changed, but we as a species really haven't much.
41:20No, it was just interesting.
41:22I was seeing that there's, like, proof that we had dogs before we ever needed dogs as pets, before there
41:30was even, like, hunting and, you know, and things that we would use dogs for.
41:36So that was, I was like, oh, we just always wanted that companionship, right?
41:41Yeah, oh, absolutely.
41:43I mean, going back to Egypt, obviously, there's always been the connection with cats back in the Egyptian days.
41:51But, yeah, that's a human companion issue there, a desire to have a relationship even with another being, another species,
42:05a dog, a cat, a bunny, a ferret, or whatever.
42:11Yeah, so I guess we don't change that much over time.
42:16No, no, we like to think we do, but unfortunately, we don't, other than, again, we all have seasons, too,
42:25so we may change a little from who we once were to who we are now.
42:32We learn, we hopefully get wiser and grow a bit, yes?
42:38Yes, I've learned that if I, if I listen to a book while I'm cleaning, I can stay focused on
42:46the task in front of me instead of being, like, squirrel, oh, I'm cleaning this, now I'm going to clean
42:50this, I'm going to come back.
42:51So I learned that.
42:53I'm so glad you said that, the movie, Squirrel, and speaking of dogs, for those not looking on behind-the
43:01-scenes video, there's Maria's dog.
43:04What, who is this?
43:06This is Woody.
43:08Woody, hi, Woody!
43:13What a good baby.
43:15Oh, hey, baby.
43:16Say, yeah, I just want to be my mama right now.
43:22Okay, so starting to wrap things up, then, again, we could go for hours, there's a bazillion more questions and
43:32topics we could discuss there.
43:35Unfortunately, all things must come to an end, as they say, and your dog really wants attention, so we'll let
43:43you get to the dog, let you get to Woody.
43:46Woody, what is your website?
43:50TriciaCopeland.com or MariaJaneRomance.com.
43:54All right, we'll go with Maria, Maria Jane, I'm writing it down, Romance.com, because it might be in the
44:07press release, but I didn't circle it, so I wrote it down now.
44:12But, so, you've kind of doxed your real name.
44:16Why did you choose, then, Maria Jane as your pen name?
44:21Right, so I was writing young adult fantasy about witches and fairies and vampires, and this is, I mean, these
44:28books are adult romances.
44:30They're not erotic books, but they have adult scenes in them, so you don't want one person jumping from Hawaii
44:37fantasy into something that might not be appropriate for them.
44:40So, I changed the name to keep it a little bit separate, yeah.
44:44All right.
44:45Okay, well, thank you, Maria Jane, and give Woody a big hug for us.
44:52He's going to demand it, I think.
44:54Yeah, there he is.
44:56What a good baby.
44:59Take care.
44:59God bless, Maria.
45:01You too.
45:02Bye.
45:02Bye.
45:04Bye.
45:07Bye.
45:09Bye.
45:13Bye.
45:14Bye.
45:15Bye.
45:17Bye.
45:21Bye.
45:24Can't hit the off switch.
45:26Thoughts keep spinning like a glitch in the mix.
45:29Counting sheep, but the running track laps.
45:32Every number just snaps right back.
45:36Cutting nails short so I don't pick skin.
45:38Check the door twice, then I check it again.
45:41Tiny wars in a tired head.
45:44Whole damn night never leaves the bed.
45:49Where's the off switch?
45:51I'm stuck in the loop again.
45:53Same three worries like my only friends.
45:56Scroll that list till the words all bend.
45:59I just want one quiet end.
46:01One quiet end.
46:03Where's the off switch?
46:04Brace the pride on red.
46:06Chasing thoughts till the dawn breaks dead.
46:08Sail and go, but it grips instead.
46:10I just want one quiet end.
46:18Lights all dim, but the mind's on blast.
46:20Replay, remake, every moment that's past.
46:23If I breathe in four, then I breathe out eight.
46:26Maybe I can now count fate.
46:29Wash my hands till the doubt runs dry.
46:31I still hear what if I'm in under the tie.
46:35I know the script, but I hear rewind.
46:37Same sharp scene every single time.
46:43Is it me or the fear of my name?
46:47If I start to, I'll fall out of the brain.
46:52If I start to, I'll fall out of the brain.
47:12What do you know?
47:16Where's the off switch?
47:18I'm stuck in the loop again.
47:20Same three worries like my only friend.
47:23Scroll that list till the words all bend.
47:26I just want one quiet end.
47:29One quiet end.
47:41Where's the off switch?
47:43I'm stuck in the loop again.
47:46Same three worries like my only friend.
47:48Scroll that list till the words all bend.
47:51I just want one quiet end.
47:54One quiet end.
47:55Where's the off switch?
47:56Rain stuck bright on red.
47:58Chasing thoughts till the dawn breaks dead.
48:01Say let go, but it grips instead.
48:03I just want one quiet end.
48:06One quiet end.
48:18OCD brain and she's white, why I can't hit the off switch.
48:24Thoughts keep spinning like a glitch in the mix.
48:27Counting sheep, but they're running track laps.
48:30Peace of mind, I seem to forever lack.
48:44Count the crack in the ceiling, then the shadow by the door.
48:52Did I lock it?
48:54Did I check it?
48:55Did I check it once more?
48:58Every thought like a bright red warning.
49:01Every sigh like a stuck alarm.
49:04Breath is crawling on my chest line.
49:08Hands curl into my arms.
49:12Still the night.
49:14Still the numbers spinning in my head.
49:17Let the list I'm holding fall right off the edge of the bed.
49:23Still the night.
49:24Let the looping march unwind.
49:27I don't need to get it perfect.
49:29Just a pillow for my mind.
49:37Tap the light switch with my knuckle.
49:41Whisper last time, then I'm done.
49:45Heart says run it back 11.
49:48Brain says 12 or you're the one.
49:52Every what if like a siren.
49:55Every memory double checked.
49:57But this blanket is a shoreline.
50:01I can step back from the red.
50:05Still the night.
50:07Still the numbers spinning in my head.
50:10Let the list I'm holding fall right off the edge of the bed.
50:16Still the night.
50:17Let the looping march unwind.
50:20I don't need to get it perfect.
50:23Just a pillow for my mind.
50:32In two, three, out two, three.
50:37Name the things that I can see.
50:39Old gray hoodie on the chair.
50:42Single socks, untangled hair.
50:46In two, three, out two, three.
50:51Nothing bad is hiding here with me.
50:55Just a hum and a hallway light.
50:58Just a body getting tired of the fight.
51:04Still the night.
51:07Still the numbers spinning in my head.
51:10Let the list I'm holding fall right off the edge of the bed.
51:16Still the night.
51:17Let the looping march unwind.
51:20I don't need to get it perfect.
51:23Just a pillow for my mind.
51:32One last check of the window.
51:36One last glance at the door.
51:40Then I lay that tiny soldier gently sleeping on the floor.
51:47Still the night, stay a while.
51:51Guard the corners of this room.
51:55Till my mind turns down its volume.
51:59And my dreams make a little more room.
52:16Like and subscribe to the Constitutionalist Politics Podcast and share episodes.
52:23We need your help.
52:25Thank you for having tuned into another Constitutionalist Podcast show.
52:32I really appreciate that you stopped by.
52:36Again, please like, share, subscribe.
52:39We need you to help spread the Constitutionalist Movement.
52:45Thank you again.
52:47Take care.
52:48God bless.
52:49Love you all.
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