Kennedy Ryan Discusses Her New Book, Score, From Her Hollywood Renaissance Series

Added: 2026-05-29

[00:00:07][music] [music] >> We have a very special guest that's joining us and because she's on a book tour, we don't want to waste a moment of her time. So, Kennedy Ryan, please come to the stage. Hey lady.

[00:00:27]>> Hi. How are you?

[00:00:29]>> Wait, what part of the world are you in cuz you have been everywhere. Saw you on GMA last week. Yeah.

[00:00:34]>> Wait, turn your phone sideways.

[00:00:36]>> Okay. Okay. Okay. Like this?

[00:00:38]>> Yeah.

[00:00:39]>> Yes. Okay.

[00:00:40]>> to pop. Let's see. Let's see if it'll do >> not going to pop. Turn it BACK TO THE >> OH, NO.

[00:00:45]>> That's okay.

[00:00:46]>> Okay. So, I um I I'm sorry. I'm not full screen. I am in I am on my phone and I'm in the office of a friend. Um is she going to come on? Come over here.

[00:01:00]>> Friend, COME SAY HI.

[00:01:01]>> HI, FRIEND.

[00:01:03]The legend, EVA BOWSER.

[00:01:07]I KNOW. [screaming] I KNOW.

[00:01:09]>> HEY, EVA. OH MY GOODNESS.

[00:01:12]>> IS SHE I MEAN SO, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FORGIVE ME.

[00:01:16]UH we were having lunch and I was like, "OH MY GOD. I HAVE TO GO I HAVE TO GO BE ON THE PODCAST." SHE'S LIKE, "WE CAN POP OVER TO MY OFFICE." SO, I am I am in her office on the phone. So, I'm sorry I'm not full screen, but you'll forgive me.

[00:01:29]I hope.

[00:01:30]>> We will take it, but no, I have to say to our you know, this is why you guys got to join our book babes and our membership. This woman loves our book babes so much so much that look at what she's doing to make sure she shows up. I love that, Kennedy. [laughter] We on behalf of the book babes, thank you. Thank you, girl.

[00:01:47]>> Thank you for having me. I have I have an event at The Grove in LA tonight. So, I'm in LA. I'll be in my I have a red eye to Miami. So, I'm all over the place, but I WAS LIKE, "I'VE GOT TO POP IN. I'M SO excited about this." Thank you guys for having me.

[00:02:02]>> Thank you. Because you know you're here.

[00:02:04]We're already So, all right. For those who who may not know, who are new to the room, let me just explain quickly. So, yes, we've got our book Real. Let me Let me pull it up as I'm dropping things.

[00:02:14]So, [clears throat] this is our May pick. This is Kennedy's book, and we're getting through this delightfully.

[00:02:22]So, we're enjoying this. But, she's here today to announce our pick for June, which is another another Kennedy Ryan book, which just came out, which is the book Score.

[00:02:36]>> Yay!

[00:02:38]It's backwards. This is Evette's copy.

[00:02:41]>> [laughter] >> There it is. So, wait. I know you don't have a lot of time. Tell us about the book. Tell us what Score is about.

[00:02:49]>> Score [snorts] is So, you guys have book one, which is Real, of course, which was your May pick. This is the second book in the series. The series is called the Hollywood Renaissance. And so, it's the same universe. Uh it's kind of like a moving lens, meaning in the first book, the one you guys are reading right now, you have the director and the actress, right? And that There's a little bit of forbidden there. Um but, it's a whole cast and crew who are making a Harlem Renaissance era biopic. They're making a movie about a fictional era um entertainer named Dessi Blue. And so, in the first book, we kind of like hone in on the relationship, the forbidden relationship between the actress and the director. And in the second book, which is Score, uh we are looking at the screenwriter and the musician, the one who is working on the score for the film. Um and so, this is examine They are college sweethearts. And so, if you guys are reading Real, it's kind of like how does Score fit IN >> TO HAPPEN.

[00:03:47]OKAY, I KNEW THAT WAS COMING. I'M NOT I'M ACTUALLY NOT SURPRISED.

[00:03:50]>> [laughter] >> TO LAUGH.

[00:03:51]>> RIGHT. AND there the timelines are kind of congruent, but um we go They are college sweethearts. You know, when you read Real, I don't want to do spoilers cuz I know people are still reading, but when you read Real, you first meet Monk and Verity in Real, the book you guys are reading now. And there's obviously some tension, like something went really bad between them. So, in Score, we go all the way back to their college sweet They were college sweethearts. We go all the way back to where things went wrong. And we see that we see them fall in love in college. I'm not going to do spoilers, but so we go back to college and we see that it ends disastrously.

[00:04:29]And so, they are forced 12 years later, which is where you pick up with Real, to be They're in forced proximity to work on this movie together. It's the greatest opportunity of both of their careers to work on this Desi Blue biopic about this black entertainer from the Harlem Renaissance era, but they have to work together. And so, that's how we get them back. And one of my favorite things about you know, you guys are reading Real and Niva, the heroine there, has lupus, you know, and it's like she's still chasing her dreams and following her ambitions and her goals. You know, she has lupus, but she's still doing it, right? Um our heroine in Score, and I've been real This is not a super spoiler.

[00:05:08]I've been super open about it. She has bipolar disorder. And I really want to examine what does love look like? Like when you are managing a diagnosis like that that's really transformational in your life, what does it look like to be in love, to fall in love, to stay in love in the midst of that? And what does it look like for a partner to come alongside you and support and love you unconditionally and radically accept you in those circumstances? So, that's kind of what we're doing in Score. And [snorts] I'm I'm really, really excited about it.

[00:05:41]>> Wow. I love that. And I love, you know, I so many things to to talk to you about when it comes to score, but I saw you I saw a clip of you at a book talk. I'm not sure where it was, but it seemed like in in a loving way that one of somebody in the audience was kind of challenging you for writing male characters that are you know, just too good to be true. And I love your response to that. For those who have not heard your response, talk a little bit about the men that you write and the why you write them the way that you do.

[00:06:12]>> Right. I mean, I think that one of the I don't know if I would call it a criticism, but one of the things that I hear a lot as a romance writer is that it could potentially foster unrealistic expectations for women. Like these men don't exist, you know, these men you know, they're ideals. They're all handsome and they're all rich or whatever, which they're not all, but a lot of them are. And for me when I am writing a hero, it's not about is he rich, it's not about is it tall, is it not is about is he handsome. It is about does he respect you? It is about does he respect your goals, your ambitions? Does he love you? Does he accept you? Can you trust him to be faithful? And is there reciprocity in the relationship? And so what I my kind of response to unrealistic expectation is that and I'm not saying all men, but a lot of men aren't great. We are hearing I mean, let's think about some of the stories we've heard over the last few weeks. And again, not all men. I don't want anybody to say Kennedy hates men because I have been married to the same amazing man for 29 years. Like I got a good one, right?

[00:07:16]So I'm not saying that, but I'm thinking about the story that we heard about all these men on this site trying to figure out how do I drug my wife at not like what is this? Do you know what I mean? Like these are stories that we're hearing that are actual reality. And what I say is I don't want to foster unrealistic expectations, but instead of writing a a who reflects some of the reality of what a lot of women are managing as they're dating and searching for a partner. Instead of writing a man who reflects that reality, I would rather write a man you deserve.

[00:07:51]I would rather write a man who reflects the the ideals that we have as far as and I'm not saying ideal like idealistic, but what am I looking for in a partner? Someone who will love me unconditionally, trust me, stand with me. And so that's that's kind of what I'm doing and I don't want to in my work signal to women you should settle. You should settle for less. You should take the first thing that comes because you're lonely. I don't want my work to signal that we are fine with patriarchy, that we are fine with misogyny. We In my work, I hope that I am deconstructing those things.

[00:08:26]>> [music] >> I'm so good.

[00:08:33]>> [music] >> I'm so good.

[00:08:38]I'm so good.

[00:08:39]>> [music]