Ready, set: CLICHÉ. Amanda and I are facing off in a romance cliché battle! What does that even mean? I know, my brain is a very silly place. Can you out-cliché the two of us? The Heat will be on! What’s your favorite or least favorite romance cliché? Tell us all about it! … Music: purple-planet.com

Becca Title is my guest this week as we celebrate the grand opening of Meet Cute, a romance bookshop in San Diego! We talk about the process of opening a bookstore, the lawyer-to-romance pipeline, and the establishment of one of the greatest murals I’ve ever seen. Then we squee at each other about books. Obviously. … Music: purple-planet.com

I didn’t know this, but author Freya Marske has been so eager to be a guest on my show, and today, it’s happening! Her latest book, A Restless Truth, is out this week, and if you like queer magical historical mysteries with murder, this series is for you. We talk about magic having a physical cost, and how she highlights the classism and sexism of a magical system controlled and maintained mostly by men. We … Continue reading 535. All Things Magical with Freya Marske →

Amanda and I are back for cover mayhem! We’ve got crimes against Tom Hardy, questionable titles, and lots of visual silliness. There’s background barking of support from Zeb, inquiries as to the union terms of the shifter cover wolves, and questions about the futility of truly ever knowing who it was that let the dogs out. Thanks to David T. Cole for helping me figure out how to add images. You should be able to … Continue reading 534. Spooky Season Cover Snark →

One weekend, Alisha Rai got married. Then, two weeks later, her new book came out. So let’s talk about all the things! We cover her wedding, the parties, and how part of her wedding was at a celebrity’s mansion (but we had no idea until the end). And of course, we talk about her newest book, Partners in Crime. We discuss portraying mental health struggles and coping mechanisms, as well as sequel bait, and writing … Continue reading 533. Partners in Crime: The Book and the Wedding with Alisha Rai →

This is a weird one – enjoy! Amanda and I have brought zany questions to answer, and we’re going to cover insults, ghosts, pets, and more. But we want to hear YOUR answers, too! Especially the one involving Grimace. … Music: purple-planet.com  

Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty is the first in the Midsolar Murders series, and is out this week! Amanda and I both really liked Station Eternity, so we were very excited to ask a bunch of questions! We talk about the absence of grief in the aftermath of murder in some mystery series, how aliens in Lafferty’s world perceive humans (spoiler: wet) and how a sentient ship is both creepy and comforting. Worry not, this … Continue reading 531. Solving Murder in Space with Mur Lafferty →

Kyla Zhao is my guest this week ahead of the release of her debut novel, The Fraud Squad, coming out in January! Kyla’s book was inspired by her time working for high society magazines like Tatler and Vogue in Singapore. We talk about cultural differences, Trader Joe’s, and how her book was her antidote to doom scrolling in 2020. … Music: purple-planet.com

Reading romance can lead to many things, including…dyeing wool! Today my guest is Nakia of Wild Star Fibers, who created the Romancelandia collection of yarn. Knitters and readers unite! We’re going to talk about what books inspired the Romancelandia collection, and how she translated tropes to color combinations. I will have links to her shop in the show notes and she will be putting some of the extras up for sale very soon. … Music: … Continue reading 529. The Romancelandia Yarn Collection with Nakia from Wild Star Fibers →

Tara Scott joins me to talk about the television show A League of Their Own! You might have seen her review, and maybe you’ve seen folks talking about it online – it’s wonderful. So we’re gonna squee about it, and no worries – no spoilers. Heads up – there is some discussion of the consequences of being arrested for being queer at that time period, and that discussion begins at about 24 minutes in. Thank … Continue reading 528. A League of Their Own with Tara Scott →

I’ve been talking about this book for weeks, and now I get to talk to the author: Deanna Raybourn joins me to talk about her new thriller, Killers of a Certain Age. We talk about the power of being underestimated, and the painfulness of being expected to disappear as you age. Battles against misogyny! Destroying the patriarchy! Aging is awesome! Join us for a very casual discussion of hypothetical and and actual historical murder. … … Continue reading 527. Killers of a Certain Age with Deanna Raybourn →