In our last collection of Patreon listener questions, we had two about the process of reviewing: what we look for, and what questions we’re trying to answer when we write a review. Shana joins Amanda and me to talk about the process of reviewing romance, how reviewing helps us identify what we most like to read, and how reading and review works for each of us as writers, and for me doing editorial oversight. Thank … Continue reading 476. Behind the Scenes of Reviewing Romance with Shana and Amanda →

YA Author, reviewer, and editor Dahlia Adler joins me to talk about all the Badass Anthologies she’s editing, about her upcoming book, Home Field Advantage, and her latest, Cool for the Summer. And, inspired by a recent Instagram pic of her Bantam Love Stories collection, we also talk about vintage YA romances. Stay tuned for the outro where I have a special announcement of a new podcast project inspired by this conversation! TW/CW: discussion of … Continue reading 475. Badass Anthologies and Vintage YA with Dahlia Adler →

Amanda and I are answering one last round of questions! We cover day trips and all the places where it’s imperative that we eat fries, we’ve got book recs for fluffy contemporary romances, and we talk about table top games we love. Thanks to Tara, Christina, and Malaraa for the questions! … Music: purple-planet.com

Amanda and I are arranging marriages between books and convenience store candies (we missed this part of Ellen’s question last week!) and we talk about what romances we’d want to see adapted into limited series, who we’d cast in our dream productions, and what we’ve learned over the years of working with the website. Thanks to Ellen, Kate K, Leslee, and Sue for today’s questions! … Music: purple-planet.com

Amanda and I are back talking about recommendations, snacks, candy, and more! Sue asks about the behind-the-scenes part of running the website as a business, Ellen is looking for some recs to ease the wait for the next Tessa Dare novel, and recs for fantasy that avoid the problem of Too Much Plot/Not Enough Kissing. Thanks to Sue and Ellen for today’s questions – and we’ll come back to the recs for candy and books … Continue reading 472. Fantasy and Historical Recs Plus Behind-The Scenes with Amanda & Sarah →

Laura Nash of The Short Game joins me to talk about romance in short games – games you can play in 8-12 hours. We cover dating simulators and interactive fiction, and we rank the Dream Daddies. Laura shares some upcoming and very-brand-new games she’s hecking excited about, too! … Music: purple-planet.com

My guest this week is Becky Chambers, author of the Wayfarers series and the new novella, A Psalm for the Wild Built. We talk about the book itself, and themes of caregiving and comfort, and the process of writing a book with the goal of sending a hug out into the world. Thank you to Malaraa and Molly from our Patreon community for the questions! … Music: purple-planet.com

I’m joined by Morgan and Isabeau from the Whoa!Mance podcast! They are celebrating three years of podcasting, and their latest exploration of romance has been to look at category romances. I thought it would be fun to take a deep dive into a brand new contemporary romance, so we all read Awakened by the CEO’s Kiss by Therese Baharrie. This episode is a low-spoiler discussion of the book, and of all the interesting and subversive … Continue reading 469. Awakened by the CEO’s Kiss, with Morgan and Isabeau from Whoa!Mance →

Amanda and I are chatting about our favorite romance-laden RPGs, and our favorite characters to romance in Stardew Valley, Dragons Ages (all of ‘em), Witcher 3, and more. We compare romance options, discuss favorite pairings, and yup, we really like Dragon Age. Moral of this episode: Don’t Bring Your Tits to a Gunfight. This is the TikTok we chortle about. … Music: Purple-Planet.com

Tara joins me to talk about how reading lesbian romances helped them realize their sexuality after having grown up in a very conservative religious environment. Side trips include Robin Hood in many varieties, “Don’t Stop Believing,” and movies to watch while kinda stoned. Romances help people understand a lot of aspects of themselves, and I love hearing about how reading has helped Tara live more authentically. TW/CW: we talk about growing up queer in a … Continue reading 467. Realizing Sexuality Through Romance with Tara Scott →

It’s part three of what I called “AMA with AMAnda and Sarah.” We’re chatting about our favorite recipes, cooking blogs, and cookbooks, favorite french fries, seasonal re-reading, contemporary cozy mysteries with romantic elements, trends, and adventure romance recs. Plus, how to snowboard while holding an onion. Thanks to Bransler, Cheri, Norette, Manda, and Laura B. for the questions! … Music: purple-planet.com