Today my guest is Olivia Waite, author of The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows, and the new romance columnist for The New York Times. We take a deep and joyful nerdy deep dive into beekeeping, romance, and confronting bi-erasure in romance. It’s very fun – get ready. Thanks to Kate, Shana, Aarya, Claudia, and Leigh for questions! Looking for a podcast to listen to? Have you tried Jeff and Will’s The Big Gay Fiction Podcast? … Continue reading 416. Beekeeping and Romance with Olivia Waite →

The Damned, the sequel to The Beautiful, is out, so Renee Ahdieh joins me again to talk about vampire romance, characters overcoming and rejecting toxic patriarchy, and the planning of an incredible virtual book tour. We talk about some of the themes in The Damned (no spoilers but if you haven’t read The Beautiful there are some details about the end) and about the development of a multi-night multi-author party that surrounded the book’s release. … Continue reading 415. Vampires and Virtual Events with Renee Ahdieh →

Gemma emailed the podcast to say that she loves episodes with Amanda, and wondered if Amanda might help her find more books like the ones she’s really, really enjoyed lately. Yes to both! Amanda and I discuss Gemma’s letter, fantasy romance recommendations, plus our local library hauls, and what we’re reading and listening to. Thank you Gemma for emailing us! … Music: purple-planet.com Editorial services: Podcast with Paroma

Today I’m speaking with historical romance legend Mary Balogh. No, my inner 13-year old was not chill. This was recorded by phone, so the audio is a little different. We discuss her newest book, Someone to Romance, and her re-releases, including her latest, Truly, and the Welsh history behind that story. We also talk about writing ongoing series, found family, and what books she’s loving lately! Thanks to Elyse, Claudia, Aarya, Regencyfan, and Debbie for … Continue reading 413. Writing Historical Romance: A Conversation With Mary Balogh →

Today I’m chatting with author Sarah Gailey about their books, including their latest, When We Were Magic, and about different types of magic, including the magic of learning a skill, finding your community, and discovering over and over again who you are. We talk a lot about queerness, and defining who you are – specifically by asking the question, “Who are you when you’re all by yourself?” Thanks to Meagan-Ray for their input, care, and … Continue reading 412. Magic, Queerness, and Being Welcomed As Yourself, with Sarah Gailey →

Alexis Rockley is a business coach and the author of the book Find Your Fuck Yeah. She recently went viral with a tweet about the cognitive exhaustion of the quarantimes. In the course of making an argument against the constant push toward increased work, productivity, and leveling up, she talks about working with your brain to find a happier space for yourself. Plus she offers some practical techniques to help you and your tired brain … Continue reading 411. Caring for Tired Brains with Alexis Rockley →

Today Amanda and I are answering listener email about books on sale, extremely long romances, and, most importantly, BAKED GOODS. I talk about my birthday cake, a homemade mint chip brownie baked Alaska, and we discuss all the delicious things we, and you, are all making. Plus book recs, and a very important question at the end. Come hang out with us! Thank you to Jacqueline, Amy, Verity for the recipes, and Jasmine and Ellie … Continue reading 410. Baked Goods, Gaming, and More Birthday Goodness with Amanda →

Keeping with recent tradition, this week we have a spoiler-free discussion of a new book! Alpha Night by Nalini Singh is out, so Nalini and I connected to talk all about it, But first we talk about quarantine baking and gluten free baking tricks, and then we discuss mating at first sight, alpha females, consent, writing series, and what she’s working on now (clue: archangels!). … Music: https://www.purple-planet.com Looking for a new show to enjoy? … Continue reading 409. Alpha Night and Alpha Women With Nalini Singh →

Today my guest is Farrah Rochon, author of the new contemporary romance The Boyfriend Project – so of course we’re talking about the book! No spoilers, we promise! We talk friendship, creating your own incredible writing retreat, and Broadway musicals, and more. We also discuss her term on the board of RWA, which ended late last year, within the limits of what she’s able to talk about. And Farrah shares with us memories of her … Continue reading 408. The Boyfriend Project and Fabulous Friendships, with Farrah Rochon →

Today, I’m talking rakes, rakesses, and historically ferocious women with Scarlett Peckham. We talk about what she calls her feminist primal scream book, The Rakess, about steely steadfast cinnamon roll heroes, and we deep dive into what we love about characters who destabilize and unpeel one another emotionally and, uh, literally. Also: a sneak peek into what’s next in her Sirens series and for the Charlotte Street series! TW/CW: talk about sexual harassment, the price … Continue reading 407. The Privileges of Being a Rakess with Scarlett Peckham →

Today, Tara and I are speaking with Maggie Tokuda-Hall, author of the new book, The Mermaid, The Witch, and the Sea, which we loved. We talk about who and what inspired her to write this book, how she explored gender identity among pirates, and the stories that define us. NB: There are incidents of torture and violence in the book, and we mention them during the conversation off and on. … Music: https://www.purple-planet.com