This week, we hear from you! We have listener email responding to some recent episodes, and some listener voicemail as well. We talk about what we’re reading, we offer recommendations for your favorite Hufflepuff/Slytherin pairings, we talk about what to make for lunch when you work from home, we answer email about non-canonical pairings and match some romance recs with fanfic favorites, and we cover other random topics, like debating if Hermione and Ron are … Continue reading 328. Listener Email and Voicemail with Sarah and Amanda →

At RWA in Denver this past summer, author Scarlett Cole gave a workshop about self belief and productivity. She believes that one can’t proceed without the other – and in her former life, she was a senior executive for a multi-billion dollar company, so she knows a little about this topic. Since it’s the end of the year when Many Resolutions are being made, I wanted to talk to her about her workshop, and the … Continue reading 327. Give Yourself Permission to be Successful: Productivity and Self Honesty with Scarlett Cole →

Today I’m chatting with New York Times bestselling author Catherine Bybee. We discuss her latest book, Chasing Shadows, and we also talk about her career as a writer, and the elements she combines in her stories, particularly her latest series. Among the topics we cover: – writing chosen families and found families of friends – advice she’d give her past self when she started out – how reframing some pejorative terms used to describe women … Continue reading 326. Empowerment, Divorce, and Romance: An Interview with Catherine Bybee →

Of all the things I could talk to Courtney Milan about, I think the best topic would be…figure skating. Specifically, Yuri!!! On Ice. Yuri!!! on Ice is an anime that contains multitudes, and it has been making Courtney happy for awhile now. So I asked her to tell me all about Yuri!!! on Ice. We discuss what she loves about the show, and how the narrative structure of Yuri!!! has illuminated for her elements of … Continue reading 325. “The Most Brilliant Storytelling I’ve Ever Seen:” Courtney Milan and Yuri!!! on Ice →

Amanda talks about what is rocking her world, from volunteering opportunities to video games she loves. Spoiler: she’s hilarious. I talk about a book that I’m super curious about that involves death cleaning. Then we talk about some listener email! We have email from a reader who loves their home library and has some thoughts on long-running series, a reader who struggles with a problematic ship (paging Amanda, white courtesy phone for Amanda), and a … Continue reading 324. Cathartic Video Games and Problematic Shipping: Amanda and Sarah Catch Up on Listener Email →

This week I’m chatting with Jeff Adams and Will Knauss of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast. You’ll never guess what that podcast is about. We talk about how they met, what brought them to starting a podcast, and what brought them to reading romance. We discuss their favorite tropes, and the magic of discovering the common elements of your reader catnip – which you probably know is one of my favorite things. We also touch … Continue reading 323. A Big Gay Fiction Interview with Jeff Adams and Will Knauss →

Today I’m chatting with Kate Cuthbert. Until very recently, Kate was the Managing Editor of Escape Publishing, Harlequin Australia. This was recorded while she still worked in that position. She’s recently accepted a new position as the Program Manager at Writers Victoria, the Victoria, Australia, state-wide professional organization for writers. Congrats! Kate recently gave a keynote speech at Romance Writers of Australia that received a lot of attention after it was posted online. She addressed … Continue reading 322. Breaking Up with Damaging Conventions in Romance: A Conversation with Kate Cuthbert →

This week I’m chatting with author and podcaster Lindsay Emory about royalty – both the royalty in her new book The Royal Runaway, and about the way many many people are interested in contemporary royalty around the world. We talk about why so many people are curious about royal families, and how it’s a slightly different kind of celebrity culture to follow – and we talk a bit about celebrity encounters we’ve had. We also … Continue reading 321. Royals Both Real and Fictional, with Lindsay Emory →

This week, we’re talking about shipping literally and figuratively! Do you stan Dramione? Have a lifelong thing for Jareth and Sarah? Platinum blond antiheroes are your jam? Adam Driver in reallllly high waisted pants? Kataang or Zukara? Prince Diamond or Tuxedo Mask? This week’s episode is all for you. Amanda, Elyse, and I are talking OTPs, our One True Pairings. We talk about our favorite ships, the pairings that always work for us, and what … Continue reading 320. Deep Diving in our OTPs with Amanda, Elyse, and Sarah →

Today I’m chatting with Sarah Morgan, who I’ve known for a while now, and interviewed on the podcast before. Her latest book, The Christmas Sisters, is out, so we talk about her latest novel, and the strange vagaries of staggered releases for books, which often happens too her titles between the US and the UK and elsewhere. Because this is Sarah’s 85th book, we talk a good bit about writing, both the discipline and the … Continue reading 319. Realistic Characters and Even More Realistic Settings: An Interview with Sarah Morgan →

Today I’m talking with two nifty academics, so get ready to maybe take notes. I’m talking with Tressie McMillan Cottom, PhD, sociology professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Kelly Baker, PhD, who studies racist politics, sexism in the academy, white supremacy, and zombies. Both are writers, and both are major fans of paranormal romance. They snuck paranormal romances to read during grad school, they hid their love of romances, and dealt with being shunned and … Continue reading 318. Sharp Academics and Paranormal Romance: An Interview with Kelly Baker, PhD, and Tressie McMillan Cottom, PhD →