Today I’m chatting with Darcie Wilde, author of the Rosalind Thorne mystery series. Rosalind is the heroine of the series, and in the first book, A Useful Woman, she finds herself in reduced circumstances after her father ruins the family and runs off, taking Rosalind’s sister with her, and leaving Rosalind to care for her mother and figure out a way forward for herself. Rosalind’s story is heavily based in Regency history and in research, … Continue reading 306. Historical Gossip and Useful Women: An Interview with Darcie Wilde →

It’s time for part two of my recordings from Romantic Times 2018. We’re chatting about RT while we were still there over lunch and wine – ah, the delays of extensive editing. We have several meandering conversations – and some bits you may have heard in our live show, too. We talk about books, our pets, books, publisher news at RT, and random other things. We cover why the hitman plot works for Elyse but … Continue reading 305. More from RT 2018: There Are Some Books Around Here, and Some Creepy Dolls →

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like when we hang out in a room together, well, this episode is for you. And if you need a lot of silly laughter, this is definitely the episode for you. While we were at Romantic Times BookLovers Convention in May, we recorded two podcasts, which I should not ever do again because it makes the editing quite a challenge. This is Part One, which is Incredibly Silly. We … Continue reading 304. “You Have a Type and it Might be Mullets” – Sarah, Amanda, and Elyse are VERY Silly About Books and Villainy →

TISSUE WARNING: this episode might make you cry. I got teary while recording it. Today I’m talking with author Laura Bradbury about her memoirs, her new novella project, and her liver transplant. I met Laura at the Surrey International Writer’s Conference in British Columbia, Canada, several years ago when they had me as an international guest. Laura had just published her first memoir, My Grape Escape, and was honored with an award during the conference. … Continue reading 303. There is So Much Heroism and Good in People: An Interview with Laura Bradbury →

Fresh from the fresh hell that is the Javits Center, Amanda and Sarah chat about Amanda’s adventures at BEA, better known as Book Expo America, and BookCon, which happened last week, May 30-June 3. Sometimes I can record, edit, and produce an episode in a few days, and I’m lucky to be able to do that this week. We talk about what BEA and BookCon are, what the differences are between them, and what or, … Continue reading 302. The Value of Talking To Book People: Amanda Reports on BEA and BookCon 2018 →

This week I’m chatting with author Lucy Parker, who wrote some of my recent favorite contemporary romances (you might have heard me talk about Act Like It once or twice?). She’s just signed a new contract for new books in this series, so of course I ask for details. I also came to this interview armed with questions from the Patreon community, and their questions are terrific. We also talk a lot about her newest … Continue reading 301. Making Up Stories With Theatrical Inspiration : An Interview with Lucy Parker →

Robin Bradford, Amanda, Elyse and I hosted a live recording of the podcast at RT 2018, and now it’s here for everyone’s enjoyment as our 300th episode! If we were tv we’d be well into nonstop TNT syndication. A few things you should know: First, there was wine, because people are noble and good. Second, there are three parts. In Part 1, we talk about what the closing of RT means for Robin and other … Continue reading 300. Our Live Show at RT: Chatting and Romance Feud →

Today I’m speaking with Ana Grilo and Thea James, who are better known as The Book Smugglers. They’re bloggers, writers, authors, and editors – and at the helm of Book Smugglers Publishing. We talk about how they got their start, and the role the Lost forums played in bringing them together (along with a few blogs you may have heard of). Among the topics we cover: What they look for in science fiction and speculative … Continue reading 299. On Blogging and Publishing: An Interview with Thea James and Ana Grilo, The Book Smugglers →

Y’all: prepare to be charmed. Today I’m chatting with Talia Hibbert, author of Wanna Bet?, A Girl Like Her, and other books that have been receiving a lot of positive exclamation points online. She’s been writing while finishing an English degree, so we talk about what led her to writing romance, and how her great grandmother inspired her to write what she’d been longing to write. “I wanted to be brave like her.” Among the … Continue reading 298. Being Brave: An Interview with Talia Hibbert →

Today I’m speaking with Leslye Penelope, also known as L. Penelope, about her twice-new book, Song of Blood and Stone. It released (again) on May 1 – and she will tell you the whole story. It’s a very good story with a very happy ending. We talk about writing fantasy and speculative fiction – and horror. She is part of a Stoker Award nominated anthology called Sycorax’s Daughters, which is very cool. She and I … Continue reading 297. Song of Blood and Stone: An Interview with Leslye Penelope →

Today I’m interviewing Julia Whelan, author of the new book, My Oxford Year, which just came out this week, on April 24, 2018. This is a full score production: dogs barking! Car horns! The street sounds of midtown Manhattan! We cover her start as a child actor, and how she moved through acting to audiobook narration to writing screenplays and then a novel. Among the topics we discuss: What makes a good narration? What are the differences … Continue reading 296. Acting, Narrating, and Writing: An Interview with Julia Whelan →