Paul Jarvis is a writer, designer, consultant, podcaster, and author whose latest book, Company of One is out on January 15th. I subscribe to his newsletter and find it to be one of the most interesting and useful email messages that arrive in my inbox. His specialty is reframing how we perceive success, productivity, and in this case, thriving as a business. Company of One is about deliberately staying small and specialized – and since … Continue reading 333. Thriving as a Company of One: An Interview with Paul Jarvis →

Happy New Year! Sarah, Amanda, Elyse, RedHeadedGirl, and Carrie gather for the second part of our end of year episodes: looking ahead to 2019! We talk about what we want to see in our reading, and what we are looking forward to most: books, comics, tv shows, and more. Among the things we mention in our wishlist: catharsis, humor, hopefulness, smuggling, glorious sci fi romance, alpha women, and warriors. Then we talk about what books … Continue reading 332. The Bitches Look Ahead to 2019 →

Sarah, Amanda, Elyse, and RedHeadedGirl get together to talk about reading – and other things -of 2018. Which books rocked our brains in the past year? We cover a LOT of books (I certainly do – I brought a list) and we talk a little about how we read, too. Some of us read and listened to a lot of books this year, and some of us moved from digital to print. We talk about … Continue reading 331. The Bitches Recap 2018 – Reading and Otherwise →

Elizabeth Hoyt has a new historical series! We talk about her new book, Not the Duke’s Darling, the start of her new Greycourt series which comes out December 18th. Here are some words that will grab your attention: there is a secret society of women in this series, and it sounds delightful. No kidding: the heroine is undercover at a house party as part of a secret society of wise women trying to prevent legislation … Continue reading 330. Autonomy is the Original Witchcraft: An Interview with Elizabeth Hoyt →

Sarah chats with Beverly Jenkins, known in the romance community as Ms. Bev, one day after she finished and turned in her latest book. So of course we talk about that! We also talk about her new film, adapted, directed and produced for screen by Iris Bolling, which premieres on Amazon on December 15 – and of course we have links where you can watch it. We talk about the process of bringing Deadly Sexy … Continue reading 329. “Catching My Breath” – A Look Back and a Glimpse Forward With Beverly Jenkins →

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 →