In February, Tor announced their new romance imprint, Bramble, and we had some questions about it!

Fortunately, VP and Executive Editor Monique Patterson sat down with me on her first day in her new position at Bramble to tell us all the things.

We also discuss how romance has changed and evolved over her career as an editor, and about being a nerd about many things including sword collecting and baking.

My favorite part of this conversation: How James Baldwin and Zora Neale Hurston influenced Monique’s acquisitions as a romance editor.

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Music: purple-planet.com

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Kelly Farmer is the author of the Out on the Ice series of hockey romances, including her latest, Calling the Shots, and a former improvisational actor. We talk about cover artist magic, her series, and identify a few reason why hockey is such a popular setting for romances.

Then we talk about how improvisational theatre exercises and techniques influence and improve writing. So if you’re stuck in your writing, maybe this will help.

I also finally learn to say Megan Rapino’s name correctly. WIN! 

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This is one of the episodes I didn’t run due to the HarperCollins Union strike. Kelly Farmer and I recorded this episode in October 2022 in anticipation of her book Calling the Shots. 

I want to thank Kelly for her understanding and for her support of the strike. I’m very happy to share this episode with you now.  

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Music: purple-planet.com

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Not all contemporary romances are romcoms, but many are, and Melonie Johnson joins me this week to talk about both, and about her new romcom, Too Wrong to Be Right. 

She too wrote a character who works in the funeral industry, so we talk a bit about that, too! The talk about different burial options and discussion of the funeral industry starts at 14 minutes in.

We also touch on burnout in the publishing industry, and grieving the professional relationships that are lost.

Music: purple-planet.com

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I connected with author Helena Greer, who wrote Season of Love, which you might have heard me talk about, because I liked it a LOT. And I also connected with Sam Brody, the acquiring editor at Hachette who worked on the book with Helena! So we talk about behind the scenes details of writing and editing, and how this book came to be.

There are a few audio skips or what I think of as sound bubbles, and my apologies for that.

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Music: purple-planet.com

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Welcome to Part II of our Heaving Bosoms Crossover! Some of our most popular episodes in our archive are our crossovers with Heaving Bosoms, and we have a new one for you!

If you tuned in to the Heaving Bosoms episode this week for Part I, you’ll know that we are discussing and recapping The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Originally published in 2009, this book inspired So Much Discussion when it was first published.

You can find part one of our conversation at Heaving Bosoms: https://bit.ly/HBXoverPart1

And let’s get started with Part II!

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Music: purple-planet.com

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Melissa Blue tweeted that she wanted to talk about Spare.So did I! So, we did!

We talk about the book itself, but we also look at the book from our perspective as romance readers and writers, and also as a larger narrative about dismantling propaganda. As Melissa points out, narratives constructed around Meghan and Harry echo narratives we’ve seen about other people, especially women, in public life who are subjected to propaganda to undermine them.

I talk a lot about how dismissing romance ignores a lot of what romance says and does, and what it represents about people, about sexuality, and about relationships. I think the same is true about celebrity narratives: the public narrative, or the approved narrative, is also very distant from the messy, complicated reality, and this particular set of stories gives us a lot to think about and discuss.

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Spice things up this Valentine's day with the game Let's Get Deep from the creators of What Do You Meme? and get 20% off with promo code SARAH at whatdoyoumeme.com/letsgetdeep.

Music: purple-planet.com

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Emily Nagoski has a new podcast, Come As You Are! If you’ve read her books, you know what this is about. We dive right into questions of consent and enthusiasm, the way the ace/aro community has developed conversations about sexuality within the field of sex education, and how the pandemic has affected sexuality. So much of her show and this conversation center on how to address sexual satisfaction in your own life.

We also talk about her next book, which is about how couples sustain sexual attraction over the long term.

Music: purple-planet.com

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This episode was recorded on Monday 23 January 2023. On Thursday, 26 January, the HarperCollins Union announced that HarperCollins has agreed to enter mediation.

In this interview, we go over the breakdown in negotiations that led to the HarperCollins Union strike, and the demands of the union.

Thank you to Barb, Bransler, Clay, Agnes, and Susan for the questions and to the Patreon community for the enthusiastic support and encouragement for this interview.

Music: Purple-planet.com

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Ali Hazelwood has a new anthology in print, Loathe to Love You, and she joins me to talk about becoming a full-time writer and the development of the novellas in this anthology. And then I hit her with a series of silly questions. Woo hoo! Bring on the mayhem.

Music: purple-planet.com

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Marjorie Ingall and Susan McCarthy are the authors of a new, dishy, and fascinating book, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry: The Case for Good Apologies. We’re going to talk about public apologies, celebrity mishaps, and the psychology of what creates a good apology. If you’ve been thinking of making amends, or are writing a good grovel, this is a perfect episode for you.

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Music: purple-planet.com

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