Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People

Here’s a short one — our first episode of Season 6 is a trailblazer (AND A GREAT ONE) — so here’s a little glimpse of where we’ve been during hiatus, and where we’re going this season! Thanks, as always, for being with us!

Author Sarah McLean appears on the Failure to Adapt podcast to discuss the short story 'Night Bus' and the film adaptation 'It Happened One Night'. They reflect on Clark Gable's acting and charisma, discuss favorite quotes and romantic vibes, share trivia about the movie's origin and impact, explore the significance of portraying COVID-19 in films, compare the book and movie's treatment of women and financial situations, and talk about TV shows and the guest's work interviewing authors.

In this episode, the hosts discuss romance novel covers and explosive plots, recommend spicy romance novels, share fall and Halloween romance book recommendations, talk about their reading habits and preferences, and recommend romance novels set in bars.

Christina Lauren, author of romance novels, joins the hosts for a chat. They discuss their love for WNBA games, softball, and their upcoming book. The conversation also covers celebrating romance novels and sharing memorable concert experiences. They talk about attending concerts of BTS, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, and One Direction, and their excitement for upcoming shows.

In this episode, Sarah discusses her new book cover and her aversion to ballrooms. Jen explores the connection between Bruce Springsteen and romance novels. Other topics include lessons learned by characters, writing in a fantasy world, and the power dynamics in historical romance novels. The hosts also delve into the historical significance of gunpowder and the process of creating dynamic characters. The chapter descriptions include discussions on the main characters, their motivations, and a mysterious encounter.

In this podcast, the hosts discuss the Grumpy/Sunshine trope in romance novels, including grumpy women. They explore the dynamics between grumpy and sunshine characters, societal expectations placed on women, and the transformation of grumpy characters. They also touch on the concept of character development and analyze specific books that feature this trope.

We’re talking fairytale retellings today with Zoraida Córdova, the author of Kiss the Girl, a new retelling of The Little Mermaid. We talk about the responsibility of authors when they tackle retellings, about the relevance of fairytales in the world, about the history of fairytales, and about why they resonate so powerfully with us as authors and readers. After Sarah’s Knockout (preorder it signed, with exclusive FM swag, from her local bookstore), our next read along will be Laura Kinsale’s Flowers from the Storm. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or from your local indie.If you want more Fated Mates in your life, you are welcome at our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.Show NotesWelcome back, Zoraida Córdova. She was on the podcast back in Season 3 talking about fantasy romance. Kiss the Girl is a Little Mermaid retelling, and the third book in the Meant to Be series. You can check out her other mermaid books, a YA series that starts with The Viscous Deep, or the forthcoming anthology Mermaids Never Drown.Are we billionaires from winning the MegaMillions? Probably not. But if we did, Jen is planning to renovate the Jackson Park Beach House. The great thing about helping refugees and immigrants is you can do something about that even if you haven’t won the lottery.

It’s a million degrees and no one has time for slow burns right now, y’all. This week, we’re talking books that start with a bang — and we mean literally. We talk about how difficult it is to thread the needle on romance that starts with sex, about the tropes that lend themselves to this particular theme, about sex work, one night stands, about erotic romance vs. romance, and about how pulling this set up off takes masterful skill with character. There are so many great books for you in here. Enjoy!After Sarah’s Knockout (preorder it signed, with exclusive FM swag, from her local bookstore), our next read along will be Laura Kinsale’s Flowers from the Storm. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or from your local indie.If you want more Fated Mates in your life, you are welcome at our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.Show NotesJen using the phrase “fast, incendiary burn” to refer to books that start with a bang dates all the way back to season 2. The Twitter thread where Funmi compared slow burns to crockpots is here. If I could figure out how to save it (screenshots, I guess, sigh), I would.We had Nikki Sloane on to talk about taboo romance, but we also like Jennifer Porter’s definition of erotic romance from a 2019 twitter thread, where she said, “I don't think the sexual relationship has to be the conflict. But sex/sexual interaction/etc has to be critical to the development of the relationship….I think their has to be some type of sexual journey for the main characters for a book to be erotic romance…Ultimately, if there is sex in a romance, it should be important to the couple's journey, but maybe in erotic romance, the main characters need to have a sexual or erotic journey of some sort.”Knockout arrives on August 22! Join Sarah at her NYC launch party (a real party!) and meet new friends at a romance-specific hang on August 24th. Tickets and details here.Take Sarah's Mastering the Art of Great Conflict the week of August 6th. More info here.Head to Yale University to take Sarah & Adriana's writing romance class, and to hear Fated Mates & The Black Romance Podcast talk about oral history and romance.

The podcast explores the trope of divorced main characters in romance novels and discusses various aspects of their relationships. They delve into the types of exes portrayed in romance novels, the role of community and personal growth after divorce, and the portrayal of divorce in romance novels. They also explore mature characters navigating relationships, taking emotional risks, and finding love again. The hosts touch upon the rarity of romances where divorced couples reunite and the importance of finding understanding friends.

Today, we’re talking about books we’re excited about this Summer! We’re toppling TBRs with books you can get now, books you can preorder, books that are terrific beach reads, books that gave us big feelings, and books that made us really very happy. Enjoy!For the readers in the group, preorder Sarah’s book, Knockout, now. For the writers in the group, register for her conflict class, at her website. Our next read along, the first of Season Six, will be Laura Kinsale’s Flowers from the Storm. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or from your local indie.If you want more Fated Mates in your life, you are welcome at our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.