romance genre

Hi! Welcome to our Bookish Life! We are Jess and Tori and we chat about all things being content creators, influencers and book industry professionals!

Tori's Youtube Channel | @NovelLife
Jess's Youtube Channel | @PeaceLoveBooksxo
Tori's Instagram | @liveanovellife
Jess's Instagram | @peacelovebooksxo

Want to send us snail mail?
2500 Dallas Hwy Suite 202
PMB 324
Marietta, GA 30064
USA

Hello! Hi! Welcome everyone to episode 5 of the Medium Lady Reads podcast! 

In this episode, Erin and Jillian are going to be discussing why they believe that Romance is for everyone!

The idea for this episode, “Is Romance for Everyone?” came off the coattails of both Jillian and Erin finishing Happy Place and really loving it. So, they decided that they wanted to try exploring the genre of romance and its appeal to different readers. 

Now in case you’re thinking “hmm romance, definitely no," be sure to tune in to this episode to get your definitions straight!

In This Episode:

• Erin provides a definition of what she and Jillian believe the romance genre to be about.
• There is an interesting synopsis of the history of romance.
• Jillian shares why she loves the romance genre.
• Both women share what opened them up to romance and they provide some recommendations of their favorite romance titles. 
• Romance appeals to so many people, Erin and Jillian discuss why they believe this is the case.
• There are a lot of stereotypes surrounding the romance genre, and Jillian and Erin spend time debunking some of those stereotypes.
• In this episode, Erin and Jillian introduce a new occasional segment called “Instagram Made Me Buy It.”
• Finally, the ladies end by discussing their current library holds list.

Books Mentioned In This Episode:

• Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan
• Get a Life Chloe Brown, by Talia Hibbert
• Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola
• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
• Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
• One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
• In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
• A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall
• Spoiler Alert Series by Olivia Dade
• The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Nefenegger
• Normal People by Sally Rooney
• Call my By Your Name by Andre Assiman
• The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
• The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
• Book Lovers by Emily Henry
• Beach Read by Emily Henry
• People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
• One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
• A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows
• Banyan Moon by Thao Thai

If you enjoyed this episode we would love it if you recommended us to a friend or loved one!  Be sure to take a screenshot and share it on Instagram stories, and tag both Jillian (@jillianfindinghappy) and Erin (@medium.lady) so that they can reshare the love! 

Thanks for listening and if you enjoyed what you heard, please leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts!

Tune in on August 21, 2023, for the next episode of the Medium Lady Reads Podcast.

**Some of the links used in the show notes are affiliate links. This does not change the cost of the item for you, we just get a small percentage of the cost, that helps us to offset the cost of putting out the podcast.**

How does a self-published author transition to being picked up by a traditional publisher? Join us on this captivating journey with author B.K. Borison as she shares more about the books in The Lovelight Series, a four-book series that follows four friends in a small town as they each find love.
BOOKS IN THE LOVELIGHT SERIES:
Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison Amazon or Bookshop.
In the Weeds by B.K. Borison Amazon or Bookshop.
Mixed Signals by B.K. Borison Amazon or Bookshop.
SHOW NOTES & BOOKLIST:
Find the episode show notes and a list of all the books mentioned here.
MORE RESOURCES:
 Visit bibliolifestyle.com for more information and resources to help you in your reading journey.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY:
Join the BiblioLifestyle Community & the Bring Your Own Book (BYOB) Club for a fun, online book club experience!  Come and share books you've read, get inspiration for what to read next, make friends, and encourage each other along the way.  Learn more and join the community: bibliolifestyle.com/community.

THE BIBLIOLIFESTYLE 2024 SPRING READING GUIDE
Spring into reading this season!  Download your free copy of The 2024 Spring Reading Guide when you visit springreadingguide.com.  This year's guide has twenty-one books organized across six categories, plus fun recipes, spring activities, lifestyle tips, and more.   So download your free copy and discover your next favorite book!

Welcome to a new episode of Troped Out Podcast! I am Emma C Wells. With me is my partner in crime—EJ Wenstrom. Today we are chatting with adult romance author Brighton Walsh.

USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brighton Walsh spent a decade as a professional photographer before taking her storytelling in a different direction and reconnecting with her first love—writing. She likes her books how she likes her tea—steamy and satisfying—and adores strong-willed heroines and the protective heroes who fall head over heels for them. Brighton lives in the Midwest with her real life hero of a husband, her two kids—one who’s already taller than her and one who’s catching up too fast—and her dog who thinks she’s a queen. Her boy-filled house is the setting for dirty socks galore, frequent dance parties (okay, so it’s mostly her, by herself, while her children look on in horror), and more laughter than she thought possible.

• Brighton observes she’s overdue to update her bio–now, both her kids are taller than her. And she’s tall herself!
• Em starts us off with our favorite question to ask every author: What are you reading right now?
• It’s the year of the reverse harem! Brighton has already read 160 of them this year. She just started the UNTOUCHABLE series by Heather Long
• Big question from EJ: How many men does it take to make a reverse harem? Brighton says three men or more–two is only a menage.
• Em wonders, is she mostly a contemporary reader or does she branch into paranormal or other subgenres? Brighton reads mostly contemporary.
• Back when Em was trying to get into Pitch Wars, the program did a Q&A tour for the mentors to introduce themselves, and Em remembers Brighton’s answers left an impression…
• One question was about sending your character on adventures, clearly meant for very different kinds of stories. Brighton answered that for her romance books, she guessed the adventures were the weird sex positions! It made Em snort-laugh.
• Em wants to know if anyone watched THE LOST CITY? Brighton has! EJ hasn’t made it yet. 
• The casting was perfect, they all agree. 
• Brighton notes that a lot of films about the romance genre can diminish it in how it pokes fun, but this one didn’t do that. 
• But it still had fun with the tropes–only one hammock, anyone?
• EJ always likes to see how publishing is portrayed in film and tv – did it feel accurate or did they fudge it a little?
• Oh no, they fudged it. Brighton explains how the publisher felt small or boutique, but somehow also had a massive budget for a book launch. It was clearly a Nora Roberts, million-dollar caliber author. 
• And then…the publisher comes to save her. All agree an agent is much more likely to come to an author’s rescue in real life. 
• Ultimately, EJ says as a fan of YOUNGER she’s comfortable with some inaccurate publishing rep, it can still be a fun story. She endorses.
• Em enjoyed that the villain was after the author heroine because of very, very niche information she’d researched to include in a book–this tracks. Authors know very strange, random stuff. 
• Bright says she’s gotten not lazy–ingenious–with her research by asking her social network if they know anyone who’s an expert in an area she needs info for, and it almost always gets her a connection to someone. 
• Em wants to know the weirdest thing everyone has researched for a book. 
• Brighton once had to research criminal stuff like how chloroform works for her CAPTIVE and EXPOSED duet, where the main characters are criminals. 
• Em has had to find out if you can sneak things into a hospital waste incinerator. 
• EJ once researched impalement history and methods for a story. 
• Brighton also has to research impalement–just a different kind. 
• Em sighs–at least it wasn’t cannibalism. 
• Speaking of cannibalism, EJ just finished YELLOWJACKETS finally. 
• Which led her to reflect on enemies to lovers, which is central to Brighton’s new release, DEFIANT HEART. It’s been really hot lately, and she wonders if it’s on any level an escapism thing, because our world is so polarized these days. 
• So let’s talk about Brighton’s book!
• DEFIANT HEART: EJ wants to know, is there cannibalism? Sadly there is not. But someone does get eaten, Brighton says. So there’s that. 
• DEFIANT HEART is the first book in the STARLIGHT COVE series. It’s based in Maine with the MacKenzie family, focused on siblings who are trying to save their family’s resort. 
• Luna, the heroine of book one, is what Brighton calls a moon goddess–hashtag van life. 
• Brady, the hero, is sheriff of Starlight Cove–very controlled, very rigid. 
• He’s arrested her many times and this time, it’s getting in the way of an opportunity for the resort. So he must find a way to keep Luna from ruining it. 
• EJ says she thought the teaser blurb for the book was genius–it subtly cues to the big tropes found in the book! Enemies to lovers! Sunshine character! Small towns! Handcuffs!
• Brighton assures it is steamy. 
• Brighton loves to write opposites attract because it sets a protagonist against the worst possible person for them and then figure out how they can work. 
• Em likes best friends to enemies to lovers. 
• Best friends to lovers used to be Brighton’s favorite, and she doesn’t know what switched, but she’s transitioned to enemies to lovers. She loves the idea that someone could see you at your worst and still want you anyway. She thinks that’s really reassuring. 
• Does she have a favorite? Brighton calls out THE HATING GAME and HOTHEAD. The HOTHEAD transition between the characters is flawless - a great study for authors who want to write this. And also for readers who enjoy a grumpy hot athlete hero.
• Em asks if Brighton knows about Roy Kent?
• Oh heck yes she does. 
• For EJ, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is the enemies to lovers OG. Her other favorite for enemies to lovers is THE CRUEL PRINCE by Holly Black. It’s a YA fantasy with a fae world, and the two leads are so equally matched for wits in a game driven by manipulation and strategy. 
• EJ says it took her a long time to come around on enemies to lovers because the enemies dynamic can get so problematic. 
• Em agrees and says it can require a little more suspension of disbelief than some other romance tropes. Grumpy and sunshine is her favorite.
• Brighton loves that one too. 
• When she jumped into the reverse harem books this year she started with ROYALS OF FORSYTH, which is a bully reserve harem, with trigger warnings galore (readers, check those before reading!)
• But she felt the way the author brought these heroes together was masterful. 
• At once point Brighton caught herself taking issue with something the heroine did in retaliation for what they had done to her and was amazed at the way the author had turned everything around.
• Em’s read a lot of romance, but she hasn’t read dark romance. 
• Brighton avoided it for a long time too, but feels the...

This week, we discuss the romantic comedy genre. We talk about the history, the genre, and why it the romantic comedy is so fun to watch. We also gush about a favorite books, movies, and tv shows.

Stay Prickly~

Today on MindMatters we have the pleasure of speaking with multiple New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh. Mary is the author of over ninety historical romance novels and dozens of novellas. In this wide-ranging discussion Mary shares her thoughts on romance, her writing process, the nature of inspiration, and the meaning and purpose with which she imbues her novels. There's a reason romance is the bestselling genre of fiction, and there's a reason Mary Balogh is among the best of the best. And if you're not already a fan, tune in, and check out her books! You won't regret it.

Mary's website: https://marybalogh.com/
Mary on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMaryBalogh/
MindMatters on LBRY: https://lbry.tv/@MindMatters:4

Happy Belated Valentines Day! The day of loooove was last weekend, but we are still celebrating. This week we discuss the romance genre - why it’s so popular, and alternatively why it’s generally completely disregarded as legitimate literature.

What Are We Reading?

Shanna - A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer
Jen - The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

Next week is book club!! We are reading An American Marriage by Tayari Jones and it's not too late to join in the fun!  Come over and join the discussion on our Instagram and Facebook pages.  While you are there, let us know what your favorite romance novels are!

Find Us Together At

www.bestbookclub.ca
Instagram 📸 @best_bookclub
Facebook- Best Book Club with Shanna and Jen
YouTube 📹 Best Book Club with Shanna and Jen

Shanna Kay

Instagram 📸  @vellum.and.vellichor
YouTube 📹 Shanna Kay - Vellum and Vellichor
Facebook -Vellum.and.Vellichor

Jennifer West
Instagram 📸 @thats_weird_j
Facebook-  That's Weird, J

Libro.fm.
Use our code GOODBOOKS at checkout and get two books for the price of your first months membership!

Find us at:

www.goodbookspodcast.com
Facebook - In Her Good Books Podcast
Instagram - @inhergoodbookspodcast
TikTok - @inhergoodbookspodcast

We are affiliated with Libro.fm, but all reviews are our true and honest opinions!

Jess talks to her old friend, Megan Frampton about fashionista inheritances and the safe space of women at conferences, comparison with other authors, her process, being honest on social media, her experiences on the publishing side of publishing and dukes.