The Meet Cute BookPod

Latest Episodes:

Author C.M. Nascosta, a Pod Exclusive Mar 06, 2024

Show notes

Today, we have Becca's chat with author C.M. Nascosta, an indie author who writes cozy monster romance. You may know her from her breakout hit Morning Glory Milking Farm.

C.M. talks about her introduction to genre romance, what she thinks was behind her first viral book and what going viral felt like from her perspective, how she approaches indie publishing as a business and how she works with her collaborators like artists and editors, her thoughts on having multiple pen names, her writing process and how she keeps track of the extended Cambric Creek Universe, and what’s next for her (and maybe what the next big thing is in the world of fantasy romance). Then there's a little aside about You’ve Got Mail and Late Stage Capitalism, and, of course, C.M. shares some books she’s loved recently.

You can follow C.M. Nascosta on Instagram @cmnascosta and on her website www.cmnascosta.com!

The Politics of Diversity in Romance, an Author Panel Feb 28, 2024

Show notes

Today, we have the audio from our second virtual Mind the Gap panel, focusing on the politics of diversity in writing, reading, and publishing romance with Nisha Sharma, Nana Malone, Kennedy Ryan, and Adriana Herrera. This conversation was recorded in July 2023.

They discuss the way that talking about “diversity” broadly masks anti-Blackness specifically, what the subtext is when people say they don’t want “anything political” in a book, the politics of “relatability,” the ways culture, and the culture of publishing, is messaging that books by and about people of color can’t be fun, taking ownership over your own reading choices, and much more. Then they close out with recs for their own backlist and some books they’ve loved recently.

If you'd like to pick up copies of these authors' books – and you absolutely should -- you can do that in our shop or on our website, meetcutebookshop.com.

Author Kelly Farmer, a Pod Exclusive Feb 21, 2024

Show notes

Today, we have Becca's chat with author Kelly Farmer, whose most recent novel, It’s a Fabulous Life, a sapphic retelling of the classic Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life, was released last fall from Alcove.

In this episode, Kelly talks about her introduction to genre romance and her early attempts at writing a novel, the growth in traditionally published sapphic romance, what about the sports world lends itself so well to genre romance, and why hockey, in particular, is so popular, learning to play hockey as an adult, where to find more romance about women athletes, what her writing process is like, and, of course, she shares some books she’s loved recently.

Author Regina Black, a Pod Exclusive Feb 14, 2024

Show notes

Becca chats with author Regina Black, whose debut, The Art of Scandal, a sexy drama about a political wife, a young artist, and some very messy (very wealthy) families, was released last year in hardcover and is coming out April 23rd in paperback.

Regina talks about her introduction to genre romance, the strange feeling of having your “debut” novel be the 11^th book you’ve written, the struggle of writing characters who are visual artists when you, yourself, are not one, her “design principle” for this book and the inspiration she took from soap operas, the way she writes character arcs for her romance protagonists that mirror one another and why it made sense to give the main characters in this book an age gap, her self-described “intense” writing process, and which parts of The Art of Scandal she found trickiest to get right and which parts were the most fun to draft.

· Finally, we get a little peek at her next book and, of course, she shares some books she’s loved recently.

Author Virginia Heath Live! (Recorded) Feb 07, 2024

Show notes

Becca chats with author Virginia Heath about the Mills and Boon romances Virginia snuck from her mother’s stack of library borrows, the bumpy start of her writing career, her take on category vs. single title romance in the world of historicals, writing humor and the roots of her particular sense of humor, her writing process and what happens when the characters take control of the narrative, the joy of finding the right title for a book, what draws her to historical romance and what “historical accuracy” in this context means to her, and, critically, who plays her favorite Mr. Darcy?

Author Lana Ferguson, a Pod Exclusive Jan 31, 2024

Show notes

Today, we have Becca's chat with author Lana Ferguson, whose debut, The Nanny, cam out last spring, and whose second book, The Fake Mate, a paranormal shifter romcom, came out in December.

Lana talks about the Harlequin romances she discovered on her grandmother’s bookcase as a teen, why The Nanny is set in San Diego and why she gave her debut main character a background in sex work, what’s so fun about writing in the Omegaverse, her expert use of Reddit for all her social media and research needs, the chaos that is her writing process, her love for writing women of a certain age, and her not so secret desire to write a romantic thriller.

· And, of course, before we let her go, Lana shouts out some books she’s loved recently.

Romance Historian Steve Ammidown, a Pod Exclusive Jan 24, 2024

Show notes

Long time no see! We are back! It’s season two!

And we are starting off with a bit of romance history because we love context! Today, we have Becca's chat with archivist and romance historian Steve Ammidown. We hope you find this conversation both accessible and fascinating!

If you'd like to learn more about romance history, you can follow Steve on Instagram and YouTube @romancehistorian, on BlueSky @stegan, and on his blog www.romancehistory.com.

We're Coming Back for Season 2! Jan 17, 2024

Show notes

We just wanted to pop in to let you know that the Meet Cute Book Pod is coming back for Season 2 later this month!

Until that drops, you can catch up on Season 1. And, as always, please rate, review, and tell your friends and lovers about us.

Author & Editor Camille Kellogg, a Pod Exclusive Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

Today, we have Becca's chat with author and editor Camille Kellogg, who works as a Middle Grade and YA editor during the day, and whose debut novel, Just As You Are, a queer Pride & Prejudice retelling set in modern day New York City, came out this past April.

Camille talks about the romcom movies of her childhood and how she ended up as a Middle Grade and Young Adult book editor.

Then she and Becca get into it about their favorite Pride & Prejudice film adaptations. They talk about the particular joys of writing a retelling (and the pain of finding the right title). Camille talks about gender identity as a central theme in this book and discusses her writing process and what it’s been like to be on both the editing and writing side of the publishing industry.

Camille and Becca get on a tangent about other genre fiction they love and books that have stuck with them since they were tweens

· And, of course, Camille shouts out some books she’s loved recently.

***PROGRAMMING NOTE: This is the final episode of our first season! Thank you all so much for tuning in! We hope to be back in the fall with Season 2!***

Uzma Jalaluddin & Friends, an Author Panel Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

Today, we have the recording of our delightful panel celebrating the launch of Uzma Jalaluddin’s latest book, Much Ado About Nada, with Uzma, Sahar Jahani, and Ausma Zehanat Khan!

This conversation was wide ranging and a lot of fun. Our panelists talk about writing process, book to film adaptations, growing up with a lack of industry representation, being ambitious Muslim women, and then take audience questions and face a lighting round of tough choices like which is your favorite Jane Austen adaptation? (Becca's is the 1995 BBC Pride & Prejudice.)

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