The Wicked Wallflowers Club

Latest Episodes:

11 - Christine Feehan: Judgment Road Jan 24, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, we’re joined by #1 NYT Bestselling author Christine Feehan. We’re so excited to share it with you, but we need to acknowledge and apologize that this isn’t our normal audio quality. Technology can be wonderful, but this time the interweb overlords got the best of us. Please bear with us—it improves after a few minutes and Christine is by far one of the most fascinating people we've talked to—a kickass romance novel heroine in her own right! Her latest book, Judgment Road, is the first in a new series called Torpedo Ink.

Some highlights from our conversation include:

-How she managed to write while parenting her 11 children (there goes my every excuse!)

-Her background in martial arts--she's a third degree black belt in Tang So Do Mu Duk Kwan and taught martial arts for 20 years.

-Her hilarious early mistakes in publishing--she hung up when they said they wanted to buy her book!

-Her advice for dealing with internet trolls after facing more than her fair share.

-Where the idea for Torpedo Ink came from and how she set up a brand new series.

-How the response to men who have been abused as children can be different from women and how that informed Reaper's story.

-How her martial arts background impacts her writing.

-Where she thinks writer's block originates--from the author inserting their own motivations and reactions into the story in place of the characters' authentic reactions.

-How an extreme low point in her life led her to martial arts and how those experiences still influence her stories.

-All about her writing process--why she doesn't outline, competitive "power hours" with her son, and how much she hates doing edits.

-Some of her unconventional yet awesome parenting practices.

-How ridiculously cool her steampunk writing den is.

*Books mentioned in this episode:

Judgment Road by Christine Feehan

Bound Together by Christine Feehan

The Drake Sisters series by Christine Feehan

Special thanks to our Editor, Chris Willett!

10 - Rose Lerner: Lively St. Lemeston and Hamilton's Battalion Jan 17, 2018

Show notes

We're joined by historical romance author Rose Lerner to talk about her Lively St. Lemeston Regency series and her collaboration on Hamilton's Battalion. We discuss everything from the role of food to the role of religion in fiction, her writing process, and more!

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You can follow Rose on Twitter or find out more on her website!

Some highlights from the conversation include:

-How her Hamilton's Battalion story, Promised Land, came about.

-Exploring how characters practice Judaism in historical fiction.

-Amusing family stories.

-Beta heroes and how wonderful they can be.

-How food can be used to express love.

-Lots of mouth-watering discussions of food--historical recreations, use in fiction, and more!

-Her writing process and how it tends to come together.

-Some of the advantages of self publishing.

-How she started reading and writing romance.

-How fantasy casting her characters impacted her writing and heated up the sex scenes.

Books/websites mentioned in this episode:

Hamilton's Battalion by Rose Lerner, Courtney Milan, and Alyssa Cole

Sweet Disorder (Lively St. Lemeston Book 1) by Rose Lerner

True Pretenses (Lively St. Lemeston Book 2) by Rose Lerner

Listen to the Moon (Lively St. Lemeston Book 3) by Rose Lerner

A Lord for Miss Larkin by Carola Dunn

The works of Georgette Heyer

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Pinterest Rose Lerner for fantasy casts

Historicfood.com

Colonial Williamsburg website

*The above links will take you to The Ripped Bodice website where you have the option to purchase the print books from the only exclusively romance bookstore in the US. We love them--please consider showing your support to such a wonderful small business! If you're in the LA area, definitely go and visit the store--it's magical! In a few cases, the books weren't available through the store, so we've linked directly to Amazon.

Special thanks to our Editor, Chris Willett.

9 - Alyssa Cole: A Hope Divided and Hamilton's Battalion Jan 10, 2018

Show notes

We're joined this week by Alyssa Cole, the award winning author of contemporary, historical, and sci fi/fantasy romance. We discuss how Hamilton's Battalion came about, her powerful The Loyal League series, and her writing process--as well as why she no longer drinks martinis! We love her thoughts on why a Happily Ever After is important.

You can follow Alyssa on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook--or check out her website.

*Books and sites mentioned in this episode:

Hamilton's Battalion by Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole, and Rose Lerner

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole

A Hope Divided by Alyssa Cole

Be Not Afraid by Alyssa Cole

Talk Sweetly to Me by Courtney Milan

Beauty Awakened by Anne Rice

Literotica.com

SmartBitchesTrashyBooks.com

A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught

Special thanks to our Editor, Chris Willett.

8 - Jayne Ann Krentz: Promise Not to Tell Jan 03, 2018

Show notes

Today’s guest is Jayne Ann Krentz who is the author of more than 50 New York Times bestsellers. She writes romantic suspense in three different worlds under three different names: Jayne Ann Krentz for contemporary, Jayne Castle for futuristic/paranormal, and Amanda Quick for her historical novels. Her books have won numerous awards including the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award from Romance Writers of America. There are over 35 million copies of her books in print.

I was excited to find out what drives Jayne to tell stories and learn as much as possible about the writing process of an author who has been so massively successful for so long—she’s clearly doing something right!

Download (and subscribe!) on iTunes or click below to listen:

You can find more of Jayne on Facebook, Twitter, or JayneAnnKrentz.com

Highlights from the episode include:

-The fabulous 82 day cruise she just got back from and what it was like to meet readers in Australia and New Zealand.

-The mysteries and challenges of the game of Bridge.

-Her riveting new book, Promise Not to Tell, which follows Virginia and Cabot as they try to uncover the truth about the alleged suicide of a woman from their past. Both spent their early childhood in a cult and were rescued from a horrific fire that was set by the leader of the cult, Quinton Zane, to eliminate his followers. Now they are trying to make sense of the final message, a mysterious painting, that was sent to Virginia before a woman burned her cabin down and jumped to her death. Is Zane still alive and out for revenge?

-The nuts and bolts of her writing process that has led to such a prolific and successful career.

-How she ended up with three pen names and why she doesn't advise multiple names for aspiring authors.

-The fascinating world of late 1930's California where her current Amanda Quick stories are set and what her research for historical settings looks like.

-Author's block vs author's boredom and what Jayne suggests you do to fix it.

-Jayne's advice for aspiring authors who are trying to get a career started.

*Books mentioned in this episode:

Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz

When All the Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz

The Other Lady Vanishes by Amanda Quick (May 2018)

7 - Alisha Rai: Wrong to Need You Dec 27, 2017

Show notes

Sarah and I were perusing a stack of books at The Ripped Bodice, discussing how much we love Alisha Rai when someone laughed and said, "You realize she's sitting right there, right?" Sure enough, there she was--and she was awesome enough to do an impromptu interview with us.

Alisha is the author of critically acclaimed contemporary and paranormal romance novels (and an attorney!). Her most recent book, Wrong to Need You, was just named one of Entertainment Weekly's Ten Best Romance Novels of 2017. We dig into her phenomenal Forbidden Hearts series and then talk writing, dating as a romance novelist, and how to approach racial issues in your writing. Alisha is lovely and full of wonderful wisdom!

*Books and authors we mentioned in this episode:

Nalini Singh

Cabin Fever by Alisha Rai

Hot as Hades by Alisha Rai

Night Whispers by Alisha Rai

Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai (March 2018)

Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai

Hurts to Love You by Alisha Rai

Serving Pleasure by Alisha Rai (first Indie book on the Washington Post list of best books)

Shirley Busby

A Gentleman in the Street by Alisha Rai

*The above links will take you to The Ripped Bodice website where you have the option to purchase the print books from the only exclusively romance bookstore in the US. We don't get anything from the purchase except the satisfaction of supporting a small business that we love! If you're in the LA area, definitely go and visit the store--it's magical!

Special thanks to our Editor, Chris Willett!

6 - Christina Lauren: Roomies Dec 20, 2017

Show notes

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The #1 international bestselling coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced fourteen New York Times bestselling novels. They are published in over 30 languages, won both the Seal of Excellence and Book of the Year from RT Magazine, named Amazon and Audible Romance of the Year. Their third YA novel, Autoboyography was released in September, and their latest is a contemporary romance, Roomies that just came out a few weeks ago. Their first Women’s Fiction, Love and Other Words in April.

In this episode we cover all kinds of topics from their writing process to how they were first introduced to romance—and eventually how they started writing it—with some funny reactions from the people in their lives. We also ask them about the comments Hillary Clinton recently made about romance novels to get their take on it.

Other highlights from our concersation include:

-How changes in the world can impact a book in progress.

-Their organic writing process for working as a duo and how their outlining process has evolved to include the emotional transitions for their characters.

-How research opens up a broader world for Christina.

-The importance of writing different types of families.

-Their thoughts on Hillary Clinton's misguided comments about romance novels. Lo wants to send her some Courtney Milan, Tessa Dare, and Sarah MacLean to demonstrate how strong romance heroines really are. We mention Lisa Kleypas's Washington Post article.

-We discuss how the people in their lives reacted when they started writing romance. Lo had been doing research on macular degeneration and got mixed responses when she left to write romance full time. Christina doesn't talk about it as much, but still had some stories of her own.

To keep up with them, you can follow Christina Lauren on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter or find more information on their website.

*Books we mentioned in this episode:

Palomino by Danielle Steele

Barbara Cartland

Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Special thanks to our Editor, Chris Willett!

5 - Courtney Milan: Hamilton's Battalion Dec 13, 2017

Show notes

This week we're joined by Courtney Milan, an award-winning and bestselling author of historical and contemporary romance. Her most recent release, Hamilton's Battalion is a trio of short romances set during the Revolutionary War written with Alyssa Cole and Rose Lerner. We chat about her fabulous story in Hamilton's Battalion and how she developed two such interesting characters. Other fun highlights from our wide ranging conversation include:

Her fascinating journey from math degree to theoretical physical chemistry to law school to law clerk to law professor to romance author (!).
-She decided she was bad at writing when she started college, and was fascinated by math, so she majored in math. One of my favorite quotes from this episode: "I ended up not being able to disprove all of modern mathematics, but I did have a lot of fun!"
-As a lawyer, she served as a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor, and others before becoming a law professor. The reactions from the law community to her writing romance ranged from heartwarming (Justice Kennedy!) to infuriating.
-We dig in to her intriguing writing process, which she describes as chaotic, like building a snowflake from the outside edges in. Listen as Sarah and I start to twitch when she describes how she handwrites everything!
-How her editor has to give instructions a specific way because Courtney can't be told what to do.
-How she essentially trained herself to like olives--and how that strategy didn't work with dark beer.

After sitting across from Courtney for an hour, it was clear that she is brilliant, humble, and kind...but what we didn't learn until last week is just how brave she is. In the episode, she references a federal judge who forbid her from reading romance novels during her dinner break. Last week she came forward with five other women to expose Judge Alex Kozinski's sexual misconduct while she was working for him as a clerk. The Washington Post broke the story, but Courtney's own statement is powerful and worth a read. Standing up and exposing behavior like that takes incredible courage. Courtney has cemented herself as not only one of our favorite authors, but now one of our feminist heroines.

Regrettably, we didn't talk about Courtney's adorable dog, Pele, but if you follow her on Twitter, you can see all the pictures! She can also be found on her website or on Facebook.

*Books mentioned in this episode:

Hamilton's Battalion by Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole, and Rose Lerner

A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold

Georgette Hayer Regency romances

Thunder and Roses by Mary Joe Putney

Serving Pleasure by Alisha Rai

The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin

Special thanks to our Editor, Chris Willett!

4 - Bea Koch: Owner of The Ripped Bodice Dec 06, 2017

Show notes

We're joined this week by Bea Koch of The Ripped Bodice. The Ripped Bodice is the only exclusively romance bookstore in America and a truly wonderful place.

We talk about Bea's fascinating graduate degree in fashion history, her love of Early Modern British history, and passive aggressive embroidery. We discuss why romance is unquestionably feminist and some of the challenges she faces as the owner of a romance only bookstore.

Two of my favorite Bea quotes from this episode:

"Elizabeth I is the Beyonce of her time."

"Are you scared I'm going to cut your dick off? I would never do that, I don't like blood."

You can follow The Ripped Bodice on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. You can also follow Fitzwillian Waffles, the roguishly charming dog, on Instagram.

*Books mentioned in this episode:

Highlander series by Karen Marie Moning

Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce

A Lady's Code of Misconduct by Meridith Duran (passive aggressive embroidery)

Harlots the TV show on Hulu

Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas

Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt

Special thanks to our Editor, Chris Willett.

3 - Maureen Lee Lenker: EW's New Romance Columnist Nov 29, 2017

Show notes

This week we interview Maureen Lee Lenker, writer of the monthly romance review column "Hot Stuff!" for Entertainment Weekly. We discuss our similar backgrounds, her relatively recent exposure to the genre, and what it's like to review romance novels for a living. We're looking forward to checking back in with Maureen next year to see how the column has grown!

You can keep up with Maureen by following her on Twitter or Instagram! You can also follow The Wicked Wallflowers Club on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook--and if you're enjoying the show, be sure to subscribe on iTunes!

*Books mentioned in this episode:

Wilde in Love by Eloisa James

When We Were Gods by Colin Falconer

Ransom My Heart by Meg Cabot (writing as Princess Mia Thermopolis of Genovia)

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

Much Ado About You by Eloisa James

Temptations Of A Wallflower by Eva Leigh

A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

Then Comes Winter ed. by Christina Boyd

Hot Holiday Reads, Vol. 2: Christmas Nookies, ed. by Tricia Skinner, Story by Maureen Lee: "From Keats, With Love"

A Hope Divided by Alyssa Cole

Wrong To Need You by Alisha Rai

Hate To Want You by Alisha Rai

Duke of Desire by Elizabeth Hoyt

NY Times article

Special thanks to our Editor, Chris Willett!

2 - Firsts and Favorites Nov 22, 2017

Show notes

Happy Wicked Wednesday, Wallflowers! We're back talking about our firsts and our favorites. Do you remember your first exposure to the genre? Sarah and I dig into our wildly different first encounters and then explore some of our favorites. We couldn't pick just one!

Books we mentioned in this episode:

The Scarlett Letters: My Secret Year of Men in an LA Dungeon by Jenny Nordbak

Wicked Abyss by Kresley Cole

Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning

Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward

Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole

Mine 'Til Midnight by Lisa Kleypas

Special thanks to our Editor, Chris Willett!