We Know How to Read

Welcome back to The Trial of the Tomes! This week, Murder Mystery Thriller authors take the test in the following categories: first impressions, design, writing style, general plot, characters, and our critical and enjoyment scores. Who's on the chopping block? Six Stories: A Thriller, a USA best seller, by Matt Wesolowski for the Men and Listen for the Lie, A Good Morning America Book Club pick, ...

Welcome back to The Trial of the Tomes! This week, Romantasy or just Romance Fantasy authors take the test in the following categories: first impressions, design, writing style, general plot, characters, and our critical and enjoyment scores. In one corner for men, we have Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark, and in the other corner for the NOT-Men is What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez. P. Djèlí...

Let the trials begin! This week, we are putting Romance to the test in the following categories: first impressions, design, writing style, general plot, characters, and our critical and enjoyment scores. In one corner for men, we have Thunderstruck by Carter Blake, and in the other corner for the NOT-Men is Jackson by Nyssa Kathryn. Carter Blake writes novellas about steamy alpha romances. Nyssa K...

EXTRA EXTRA listen all about it!! We started recording this series almost two years ago, so we have a backlog of recordings talking about the discrimination based on gender and identity in publishing and reading. Here was our "First Draft" of the season from 2024.  Our introductory episode to our new series, The Trial of the Tomes, where we look at the data of publishing, popularity, quality, and...

Welcome to the Trial of the Tomes! We're looking closely at the idea of author gender in genre, publication, and writing style. How that impacts the public eye, reader experience, and marketing. Most importantly who does it best?! We have read one male author and one not man in the following genres Romance, Romantic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Murder/Thriller! Pitting them against...

A tortured fate, destined heartbreak, trials of life and death, forgotten gods, ruthless monsters, but a love that goes beyond death and dust. We read The Scattered Bones by Nicole Scarano, a dark fantasy romance that will have you sobbing over tragically beautiful romance. We hope your Valentine's Day was full of book boyfriends!

Nelle Nikole came on the podcast for our They Know How to Write series. As a successful author of the Rising: A State of the Union series, a dystopian dark fantasy where "The Before doesn’t matter, only The After." As well as co-authoring the Kuxtal Academy: The Beginning series with author Mikayla Hornedo. A Mayan-inspired urban fantasy romance following siblings in an academic setting. We absolu...

We are back!! It's been way too long, but we are back in 2026 and have a lot to share with you guys. We can't wait for all is to come this year and share every minute with you. Thanks for listening and following! Stay tuned for more episodes and big announcements! 

It was amazing having a local author on the podcast! Dai'ja S. Rose is a Virginia author who wrote a completed YA fantasy series called Legendary Stars Saga. Book one, Golden Eyed Legend, starts the series off with quite a memorable beginning: Gifted and Hunted… The Universe Chose Him Now his choices will either save his people... or destroy them. It was so much fun diving into the lore, creativit...

We loved having B.L. Brown on the podcast! She publishes urban and paranormal fantasy. We talked most about her Ritual Income series, an urban fantasy, slow burn, enemies to lovers, and WITCHES! Literally everything you could possibly want in one book! From inspiration to writing process to series and more, B.L. Brown shares with us all the behind-the-scenes fun and more in this interview! You can...

We are so excited this week to share with you this wonderful interview with Aparna Verma. As two fans of hers before the interview, this was a dream come true! Aparna Verma is the author of The Phoenix King and recently the second book, The Burning Queen, in The Ravence Trilogy. Aparna writes epic fantasy with desi representation, elemental magic, enemies to lovers and more! We loved talking with...

Well back to our favorite time of year, They Know How to Write Author Interviews! Starting our Author Holiday Season is Author Jill Tew. She wrote the Young Adult Science Fiction & Dystopian Romance novel, The Dividing Sky. Most recently, she published An Ocean Apart, an electrifying dystopian novel packed with a tantalizing love triangle, gripping political intrigue, and a Bachelor-style comp...

Welcome aboard to the Ships of Theseus, The Fanfiction Paradox! This series starts an in-depth look at the most recent fanfiction that has been published, comparing it to the original work, noting the differences, and truly seeing if you replace enough pieces, is it no longer Theaseus' ship?  In this episode, we dive into the depths of Brigitte Knightley; The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Ene...

Welcome aboard to the Ships of Theseus, The Fanfiction Paradox! This series starts an in-depth look at the most recent fanfiction that has been published, comparing it to the original work, noting the differences, and truly seeing if you replace enough pieces, is it no longer Theaseus' ship?  Implying the theory that if you slowly replace each piece of an item is it still the same item at the end?...

This episode is from the Vault. We recorded this interview in the past and were unable to release it due to several reasons, BUT NOT anymore! We are so excited to share this interview with the talented Elise Kova with you at last! As massive fans of Elise Kova's work, meeting her in person, and this interview we can say confidently hold a special place in our hearts. Author of the tiktok famous Ai...

This episode is from the Vault. We recorded this interview in the past and were unable to release it due to several reasons, BUT NOT anymore! We are so excited to share this book review and interview with the talented Frankie Diane Mallis with you at last! This episode if from our monthly read and review series: Stacks on Stacks. The first half is mostly spoiler free but we go into detail with Fra...

This episode is from the Vault. We recorded this interview in the past and were unable to release it due to several reasons, BUT NOT anymore! We are so excited to share this interview with the talented Morgan Gauthier with you at last! to quote Morgan "Write what you want to read." and that she did! Her list of published novels is astounding. Morgan has written Romantasy, Epic Fantasy, Contemporar...

This episode is from the Vault. We recorded this interview in the past and were unable to release it due to several reasons, BUT NOT anymore! We are so excited to share this interview with the talented Lina Amarego with you at last! Fantasy is near and dear to author, Jillian Witt, three different novel series you can pick from. New Adult, epic fantasy romance read; Children of the Lyr. Standalone...

This episode is from the Vault. We recorded this interview in the past and were unable to release it due to several reasons, BUT NOT anymore! We are so excited to share this interview with the talented Jillian Witt with you at last! Romantic fantasy author, Jillian Witt, is escaping reality with unique magic and swoon-worthy romance. Her debut trilogy, Compass Points, won Indieverse's Couple You C...

Welcome back! SPOILERS This is a spoilers series. We will be going into detail about the chapters of Onyx Storm in each episode. Things escalate pretty quickly with another battle just around the corner. We mourn the loss of Andarna, but we think we will see her soon - at least we hope so. We learn SO MUCH! Rebecca dropped the lore in this section of the book of Violet's backstory AND her SECOND s...

Welcome back! SPOILERS This is a spoilers series. We will be going into detail about the chapters of Onyx Storm in each episode. Ending on a sad note from the previous episode, we head into DRAMA!! Our hearts break for Andarna. Xaden's secret becomes not so much a secret that shifts the dynamic in the squad, but so much more happens in this short section. 

Welcome back! SPOILERS this is a spoilers series. We will be going into detail about the chapters of Onyx Storm in each episode. Cant believe we are here, half way through Onyx Storm! After last section how can it get better? It does! This book really builds on itself as we go through each part. Ridoc is iconic as always, Violet is our little problem solver, and of course, drama, war, and dragons!...

Welcome Lauren M. Leasure, author of the The Benevolence & Blood Series! The first novel in the series; The Sin of Saints is a sexy, action-packed first installment of the Benevolence & Blood Series. We loved having Lauren on the podcast, it was like kinder spirits catching up! Lauren shared all the ins and outs of her writing experience, novels, and more to come from her in the future. 

After a brief spring break we are back with an amazing Dragon Season Author interview with the talented A.E. Bennett. Step into the world of The Serrulata Saga a speculative sci-fantasy you have to read!  In the distant future, the United States is long gone... the Realm stands in its place... and one peasant woman will become the catalyst for a revolution. We absolutely LOVED having A.E. Bennett...

Welcome back! SPOILERS this is a spoilers series. We will be going into detail about the chapters of Onyx Storm in each episode. Cant believe we are here, almost halfway through Onyx Storm! This section might be our favorite yet! The action is picking up, Xaden is being Xaden, honestly, the whole squad is top-notch, and the death begins. Praise Malek! These chapters have hit after hit of quotable...