Illicit Liaisons

This week, we talk with author David Gordon, author of the Cutter suspense series, where we talk about the secret lives of men who read romance, bookish events, and more. David's Amazon Page https://www.amazon.com/author/davidegordonauthor David's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/degordonauthor David's Facebook https://www.facebook.com/david.e.gordon.author.2025/ MENTIONED ON THE...

This week, we talk with Sara Snow, author of Luna Rising, a YA paranormal romance, about fan fiction, book events, and more. Sara Snow Website   https://www.sarasnowbooks.com Sara's Amazon Page https://link.amazon/B0ef0fJtf Sara's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sarasnowauthor/ Sara's Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SaraSnowAuthor MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Luna Rising by Sara Snow...

This week, we talk with author Natalina Reis about Blind Date with a Book, scams targeting authors, her new and upcoming release, and more. Natalina usually has two or three books going at the same time. She might be reading a physical copy of a romantasy, listening to a rom-com during her commute, and carrying an e-reader with her just in case. That of course explains why you’ll find such a varie...

This week, we talk with author Lizzy Hartwell about cliffhangers, writing what you know, and her upcoming new release and advent romance on Substack. Lizzy Hartwell writes witty, warm romance about competent women who've spent years doing everything right and are finally ready to do something deliciously wrong. A former NASA employee married to a test pilot (for real), she knows a thing or tw...

This week, we continue celebrating the release of Starlit & Spellbound, our first fall anthology featuring 10 spellbinding romances with witches, ghosts, fated mates, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden love, curses, fate & more! We're chatting with Suzy Langevin and Lynne Solisse about audiobook narration, red-flag characters, New Adult/later-in-life romance, and more! Suzy Langevine: Suzy...

This week, we continue celebrating the release of Starlit & Spellbound, our first fall anthology featuring 10 spellbinding romances with witches, ghosts, fated mates, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden love, curses, fate & more! We're chatting with Mara Heath and Jenna Harte/Eva LeClerc about love triangles, witchy romance, and more. Mara Heath is the author of the new-adult paranormal roma...

This week, we continue celebrating the release of Starlit & Spellbound, our first fall anthology featuring 10 spellbinding romances with witches, ghosts, fated mates, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden love, curses, fate & more! We're chatting with two of the authors in Starlit & Spellbound, T.A. Leederman and Urna Semper, about bookish drama, their stories in Starlit & Spellbound,...

This week, we celebrate the release of Starlit & Spellbound , our first fall anthology, featuring 10 spellbinding romances with witches, ghosts, fated mates, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden love, curses, fate & more! We're chatting with two of the authors in Starlit & Spellbound, Marissa Marinello and Miranda Tamrakar, about bookish drama, their stories in Starlit & Spellbound, a...

This week, we chat with author and book event planner Amy Marie about whether romance books need more yearning, Amy's success with SaSS while other book signing events seem to be imploding, the internet's policing of dark romance, and more. About Amy Marie Amy Marie was born and raised in the northwest suburbs of Chicago (Go Cubs Go!) until she married the red-headed love of her life in...

This week, I'm solo (Jenna) with an update to a blast-from-the-past episode from 2021 on what romance books I'd recommend to people who've never read romance but are willing to give it a try, with my updated picks for 2026. BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Classic Romance Persuasion by Jane Austen https://amzn.to/4gGRvX7 Persuasion movie https://amzn.to/4cpXUVk Contemporary Romance Big R...

This week, we chat with author Suzy England about the impact of the butterfly effect on building a writing career, as well as learning about her new and upcoming women's fiction and romance novels. Suzy England is an Amazon Charts bestselling author of Women's Fiction and Romance. Her heartfelt and relatable stories first captured a global audience on Wattpad, where her work was read by...

This week, we chat with author Suzy Langevin, discussing tropes, love triangles, and Suzy's new release, The Plus One Pact. Suzy Langevin writes happily ever afters where people are loved because of, not in spite of, the things they see as their flaws. She is the winner of the 2024 RWA Golden Heart Award, and her short fiction appears in anthologies and magazines. Suzy lives in Massachusetts...

This week, we chat with authors Mara Heath and Annabella Lowe about the cosy romantasy debate, AI art scams, as well as their own works and upcoming releases.  Mara fell in love with the romance genre when she first started reading the Sweet Valley High and Sweet Dreams series as a teen. Decades later, after working as an English teacher and taking time to be a mother, she's finally become th...

This week, we chat with author T.A. Leederman about sci-fi romance, the book drama over whether book influencers are reading the books they recommend, hot takes in the bookish community, and more. Tara is a PhD in English and former writing teacher, one of our editors and all-around press gremlin here at Tender and Tempting Tales, and main fiction writer for Starship Valkyrie. Typically she writes...

This week, we chat with author Eva LeClerc, who has a secret. We discuss hot takes around slow-burn romance, use of pen names in romance fiction, and what happened in the finale of Outlander.  Eva LeClerc set out to write a dark mafia romance set in New York City. Somehow, that turned into a dark paranormal romance set in New Orleans, serialized to Substack and now published just this last week as...

This week, our guest host is author Annabella Lowe, and we're talking about bookish overconsumption, paranormal romance, Summerween, and more! About Annabella Lowe: Books have always been a passion for Annabella, who was raised on The Vampire Diaries, Shadowhunters, and Twilight, so it was no surprise that she started writing books that contained vampires—her first love! She published her fir...

This week, we chat with Laura Solar, a booktuber who covers news and drama from the book community on her channel, Laura Rae Says. We discuss book piracy, bookish drama, and questionable editors. Laura Solar is a book lover and the host of a YouTube channel that focuses on topics related to the book community. Making videos for over three years featuring reviews, interviews, and all things involvi...

This week, we're celebrating Fantastical Foes, an enemies-to-lovers romantasy zine. We're chatting with the editor, Parrish Baker, and contributing authors Marissa Marinello, Lynne Solisse, and Tara Leederman. Parrish Baker/Urna Sempe r Urna Semper is a romance author from Argoshaan, known for her books depicting passionate tales of forbidden love between clones and born-humans. Born to...

This week, we're joined by author Mara Heath to talk about romance books, bookish drama and hot takes, romance categories, and more. Mara fell in love with the romance genre when she first started reading the Sweet Valley High and Sweet Dreams series as a teen. Decades later, after working as an English teacher and taking time to be a mother, she's finally become the romance writer she a...

This week, we discuss bookish news, hot takes, drama and more. Join us and let us know your hot takes. BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE SHOW The Pearl Crucible by Urna Semper https://amzn.to/4waBkHK Serialized stories by Urna Semper Substack https://urnasemper.substack.com/ Dead but Not Forgotte n by Jenna Harte https://amzn.to/4eEltKh Back to Us by Jenna Harte free at https://jennaharte.com/ Shadow of Betr...

This week, we're joined by author Allie Lasky to talk about romance books, including what it means to be well-read, sports romance, and more. Allie Lasky is a queer and AuDHD writer with a hyper-fixation on inclusivity and representation. She loves the color purple, Michigan football, the Detroit Lions, and the Boston Bruins. When she’s not absorbed by a book, she likes to watch sports and sp...

This week, we're still celebrating the release of Fireworks & Flirtation by chatting with Tara Leederman and Urna Semper, where we discuss: - Anti-intellectualism in reading - Follow-up from Romanstasy-gates - Plus, we learn about Tara and Urna's stories in Fireworks & Flirtation, other books they have coming up, and more! Urna Semper is a romance author from Argoshaan, known for...

This week, we're still celebrating the release of Fireworks & Flirtation by chatting with Lynne Solisse and Miranda Tamrakar, where we discuss: - Spice levels in romance and what each chili pepper means - Plus we learn about Lynn and Miranda's stories in Fireworks & Flirtation, other books they have coming up, and more! Lynne Intro: Writing found Lynne Solisse later in life, and...

This week, we're celebrating the upcoming release of Fireworks & Flirtation by chatting with Aline Francoure and Jenna Harte. We discuss: - The Romancestasy controversy - What inspired Aline's story, Back to Us, a second chance romance with a singing telegram - Factoids about the mafia and New Orleans, and Blackbeard folklore, and a whole lot more! Aline Francoure is a passionate rom...

This week, we're celebrating the upcoming release of Fireworks & Flirtation by chatting with Annie R McEwen. We discuss: - Publishers ending their historical romance lines - The future of publishing - Plus, we learn how Guy Fawkes inspired Annie's story in Fireworks & Flirtation, share book recommendations, and more. A career historian, Annie R McEwen has lived in six countries a...