Smut & Sensibility

Copy: Aly and Amber are joined by author Neena Noon to chat all about writing craft and the path to traditionally publishing her new cozy, witchy, enemies to lovers romance novel, TO VEX AND TO HEX! This delightful read is available everywhere now! Listen in if you love: a hot irish professor and magical hijinks and pranks directed at said hot irish professor who irritatingly yet sexily won't retu...

Aly and Amber are ready to help you prep your spooky season reading list with Monster Romance 101! There’s literary history, literary critique, book recs, (and probably tentacles) everyone can enjoy. Listen in for: - Fourth Wing casting update commentary - The literary origins of the monster romance sub genre - What makes a monster romance  - A TBR busting monster romance syllabus - Discussion of...

Amber and Aly are joined by author Elizabeth Davis to chat about her new release, THE FRIENDSGIVING PACT, available everywhere now. This book is bringing the autumnal, yearning vibes with: - high school best friends turned collegiate fake daters - good girl x bad boy with a hero channeling Jess Mariano from Gilmore Girls (which may or may not trigger a 'who is Rory's best boyfriend' debate on this...

Amber and Aly cannot wait to chat about THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS movie adaptation! They loved the book so the real question is: does the movie deliver on those Ali Hazelwood moments that started it all? In this episode we’ve got: Publishing Tea The highly anticipated return of audio rock, paper, scissors Book Recommendations  THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS movie thoughts including casting, production, key moments...

Amber and Aly are back with another manuscript minisode! Today the ladies chat about setting as character and how they plan to use setting in their contributions to the forthcoming ONLY ONE SLEEPING BAG anthology from Smut University Press. The question remains: will Aly and Amber meet their deadline? Who is to say! 0:00 -- Intro + personal updates 07:10 -- Setting as character Sources: - Setting...

Amber and Aly are joined by contemporary romance author, Elizabeth Richardson, to talk about her Substack serialized novel, TRAD, which is inspired by the zeitgeist Join us for a fun and inspiring chat with Elizabeth about: Book recommendations  Writing craft talk The ups and downs of traditional publishing and the different publishing options that can offer authors more agency Serializing a novel...

Amber and Aly are back with another manuscript minisode! Today is all about brainstorming and crafting compelling main characters for their anthology contributions to the forthcoming ONLY ONE SLEEPING BAG from Smut University Press. Will Aly and Amber meet their deadline? Who is to say! 00:00 — Intro + character chat 51:45 — Bloopers Subscribe to the Smut & Sensibility newsletter for updates a...

Amber and Aly are so excited to chat about DOOMSDATE with USA Today Bestselling author, Laura Piper Lee! DOOMSDATE is available everywhere now and just in time for spooky season. Grab the Fun + Stun and your favorite familiar, who also serves as a zombie alarm. In this episode we have: Book recommendations for however you’re feeling this autumn Fun & Games (literally) Writing Craft talk and ad...

Cue NFL intro music: Amber and Aly are so excited to chat with international bestselling author, Laura Carter, on the pod to celebrate the release of her latest sports romance, OUT OF BOUNDS, which is the 2nd book in the Wild Card Series (available everywhere now) and just in time for football season. Grab the buffalo dip! In this episode we have: Nuggets of wisdom from 17x published author, Laura...

Amber and Aly are going to SPAIN for a writing retreat in 2027…and you can too! Plus, the ladies chat about some exciting updates to the podcast including: New newsletter platform (don’t worry, we will still be hanging around on Substack) Community Chat Subscriber original content (you’re going to have to listen to find out)   0:00 – Introduction 2:42 – Writing Retreat Announcement & Details 7...

Amber and Aly are going BACK TO SCHOOL...with their romance novel recommendations, that is! The girlies are talking all things academic setting in romance books: what we love, what we avoid, and why academic settings are so popular for romance novel plots (hint: tension!) In this episode we've got: * Academic setting book recs * Tea time with AI news in the creative space, publishing talk Big fans...

Manuscript Minisodes, welcome back! This week, Aly and Amber workshop ideas for their short story submissions. Smut University Press is releasing it’s second romance anthology, ONE SLEEPING BAG. Part of the profits from this anthology is going to go towards a charity to help save and preserve our National Parks System. Subscribe to the Smut & Sensibility newsletter for updates and bonus conten...

Amber and Aly are back for the SEASON 2 premier with an amazing author interview with Olivia Dade. This episode is filled with book recs, Olivia’s newest book release, publishing talk, and of course happy endings. Come for the golden nuggets of wisdom and stay for the fun and giggles! 0:00 – Introduction 04:46 – Book Nook: You, Me, & The Conspiracy by Emma Barry and Dolly All The Time by Annab...

Amber and Aly are back for a fun new episode filled with book recs, publishing gossip with Q1 earnings report and AI, craft class, and of course happy endings. This week’s craft corner the girls are discussing the craft book, Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon. Come for the golden nuggets of wisdom and stay for the fun and giggles! 0:00 – Introduction 3:29 – Tea Time: Publishing Q1 Earnings and...

Amber and Aly are back for a fun new episode filled with book recs, publishing gossip, craft class, and of course happy endings. This week’s craft corner the girls are discussing the craft book, Show Your Work by Austin Kleon. Come for the golden nuggets of wisdom and stay for the fun and giggles! 0:00 – Introduction 5:05 – Tea Time: Every Year After TV Series based on the books by Carley Fortune...

Amber and Aly are back for a fun new episode filled with book recs, publishing gossip, craft class, and of course happy endings. This week’s craft corner the girls are discussing the craft book, Write Your Novel From the Middle by James Scott Bell. Come for the golden nuggets of wisdom and stay for the fun and giggles. 0:00 – Introduction 1:21 – Tea Time: New Empyrean Book Announcement by Rebecca...

Amber and Aly are back and diving into summer slumber party vibes with an after watch party of Off Campus Part 2, episodes 5-8, on Amazon Prime. This was a book adaptation of The Deal by Elle Kennedy. Everyone online is excited about Off Campus, and Amber and Aly have joined the convo! 0:00 – Introduction 1:04 – Tea Time 15:51 – Book Nook 24:18 – Craft Corner: Off Campus Review 01:01:03 – Happy En...

Amber and Aly are back and diving into summer slumber party vibes with an after watch party of Off Campus on Amazon Prime. This was a book adaptation of The Deal by Elle Kennedy. Everyone online is excited about Off Campus, and Amber and Aly have joined the convo! 0:00 – Introduction 1:49 – Tea Time 9:51 – Book Nook 22:38 – Craft Corner: Off Campus Review 01:18:03 – Happy Endings Subscribe to the...

Amber and Aly are back with a book review for craft corner. This week, the ladies are discussing FOOLPROOF ROMANCE: LOVE BETWEEN THE BEAT SHEETS by Christopher Downing but this time PART TWO looking at the second half of the book. This craft book promises to help you craft a compelling romance novel filled with tension that goes beyond the classic plot beats. Does it live up to the hype? 0:00 – In...

Amber and Aly are back got another manuscript minisode. This week, the ladies are doing a character workshop using the Emotional Wound Thesaurus by Angela Ackermann & Becca Puglisi. This craft book challenges you to dig deep to uncover your characters past. Subscribe to the Smut & Sensibility newsletter for updates and bonus content:   https://tr.ee/tW4kS7LqwT Check out our Book Nook recs...

Amber and Aly are back with another book review for craft corner. This week, the ladies are discussing FOOLPROOF ROMANCE: LOVE BETWEEN THE BEAT SHEETS by Christopher Downing. This craft book promises to help you craft a compelling romance novel filled with tension that goes beyond the classic plot beats. Does it live up to the hype? 0:00 – Introduction 2:20 – Book Nook 12:31 – Craft Corner 39:56 –...

Amber and Aly are back this week for another manuscript minisode. This week, they are discussing writer self-sabotage, book to movie adaptation gossip, and for the main episode a character development exercise involving special traits. Buckle up for a fun episode! 0:00 – Introduction 1:12 – Aly Self-Sabotage 7:51 – Amber and Her Crow Goals 11:45 – Book to Movie Adaptation Gossip 20:53 – Minisode:...

Amber and Aly are back this week for another writing craft corner. This week, they are discussing the viral TikTok craft book, THE FIVE SENTENCE METHOD by Rebecca Thorne. 0:00 – Introduction 1:27 – Book Nook 16:24 – Craft Corner: The Five Sentence Method 49:02 – Happy Endings Subscribe to the Smut & Sensibility newsletter for updates and bonus content:   https://tr.ee/tW4kS7LqwT Check out our...

Amber and Aly are back with USA Today Bestselling author, Ellie Palmer, to chat about her most recent release, ANYWHERE WITH YOU! They chat about writing craft, Ellie’s camper van and truck stop research while writing this book, and what reality TV show her characters would star in. ANYWHERE WITH YOU is available everywhere now! Ellie Palmer: https://www.elliepalmerwrites.com/ Subscribe to the Smu...

Amber and Aly are back with another manuscript minisode. This week, the ladies are diving in to the topic of first lines with tips on how to hook readers and common pitfalls to avoid. I Would Stop Reading Your Book on Page One by Abigail Fenton: https://abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/i-would-stop-reading-your-book-on-page-one?r=3hzxqn&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true The Shit No On...