First Dates & Soulmates: A Romance Podcast

Strap in, romance fans, because this episode is intercepting all your expectations! We’re chatting with the MVP of football romance, Alexa Martin , about romance in the era of Taylor Swift’s NFL, the behind the scenes stories of being (and writing) football WAGS (wives and girlfriends). 🏆 What’s in the playbook this week for Meg, Nikki, & Alexa? * How Vanity Fair declared Alexa the queen of footb...

On today’s episode of First Dates and Soulmates, we are welcoming author K. Stirling! Listen in as Meg, Nikki, and K talk: * how K’s writing career started as a dare * whether or not billionaires deserve romance * navigating the ever-changing social media landscape * when you’re stuck, you just need characters to fight and fornicate! About Our Guest: K. Sterling writes like a demon and is mother t...

Can you fall in love at the gym? Continuing our theme of self improvement this month, this week Meg and Nikki are talking about NR Walker’s book, The Weight Of It All. Listen in as they talk: * how to write a romance about weight loss without feeling fat phobic * the importance of the post-breakup encounter with the ex * why we want to be karaoke friends with Henry * the importance of besties who...

Continuing our series on characters who want to improve their lives, this week we’re diving DEEP into stories that start with characters who resolve to “upgrade” their lives through love, career, health, or hobbies. Listen in as Meg & Nikki discuss: * why this trope is like self help books, but with sex * our own approach to New Year’s resolutions (or lack thereof) * those “hit by a bus” moments t...

We are kicking off a series about main characters who seek out to improve some aspect of their lives and first up, “Get a Life, Chloe Brown” by the wonderful Talia Hibbert. Join Nikki & Meg as they discuss: * where the thing isn’t actually the thing * why we LOVE a man who goes to therapy * beautiful f***ing prose (and how it makes Meg want to quit writing) * the epic badass that is Chloe Brown Th...

Welcome to 2025 and our first annual Tingly Awards! Join Nikki and Meg as they look back at the books that made them blush, tingle, squee, and smile. Then, check out https://bit.ly/fdsmbingo for a link to the official First Dates & Soulmates 2025 book bingo card. Be sure to tag us @firstdatesandsoulmates on your socials as you fill yours out. Meg’s List of Categories & Winners: Best Space Odyssey...

Ho, ho, ho, everyone. This week, because it is the holidays, and both Meg and Nikki are enjoying some well deserved time off, we come to you to the pod this week with a re-release of our Christmas in July episode. This episode was released back in July as we were gearing up for the release of Meg's debut novel, Peppermint Bark No Bite. We talked all about the different Christmas tropes and small t...

The month of November has passed and it’s time for us to check in with our NaNoWriMo authors from episode 27 to see how it went! Join Nikki, Meg, Lee, and Megan as they chat about: * why November is a horrible month * the importance of creating spaces for creative work * Nikki finding out about a disney villains series * why you should always bet on come Follow the show on Instagram https://www.in...

What kind of romantic shenanigans can happen in the small town of Christmas Falls? A hell of a lot, as it turns out! In this week’s episode, our hosts are talking all about the shared universe series of Christmas Falls, back for its seconds season. Join Nikki & Meg as they talk about the town of the season and: * how ugly Christmas sweaters can still be sexy * the work that goes into writing a sha...

Could it be a holiday miracle meet-cute involving the beautiful harmonies of Pentatonix? Why yes, it could! This week on the show Nikki & Meg are diving into Netflix’s latest holiday flick, Meet Me Next Christmas with Christina Milian and Devale Ellis. Listen in as they discuss: * the chemistry of the two leads and how we became Teddy superfans * the logistics of concert venues for holiday shows *...

Your friendly neighbourhood spider person with radioactive sperm, an Amazonian warrior who gets tied up, and a caped crusader who likes to fight with his female opponents - it’s time for some heroic bedroom activities! In this episode, Nikki & Meg are joined by writer & podcaster Diana McCallum to discuss her book, Sex Lives of Superheroes, and the many considerations about what it takes to date &...

In this ode to American Thanksgiving, this week our hosts are diving into platters full of stuffing, phallic vegetables, and creams of all kinds. Meg & Nikki are talking about Back For Seconds, an erotic holiday novella. In this episode, they talk about: * why 2nd person POV should NEVER be used in erotica * the chore porn involved when people do housework for us * Meg’s many excellent food puns *...

Are you hungry? Famished? Voracious for something…delicious? In this week’s episode, Meg & Nikki dive deep into a prix fixe framework of delicious romance novels that focus on folks in the food industry or where food plays a role in the romantic plot lines. Get your aprons handy and whisks at the ready as they talk about: * why folks who work in food service are GODS! GODS WE SAY! * the romance cr...

For many creative folks the world over, the month of November is spent in pursuit of writing 50,000 words. Today, Meg & Nikki welcome 3 of Meg’s author & entrepreneurial friends to see how they’re approaching this month. Listen into the roundtable as they discuss: * The reason why they’re not doing the “official” NaNoWriMo challenge * Why writing succinctly is so freaking hard (we’re looking at yo...

Take one strong alpha male shifter and one super smart yet culturally naive vampire, put them in an arranged marriage with a dash of political intrigue and a soupçon of sexual tension, and what do you get? Bride, by Ali Hazelwood! Join Meg & Nikki this week as they talk: * why we all KNOW what it means when you sniff a neck * the importance of secret friendship languages for surprise unveilings *...

This week on the podcast Nikki & Meg are diving into YA spooky romance films Twilight and Warm Bodies! Yes, we are biting our lips, touching our cold boyfriends, and being that girl that everyone loves from the get-go! Nikki walks us through the 4 signs you’re in a spooky teen romance and: * Meg shares her trauma about watching the Twilight film for the first time * Why parents aren’t ALWAYS the b...

“Hellhounds declaring a glitter fight? Vampires at war with accounting? It’s another day at the Community of Species Government.” In a bit of surprise twist this week, Nikki & Meg decide to add in a completely unplanned episode! So inspired by Nikki waxing poetic about this series during our episode on Paranormal Romance (see episode #22), Meg decided to download and read The Hidden Species series...

It’s been almost two months since host Meg (aka author Bailey Seaborn) released her debut novel, Peppermint Bark No Bite. This week, we are checking in with how the book launch went, some lessons from a new(ish) author, and got a sneak peak at what’s coming next! Listen in to hear all about: ✏️ how Meg wrote the series almost in reverse, and 4 books at once ✏️ the challenges in promoting a romance...

Are spooky scary skeletons sending shivers down your spine? Will dastardly demons and alpha shifters send tingles into your groiny bits? This week on the podcast, it’s Paranormal Romances! Join Meg & Nikki as they talk: 🎃 the things we love that go bump in the night 🎃 what type of vampire we’d be - sparkly or scary 🎃 how paranormal and fantasy are NOT the same thing 🎃 S-class superpowers & the...

For many of us, romance is an escape from our day to day lives where we can just focus on the witty repartee, brooding good looks, and all of the tingles in the groiny bits. This month, Nikki and Meg are sharing a book they somehow love yet it contains their most hated trope(s). Nowhere on Meg’s TBR list would we expect to see a grumpyXsunshine western single dad romance with a nanny AND A SURPRIS...

Today, we’re diving deep into the bowels of our FAVOURITE subreddit to pick out the most curious of questions, the hottest of hot takes, and share the super spicy stuff that we’ve been reading lately. We’re also joined by our podcast SuperFan (and the reason this show exists), marketing expert extraordinaire, podcaster, and all around romantic, Andréa Jones! Check out this week’s episode for: ⭐ w...

Dear Fellow Plant Daddies, what would you do if you discovered that the anonymous person you have been chatting with is the horrible shirtless plant influencer from next door? This week on the podcast Meg is playing host to author Shenee Howard and we talk all about: * sexy plant daddies inspired by BTS members * what makes a great rom com story * Shenee’s sci fi rom com plans (and more Long Beach...

We all have our favourites when it comes to tropes and storylines that we love. We also have ones that we hate with the burning fiery passion of a thousand hells. And yet somehow we can find authors or books that manage to turn our most hated narrative frameworks into something we like, and maybe even love . This month, Nikki and Meg are sharing a book they somehow love yet it contains their most...

Is it true that we should only write what we know? In this episode of #FirstDatesAndSoulmates, Meg & Nikki sit down with Sydney Fowler, a sensitivity reader who also worked on Meg’s debut novel Peppermint Bark, No Bite. We ask Sydney so many questions including: ✏️ the role of a sensitivity reader (and what they are NOT) ✏️ the importance of dialogue between author & any type of reader ✏️ how Sydn...

Is dating your brother’s best friend… taboo? How shocking! In this week’s episode of #FirstDatesAndSoulmates, Nikki and Meg are joined by guest Mikayla Christy to talk all about the trope of best friend’s brother/brother’s best friend. A favourite trope of Meg’s, we talk all about: ❤️ how Mikayla DID date her brother’s best friend (and Nikki’s best friend married HER brother) ❤️ the 3 “F’s” of thi...