Romance Writer's Therapy

Apologies for Sounds of Opening Mail in the first few minutes of the episode. Kate and Marty discuss: Progress by Wordcounts and Nanowrimo Shelving Projects and Coming Back to them How was Your Halloween? Not Impressed with Past Selves It Takes 200 Hrs for Marty to Write A Whole Book Rest Is Productive 24 Hr Plays and Being Too Tired to Sleep Understanding Where Your Genre's Market Is At Mart...

This was an idea for an episode we had a while back. Think of it as a demonstration of soundboarding, something we end up mentioning really late in the show.  Read Kate Prior's new-release, Be My Bad Guy , where the superhero's ex girlfriend falls for the supervillain's henchman after a kidnapping gone wrong. Marty Vee's newest book Remi and Alicia Can' Fall Again is out n...

It's all in the title this episode, Marty and Kate talk about the myriad of different ways a character can grow, what growth can look like and how it can serve the plot, as well as a really long (still relevant) discussion about Pride & Prejudice.  Read Kate Prior's new-release, Be My Bad Guy , where the superhero's ex girlfriend falls for the supervillain's henchman after...

The girls are both a little sick in this episode so the pacing is slower, but this week Kate tells Marty things she realized she did wrong with her most recent book release only after the fact. They both compare things that they're currently doing with their books and strategize how to work around those obstacles for next time.  Read Kate Prior's new-release, Be My Bad Guy , where the su...

This week Marty and Kate dissect the Second Chance Romance trope, since they realized they're both writing books with it at the same time. We cover: Why Are They Werewolves? Giving Second Chances Another Try Marty Verbally Wedgies Kate from 1000 Miles Away Holding Suspense Throughout Plotting A SCR is Extremely Weird Getting Rid of the Mindset that All Chapters Need the Same Pacing Difference...

This episode is mainly about building your author business without giving in to hustle culture, but we also go off on a number of tangents, such as: Marty Is Eating Her Library Books If You Don't Enjoy Reading A Genre, Why Would You Write In It? There Are No Bears in Michigan The Lunar Cycle Brain Curse Kate Describes Writing Process Very Similar to ADHD Symptoms Your Manuscript's Honeym...

This episode, Marty and Kate talk about: The Outside Is Attacking Us (Allergies) Marty Isn't DNFing Out of Spite Marty F's Around with Prequels and Finds Out She Should Write More  Sideboob Logistics Kate and Marty Are Really Having An Easy Time Writing Books for Once and Are Really Confused About It Marty Sets Some Really Wild Challenges for Herself Surprising No One, Marty is an Extrov...

This episode, we talk about: When the ADHD Hyperfixation Wears Off / Burnout Is Self Publishing Actually Democratizing the Industry? Or Are we Creating Micro-Class Barriers You Should Strong Arm Your Way Into Situations 16 Minutes In And Kate Still Hasn't Explained Episode's Conceit When It's Ok To Not Accept Criticism TikToks Take FOREVER to Make Quizilla and LinkedIn are the Only...

The podcast starts off talking about Shoshana's new book, The Desert Heiress, when the conversation immediately takes a turn into video games. We talk about the ways this book differed from her first series, romantasy books vs fantasy books with romance arcs, balancing worldbuilding/plot vs relationships in romance/fantasy, the importance of building a backlist, the spectrum of writing to mar...

Today's episode is at least partly about writing while life is happening, but also: BEEFY chapters and Amazing Critique Group Dynamics The Glorification of Overwriting and Writing Speeds Book Launches During Family Events (TW: death mention, funerals) Emailing You From My Sickbed Washing the Dishes But It's a Character Moment What It Means to Learn Your Writing Process Books/Authors We&a...

Enjoy this repost: They're back! In this episode, Kate and Marty discuss the age-old advice of "throwing out" the first book you write. They talk about their first attempts at writing books: everything that makes them want to forget that first manuscript, and all the things keeping it on the shelf. And about a dozen tangents in between. Get Marty's debut novella Truth or Daire...

Kate and Marty chat about writing rules; and why there are no laws while using loosely accurate examples and saying the wrong term. Enjoy their new use for the semi-colon; and the revival of an olden-times dialogue tag. (IYKYK) The Orc from the Office is Kate Prior's latest novella. Or check out her website at www.kate-prior.com . Get Marty's latest novel Just Fake Married . Sign up for...

If the girls sound a little low energy, it's because we're talking about Burnout. We talk about: The Sims and Melting Computers Taking Time Away from A Project Feeling Off Balance After A Project Forgetting Your Characters' Names A Milkshake as the Ultimate Romantic Gesture Marty's Love of Emily Henry Actionable Items for Your Bitching Gaslighting Your Readers Is Always An Opti...

We Discuss: Checking the Pulse of Your Book Titling your Book AND your Fictional Towns Kate Struggles against the Idea of Fictional National Parks Bone Town and its Many Mile Markers Reading Only the First and Last Sentences of Paragraphs One-Sentence Emails It's Weird to Have an Epilogue, It's Also Weird When You Don't Kate Rambles about Tessa Dare Books Intermittently Being Expiri...

Marty talks about twists with Darcy Monroe. As well as being the nerdiest little nerds in their hometown, their love of cinnamon roll heroes, and reading "steamy" romance at a young age. Find Darcy at https://darcymonroewriter.wordpress.com/ or her book The Hall of Art and Pleasure Get Marty's latest novel Just Fake Married . Sign up for Marty's newsletter at her website to get...

Hey listeners, this week, Kate dug this episode from the back of the fridge, under the bed, behind the dishwasher, and some forgotten corner of her hard drive to bring you this mystery meet of an episode from JANUARY. Hopefully this year. Have fun, who knows what this one is about. The Orc from the Office is Kate Prior's latest novella. Or check out her website at www.kate-prior.com . Get Mar...

This episode, Marty and Kate tell you they're on a time crunch. Don't believe their lies-- buckle in for an hour and a half of them talking about the nitty gritty of Things You Could Theoretically Spend Money on, as An Author, mostly in terms of planning your release. Real technical stuff, y'know. The Orc from the Office is Kate Prior's latest novella. Or check out her website...

This week, Marty and Kate dive into the best strategies for playing Stardew Valley, the much lauded timesuck, and do math on just how many hours they've played it for. They play hot potato with the only brain cell left on the show for a while, discussing how they write the endings of their books, what it means to have more stamina for a book, and the unexpected emotional consequences of writi...

This episodes starts out being about editing while you're writing, things that slow you down, and somehow becomes about saying "meh, fuck it" about things that have become hurdles in your mind. Half of the podcast is also about roombas, and it's only sort of a tangent. The Orc from the Office is Kate Prior's latest novella. Or check out her website at www.kate-prior.com ....

This week, Marty and Kate talk about Kate's recent forray into the world of audiobooks and the process with Tantor Audio. They also go over Marty's plans to make her own audiobooks, the indie pub DIY way, and all the things that factor into either path. The Orc from the Office is Kate Prior's latest novella. Or check out her website at www.kate-prior.com . Get Marty's latest no...

Join us this week with author Isabelle Drake, as Marty fangirls over how much she enjoyed Drake's class on scene structure.  They take little side steps to critique partners' best practices and The Sixth Sense. Enjoy this craft heavy episode! Find Isabelle Drake on Instagram at @isabelledrake or her website www.isabelledrake.com . The Orc from the Office is Kate Prior's latest novel...

This episode, Marty invites E.F. Dodd dissent the enemies to lovers trope, and discuss Dodd's new 2023 release,  A Higher Standard. Follow E.F. Dodd on Instagram ! Find out more about her books on her website ! The Orc from the Office is Kate Prior's latest novella. Or check out her website at www.kate-prior.com . Get Marty's latest novel Just Fake Married . Sign up for Marty's...

This episode we talk about something that genre romance tends to take for granted-- that the leading characters should fall in love. Why these two, and not some other combination? He's just some guy, hit him with your car, etc. Tangents: Meal Preppers The Power of Manifesting a Calendar Non Sober Story Analysis Divorce Is Always An Option A Saw Movie Where The Torture Is Just Watching All Sev...

This episode is a little relaxed, Kate and Marty talk about some of the things they got up to during their haitus, and recap the things the authory things they figured out while off the air. But not without some immediate and major tangents.   The Orc from the Office is Kate Prior's latest novella. Or check out her website at www.kate-prior.com . Get Marty's latest novel Just Fake Marrie...

Marty: loves winning, hates clapping. That's all you need to know. Kate: makes a lot of references to romcoms she barely remembers watching or hasn't seen.  This season ender the duo sling tropes at one another in the weirdest game of not-rock-paper-scissors you've ever heard. In fact, it looks nothing like RPS. They make up stories on the fly and it doesn't seem like there&apo...