Smut & Sensibility

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...

In this episode, Amber and Aly discuss the evolving demands of the publishing industry, the hot topic of social media platforms, and how authors can authentically build their brands without feeling overwhelmed. 0:00 – Introduction 1:24 – Book Nook 12:28 – Craft Corner: Do you need a platform to publish? 55:44 – Happy Endings Nisha Sharma TikTok Post https://www.tiktok.com/@nishawrites/video/758426...

Amber and Aly are back and this week’s minisode is all about getting “un-stuck.” If you haven’t yet voted in our trope bracket poll, check out the link in our bio! E-book OUT NOW from Smut University Press: A MINNESOTAN’S GUIDE TO BREAKING THE ICE: http://tr.ee/MNguide   Subscribe to the Smut & Sensibility newsletter for updates and bonus content:   https://tr.ee/tW4kS7LqwT   Check out our Boo...

Amber and Aly are bringing march madness to the romance genre. But this time, we will be choosing between our favorite romance tropes to see which two make it to the final match up.  It will be up to our listeners to pick our champion via the link in our bio. May the games begin! Poll for Winner: http://tr.ee/tropechamp26 0:00 – Introduction 2:24 – Book Nook 9:42 – Craft Corner: Tropes Bracket 57:...

Amber and Aly are back again with another manuscript minisode. This week's episode talking about our playlists and mood-boards may be even more unhinged than normal because it's a full on late night, pajama party gigglefest. Episode Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3J2fEKDP9MYfThdK5m3ahF E-book OUT NOW from Smut University Press: A MINNESOTAN’S GUIDE TO BREAKING THE ICE: tr.ee/MNguide  ...

Amber and Aly are beyond excited to chat with USA Bestselling author, Denise Williams about her new release, THE RE-DO LIST (available everywhere now)!!! Denise shares her take on the brother’s best friend trope, hot to-do lists, writing craft, and balancing work with writing full time.  Bad Ass Puzzle:   https://jigex.com/A4fiR Denise's VIP list:  https://denise.myflodesk.com/i5k64xtijw THE RE-DO...

Welcome back! This week, Aly and Amber workshop ideas for their short story submissions. Smut University Press is releasing its first ever romance anthology, A MINNESOTAN’S GUIDE TO BREAKING THE ICE, which will be out March 2nd. Physical copies coming soon! Available for pre-order (e-book) on kindle now: https://tr.ee/MNguide All book proceeds to: https://www.ilcm.org/   Stay in touch! Newsletter:...

Author Sam Tschida is back! Aly and Amber chat with Sam  about her new release, GABBY GREENE KNOWS WHODUNIT which is about a mom who accidentally becomes a spy and has to jet off to the Azores (the Hawaii of Europe) with her hot handler to solve a mysterious matter of national security.  0:00 – Introduction 2:19 – Book Nook 2:28 – Julia Song is Undateable by Susan Lee 7:24 – The Re-Do List by Deni...

This week the ladies revisit a book that they read when they were younger and discuss what they think about the book now, how publishing has changed, and what they can learn from the romance genre’s history.  0:23 – Introduction 2:50 – Wallbanger by Alice Clayton read by Aly 17:03 – Dark Lover by J.R. Ward read by Amber 36:16 – Pleasure for Pleasure by Eloisa James read by Marie 01:02:29 – Happy E...

Welcome back to our manuscript minisode. This is our short bonus episode every other week where we talk about our current works in progress. For a brief reminder, Amber is writing a small town hockey romance (AKA adult mighty ducks) and Aly is writing a Spy Rom-Com. We are continuing with our new format this week with a roundtable of our stories with a question prompt we each have to answer. The q...

This week the ladies are discussing their 26 most anticipated new romance releases for 2026! We have a little bit of everything this week (fantasy/romantasy, contemporary, paranormal, action/adventure, etc) and we we share these titles with the huge caveat that this list is not exhaustive! We are keeping our eye out for more deal reports/publishing news, but figured we would get a jumpstart on our...

Welcome back to our manuscript minisode. This is our short bonus episode every other week where we talk about our current works in progress. For a brief reminder, Amber is writing a small town hockey romance (AKA adult mighty ducks) and Aly is writing a Spy Rom-Com. We are continuing with our new format this week with a roundtable of our stories with a question prompt we each have to answer. The q...

This week the ladies are chatting about (what feels like) one of the most recommended craft books out there…Story Genius by Lisa Cron! This craft book promises to teach you how to use brain science to write a riveting novel all while avoiding the dreaded disaster draft. Let us know in the comments if you’ve read Story Genius and what you thought? 0:00 – Introduction 2:10 – Book Nook 2:57 – Roland...

Welcome back to our manuscript minisode. This is our short bonus episode every other week where we talk about our current works in progress. For a brief reminder, Amber is writing a small town hockey romance (AKA adult mighty ducks) and Aly is writing a Spy Rom-Com. We are continuing with our new format this week with a roundtable of our stories with a question prompt we each have to answer. The q...

Amber, Aly, and Marie chat with author Carly Bloom about her witchy contemporary romance, HOT HEX BOYFRIEND, which is Practical Magic meets Sabrina meets Hart of Dixie. Witches, found family, and hot wizards are always in, no matter what time of year.  Carly Bloom’s Books: HOT HEX BOYFRIEND: (aff link) https://bookshop.org/p/books/hot-hex-boyfriend-carly-bloom/7b4e1f134959377d?aid=117469&ean=9...

Welcome back to our manuscript minisode. This is our short bonus episode every other week where we talk about our current works in progress. For a brief reminder, Amber is writing a small town hockey romance (AKA adult mighty ducks), Marie is writing her Romantasy Wizard Soul Bond story, and Aly is writing a Spy Rom-Com. We also wanted to try out a new format this week and roundtable our stories w...