Steam Scenes

Bethany Bennett admitted that she collects best friends and now I count myself as one of them! We talk about how the writer of a leprechaun alien story turned into the author of these wonderful, steamy historical romances. She also shares novel ways to burying bodies and we talk about how romance books helped heal her after an abusive marriage. So this episode comes with a major content warning, s...

Want to know the Victorian cure for female hysteria? This week’s Steam Scenes guest Tabetha Waite tells us! Here’s a hint: it has to do with the way dildos were invented! Plus Tabetha fills me in on virginity and wife auctions. And I read steamy excerpts from “The Scot’s Bairn.” For more fun facts and loads of steam, listen in!   Connect with Tabetha online: https://authortabethawaite.wixsite.com/...

Catherine Stein is this week’s guest on Steam Scenes! We nerd out on historical porn terminology, talk about how visual art inspires her writing (she even matches her character’s outfit color choices with their personality), and discuss how cos-play informs her steamy scenes. Plus, we discuss how happy endings in romance are subversive. And, I learn about Gaslamp fantasy!   Connect with Cat online...

This week, we welcome Tracy Brody to the show. The two-time Golden Heart Award-winner talks about writing steamy romantic suspense that features military heroes, how the TV show The Unit inspired her to write stories, and why inspirational romance shouldn’t omit the steam. We dig into a steamy scene from her book A Shot Worth Taking , from her Bad Karma Special Ops Series.   Connect with Tracy onl...

Dylann Crush is on this episode of Steam Scenes! When Dylann joined her local writer’s group, the pastor’s wife encouraged her to add some steam to her very first romance. The door’s been wide open ever since. We talk about old flames, first times, and tons of happily ever afters!    Tons of places to connect with Dylann online:   https://www.facebook.com/dylanncrush   https://www.facebook.com/gro...

When Beth Bolden decided to write a sports romance without athletes as the main characters, she set her m/m romance career in motion. In this episode, Beth and I talk about transitioning genres within romance, the struggle of sticking to an outline, and writing a coming-out story. Then we get sexy with an excerpt from her rock star romance Hazardous Things . Hazardous Things is part of her Star Sh...

Isabel Jolie is on Steam Scenes! This episode is all about fumbling first times, multiple orgasms, and re-writing Stephen King to get Happily Ever Afters! Plus we take a nostalgia detour and talk about all those awesome 80s tween/teen romance novels.    Connect with Isabel online:  http://www.isabeljoliebooks.com   https://www.instagram.com/isabeljoliebooks/   https://twitter.com/isabeljoliebook  ...

LB Alexander is back for another go! This time we take a very deep dive into the BDSM world: the research, the specificity, the act of writing trauma, writing consent, and how to keep our characters safe.    Are you begging for more? Join us this coming Friday on Clubhouse, when L.B. and I host a live conversation on writing the steam bits! That’s at 11 am EST on the Clubhouse app.  

This week’s guest is Anna Bishop Barker! We’re digging into her steamy romantic suspense Faithful Peace. We talk about how romance books are a wonderful companion for happiness, why she wrote 5,000 words of foreplay, and the pressure of writing characters who have experienced severe trauma plus the fulfillment of giving those characters their happily ever after.    Connect with Anna on: Facebook:...

Regency romance author K. C. Bateman is our guest! We talk about research rabbit holes, how every one of her books begins on her “wall of crazy,” and what to do when faced with shedding all those bloody layers.  Find Kate online  Author Website: https://www.kcbateman.com/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kcbatemanauthor/   Twitter: http://twitter.com/katebateman   Instagram: https://www.instag...

Steam Scenes took a brief hiatus (sorry! book deadlines!), but we’re back with Emery Jacobs. When she got stymied writing her first intimate scene, she turned to Penthouse Forum for inspiration! We talk about reading our own cringy bits, writing angst without meaning to, and our characters can hurt our hearts a little. We can’t wait to light your ears on fire!    You can find Emery online:    Book...

USA Today bestselling author Genevieve Jack stops by Steam Scenes to whisk us off to the 17th Century Scottish Highlands on the wings of a sexy dragon shifter! Along the way, creating magical systems, how our Catholic upbringings influenced our storytelling, and we talk about happily ever afters that last for eternity. Plus, the intricacies of writing steamy shifter scenes. Yeah, it’s hot.   Conne...

Nina Crespo is this week’s Steam Scenes guest and this ep is on fire! We talk about African American cowgirls, why the one-night stand is her favorite trope, writing sex scenes that fit the characters in each moment, and how romance gives us the happily ever after payoff we so desperately need.   Nina’s latest book The Cowgirls Surprise Match came out yesterday! Snag a copy here . Find Nina online...

A.S. Fenichel writes historical romance about empowered women going on grand adventures that include plenty of steamy sex. In this episode of Steam Scenes, we talk about what makes a good hero, what makes for good steam, and how sex needs to have a point. As a bonus, we throw in a little real estate porn and discuss how to pick dirty words. Find A.S. Fenichel online: Website: http://asfenichel.com...

J.D. Hollyfield is on the mic this week. We talk about writing taboo romance for the first time and take a ride through in her contribution to the K. Bromberg’s Driven series. Plus we nerd out on The Fast and the Furious .    Find JD online: Web: http://authorjdhollyfield.com/   Twitter: https://twitter.com/jdhollyfield  Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorjdhollyfield   Instagram: www.intsagram.com/...

This week’s guest is Stefanie London. Stefanie actually conducts workshops on writing the naughty bits, so there’s a lot of golden advice in this episode. We talk about how tapping into the weather helps her create intimate moments on the page, why writers should use craft books as revision tools, not writing tools; and how she finds writing tension between characters more gratifying than the stea...

Author and fellow podcaster Eliza Peake is this week’s guest! We tackle writing redemption stories, discuss how emotion needs to drive the sex scenes, and dig into using music as inspiration for those steamy bits.      Check out Eliza on  Facebook: www.facebook.com/elizapeake15  Instagram: www.instagram.com/elizapeake   Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18483842.Eliza_Peake  Web: ht...

Sasha Summers writes the gamut of heat levels: from inspirational to super steamy. We dig deep into the alpha male psyche and discuss the fine line between alpha and a*#hole. Plus, shifters! And cowboys! And Greek gods! The heat's rising.   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SashaSummersAuthor  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sasha.summers/ ...  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sashasumme...

Krissy writes dark, edgy, and beautiful romances about damaged men and women finding love against the odds. She shares insight on how she finds inspiration all around her (including the inspo for her the fabulously titled first book How to Kill Your Boss ). Plus, we nerd-girl out about Joanna Wylde.   Find Krissy online: Website: https://krissydaniels.com   FB: https://www.facebook.com/authorkriss...

Sascha Illyvich’s, called the gentleman playboy of romance, joins me for this episode! He shares his insight on writing male characters, the line between erotic and romance, and the importance of doing your research when writing BDSM. Much of our conversation is centered on dark romance, and while I don’t think this episode needs a trigger warning, please proceed with caution if these topics are u...

Historical romance writer Gina Danna joins Steam Scenes for a conversation about writing period romances: from Roman gladiators to vampire pirates to Regency gigolos. Plus, I get a crash course in Civil War fashion. Crotchless undies in the 19th Century? Mind blown. Connect with Gina on:  https://ginadanna.com/ FB: www.facebook.com/GinaDannaAuthor Twitter: www.twitter.com/GinaDanna1 IG: www.instag...

Anne Kemp writes sweet romance but in her next book, her characters will be ripping off their clothes. There’s just one problem. Writing the naughty bits make her laugh.   We try to figure out what blocks us when we write our intimate scenes, talk about breaking all the romance rules in her Abby George series, and discuss the merits of writing sex scenes in emoji (eggplants and peaches FTW!). Plus...

Rachael Eckles was working as a lawyer and picked up fiction writing as a way to decompress and feed her soul. The former yoga studio owner down to write what she thought was going to be a fun yoga romance. But Trading Secrets turned out to be something much darker about Wall Street intrigue. Listen to us riff on the C-word, writing bold sexscapades, and Danielle Steele. Plus Rachael shares her dr...

To call Patricia D. Eddy productive is an understatement. With 30 books published, this former computer programmer writes super steamy sci-fi, military stories, paranormal romance with a twist: she writes strong characters with physical and mental scars. We dish on writing sex scenes with purpose; how she prefers the discovery process of the characters on the way to their HEA rather than the HEA i...

Nikky Kaye began writing romance in college — she had an agent and several manuscripts out for submission. But her voice was too “quirky” for the market. Grad school, then life, took her focus. But it was working on a niche non-fiction book that inspired her to write romance again.    We cover a lot of ground: from parading her Barbie’s around in regency outfits to discovering Harlequin during a h...