The Fresh Fiction Podcast

Vibe Check Gwen is busy but making lists, and took the time to relax by going on a long drive to see the snow. Danielle is being lazy on purpose but did some major Valentine’s Day crafting with friends. Black Romance in Media MOVIES Gwen: If Beale Street Could Talk, The Lovebirds, Poetic Justice, Malcolm and Marie, Southside with You, The Bodyguard, Beyond the Lights, Cinderella Danielle: Love and...

Vibe Check D and G are both feeling Mercury in retrograde. Danielle hosted a small family get-together for her husband’s birthday and Gwen made dinner at home every day! Host Check-In: Danielle has a new job at a local independent bookstore. Not to worry, the podcast will continue! Gwen is committed to doing more creative endeavors this year! * Early 2022 Anticipated Media JANUARY TV: The Gilded A...

Vibe Check Danielle and Gwen are both basking in the afterglow of taking time away over the holidays and disconnecting! Danielle has been taking care of her health and going to all the doctor’s appointments and Gwen has started eating more veggies at every meal. * Main Discussion Gwen’s Recs: Sex and the City (also And Just Like That), The Phantom Thread. Halston, FASHION CLIMBING by Bill Cunningh...

Vibe Check Danielle and Gwen both can’t sleep and are very tired. No one at Fresh Fiction told Danielle about her book’s cover reveal and it went really well; the cover of THE ACCIDENTAL PINUP is now out in the world! Gwen made two new recipes ahead of the holidays: beef pot roast stew and apple cranberry sauce. * Our Faves of 2021! Danielle’s Faves TV: Only Murders in the Building, Ted Lasso, Vir...

Vibe Check Gwen is on a mission to get her cart back! She has not gone to jail and this is a major achievement. Danielle feels accomplished, but is still busy. And she has addressed and stamped her Christmas cards! Candle Recs from Gwen’s Bath and Body Works haul: Champagne Toast, Campfire S’mores, Apple Hot Toddy. Candle + Tea rec from Danielle: Winter Wonderland (it’s LIMITED EDITION at Target)...

Vibe Check Gwen is BOOSTED! And she is glad she has planned for Thanksgiving in advance. Danielle is working through THE ACCIDENTAL PINUP ’s pass pages and book 2 revisions, and had an awesome chat with Denise Williams on the 11/19 episode of the Boozy Book Broads . Gwen is thankful for her move across the country, meeting silly dogs and pets in her neighborhood, and feel-good TV like Ted Lasso an...

Vibe Check Gwen is leaning into Daylight saving. Danielle did a whole bunch of stuff but still feels like she didn’t “do” anything. Gwen learned the importance of cleaning out your fridge. Danielle read a bunch of books ( MISS MORIARTY, I PRESUME? by Sherry Thomas, JUST FOR THE HOLIDAYS by Adriana Herrera, THE BAD BOY EXPERIMENT by Reese Ryan, and YINKA WHERE IS YOUR HUZBAND? by Lizzia Damilola Bl...

CALL TO ACTION: For our “listener request” show in November, send us a note at podcast@freshfiction.com and let us know what you want us to talk about: advice, book recommendation requests, gift-giving help, or any topic you wish! Gwen’s had a busy week while her husband has been injured, but she feels like Mary Tyler Moore because she’s doing it all. Danielle has been making the most of the gorge...

Vibe Check We want to hear from you! For our Thanksgiving episode, we want our listeners to tell us what to talk about! Email podcast@freshfiction.com with your ideas/requests/topics/questions and we’ll yammer on about it at the end of November.  Gwen has made a ton of soup. She is really proud that she had a game night with some of their new friends, and played Abandon All Artichokes, Betrayal at...

Vibe Check D had a busy week dealing with her daughter’s cold, but she was able to see her new, grown-up friends! G’s mom is visiting her in WA and she got to show off some of her favorite places in her new home.  * SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE DISCUSSION A great place to hear more about second chance romance is our interview with Reese Ryan, who wrote three second chance romances in 2020: Second Chance...

It’s Gwen’s Birthday week!!!!!!!!! She also put together one of the new desks in her home and it’s making things feel complete. Danielle participated in #20Kin5Days! It’s hosted by author Tasha L. Harrison and her Wordmakers community. It only opens to new members every few months, so sign up for her newsletter if you’re interested in future challenges or are looking for a place to connect with ot...

Vibe Check Danielle has seen a book cover! And it’s great! Gwen cleaned out her freezer! Our guest, Susan, wrote two reviews of upcoming movies for her website, http://thischixflix.com/  * Our Fall 2021 Entertainment Recs September Susan/Film: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Candyman, Dear Evan Hansen, The Eyes of Tammy Faye Gwen/TV: I Know What You Did Last Summer, Doogie, The Wonder Y...

Gwen had a harrowing adventure this week, but has a new mattress to show for it! Danielle planned two birthday parties and is the mother of a 7 yr. old! They think these are huge accomplishments!  * Celebrities! Celebs Danielle Follows in Social Media: (mostly on Instagram) Mindy Kaling, Jennifer Garner, Reese Witherspoon, Retta, Gabrielle Union, Nicole Byer. Also! Don’t sleep on celebrity stylist...

Gwen has been going to bed at 10:30 consistently this week, and we want to know the secret to this sorcery. Danielle’s debut novel is about to head to copyediting and proofreading, she finished the first draft of her WIP, and she planned TWO parties for her daughter’s upcoming 7th birthday! ESCAPISM Is escapism more about a feeling? Maybe a sense of place? Or is it just watching rich people do a b...

This week, Gwen got to see friends who came to visit and she started composting! Danielle survived her family vacation to Michigan and changed her social media handles to @DJacksonBooks to start changing into her author persona! Food in Pop Culture Do we ever stop talking about food? NOPE! Do we have a TON of recommendations? YES! Gwen’s Chef Shows: Celeb chefs like Ina , Martha , Tabitha Brown ,...

On today's episode... Danielle traveled and hung out with a bunch of kids! Gwen survived the Seattle heatwave and didn’t murder her husband in the process! Host Check-in! Gwen has had an eventful 2021 so far, including moving across the country, bringing back the FF podcast, finding her perfect Costco in her new city, and starting a new event planning job. Danielle has a pub date for her debut nov...

Vibe Check The Type-A Queen of our hearts: Gwen has created a spreadsheet for her new local dining options! Actual human interaction!?! Danielle hosted an in-person event to celebrate Love’s Sweet Arrow’s 2nd anniversary! Our pal, @TheLindaShow, took some fun photos !! Romance Tropes If you are interested in more in-depth coverage of Romance Tropes and what they mean and why romance readers love t...

Vibe Check This week, Gwen is feeling good about moving around more throughout the day and getting settled in her new city! Danielle has been reading a TON lately. She’s working her way through the Y: The Last Man graphic novel series by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, and she read a magical Ethiopian Jane Eyre retelling (yes, you read that right) called Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackw...

When was the last time you read a magazine? Gwen recently read print issues of Food Network, Food & Wine, and Bon Appetit! Danielle finished her first draft of book 3 but knows there’s a lot to work on during the revision process. Our Entertainment Comfort Zones Gwen loves a family/found family-focused show, like Modern Family , Blackish , Friends , and How I Met Your Mother . She also loves dysfu...

Vibe Check Welcome to our very special MOM episode! Gwen works with her mom and admires her ambition, as well as her eye-opening carpool tactics. Danielle learned to make time for herself from her mom, who has two masters and her PhD, all of which she earned AFTER she had kids. Our moms are the very best!    Pop Culture MOMS! Gwen chose two Iconic TV moms: Lorelai Gilmore from Gilmore Girls and Lu...

  Checking In! Is Gwen a scammer now? She learned how to use OfferUp! Danielle is sleepy because of rainy weather. Deep Dive: Pop Culture Historicals Gwen and Danielle are OBSESSED with costume dramas and historical fiction and romance. We’re not sorry about it at all, nor are we sorry about how much fun you’re going to have when you watch these shows and movies or read these books. Danielle menti...

Pop Culture Siblings Gwen talked about actual celebrity siblings: The Hemsworths (we had to google Luke), Miley and Noa Cyrus, William and Harry (we digressed quite a bit about the public persona of the Royals and what that meant to us growing up), The Jonas Brothers, Hanson, and other family bands. Danielle looked at sibling trilogies or series in books: Talia Hibbert's Brown Series, of course, b...

VIBE CHECK – We're feeling weird about being 1 year into the pandemic. But Danielle and her family watched The Lion King (1994, of course) and Gwen watched Coming 2 America and made Molly Yeh’s Spiced Tomato ABCs (which is basically Spaghetti-Os)! * READING SLUMPS – Like so many other readers, we’ve gone through a reading slump during the pandemic, and we may still be in one... but we have some id...

You better work... from home! Gwen and Danielle talk about work-from-home fashion, rules for working at home, and have an amazing chat with bestselling historical fiction author, Lauren Willig. Then we check in on goals, set new ones, and talk about what’s bringing us joy! Work from Home Fashion and Rules Danielle Sweatshirts – Daily Ritual V-Neck Jeans – Old Navy Rockstars and Madewell Skinny Jea...

Gwen and Danielle have known each other for a while but wanted to interview each other for the first podcast for listeners to get some insight into their personalities, likes/dislikes, and a bunch of random tangents. Our normal-ish format will start next time (we just want to keep you on your toes for now)!  From our interviews...   Gwen  Fresh Fiction Book Club, currently meeting virtually – join...