Write of Passage by Vanessa Riley

Making Sure They Get Home explores the true meaning of Southern hospitality beyond sweet tea and barbecue. Vanessa Riley reflects on Fourth of July traditions, community, grief, neighborliness, and hosting a Regency-inspired tea party for the release of A Deal at Dawn . Plus, book recommendations including The Cooking Gene , High on the Hog , and An Infinite Love Story . Southern hospitality is mo...

Access Isn’t Permission When does fandom become entitlement? In this episode of Write of Passage , bestselling author Vanessa Riley explores the hidden cost of parasocial relationships , author privacy , and doxxing in the age of social media. Using the recent conversation surrounding romance author Kennedy Ryan’s pen name as a starting point, Vanessa examines why revealing someone’s private ident...

In this episode of Write of Passage , bestselling historical fiction author Vanessa Riley explores three lessons about joy and messes through a girls’ trip to Nantucket, an unexpected adventure at New York’s iconic TWA Hotel, and a collapsed bookcase that forced her to rethink her writing office, creative workspace, and future goals. Discover how to find gratitude in delays, purpose in disruption,...

Hello, friends. I’m Vanessa Riley, and this week I’m coming to you from beautiful Nantucket. Join me for this conversation with bestselling author Dawn Tripp at the Nantucket Book Festival. Our conversation, two fellow storytellers, we talk about the magic behind Fire Sword and Sea. Welcome to our talk Vanessa and Dawn TrippHello, friends. I’m Vanessa Riley, coming to you from beautiful Nantucket....

Everybody Loves Justice Until It Costs Them Something In a world where silence is profitable and outrage is performative, character still matters. This week on Write of Passage , Vanessa Riley reflects on veteran journalist Scott Pelley’s emotional response after being accused of not loving his country and asks a difficult question: What do we still believe in enough to risk something for? From jo...

Discover how fear, doubt, and perfectionism keep us stuck—and how one woman’s dream became proof that obstacles can be moved. What is the rock standing in your way? In this episode of Write of Passage , Vanessa Riley reflects on the extraordinary success of the Black Romance Book Fest and the vision of indie author Lauren Lacey, who built one of the nation’s largest gatherings of Black readers des...

Pope Leo XIV issued a historic apology for the Catholic Church’s role in legitimizing slavery, marking the first time a pope has directly acknowledged the Vatican’s complicity in authorizing the enslavement of Africans. In this episode of Write of Passage, Vanessa Riley examines the Church’s role in trans-Atlantic slavery, the 1838 Jesuit sale of 272 enslaved people, reparations calculations tied...

Historical romance author Vanessa Riley shares the true story behind the book cover controversy that nearly got her canceled. From digital blackface on a Regency romance cover to fighting for authentic Black representation in publishing, Vanessa explores diversity in historical fiction, cover design, stock photography, illustrated covers, and the evolving landscape for Black historical romance aut...

Author Vanessa Riley pulls back the curtain on the absurd world of AI-generated spam, fake marketing pitches, scam refund emails, and performative publishing culture. In this sharp, funny, and deeply honest episode of Write of Passage , Vanessa talks about protecting creative communities, surviving as a historical fiction author in today’s publishing industry, and why authentic human connection ma...

A powerful reflection on America’s reckoning—connecting civil rights history, racial terror, economic instability, and the cost of apathy. This episode explores how past injustice, from the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing to modern inequality, still shapes our present, and asks what we must do now before more is lost. America’s reckoning is here—linking civil rights history, racial injustice, a...

In a time when deepfakes blur reality, media narratives shape perception, and viral celebrity moments overshadow serious events, what does truth even mean anymore? This essay examines the erosion of trust in what we see—from controversies involving Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and evolving AI manipulation to the cultural fixation on the breakup of Megan Thee Stallion and Klay Thompson over political...

A pattern is emerging—and it is costing Black women their lives. Not just in the streets, but in their homes, in their relationships, and even in childbirth. In this powerful essay, Vanessa Riley confronts the crisis of intimate partner violence and the maternal health disparities that continue to endanger Black women. Naming the lives lost in April 2026, she calls for accountability, protection,...

This week on Write of Passage, I did something unexpected—I stepped away from my work and chose joy. After an event in Detroit, I traded my usual routine for a night out: good food, a movie theater, and a romantic comedy that transported me straight to Tuscany. What I found was more than just a film—it was a reminder of the magic of slowing down, the charm of classic romcoms, and the importance of...

In this thought-provoking essay, Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire, Vanessa Riley explores the rise of misinformation, social media lies, AI-driven illusions, and the erosion of truth in modern culture, asking what happens to integrity, identity, and self-worth when dishonesty becomes normalized—and how we reclaim authenticity in a world built on curated deception. An essay on social media lies, misinform...

Half the workforce is going gig—and writers have been living that reality all along. But with AI reshaping publishing, rising censorship, and a rapidly shifting marketplace, the writing life feels more uncertain than ever. In this episode, we unpack fear, resilience, and what it means to keep creating when the rules keep changing. Writers were the original gig workers. Now AI, censorship, and chao...

In this deeply personal and unflinching episode, author Vanessa Riley reflects on the tension between the creative life and a world that feels increasingly unstable. After a trip to Baltimore filled with bookstores, libraries, and readers, she receives devastating news that brings the realities of war painfully close to home. What follows is a powerful meditation on grief, compartmentalization, an...

Why do cruel posts go viral? And why does it feel so good when our own posts do? In this episode of Write of Passage, Vanessa Riley explores the dark psychology of the internet—the thrill of going viral, the temptation of vicarious living, and the rise of the “vicious keyboard.” From a childhood vocabulary word that unlocked the power of storytelling to a viral Instagram moment that revealed the a...

When artists speak beyond their craft, they’re told to stay in their lane. From “shut up and dribble” to “just write romance,” this episode examines why Black art is expected to entertain but not challenge power—and why silence has never been an option. Keywords: Black artists, creative resistance, art and politics, LeBron James, Laura Ingraham, shut up and dribble, Black writers, censorship, cult...

The edit is power. In this episode, we explore how writers, journalists, broadcasters, and everyday creators shape truth through what they choose to include—or cut. From manuscript revisions to social media posts to recent media controversies, this conversation examines responsibility, impact, apology, and the moral weight of the delete button. Because editing isn’t neutral. It’s a choice. And tha...

In this deeply personal episode, I unpack what I call the “P&P-season” — persecution and the paranoia that tries to follow it. When doors slam, integrity is questioned, and you can’t find what you did wrong, how do you stay whole? I share the hard lessons I learned about documentation, discernment, boundaries, holy anger, and knowing when self-preservation — even a graceful exit — is wisdom. I...

A single image from Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show—many hands reaching up in trust—sparks a meditation on hope, heritage, and the fragile idea of an America willing to catch one another again. Keywords: Bad Bunny, Super Bowl LX, Super Bowl halftime show, trust fall, hands reaching up, hope in America, cultural unity, Puerto Rican culture, Latinx representation, American identity, collective...

In this essay, Vanessa Riley reflects on betrayal, trust, and the scars we carry—through lived experience and the journey of Jacquotte Delahaye in Fire Sword and Sea. A meditation on forgiveness, boundaries, and choosing healing without losing yourself. Keywords: betrayal, trust, healing from betrayal, surviving betrayal, forgiveness and anger, trauma recovery, trust after betrayal, emotional heal...

What if piracy wasn’t lawless—but legal? What if the most dangerous thing a woman could do in the 1600s was choose? In this release-week episode of Write of Passage, Vanessa Riley celebrates the launch of her 29th novel, Fire Sword and Sea—a muscular, immersive historical epic about Caribbean women pirates, integrated crews, secret empires, and the global powers history books left out. Meet Jacquo...

Is reading elitism—or survival? Vanessa Riley responds to a viral claim with a lyrical essay on books as refuge, resistance, and inheritance, weaving Black literary classics, history, and cultural power into a defiant meditation on why reading still matters. Key Words: reading is resistance, Black literature, literary activism, banned books, intellectual freedom, cultural inheritance, Write of Pas...

From DEI Hellscape to Angel Wings – 2026, Come Get Me, bestselling author Vanessa Riley reflects on a year of contradiction, triumph, and reckoning. From speaking before 800 scholars at the Jane Austen Society Conference to navigating publishing chaos, stolen books, and cultural erasure, 2025 tested both faith and resolve. This essay explores the cost of visibility, the lie of “historical fantasy”...