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This season, we’re expanding our traditional Trailblazer series to include the romance writers who are trailblazing today. Our first guest on this branch of the legend tree is Ruby Dixon, author of the Ice Planet Barbarians series. Ruby joins us to talk about how she became Ruby Dixon, what inspired the Ice Planet Barbarians series, how she thinks about writing this ever expanding world, the business of the Barbarians, and what’s next. We’re very grateful to her for making time with us. If you’d like to continue the conversation about Ruby Dixon, her work and the Ice Planet Barbarians, head over to join the Fated Mates Discord, which is accessible to our Patreon subscribers. By joining the Patreon, you meet other Fated Mates listeners and get an extra monthly episode from us. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon. Our next read along is The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books. NotesWelcome Ruby Dixon, bestselling author of the Ice Planet Barbarians series.Authors, Publishing Professionals, and Influencers Mentioned: author Anne McCafferty; author Edgar Rice Burroughs; author Andre Norton; author Bertrice Small; author Julie Garwood; editor Cindy Hwang; Ellora’s Cave authors Evangeline Anderson, Laurann Donner, and Jaid Black; author R. Lee Smith; Dani Lacey’s Ice Planet Pod; TikTokker and now author Charlotte Swan; agent Holly Root; Ruby’s writing group, Alexa Riley, Kati Wilde, & Ella Goode.Books and Movies Mentioned: Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel, Last of Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, Amarna Sunset by Aiden Dodson, Beneath the Sands of Egypt by Donald Ryan, Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier, Villain Origin Story by Ruby Dixon, Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman.For more Ruby Dixon, check out our Ice Planet Barbarians deep dive. SponsorsLittle Brown & Company, publishers of Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham’s The Academy, available in print, ebook and audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or wherever you get your books.Lucy Score, author of Mistakes Were Made, available in print, ebook or audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Get it wherever you get your books.Lumi Gummies, Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order. The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2026/4/19/0831-trailblazer-ruby-dixon If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

By request, we’re talking about the characters who have been exiled from family, from community, and from themselves—the irredeemable characters in romance. This is Morality Chain all over again. We’re talking about characters that have done terrible things on and off the page, to the detriment of their reputations in the text and outside, with readers, and somehow, by the end of their own book, are made whole and worthy of love. Here lies St. Vincent, Mr. Vivisection, and more. Tell us about your favorite irredeemable characters in romance on our social media or head over to join the Fated Mates Discord, which is accessible to our Patreon subscribers. By joining the Patreon, you meet other Fated Mates listeners and get an extra monthly episode from us. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon. Our next read along is The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books. NotesWe have been so inspired by all the moon joy in the world. Here is the Artemis II path from the Astronomy Picture of the Day; splashdown was awesome; the dark side of the moon isn’t like a real thing, exactly; and here’s a bunch of other stuff from NASA. Check out our episode from season 1 with astronomer Summer Ash (her interview is at the end of the episode), and learn all about that golden record they sent out to space on Voyager.Michael Corleone was irredeemable! Tommy Shelby? Well, apparently that’s open to interpretation! SponsorsNeyha Liu, author of Midnight at Soulfield, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Avery Maxwell, author of The Forgotten Billionaire, available in print, ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Little Brown & Company, publishers of Ruth McKell’s Honey in Her Veins, available in print, ebook and audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or wherever you get your books.Claire Contreras, author of Isle of Wrath, available in print, ebook, audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

As always when we’re together, today we’re answering listener questions! In here, we’re recommending sex lessons books, motorcycle romance, books set in Toronto, Ohio and more — we’re also talking about the evolution of the trade paperback, how Jen edits, when Duchess is coming, and if we have favorite dinosaurs. It’s a full service episode for you, our faves. If you have more burning questions for us, you can find us in the Ask Jen & Sarah channel on the Fated Mates Discord, which is accessible to our Patreon subscribers. By joining the Patreon, you meet other Fated Mates listeners and get an extra monthly episode from us. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon. Our next read along is The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books. The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

It’s time to fill those TBR piles again! April means the start of Spring and also another quarterly upcoming romance episode! We’re talking about romances hitting shelves and ereaders during April, May & June 2026! Whether historical, paranormal, contemporary or Romantasy, we’ve got something for everyone in fifty or so recs across every single genre. As a reminder, we haven’t read most of these, but we have big plans! If you want more recommendations and more people with whom you can discuss 2026 romance novels, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon. Our next read along is The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books. AUTHORS: Do you have a book coming out in 2026 that you’d like to make sure we know about? Or, are you a debut romance author who’d like to make sure we know about your debut? Fill out the forms here: 2026/2027 Upcoming Romance Novels2026 Debut Romance Novels SponsorsLavinia K. Darcy, author of Return to Kingscote, available in print or ebook. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, or wherever you get your books.Metaltail Press, publishers of SE McPherson’s A Villain’s Hope, available in print or ebook. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Neyha Liu, author of Midnight at Soulfield, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

It never fails to surprise us when we realize we’ve never talked about a really classic trope even now…eight years in. This week, we’re talking about kids in romance—which we’ve somehow never done before?! We’re covering Romance Babies, Romance Kids, and Single Parents in Romance — but so sorry to the Secret Baby lovers out there, that one deserves its own episode (someday). We’re talking babies, toddlers and teens, the appeal of the single parent romance novel, and that one Erin St. Claire book that Sarah can’t get out of her head. If you want more Fated Mates in your life, or you want to talk more about Romance Babies/Kids, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. Our next read along is The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books. NotesThe Silhouette Intimate Moments line eventually turned into Harlequin Romantic Suspense. Erin St. Claire is one of Sandra Brown’s many pen names.Wet nurses have been around for a very long time, baby bottles not so much. I say this only because Sarah said “Bottle service” and that’s something different.Red ink has been around for a long time, actually. So maybe that’s how Sophie had access to it during the Regency?So there’s not a whole lot of evidence that birthmarks are hereditary. Shocking, I know. SponsorsThe Romantasy Letters, a new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.LJ Andrews, author of Heir of Twisted Lies, available in print or ebook. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, or wherever you get your books.Neyha Liu, author of Midnight at Soulfield, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Lucy Score, author of Mistakes Were Made, available in print, ebook or audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Get it wherever you get your books. The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Someone said something real stupid, and that means we get to hit back in the best way possible — with romance recommendations! Today we’re talking about the Opera and the Ballet in Romance! We’re talking about historicals and contemporaries, about mafia enforcers and exasperated dukes, about football players and yes, of course, our sweet baby Conrad Wroth. You’re going to have a great time. Congratulations to the movie-starrest of movie stars, Michael C. Jordan, on the occasion of his Oscar win. If you want more Fated Mates in your life, or you want to talk more about Opera and Ballet and romance novels, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. Our next read along is The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books. NotesTornadoes are scary, but the University of Michigan is keeping track of them for you. Chicagoans think that the city is tornado-proof; it’s not.Daylight Savings Time sucks.Cara Dion and Robin Lovett are both Opera Singers — Romancelandia remains the coolest.Thanks Louisa Darling, for giving us this episode about Timothee Chalamet and his boneheaded comments about ballet and opera a few weeks ago, and then he didn’t win a single Oscar. Are these things related? Who can say!Magic Mike is the greatest dance movie ever made, or a feminist text. Pick your poison.A ballet book Jen imprinted on as a teenager was called Mariana by Karen Strickler Dean, and for Sarah it was an opera book called Mountain Laurel by Jude Deveraux.Kelly Clarkson and Josh Groban do this version of All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera that’s very beautiful.Michael B Jordan DID win the Academy Award for best actor, and we couldn’t be more happy about it. SponsorsThe Monique Fisher Universe, including The Decadence Series, and the upcoming novella Make Room for Heather, available in print or ebook. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.The Romantasy Letters, a new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.Blue Box Press, publishers of Kristin Ashley’s After the Climb, a River Rain novel. Available in print, ebook or audiobook from Amazon & Barnes & Noble.Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order. The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Calling all Loons! You’ve heated and reheated the rivalry, and now it’s time for us to talk about what you should read between now and Season 2. We’re joined by friend and fave of the pod, Christopher Rice, who writes m/m and sometimes m/m/m romance as C. Travis Rice. We talk about our feelings about Heated Rivalry, about the books and their impact, and about the transformational work of the show…and then we fill your to-be-read piles with books we thing deliver the same kind of emotions. We had a great time, and you will, too. If you want more Fated Mates in your life, or you want to talk more about Heated Rivalry & romance novels, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. Our next read along is The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books. NotesWelcome back Christopher Rice who writes romance under the name C. Travis Rice. Christopher and his best friend Eric Shaw Quinn host a podcast called The Dinner Party Show. You can listen to their Heated Rivalry episode here, and Eric’s tuna melt thoughts start around the 18:30 minute mark. Their episode with Dateline producer Josh Mankiewicz aired on March 1st. You can watch the documentary Anne Rice: An All Saints’ Day Celebration for free at her website.Wesley Morris’s essay in the New York Times, I’m so Used to Gay Tragedies That I Almost Missed Romance. The Heated Rivalry Crave social media feed highlighted the power of the adaptation by showing the cast reading from the books, juxtaposing scenes from the show with the text, and loving Rachel Reid!Good Will Hunting is 29 years old! Okay, I know that Ryan Coogler has made a couple of Marvel movies, but he’s also writing dazzling original films like Sinners!Olympians in Italy ran through 10,000 condoms in 3 days and the Village needed to do some restocking. Here’s one athlete’s history of condoms at the Olympics.To be fair, adding a pitch clock and changing other MLB baseball rules have shortened the running time of most games.For more information about gay rodeo, follow the instagram of the International Gay Rodeo Association. Pick Up Men is the first book in the Pick Up Men series by LC Chase. SponsorsJayne Ann Krentz, author of The Shop on Hidden Lane, available in print or ebook. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.The Romantasy Letters, a new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.Blue Box Press, publishers of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Dream of You, a Wait for You novella. Available in print, ebook or audiobook from Amazon & Barnes & Noble. The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Things are looking very wild out here in the real world so you deserve a deep dive on a book by an author with a big backlist and we are here to give you just that! Today's episode is on Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife, a modern day marriage of convenience story from Julia Wolf's The Harder They Fall series. We talk about fake husbands down bad, family drama, and the charm of an author building a big universe for all their characters to live in forever. If you want more Fated Mates in your life, or you want to talk more about Julia's books, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. Read Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. NotesHow the great blizzard of 2026 stacked up with previous blizzards. Seems like Providence was a bad place to be. The winner of this year’s Chicago’s snowplow naming contest: Abolish ICE.Everyone loves Bad Bunny.Ryan Coogler gave a beautiful speech about love at the BAFTA awards. Watch Jayme Lawson from the NAACP Awards give a brilliant explanation of why BAFTA and BBC are to blame for the events at this year’s BAFTA awards.We have both been reading a lot of Julia Wolf books ever since our New Year’s Milkin’ Eve episode.Wyoming is a very big state with a very small population, so small in fact that there are 117 counties that have a bigger population than the entire state. You can play around with comparing populations using this map tool from Slate.The other books we mentioned this episode by Julia Wolf: a rock star romance, Built to Fall. Saoirse’s brother’s book is Sweet Like Poison. Luca’s sister’s book is In the Details. SponsorsMelanie Greene, author of New Flames, available in print or ebook. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.The Romantasy Letters, a new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.The What in the Smut? Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts.Vedentro, premium leather accessories. Use code FATED at checkout to get an additional 10% off the best offer on the site. The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Continuing our series on Romance Vibes, we’re talking about Romance Wardrobe this week! We’re talking corsets and chemises, falls and Hessian boots, Armani suits and underpants that rip right off. We also get to the bottom of the pronunciation of bliaut. Do we recommend books? Not really, but it’s ok, we all deserve a week of goofing off sometime. All that, and Sarah saw “Wuthering Heights.” If you want more Fated Mates in your life, or more romance lovers who love music, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community (complete with a music channel)! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. Next week, our read along is Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife by Julia Wolf. Find it in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. NotesSarah went to see Scare Quotes Wuthering Heights, but Jen hasn’t seen it yet. According to New York Magazine, you don’t have to read Wuthering Heights to see “Wuthering Heights.” But the costumes sure are beautiful.Those Bronte sisters!Desmond Morris’s 12 Steps to IntimacyAll about smelling salts.A woman and her baby stroller were blown into Lake Michigan last week! The Windy City is no joke! Am I to understand these are not historically accurate Kilts?Beau Brummell was a real person.The Armani suit was a big deal in the 80s.We are not rich enough to do anything but read about stealth wealth.You should watch Deadwood. All About: ChemiseReticuleA beaver hat is this, not that.BliautKirtleButtonsWaistcoatGreatcoatPelisseUnion suit SponsorsBlue Box Press, publishers of Larissa Ione’s Demonica Legacy series rereleased paperbacks, available in print, ebook or audiobook. Get the redesigned paperbacks at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you get your books.The Romantasy Letters, A new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.Lumi Labs, creators of Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order.Amy Spalding, author of In Her Spotlight, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books. The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun!...

Our old pal Billy Shakes told us that music is the food of love, and we’re taking that to heart this week! By request from Eric (who’s never requested anything before), we’re looking at songs that charted in February over the years and matching them with romance novels that suit! We’ve got a little bit of something for everyone here, from historicals to paranormals, motorcycles to mafia to magical realism. Eric’s put together a playlist, and you can find links to that and articles about a bunch of these songs in show notes, or you can just head straight to reading the books. We don’t judge! If you want more Fated Mates in your life, or more romance lovers who love music, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community (complete with a music channel)! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. Our next read along (in March) is Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife by Julia Wolf. Find it in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. NotesYou can listen to the accompanying playlist on Apple Music and SpotifyYou, too, may want to learn about this mahjong situation brewing in the Midwest with Barbara.It’s the Olympics. Defector is covering all the news stories we want to know about, including the Curling Drama between Sweden and Canada, the ice dancers are super villains, and this Norwegian skier is an idiot.Happy Black History Month! Jen did something cool at The Newberry Library. It was part of the Douglass Day transcribe-a-thon, transcribing information about the Colored Conventions. You can still participate using Zooniverse, and looking for the Douglass Day Project.Sarah enjoyed learning about the Asking Dumb Questions class at Yale.Tom Breihan writes a column The Number Ones at Stereogum, and Jen also enjoys a similar Slate podcast called Hit Parade.Here’s the spreadsheet of February hits, and a playlist of songs we talked about today! The Macarena is a song about love triangles! Bad Romance by Lady Gaga is on this list, but we only talk about books we like.The DJ book Jen couldn’t remember was Rival Radio by Kathryn Nolan.The Stud Budz, WNBA players Courtney Williams & Natisha Hiedeman, did a long livestream during the 2025 All Star Weekend, and they sang and danced to Pink Pony Club. Check out Babes Sports Bar if you’re ever in Chicago. Jen did an event there, cohosted by 831 Stories & Off the Dribble Chicago, an organization for basketball-playing women and girls in the city.Prince renamed himself as a symbol when fighting with his record label. SponsorsBlue Box Press, publishers of Dylan Allen’s Rivers Wilde rereleased paperbacks, available in print, ebook or audiobook. Get the redesigned paperbacks at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you get your books.The Romantasy Letters, A new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.MA Wardell, author of Peaches & Pucks, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Barnes & Noble, bookshop.org or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Jennifer Iacopelli, author of Game, Set, Match, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books. The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your a href="https://mf.fatedmates.net/listen"...

This weekend, the world is celebrating the second most important romance holiday in February (see last week’s episode for the most important)—Valentine’s Day! To lean into the traditions of the day, we thought we’d offer you a dozen roses this week, in the form of books! We’re taking the topic broadly—from character names, to author names, to rose scented things, to roses on the page — historical, contemporary, mafia and more…there’s something in here for everyone. 🌹 If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. Our next read along (in March) is Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife by Julia Wolf. Find it in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. NotesLadyhawke is a 1985 movie starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Rutger Hauer, and Matthew Broderick. Go see “Wuthering Heights” if you want! It has Jacob Elordi ( even though Heathcliff should be a man of color) and Margot Robbie, but mostly it’s about capturing a vibe. Sinners was terrific, it stars Michael B Jordan playing twins, was nominated for a record-breaking 16 Oscars, and includes both an extraordinary sequence about the history of music and a hero who enjoys a meal. Well, we actually talked about a bunch of rose adjacent stuff outside of our official dozen roses. Here they are: Rose DeWitt Bukater from TitanicRose Nylund from The Golden Girls defending MinnesotaThe first book in Lorraine Heath’s Rogues and Roses series is A Duke of Her OwnSJ Tilly (who we think is great) has an epistolary romance called Dear RosieOrca is the official name of the killer whaleWe wouldn’t wish Hyperemesis gravidarum on anyonePlease don’t f**k around with measles—get your kids vaccinated and your titers checkedYou should probably read The Red before you read The RoseThe covers and/or stepbacks of Sarah’s Rules of Scoundrels series feature roses, and in One Good Earl Deserves a Lover, Pippa is breeding rosesLilah Rose is the name of the heroine in A Duke Worth Falling ForWe love author Stephanie RoseHere’s a list of romances with rose in the title, and another list of books with characters named Rose. Jen will be at Babe’s Sports Bar on Thursday, Feb 12, 2026 to talk about Rooting Interest by Cat Disabato and at the White Oak Library in Romeoville at 10:30am on Saturday February 21, 2026. On Saturday, March 7th, Sarah will be at the Ballrooms and Beyond Conference in Bristol, RI. The event is free, but registration is required. Also, there’s a (not free) cocktail party! SponsorsBlue Box Press, publishers of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s The Primal of Blood and Bone limited edition paperback, available in print, ebook or audiobook, at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you get your books.Harpercollins, publishers of AT Qureshi’s The Baby Dragon Bookshop, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Lyx Books, publishers of Brittany Cherry’s Eleanor & Grey, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Tarina Deaton, author of Day in the Knight, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, a...

It’s finally happened! In a perfect Derek Craven Day celebration, our Trailblazer conversations continue this week with thee Lisa Kleypas, historical romance royalty, who changed the game when she brought working class heroes to historicals. We discuss her four decades of work in romance, from historical to contemporary to magical realism and now into historical fiction, touching on the Kleypas hero, the way she builds series, and the ways that she continues to push herself as a storyteller. And yes, she was kind enough to play a round of Derek Craven Would Never. We are so grateful to Lisa Kleypas for making time for us, for her amazing books, and for Derek Craven Day. If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. Our next read along (in March) is Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife by Julia Wolf. Find it in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Lisa Kleypas Books Mentioned This EpisodeThen Came You by Lisa KleypasDreaming of You by Lisa KleypasChasing Cassandra by Lisa KleypasForever My Love by Lisa KleypasThe Vallerands Series by Lisa KleypasThe Wallflowers Series by Lisa KleypasAgain the Magic by Lisa KleypasThe Devil in Winter by Lisa KleypasMarrying Winterborne by Lisa KleypasLove in the Afternoon by Lisa KleypasDevil in Spring by Lisa KleypasHello Stranger by Lisa KleypasSugar Daddy by Lisa KleypasThe Queen of Lombard Street by Lisa Kleypas NotesWelcome Lisa Kleypas. This fall, she’s releasing her first historical fiction novel, The Queen of Lombard Street.People mentioned: editor Carolyn Nichols, editor Ellen Edwards, author Laura Kinsale, author Rebecca Brandewyne, author Stephanie Laurens, author Julia Quinn, editor Jen Enderlin, editor Carrie Feron, author Eloisa James, author Jennifer Crusie.Other notable mentions: Louisa May Alcott’s House in Concord MA, William Crockford the inspiration for Derek Craven, the observation about industry vs crime was (of course) made by Sanj, and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson the inspiration for Dr. Garrett Gibson.Keep up with everything Derek Craven! SponsorsBlue Box Press, publishers of Audrey Carlan’s Marriage Auction Series novellas Madam Alana and A Christmas Auction. Available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Learn more at TheBlueBoxPress.com.The Romantasy Letters, A new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.Jennifer Iacopelli, author of Game, Set, Match, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Lumi Labs, creators of Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order. The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2026/2/2/0820-trailblazer-lisa-kleypas If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many...

It’s a snowstorm, Jen’s from Chicago, and we’re feeling extra qualified to talk about Ice Planet Barbarians! It’s the book, and the series that took the world by storm back in 2015, and we’re revisiting the absolute powerhouse it was then, before it launched an entire subgenre of romance and changed the romance landscape. We’re also talking about Ruby Dixon’s clear skill, her obvious love of the genre, and all the ways she makes us both laugh and sigh. If you have a favorite IPB book and you want to talk about it, come find us (and other romance lovers) on the Fated Mates Discord, which you can access by joining our patreon. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon. Our next read along (in March) is Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife by Julia Wolf. Find it in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. NotesHorsepower is definitely the same as measuring the weight of ice in golden retriever pounds. There’s lot of ways to support the people of Minnesota right now. A good clearinghouse site is Stand With Minnesota. You can also order directly from area bookstores: Tropes and Trifles, Black Garnet Books, or Birchbark Books, or use Bookshop.Org for any number of Minnesota stores. Monarca If you are looking to support whistle production, You can also support other Romancelandia efforts. Bree (from Kit Rocha) is part of a team of people that have printed over 150k whistles this month alone! Romancing the Vote will also be back up this summer, so look for information on that. Along with Monarca, Indivisible is also holding trainings to teach people how to document and record ICE. Get ready, Derek Craven Day is nigh! It’s February, so lots of upcoming romance events to check out! Feb 12, 2026: Jen will be at Babe’s Sports Bar to discuss a WNBA romance, Rooting Interest.Feb 14, 2026: the Free Library of Philadelphia will be holding a Heated Rivalry Event with Xio Axelrod, Rosie Danan & Joanna Shupe.Feb 21, 2026: Jen will be in Romeoville to discuss Romance.Feb 21, 2026: An online Heated Rivalry Trivia event.March 7, 2026: Sarah will join a group of historical romance authors for Ballrooms & Beyond, a daylong celebration of historical romance at Linden Place in Bristol, RI. Oh, finally, some notes about Ice Planet Barbarians. Our friend Dani Lacey was the host of Ice Planet Pod if you’re looking for read-alongs.The final girl is a horror trope!Our next read along is Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife by Julia Wolf. Find it in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. SponsorsBlue Box Press, publishers of new special editions of:Donna Grant’s Dragon Kings novellasJennifer L. Armentrout’s From Blood and Ash, featuring sprayed edges and embossed and glossy cover design elements; andHeather Graham's Krewe of Hunter and Cafferty and Quinn novellas.Learn more at TheBlueBoxPress.com.RomantasyLetters, A new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.Denise Williams, author of The Re-Do List, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Jennifer Vido, author of Simplicity by the Sea, available in...

The brilliant Jayne Ann Krentz, romance trailblazer and royalty, joins us this week to talk about one of her favorite tropes--the shotgun wedding! We're talking all things forced marriage...how it differs from marriage of convenience, how it underscores the inherent conflict in romance, and how it often ends up being more like romantic suspense than one would expect! We also talk a bit about how secret babies (and babies in general) play into this trope. Did Jayne also say something that Sarah had to stop the interview to write down? Of course she did! If you have favorite forced marriage/shotgun weddings, maybe you want to join the Fated Mates patreon? There, you get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the FM Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon. Our next read along will be Ruby Dixon’s Ice Planet Barbarians (you’re welcome). Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, your local indie, libro.fm, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. The BooksThe Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann KrentzInto the Storm by Rachel GrantA Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaughtBroken Whispers by Neva AltajThe Duke’s Shotgun Wedding by Stacy ReidBecause the Baron BroodsStolen Touches by Neva AltajMafia Virgin by Mila FinelliThe King’s Spinster Bride by Ruby DixonRavished by Amanda Quick NotesWelcome Jayne Ann Krentz, who also writes as Jayne Castle and Amanda Quick. Her new book is The Shop on Hidden Lane. Listen to Jayne Ann Krentz's trailblazer interview.“Shotgun wedding” is an American phrase dating back to 1929, but forcing people to get married because of pregnancy, politics and patriarchy has been around for a long time.Get your own bank account, women.You can listen to our trailblazer interview with Elda Minger to hear more about the first condom in romance.A romantasy that Jen liked a lot (with no pregnancy plot, that’s why it’s in show notes instead of the photo array) is Silver & Blood by Jessie Mihalik.When talking about The King’s Spinster Bride, Jen kept saying “epilogue” when she meant “prologue.” I have no excuse for this. SponsorsLexi Davis, author of Pretty Vicious, available in print and ebook at Amazon or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.The Romantasy Letters, A new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at romantasyletters.com.Sotto Voce Scents, candles for the romance lovers in your life. Go to sottovocescents.com and use code FATEDMATES for 10% off your order.Lee Taylor, author of A Satchel of Richards, available in print or ebook from Amazon or B&N.

As it's the beginning of 2026, we're talking about how we think about our reading years. What kind of strategies does Jen use? How is Sarah attempting to control the chaos? Which books do we already have on our TBR piles for 2026, and how do we structure our reading year to make ourselves happy and prepare for the podcast? We're also talking about some books by romance novelists who are publishing outside the romance genre this year. If you want to talk to more people about reading strategies this year, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon. Our next read along will be Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarians (you’re welcome). Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, your local indie, libro.fm, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited NotesVaccinations are good, actually. In between recording this episode and when it aired, Caroline Kennedy’s daughter Tatiana Schlossberg, who wrote about her cancer diagnosis in the New Yorker, has sadly died.It will shock no one to learn that Jen learned about immunizations from books. In her childhood, the books The Great Brain by John Dennis Fitzgerald. We also recommend Everything is Tuberculosis by John Greene and On Immunity by Eula Biss.Amazon is forcing AI tools into the kindle books themselves, and it’s all awful. Use your own brain, we don’t know what else to say. BooksEverything is Tuberculosis by John GreenOn Immunity by Eula BissThe Paris Match by Kate ClaybornThe Romance Revival by Christina LaurenShe Fell Away by Lenore NashAs Far as She Knew by Diana AwadThe Duke by Anna CowanLady X by Molly FaderThe Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 12 EditionAlphabet in Motion by Kelli Anderson SponsorsAvon Books, publishers of Emma Alban's Like in Love with You, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Lumi Gummies, microdose gummies available nationwide. Use the code FATEDMATES to get 30% off your first order. Learn more at LumiGummies.com.Caroline Linden, author of How to Get Away with Scandal, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Allison Bettes, author of Red Flag Warning, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2026/1/12/0817-setting-new-years-reading-resolutions If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.