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This week, we talk with author Lizzy Hartwell about cliffhangers, writing what you know, and her upcoming new release and advent romance on Substack. Lizzy Hartwell writes witty, warm romance about competent women who've spent years doing everything right and are finally ready to do something deliciously wrong. A former NASA employee married to a test pilot (for real), she knows a thing or two about smart women in dangerous situations—and the men brave enough to love them. When she's not crafting page-turners, she's reading in sweatpants with her Instant Pot doing the heavy lifting. She lives in Southern California and is a recovering children's book author who finally let her characters kiss. Lizzy's Substack https://substack.com/@lizzyhartwellauthor Lizzy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizzyhartwellauthor/ MENTIONED ON THE SHOW The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon https://link.amazon/B0cfXMqUG Not Another Love Song Julie Soto https://link.amazon/B079RogFg Naked in Death by J.D. Robb https://link.amazon/B0gqmWwqv Cordials Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold https://link.amazon/B0ihqT3sj The LOVE Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood https://link.amazon/B0eiWpgUp The LOVE Hypothesis TV show https://link.amazon/B01gLUH03 The Deal by Elle Kennedy https://link.amazon/B048wYlAG Off Campus (The Deal) https://link.amazon/A02JrltGo Tommy & Tuppence by Agatha Christie https://link.amazon/A0gdwWfGU Partners in Crime (Tommy & Tuppence) (1980s TV) https://link.amazon/A0aRQyHQn Tommy & Tuppence (new show) https://link.amazon/A0gdwWfGU TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we continue celebrating the release of Starlit & Spellbound, our first fall anthology featuring 10 spellbinding romances with witches, ghosts, fated mates, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden love, curses, fate & more! We're chatting with Suzy Langevin and Lynne Solisse about audiobook narration, red-flag characters, New Adult/later-in-life romance, and more! Suzy Langevine: Suzy Langevin loves love, even though she forgot how to say it in Latin when she was a contestant on Jeopardy! And she channels that love into writing happily-ever-afters where people are loved because of, not in spite of, the things they see as their flaws. She is the winner of the 2024 RWA Golden Heart Award for her novel The Plus-One Pact, and her short fiction has been featured in several anthologies and magazines. Suzy lives and writes in central Massachusetts, and does, in fact, run on Dunkin'. For information on available titles and upcoming releases, visit Suzy's Website: https://www.suzylangevin.com/ Suzy's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/suzylangevinwrites/ Lynne Solisse: Writing found Lynne Solisse later in life, and never let go. She writes romance that doesn’t flinch, centering on women who are fierce, loyal, and unafraid to demand more out of life. Women who want to reclaim passion on their own terms. Whether contemporary, fantasy, or even proving that love can still burn bright in a gritty post-apocalyptic world, her stories are raw but sweet, fun and emotionally charged, threaded with just enough tension to keep your heart racing. She lives in the Southern US with her three boys and two spoiled cats, and believes it’s never too late for a second chance. Or a plot twist. Lynne's Website: https://lynnesolisse.com/ Lynne's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynne_solisse BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Starlit & Spellbound https://link.amazon/B05WqBMrH Misbehaving at Cactus Lanes by Patricia Santos Marcantonio (later in life romcom) https://link.amazon/B06FA7nV1 Learning Curves by Rachel Lacey https://link.amazon/B09eSAhLj Falling Into Fiction by Victorine E. Leiske https://link.amazon/B06DxwNsK The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore https://link.amazon/B07lpTedp Crew of Hunters Series by Heather Graham https://link.amazon/B0jljO2EA The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer https://link.amazon/B04f98I11 Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by J.R. Ward https://link.amazon/B0jljO2EA TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we continue celebrating the release of Starlit & Spellbound, our first fall anthology featuring 10 spellbinding romances with witches, ghosts, fated mates, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden love, curses, fate & more! We're chatting with Mara Heath and Jenna Harte/Eva LeClerc about love triangles, witchy romance, and more. Mara Heath is the author of the new-adult paranormal romance “Out of Bounds” in Starlit and Spellbound, as well as the author of her contemporary fantasy romance novels Harnessed in Gold and Caged in Silver. Mara's Website https://maraheathauthor.com/ Mara on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maraheathauthor/ Mara on Substack https://maraheathauthor.substack.com/ Jenna Harte wrote the paranormal rom-com “Quantum Entanglement” for Starlit & Spellbound. She's also the author of the Southern Heat contemporary romance series and the sexy Valentine Mysteries. Jenna's Website https://jennaharte.com/ Jenna on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jennaharteauthor/ Eva LeClerc is Jenna's alter ego, author of the paranormal romance, “A Love Stronger Than Fate" in Starlit & Spellbound. She writes the Southern Gothic paranormal romance series, Oathmarked, set in New Orleans. Eva's Website https://evaleclerc.com Eva on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/evaleclercauthor/ Eva on Substack https://evaleclercauthor.substack.com/ MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Starlit & Spellbound https://link.amazon/B05WqBMrH Echoes in Ashmere by Ann Isaacs https://link.amazon/B04f98I11 The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer https://link.amazon/B04f98I11 Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead https://link.amazon/B05yI8Mca Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid Series) by Richelle Mead https://link.amazon/B0eRfMwrN TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we continue celebrating the release of Starlit & Spellbound, our first fall anthology featuring 10 spellbinding romances with witches, ghosts, fated mates, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden love, curses, fate & more! We're chatting with two of the authors in Starlit & Spellbound, T.A. Leederman and Urna Semper, about bookish drama, their stories in Starlit & Spellbound, and more. Urna Semper is a romance author from Argoshaan, known for her books depicting passionate tales of forbidden love between clones and born-humans. Born to a family of scriveners, her breakthrough came with Olava: Fallen into Bondage, followed by Kyrie: Betrayed into Bondage, and Kingdom of Maids. Her most recent projects, The Pearl Crucible and Where All Past Years Are, are available on Amazon.  Urna's Substack https://urnasemper.substack.com/ Urna's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/urnasemperauthor/ T.A. Leederman is a PhD in English Literature and a sci-fi, sci-fi romance, and urban fantasy author based out of Los Angeles, California. She is Lore Lead and central fiction writer for Starship Valkyrie, a science-fiction crisis-simulator game and science-fiction world based out of Los Angeles, which she runs alongside her partner at LA gaming conventions like Strategicon and LFG Con. Her first independent Starship Valkyrie collection, Contact Unknown, is available on Amazon and from her in person at events and conventions. Tara's Substack https://taleederman.substack.com/ Tara's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/author_taleederman/ MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Starlit & Spellbound https://link.amazon/B05WqBMrH Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher https://link.amazon/B0fCSdGGj Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold  https://link.amazon/B0iedkYTz Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold https://link.amazon/B040UN4D6 The Chanur Saga by C.J. Cherryh https://link.amazon/B0907HIJf Merchanter’s Luck by C.J. Cherryh https://link.amazon/B01qpHq49 In Death series by J.D. Robb https://link.amazon/B0jcEXSXg TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we celebrate the release of Starlit & Spellbound, our first fall anthology, featuring 10 spellbinding romances with witches, ghosts, fated mates, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden love, curses, fate & more! We're chatting with two of the authors in Starlit & Spellbound, Marissa Marinello and Miranda Tamrakar, about bookish drama, their stories in Starlit & Spellbound, and more. Marissa Marinello is a SoCal native who writes urban, high fantasy, and cozy-romantasy. A TTRPG nerd who grew up on Tolkien, musical theater & comics, she's always been inspired by finding the fantastical in the mundane and building amazing worlds to tell rich stories in. Much of her work is inspired by real life moments that spark something more. Her work can be found in several anthologies, and she is an active participant in fandom and her writing group in Southern California.    Marissa's Website https://marissamarinello.com/ Marissa's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mmarinello_author Miranda Tamrakar was raised in SoCal on a steady diet of books and musicals. She finds joy in creating worlds that chase the same sense of sweeping romance and wonder, sometimes with dragons and sometimes with spies, but always telling a tale of how the right people can change a life. She is inspired by looking at relationships in real life and asking herself, "what if?" When she's not writing, she is winning at cards, losing at elaborate board games, or finding inspiration out in the wild with her husband and two daughters, all of whom are delightfully weird. Miranda's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/miranda_writes_author/ MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Starlit & Spellbound https://link.amazon/B05WqBMrH The Hearth Witch's Guide to Spite & Spellwork by Kiri Callaghan https://link.amazon/B0iT4rGD2 Boneyard Key Series by Jen DeLuca https://link.amazon/B031ZMgJm Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts https://link.amazon/B02taL129 Midnight Bayou Movie https://link.amazon/B04PLYt5S Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries by Charlaine Harris https://link.amazon/B02qbcg5M Write with Harte Preptober/Writevember Challenge https://writewithharte.com/preptober-writevember-2026/ TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we chat with author and book event planner Amy Marie about whether romance books need more yearning, Amy's success with SaSS while other book signing events seem to be imploding, the internet's policing of dark romance, and more. About Amy Marie Amy Marie was born and raised in the northwest suburbs of Chicago (Go Cubs Go!) until she married the red-headed love of her life in 2005 and made the move to Virginia Beach, Virginia, where she currently resides with her two teenagers and a mini-Australian Shepard, who chases after the four cats! In 2014, she published her first book in the Unexpected Series and hasn’t looked back since. As a contemporary romance and romantic suspense author, she loves to tell everyone about her books and attend as many signing events as she can. Not only did her dream of becoming an author come to life, but so did her love of event planning when she started the Sexy and SaSSy Signing (also known as SaSS). SaSS is an annual romance author book signing held in July, with some mini events held in St. Louis and Savannah. Every year she brings over 500 people together to celebrate their love of books and welcome them into the SaSSy Family! You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads, all under either Author Amy Marie or The Sexy and SaSSy Signing. BTW… SaSS27 tickets are on sale now! Amy Marie's Books https://amzn.to/4xaztm0 Amy Marie Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amy.marie.679521/ Amy Marie Instagram https://www.instagram.com/author_amy_marie/ Amy Marie TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@authoramymarie Amy Marie Threads https://www.threads.com/@author_amy_marie SaSS27 Richmond, VA Tickets https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sass27-unforgettable-nights-richmond-signing-event-tickets-1993293205636 SaSS Attendees Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/sassysigning MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Adriana Locke https://amzn.to/4gWHB3N Melanie Harlow https://amzn.to/4gLsnOI Collide by Gail McHugh https://amzn.to/4cBlK0h Encore in Death by J.D. Robb https://amzn.to/4r0SgyY Urna Semper on Substack https://urnasemper.substack.com/ Come Away with Me by Kristin Proby https://amzn.to/3TemlhY Come Away with Me on Passionflix https://watch.passionflix.com/watch/16e9a261-3fc9-4f0f-bb46-338d78032db2 TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, I'm solo (Jenna) with an update to a blast-from-the-past episode from 2021 on what romance books I'd recommend to people who've never read romance but are willing to give it a try, with my updated picks for 2026. BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Classic Romance Persuasion by Jane Austen https://amzn.to/4gGRvX7 Persuasion movie https://amzn.to/4cpXUVk Contemporary Romance Big Rock by Lauren Blakely https://amzn.to/4gJuCCe Can't Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan https://amzn.to/4h78ja3 Category Romance The Return of Rafe MacKade by Nora Roberts https://amzn.to/4yfahfi Historical Romance The Duke and I by Julia Quinn https://amzn.to/4h4oTIA Paranormal Romance First Grave to the Right by Darynda Jones https://amzn.to/3T7gHy7 (for some reason, the cover on this book is weird on Amazon, although the covers for the other books in the series are right.) Dark Lover by J.R. Ward https://amzn.to/4zO6Y0f Romantic Suspense/Mystery Envy by Sandra Brown https://amzn.to/3SMcoYK Naked in Death by J.D. Robb https://amzn.to/3UjkOHP (there are now over 60 books in this series!) The Doucet Series by Tami Hoag https://amzn.to/3UuLh57 Sweet Romance Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense (Sept 2026) https://amzn.to/3T7hmj5 Romcom The Hating Game by Sally Thorne https://amzn.to/3T7hmj5 Chicago Stars Series by Susan Elizabeth Phillips https://amzn.to/3UM7zPS Welcome to Temptation/Bet Me (2 books in one) by Jennifer Crusie https://amzn.to/4iGITCh  (Jennifer has several books co-written with Bob Mayer that are fun too https://amzn.to/4clkzSH). Romantacy A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J. Maas https://amzn.to/4gHAaNv TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Tender and Tempting Tales on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tandttales Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we chat with author Suzy England about the impact of the butterfly effect on building a writing career, as well as learning about her new and upcoming women's fiction and romance novels. Suzy England is an Amazon Charts bestselling author of Women's Fiction and Romance. Her heartfelt and relatable stories first captured a global audience on Wattpad, where her work was read by millions. A finalist in Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write contest, Suzy has also penned pieces for Amazon Prime Video and BookTrib. She's a proud member of the esteemed Tall Poppy Writers and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Before turning her full attention to storytelling, Suzy spent 26 years as an elementary educator. These days, she enjoys traveling with her husband, spending time with her grown children, and rooting for her alma mater, The University of Texas at Austin. Her most recent release is the romantic women’s fiction novel, A Singing Bird Will Come, and this fall, her contemporary romance novel, Unmasking Mr. Crown, will release; she has ARC slots still available to those listening who might be interested. You can find out more and follow Suzy’s bookish adventures on her website suzyengland.com, and more on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/suzyenglandwrites/ Unmasking Mr. Crown ARC Team Application (need to read by Sept 1) https://tally.so/r/Gx04ek BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE SHOW A Singing Bird will Come by Suzy England https://amzn.to/4y2g1cc The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer https://amzn.to/4hTxYoD Ice Planet Barbarians (series) by Ruby Dixon https://amzn.to/4gQw5YC Fantastical Foes: Steamy Romantasy Zine by Tender and Tempting Tales https://amzn.to/46qP5XC TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we chat with author Suzy Langevin, discussing tropes, love triangles, and Suzy's new release, The Plus One Pact. Suzy Langevin writes happily ever afters where people are loved because of, not in spite of, the things they see as their flaws. She is the winner of the 2024 RWA Golden Heart Award, and her short fiction appears in anthologies and magazines. Suzy lives in Massachusetts and does, in fact, run on Dunkin'. Suzy's Website https://www.suzylangevin.com/ Suzy's Books https://www.suzylangevin.com/team-3 Suzy on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/suzylangevinwrites/ MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Plus One Pact by Suzy Langevin https://amzn.to/45wspVJ Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard https://amzn.to/4znhETe V.C. Andrews https://amzn.to/4gsq0Ay Eye of the Dragon by Stephen King https://amzn.to/4gsq0Ay The Dead Zone by Stephen King https://amzn.to/4gF38if TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we chat with authors Mara Heath and Annabella Lowe about the cosy romantasy debate, AI art scams, as well as their own works and upcoming releases.  Mara fell in love with the romance genre when she first started reading the Sweet Valley High and Sweet Dreams series as a teen. Decades later, after working as an English teacher and taking time to be a mother, she's finally become the romance writer she always wanted to be. She's the author of the New Adult Contemporary Romance series The Secrets of Brownhill, with book one, Caged in Silver, releasing last year, and book two, Harnessed in Gold, coming out in August. In her stories, there's nothing Mara enjoys more than matching a soul-searching young woman with the man who truly "sees" her, especially in a setting where the supernatural collides with the real world. Mara lives in Maryland with her husband, son, and elderly cat. When she isn't writing, she enjoys reading, sipping hot drinks, and binge-watching shows from the early 2000s. Mara's website https://maraheathauthor.com/ Mara's Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/45hvlp4 Mara's Substack https://maraheathauthor.substack.com/ Mara's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maraheathauthor/ Books have always been a passion for Annabella Lowe, who was raised on The Vampire Diaries, Shadowhunters, and Twilight, so it was no surprise that she started writing books that contained vampires—her first love! She published her first book, Find Me in the Shadows, in late 2024. She loves to blend genres to create something unique and add new and sinister twists to the paranormal mythology in her books. She has a talent for writing despicable villains, and she always aims, no matter the genre, to reveal the complexities of being human. Book Two of her series is coming out in 2027. She lives in a small town in the UK with her husband, teenage son, two spaniels, and a devious cat. She also has a photography business, and naturally she spends time writing, reading, and, more recently, learning to draw. Annabella Website https://annabella-lowe.com/ Amazon Author Page https://amzn.to/4hoKufp Annabella on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@annabella.lowe.author Annabella on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/annabella.lowe.author/ MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Caged In Silver by Mara Heath https://amzn.to/3UcE61f Harnessed in Gold by Mara Heath https://amzn.to/3Ubf5U6 Find me in the Shadows by Annabella Lowe https://amzn.to/3RKm45T TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we chat with author T.A. Leederman about sci-fi romance, the book drama over whether book influencers are reading the books they recommend, hot takes in the bookish community, and more. Tara is a PhD in English and former writing teacher, one of our editors and all-around press gremlin here at Tender and Tempting Tales, and main fiction writer for Starship Valkyrie. Typically she writes science-fiction romance for our publications, though she’s branched out into urban romantasy for our most recent zine, Fantastical Foes. She’s also the editor of Sapphics of Saturn, which is open to submissions this month and will publish in November, and she’ll appear in our fall anthology, Starlit and Spellbound. T.A. Leederman Website https://taleederman.com/ Starship Valkyrie on Substack https://taleederman.substack.com/ Vox Protocol on Substack https://taleederman.substack.com/t/vox-protocol Instagram https://www.instagram.com/author_taleederman/ Contact Unknown by Tara Leederman https://amzn.to/4wcCS3x MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Fantastical Foes by Tender & Tempting Tales https://amzn.to/4z3LJHw Susannah Friesen YouTube: BookTok Biggest Creators AREN'T Reading the Books they Review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8FQxlWO1vc Peace Love Books XO https://www.youtube.com/@PeaceLoveBooksxo Read with Cindy https://www.youtube.com/@readwithcindy Just One Damn Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor https://amzn.to/4pYzNCG Ice Planet Barbarians https://amzn.to/4xcQg8G TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we chat with author Eva LeClerc, who has a secret. We discuss hot takes around slow-burn romance, use of pen names in romance fiction, and what happened in the finale of Outlander.  Eva LeClerc set out to write a dark mafia romance set in New York City. Somehow, that turned into a dark paranormal romance set in New Orleans, serialized to Substack and now published just this last week as Shadow of Betrayal, the first book in the Oathmarked series. Eva loves myths and folklore that involve magic and romance, and she’s also intrigued by the city of New Orleans, a whole world of folklore and magic on its own.  Eva LeClerc Website https://www.evaleclerc.com/ Eva LeClerc Substack https://evaleclercauthor.substack.com/ Eva LeClerc Amazon https://amzn.to/4fKvM01 Eva LeClerc TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@evaleclercauthor Eva LeClerc Instagram https://www.instagram.com/evaleclercauthor/ BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Shadow of Betrayal by Eva LeClerc https://amzn.to/4x5VUcD Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward https://amzn.to/4w5vNSo In Death series by JD Robb https://amzn.to/44UW1f2 Contact Unknown by T.A. Leederman https://amzn.to/4wlSpyK Outlander (books) by Diana Gabaldon https://amzn.to/4fCqTpx Outlander (Starz/Prime TV) https://amzn.to/44UMQLD TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, our guest host is author Annabella Lowe, and we're talking about bookish overconsumption, paranormal romance, Summerween, and more! About Annabella Lowe: Books have always been a passion for Annabella, who was raised on The Vampire Diaries, Shadowhunters, and Twilight, so it was no surprise that she started writing books that contained vampires—her first love! She published her first book, Find Me in the Shadows, in late 2024. She loves to blend genres to create something unique and add new and sinister twists to the paranormal mythology in her books. She has a talent for writing despicable villains, and she always aims, no matter the genre, to reveal the complexities of being human. Book Two of her series is coming out in 2027. She lives in a small town in the UK with her husband, teenage son, two spaniels, and a devious cat. She also has a photography business, and naturally she spends time writing, reading, and, more recently, learning to draw. Annabella Website https://annabella-lowe.com/ Amazon Author Page https://amzn.to/4hoKufp Annabella on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@annabella.lowe.author Annabella on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/annabella.lowe.author/ CURRENTLY READING & RECOMMENDATIONS Ascendant: Songs of Chaos Book 1 by Michael R. Miller https://amzn.to/4gKA7lS Off Campus (The Deal) by Elle Kennedy https://amzn.to/3RNnDQj Off Campus TV Show on Prime https://amzn.to/4ftFYd9 With This Ring, I Thee Kill by Jenna Harte https://amzn.to/4ywZldJ Stories by Urna Semper on Substack https://urnasemper.substack.com/ Gate to Kagoshima by Poppy Kuroki https://amzn.to/44pHd87 Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon https://amzn.to/4b6b9tA Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Devereaux https://amzn.to/3TgJPCM TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Latest Releases: Fantastical Foes: Enemies to Lovers Romantasy Zine https://amzn.to/3T28SJT Fireworks & Flirtation Summer Anthology https://amzn.to/4gKFu4z Follow Us:  Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we chat with Laura Solar, a booktuber who covers news and drama from the book community on her channel, Laura Rae Says. We discuss book piracy, bookish drama, and questionable editors. Laura Solar is a book lover and the host of a YouTube channel that focuses on topics related to the book community. Making videos for over three years featuring reviews, interviews, and all things involving books, she's recently started making videos to expose the dark side of the book world. Uncovering scams and badly behaving companies and authors has become a passion project for Laura, as she continues to deliver in-depth and entertaining book world coverage! Laura's YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@lauraraesays Laura's Playlist of multi-video topics (e.g. Christina Kaye) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt0A7GSlDSSWkIHFaoU7QgKkbZuyzqBsE Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraraesays/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraraesays CURRENTLY READING & RECOMMENDATIONS The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb https://amzn.to/4w2485n Gate to Kagoshima by Poppy Kuroki https://amzn.to/44pHd87 Fantastical Foes from Tender & Tempting Tales https://amzn.to/4hhDPU6 Shadow of Betrayal by Eva LeClerc https://amzn.to/4vukAKM Contact Unknown by T.A. Leederman https://amzn.to/4f1MJUw Reel by Kennedy Ryan https://amzn.to/4plW4dk Stolen Death by J.D. Robb https://amzn.to/3Ty7WwK Our Perfect Storm by Carly Fortune https://amzn.to/4vsBRUm TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we're celebrating Fantastical Foes, an enemies-to-lovers romantasy zine. We're chatting with the editor, Parrish Baker, and contributing authors Marissa Marinello, Lynne Solisse, and Tara Leederman. Parrish Baker/Urna Semper Urna Semper is a romance author from Argoshaan, known for her books depicting passionate tales of forbidden love between clones and born-humans. Born to a family of scriveners, she learned the art of writing at her mother's side. Her breakthrough came with Olava: Fallen into Bondage, followed by Kyrie: Betrayed into Bondage, and Kingdom of Maids. Her most recent projects, The Pearl Crucible and Where All Past Years Are, are out on Amazon. She can be found at https://urnasemper.substack.com. Marissa Marinello Marissa Marinello is a SoCal native who writes urban, high fantasy, and cozy-romantasy. A TTRPG nerd who grew up on Tolkien, musical theater & comics, she's always been inspired by finding the fantastical in the mundane and building amazing worlds to tell rich stories in. Much of her work is inspired by real life moments that spark something more. Her work can be found in several anthologies, and she is an active participant in fandom and her writing group in Southern California. In Fantastical Foes, she did something new with Tender and Tempting Tales and wrote an epic romantasy story. https://marissamarinello.com/ Lynne Solisse Writing found Lynne Solisse later in life, and never let go. She writes romance that doesn’t flinch, centering on women who are fierce, loyal, and unafraid to demand more out of life. Women who want to reclaim passion on their own terms. Whether contemporary, fantasy, or even proving that love can still burn bright in a gritty post-apocalyptic world, her stories are raw but sweet, fun and emotionally charged, threaded with just enough tension to keep your heart racing. She lives in the Southern US with her three boys and two spoiled cats, and she believes it’s never too late for a second chance. Or a plot twist. https://lynnesolisse.com/ Tara Leederman Tara Leederman is the Social Media Manager here at Tender and Tempting Tales, and Lore Maven and main fiction writer for Starship Valkyrie, a science-fiction game and story universe. She writes science fiction stories, including romance, and you can often find her in our anthologies, including our upcoming zine, Fantastical Foes!  https://taleederman.com/ CURRENTLY READING & RECOMMENDATIONS Fantastical Foes: A Steamy Romance (Print, ebook, KU)  Zine https://amzn.to/3QWEe3S Princess Bride by William Goldman https://amzn.to/3QWEe3S A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas https://amzn.to/4gneFmR Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson https://amzn.to/44NG8a7 A Heroine of the World by Tanith Lee https://amzn.to/44NG8a7 Dresden Files by Jim Butcher https://amzn.to/4h1b0LD (TV Show: https://amzn.to/4aJ6Ynf) October Daye Series by Seanan McQuire https://amzn.to/4psgIZr Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris https://amzn.to/4eOYZYn In Death Series by JR Robb https://amzn.to/3RnMhGY The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer https://amzn.to/4vsyqgM TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales Calls for Submissions https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte