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🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where sometimes a man leaves presents at your door like a cat, except the present is the severed hand of the man who harassed you. This week, host Sara Santillan sits down with author Victoria Mier to discuss Between the Rival Courts, an Arthurian fantasy filled with dangerous druid magic, rival spies, morally complicated characters, reincarnation, feminine rage, and a very different take on the legends of Camelot. Nyneve is a banished witch desperate to prove herself to the Druid clan that cast her out. Mordred is a changeling knight secretly spying on King Arthur’s court for the fair folk. When both find themselves embedded in Camelot on behalf of rival factions, their personal missions collide with broken alliances, looming war, dangerous magic, and the question of whether the people we love can always be saved. 🗡️ What happens when a banished witch and a changeling knight are both secretly spying on Camelot? 🖤 What if the villains of Arthurian legend were never as simple as the stories made them seem? 🐈 And is it romantic if he leaves gifts at your door like a cat when the gift is a severed hand? If you love Arthurian legend, dangerous witches, morally gray knights, rival spies, feminine rage, reincarnation, knife-to-the-throat tension, complicated villains, dark fantasy, and characters who might leave you questioning exactly who you should be rooting for, this episode is for you. 🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT: ✨ Victoria’s journey from journalism and antiquing back to the fiction and fantasy stories she always wanted to write. ✨ Why writing characters who make readers feel deeply seen also requires an author to allow parts of themselves to be seen. ✨ Victoria’s argument for writing the stories you wish existed instead of trying to predict what the market wants next. ✨ Between the Rival Courts and its reimagining of Arthurian legend through banished witch Nyneve and changeling knight Mordred. ✨ Two rival spies infiltrating Camelot while broken accords threaten to send humans, druids, and the fair folk toward war. ✨ Questioning why characters like Mordred and Morgan le Fay became the villains of Arthurian legend and what might exist beneath the stories we inherited. ✨ Why Victoria is unapologetically pro-discomfort and would rather make morally complicated characters worse than sanitize them for readers. ✨ The knife-to-the-throat moment that made readers even more obsessed with Mordred than Victoria expected. ✨ Reincarnation, past lives, and the hidden dialogue and imagery connecting this prequel to Victoria’s modern-day duology. ✨ Why Victoria wants readers to finish the book with dread, suffer before earning their happy ending, and still recognize hope as something worth choosing. CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill 📚 Victoria Mier – @By_VictoriaMier ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where running away to join a magical carnival sounds like a great plan until your ex shows up. This week, hosts Sara and Bethany Amanda sit down with author Angela Montoya to discuss Carnaval Fantástico, a whimsical YA romantasy filled with magical performances, found family, childhood sweethearts, second-chance romance, runaway thieves, former spies, heartbreak, chaos, and one very memorable ostrich. Esmeralda is a runaway thief and ex-spy who has found safety hiding within Carnaval Fantástico, a magical traveling carnival she desperately doesn't want to leave. Her solution? Become the lead act in the big top show. The problem? Earning that coveted spot may require help from Ignacio, her childhood sweetheart and former love, who has suddenly reappeared in her life. What follows is a story Angela describes as equal parts whimsy, angst, darkness, and absolute chaos. 🎪 What happens when a runaway thief decides the safest place to hide is a magical carnival? 💔 What if becoming the star of the show means teaming up with the childhood sweetheart you left behind? ✨ And exactly how does an ostrich fit into all of this? If you love magical carnivals, runaway thieves, childhood sweethearts, second chances, found family, whimsical fantasy, romantic angst, chaotic magic, secret pasts, Caraval-style atmosphere, and stories that will break your heart before putting it back together, this episode is for you. 🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT: ✨ Angela's unexpected journey to writing after years of searching for the career that finally felt like the thing she was meant to do. ✨ How Pitch Wars transformed Angela's writing, introduced her to her mentor, and helped build the community that carried her through querying and publication. ✨ Why Angela loves revisions but considers getting through the first 50,000 words of a draft its own special form of torture. ✨ Her biggest advice for aspiring authors: find your writing community, surround yourself with people who keep you going, and never underestimate the motivational power of spite. ✨ Carnaval Fantástico, a magical traveling carnival hiding runaway thief and former spy Esmeralda from the life she left behind. ✨ Esmeralda's desperate attempt to become the carnival's lead act and the inconvenient return of Ignacio, her childhood sweetheart and former love. ✨ Found family, magical chaos, troublesome ostriches, accidental chickens, and the unpredictable characters lurking around every corner of the carnival. ✨ Balancing whimsy and romance with darker themes, traumatic pasts, heartbreak, and characters learning how to trust other people again. ✨ Why Angela continues centering Latine characters and culture in her fantasy worlds and writing the kinds of heroes she wanted her own daughter to see growing up. ✨ What's next with The Immortal Undoing, Angela's epic fantasy featuring feathered serpents, Mexica and Mesoamerican lore, and her biggest fantasy world yet. CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill 📚 Angela Montoya – @AngelaMontoya_Author ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill 📚 Jacqueline White – @Jacwhite.author ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where impossible choices, dangerous kingdoms, and unforgettable romances collide. This week, host Bethany Amanda is joined by Mythic Mic Rep Teresa Diaz for a fantastic conversation with bestselling fantasy author Brigid Kemmerer about her Braided Fate series, including Warrior Princess Assassin and the highly anticipated sequel, Captive Traitor King. Brigid shares her journey from writing YA fantasy to adult romantasy, the realities of publishing over twenty books, and why every new novel is another chance to build your career. We also dive into writing multiple POVs, balancing creativity with the business of publishing, and the surprising inspiration behind one of romantasy's most compelling polyamorous love stories. Then we step into the world of Warrior Princess Assassin, a kingdom on the brink of collapse, a princess bound by duty, an assassin willing to betray everything for her, and the warrior king she never expected to love. With elemental magic, political intrigue, impossible choices, and three people who complete each other in unexpected ways, the Braided Fateseries is redefining what epic romantasy can be. 👑 What if marrying your greatest enemy is the only way to save your kingdom? 🗡️ What happens when the assassin sent to kill you is your closest friend? 🔥 And can three hearts survive a war that's determined to tear them apart? If you love political fantasy, elemental magic, slow-burn romance, why choose, morally complex characters, and high-stakes royal intrigue, this is an episode you won't want to miss. 🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT: ✨ Brigid's journey from bestselling YA author to adult romantasy. ✨ The realities of traditional publishing, career longevity, and building lasting relationships in the industry. ✨ Drafting versus revising, perfectionism, and why writing the first draft is still the hardest part. ✨ Creating one of romantasy's most compelling why choose relationships by making every connection matter. ✨ Writing three POV characters whose emotional journeys are equally important. ✨ The inspiration behind Warrior Princess Assassin and the scene that sparked the entire trilogy. ✨ Building a fantasy world driven by elemental magic, political alliances, and kingdoms on the edge of war. ✨ Fan-favorite tropes including enemies to lovers, forced proximity, one horse, secret identity, hurt/comfort, and royal intrigue. ✨ Everything readers need to remember before diving into Captive Traitor King. ✨ New characters, bigger twists, more magic, and the emotional roller coaster waiting in book two. ✨ A sneak peek at what's coming next in the Braided Fate series. CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill 📚 Brigid Kemmerer – @BrigidKemmerer ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill 📚 Danielle Jensen – @DanielleLJensen ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where sometimes the knight has to protect the prince and neither of them is happy about it. This week, host Bethany Amanda sits down with author and composer Hayley Turner to discuss Light Guard, a romantic fantasy filled with sun magic, dark mages, forced proximity, forbidden romance, found family, and a gender-flipped bodyguard trope Hayley sums up perfectly: she's the guard, he's the prince, and they're both pissed about it. Corinne has spent her life training to become a Light Guard and expects her exceptional magical abilities to earn her a prestigious assignment protecting the kingdom's borders. Instead, she's ordered to become personal guard to Prince Aryel, a hedonistic royal who greets his devout new babysitter drunk, calls her “sunshine” just to annoy her, and makes scandalizing her his new favorite hobby. But with dark mages threatening Aryel's life and someone inside the castle potentially feeding information to the enemy, Corinne soon discovers that protecting the prince may force her to question everything she's been taught about duty, faith, friendship, and herself. ☀️ What happens when the kingdom's most powerful light mage gets assigned to babysit an insufferable prince? ⚔️ What if the bodyguard romance had her protecting him? 🖤 And what happens when the people you've been taught to avoid become the first ones to accept you exactly as you are? If you love lady knights, sun magic, dark magic, forced proximity, grumpy/grumpy, forbidden romance, princes who love pushing buttons, found family, castle intrigue, hidden enemies, queer-normative fantasy worlds, and bodyguard romances with the roles deliciously reversed, this episode is for you. 🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT: ✨ Hayley's lifelong love of storytelling and how The Count of Monte Cristo inspired the story that eventually became her debut novel. ✨ Writing and staging an entire original opera for her master's thesis and how seeing an audience connect with her work gave her the confidence to publish. ✨ Why Hayley describes her books as “fairy tales for adults” and the magic, darkness, comfort, and empathy she finds in fantastical stories. ✨ Light Guard and its irresistible premise: she's the guard, he's the prince, and they're both pissed about it. ✨ Corinne's sun magic, her unexpected assignment as the prince's personal guard, and their hilariously disastrous first meeting. ✨ Dark mages, assassination threats, a possible informant inside the castle, and the danger lurking beyond the kingdom's magical barrier. ✨ Flipping the traditional bodyguard romance by putting the woman in the armor and making the prince the one who needs protecting. ✨ Corinne's journey toward autonomy as she begins questioning the strict religious sect that raised her and finds unconditional friendship outside its walls. ✨ Writing meaningful OCD and queer representation into a romantasy world where characters are allowed to fully be themselves. ✨ Composing an entire original soundtrack for Light Guard, including fantasy folk songs and the piano piece Ariel performs inside the book. CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill 📚 Hayley Turner – @HayleyTurnerAuthor ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill 📚 Audrey Lynn – @AudreyLynnWrites ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill 📚 Leena Kazak – @LeenaKazakBooks ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where sometimes the morally gray assassin is becoming good while the soft-hearted heroine might be headed in the opposite direction. This week, host Sara Santillan sits down with author Samantha Nell to discuss Soulfire, the first book in the Godsfire series, a romantic fantasy filled with elemental magic, dream walking, reluctant allies-to-lovers, a mystery villain pulling the strings, and a magical fire gifted by the gods. At the heart of the story are Taryn, an assassin beginning to question the person he's become, and Airess, a half-Elven nobleman's daughter destined to marry an evil prince. When their paths collide, they're forced to flee together through a world where Fae command the elements, Elves wield light and shadow, and dreams can become something far more powerful. 🔥 What happens when a morally gray assassin starts moving toward the light while the heroine begins moving toward the darkness? 🌙 What if you could train your mind to walk through dreams and turn those experiences into magic? 🖤 And can you uncover the villain when they're telling part of the story themselves? If you love elemental magic, dream walking, reluctant allies-to-lovers, assassins, morally gray characters, one bed, one horse, opposites attract, hidden villains, deadly magic, and characters whose moral arcs might be crossing in very unexpected ways, this episode is for you. 🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT: ✨ Samantha's journey from writing Wattpad stories as a teenager to finally finishing and independently publishing her debut novel. ✨ Creating the gorgeous Soulfire cover before the first draft was even finished and hiding story clues throughout its artwork. ✨ Navigating indie publishing, building an author platform, and generating early buzz through character art and social media. ✨ Taryn, an assassin questioning his morally gray past, and Airess, a half-Elven noblewoman facing an unwanted marriage to an evil prince. ✨ Why Samantha chose reluctant allies-to-lovers instead of traditional enemies-to-lovers and how Taryn and Airess grow in very different directions. ✨ Turning Samantha's real lucid dreaming experiences into the dream-walking magic of Soulfire. ✨ The mystery villain POV that lets readers watch someone pull the strings without discovering their identity until later in the story. ✨ The Godsfire behind the series and how each installment will explore a different magical fire gifted by the gods. ✨ What's coming in Book Two, including new POVs, new worlds, political intrigue, more fighting, more magic, and more reveals. CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill 📚 Samantha Nell – @nellbooks ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where arranged marriages become political weapons, deadly magic refuses to stay controlled, and the feared warlord may be the safest person in the room. This week, host Bethany Amanda and Mythic Mic Team Member Amara sit down with fantasy author Rebecca Robinson to discuss The Serpent and the Wolf, The Wicked and the Damned, and her Dark Inheritance trilogy.  Rebecca shares her journey from high school administrator and lifelong writer to traditionally published author, including balancing deadlines with a full-time career and family. She opens up about finding peace in an imperfect work-life balance, writing at a sustainable pace, spending nine months on submission, and proving that authors can still rise from the traditional query slush pile. We also dive into The Serpent and the Wolf, where Vasa is married into a rival nation while fighting a deadly magic she cannot control. Her new husband needs a wife to secure his political future and offers to help her master her power in return. Rebecca discusses arranged marriage, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers tension, one-bed proximity, complicated political systems, found family, and writing enemies who oppose one another without treating each other cruelly. She also teases how The Wicked and the Damned forces Vasa to return to the place that harmed her and tests everything she learned about love, safety, and herself. 🐺 What happens when the violent warlord from every whispered warning turns out to be a green flag? 🔥 Can Vasa control the magic threatening her life without surrendering her freedom? 👑 And can an arranged marriage survive when love collides with political ambition, trauma, and rival nations? This is a must-listen for romantasy readers, arranged-marriage and slow-burn fans, lovers of political intrigue and found family, and anyone who wants enemies-to-lovers without cruelty between the central couple. 🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT: ✨ Rebecca’s life as an author, mother, high school activities director, and fearless home cook. ✨ Planning proms, rallies, homecomings, and student events while building an author career. ✨ Why writing 500 words a day can still produce a complete novel within a year. ✨ Choosing financial stability while continuing to pursue writing as her greatest passion. ✨ What happens during the year between turning in a manuscript and publication. ✨ Why the second Dark Inheritance manuscript had to be divided into two books. ✨ Querying traditionally and becoming a self-described “slush pile baby.” ✨ Landing her dream agent while seven months pregnant. ✨ Spending nine months on submission before selling the series to Saga Press. ✨ Why indie success is rarely as sudden or effortless as it appears from the outside. ✨ Vasa’s rage, trauma, uncontrolled magic, and arranged marriage into a rival nation. ✨ Writing a democratic and oligarchic political system instead of another monarchy. ✨ Building a fantasy map by throwing snacks onto poster board. ✨ How salt, rivers, and geography shaped the world’s nations and political structures. ✨ Writing enemies who genuinely oppose one another without emotional cruelty. ✨ Arranged marriage, reluctant allies, slow-burn romance, and one-bed tension. ✨ Why love from others can sometimes help someone begin learning to love themselves. ✨ The egotistical new lord Rebecca had to rewrite because she found him far too attractive. ✨ Green-flag heroes, toxic fictional men, dragons, audiobooks, and rapid-fire chaos. CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill 📚 Rebecca Robinson – @RRobinsonWrites ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where sometimes the monster in the classics department isn't the professor who literally eats people. This week, host Bethany Amanda sits down with author and medieval scholar Taylor Grothe to discuss Lethal Kiss, a dark academia horror romance blending Jennifer's Body energy, Nordic folklore, murder, monsters, queer romance, and one deeply sinister university. At the center of the story are two professors: Marcella, an ancient Nordic revenant hiding centuries of trauma and a need to feed, and Lacey, an autistic mortal professor desperately fighting for tenure in a system seemingly designed to keep her from succeeding. When they discover a body on the top floor of the classics department, they're dragged into the festering underbelly of their university, where some of the monsters are supernatural and some definitely aren't. 🩸 What happens when one of your professors is literally an ancient monster? 📚 What if the darkest part of dark academia isn't the supernatural horror at all? 🖤 And can falling in love make horror even more terrifying? If you love dark academia, queer horror romance, ancient monsters, Nordic folklore, feminine rage, morally gray characters, murder, academic corruption, forbidden knowledge, literary horror, camp, gore, and romances between women who have absolutely been through it, this episode is for you. 🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT: ✨ Taylor's journey from medieval scholarship and studying Arthuriana and Nordic saga to leaving academia and becoming a published author. ✨ The realities of changing literary agents and why Taylor believes authors should remember that an agent is ultimately a business partner. ✨ Moving from YA horror into adult fiction and why writing for adults had always been Taylor's long-term goal. ✨ Lethal Kiss, a Jennifer's Body-meets-Ninth House dark academia horror romance about two professors, a dead body, and a university crawling with monsters. ✨ Creating Marcella, an ancient Nordic revenant inspired by medieval saga and Beowulf, and Lacey, an autistic professor fighting for tenure while carrying religious trauma. ✨ Using supernatural horror to explore the corruption, misogyny, elitism, and systemic problems Taylor encountered within academia. ✨ Why Taylor believes romance doesn't soften horror but can actually make the horror more intense. ✨ Going completely full throttle with gore, camp, unhinged winter formals, and a final showdown Taylor describes as “crazy bananas.” ✨ The deeper themes of trauma, self-acceptance, and learning that what happened to us can shape us without having to define us. ✨ What's next, including the gothic fantasy Monstrous Beautiful Things and a deeply unsettling spore-horror story filled with grief, mushrooms, and things that definitely should not be happening. CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill 📚 Taylor Grothe – @TaylorLGrothe ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill 📚 Wanda Hellmund – @WandaHellmund ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

Have tropes become more important than the actual story? Welcome to another episode of Off The Shelf, Mythic Mic's monthly segment where we dive into bookish trends, deep dives, hot takes, and all things fantasy! In this Off the Shelf episode, host Britt is joined by Mythic Mic team members Amara and Teresa Diaz to unpack the rise of trope-driven reading, BookTok marketing, microtropes, and the increasingly blurry line between using tropes to describe a book and using them to sell the entire story. From enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity to fated mates, slow burns, miscommunication, cinnamon-roll love interests, and shadow daddies, the conversation explores why readers gravitate toward familiar tropes and whether knowing them upfront helps or hurts the reading experience. The group also gets into whether trope lists can accidentally spoil a book, why the same trope can feel completely different depending on the writing, and whether authors are starting to feel pressure to build stories around whatever trope is currently trending. We’re asking: Have tropes become their own genre?Do trope lists help readers find books they’ll love or spoil too much of the story?Are authors feeling pressured to write toward popular tropes?Can the right book make you love a trope you normally hate?Along the way, Britt makes the case for “diet enemies-to-lovers,” Amara champions fated mates and cinnamon-roll heroes, Teresa defends the much-maligned miscommunication trope, and the group debates everything from Fourth Wing, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City to Swordheart, Ashwalker, and Dungeon Crawler Carl. If you’ve ever picked up a book solely because it promised enemies-to-lovers, immediately rejected one because of a trope you hate, wondered whether happily-ever-after is technically a spoiler, or found yourself asking whether the trope is supporting the plot or becoming the entire plot, this episode is for you. CONNECT WITH THE MYTHIC MIC TEAM 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill 👤 Britt – @BrittBooksit 👤 Amara – @Bored_Military_Wife ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where sometimes getting murdered is only the beginning of your villain origin story. This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Amara sit down with author Matteo Franco to discuss The Undertow of Evelyn Graymore, the first book in the Hearts of the Drown series, a dark paranormal romance Matteo describes as The Little Mermaid in reverse meets Jennifer's Body with the paranormal vibes of Twilight. After Evelyn Graymore is murdered by a powerful billionaire and thrown into the Puget Sound, her rage summons an ancient ocean entity who offers her another chance at life with a catch. She's transformed into a siren who must feed on the darkness inside corrupt men's hearts while hunting down the man who killed her. There's just one more inconvenient rule: if she falls in love, the person she loves will die. 🌊 What if The Little Mermaid came back from the dead looking for revenge? 🩸 If a siren only kills terrible men, is she really the villain? 🖤 And what happens when falling in love could literally kill the person you love? If you love sirens, feminine rage, morally gray heroines, revenge stories, forbidden romance, paranormal romance, horror, shadow daddies, golden retriever love interests, forced proximity, deadly bargains, and women who refuse to stay dead, this episode is for you. 🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT: ✨ Matteo's journey from fine art and dreams of filmmaking to writing stories that blend horror, fantasy, and romance. ✨ Why Matteo describes The Undertow of Evelyn Graymore as reverse Little Mermaid meets Jennifer's Body with darker Twilight vibes. ✨ Writing feminine rage, morally complicated women, and a story that asks whether Evelyn is actually the villain at all. ✨ Evelyn's murder, the ocean entity who answers her rage, and the Faustian bargain that transforms her into a siren hungry for the darkness inside corrupt men. ✨ The forbidden romance at the heart of the story and the devastating rule that falling in love could kill the person Evelyn loves. ✨ Siren lore, revenge, visceral horror, and Matteo's cinematic approach to creating an atmospheric world readers can see unfolding like a movie. ✨ Building a massive reader community before publication and why Matteo believes readers connect with authors who feel like people rather than billboards. ✨ The unexpected Instagram connection that led to Matteo signing with his literary agent without ever entering the traditional query trenches. ✨ Why genre blending is opening new doors for readers who love romance and fantasy but might never normally pick up horror. ✨ What's next, including Book Two of Hearts of the Drown, an upcoming gothic botanical horror romance, and even more psychological horror to come. CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill 📚 Matteo Franco – @Matteofrancoauthor ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.