Journeys of Romance

Today is a special day at Journeys of Romance - our 100th episode so Michael Petersen  & I reminiscence about the last 100 episodes & an update my summer break. Journeys of Romance podcast will be on hiatus until September 2021 (so go catch up)! 

The amazing Shelly Ellis talks to Jess building in tension and connections, being character vs theme driven, properly labeling for reader expectations, her process, learning the characters through writing, and that there is no meritocracy in publishing.

The amazing Sandra Kitt joins Jess to talk about getting over trying to write for anyone but yourself, not reading reviews, two steps forward and one step back in racism in publishing, having to prove more and work harder for respect, having a true sense of yourself, writing multiple genres, breaking out of the box through the indie revolution, the genesis of her process over the years and her advice to authors starting today.

Jackie Lau joins Jess Michaels to discuss how indie publishing has allowed her to write the stories she wants to tell, coming to romance late and embracing the genre,  her move to hybrid publishing and the journey to get there, her process (and I get very excited at her ultra-discipline) and accidental marketing genius. 

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling historical romance author Sarah MacLean talks to Jess about the indie shift, trope understanding and language, advice to new authors and determining your own process (as well as her own). 

Historical (and paranomal and contemporary) author Cecelia Mecca joins Jess to talk about coming to reading and writing late, discovering her own process and how to apply it to craft, the very different world of medieval romance publishing, how she decided the indie route and all the different metrics of success.

Author Therese Beharrie joins Jess to talk about the benefits and challenges of writing from South Africa, her journey into publishing, learning from many editors and her process. 

Kate Bateman joins Jess to talk about her time on British television, how she started writing, writing outside the Regency period, her process and her hybrid publishing decisions. 

Author Adele Buck talks to Jess Michaels about Twitter name changing, her covers, what surprised her with her debut release and her process.

USA Today Bestselling Author Maya Rodale joins Jess to talk about living in the Regency era (or NOT), her journey to publication, her process and the frustrations when romance is maligned by people who don't know the genre. 

USA Today Bestselling author Tamsen Parker joins Jess to do a deep dive into the 50 Shades phenomena and how it brought her to romance, the prude police, writing what you want to read and her utterly fascinating process!

Romance for the Runoff auction winner and historical romance author Clyve Rose talks her process, deciding what details to include or leave out of romance and being more honest about mental health. 

A recap of 2020 and all its insanity and looking forward to 2021. Happy New Year! 

Award-winning author Tracey Livesay talks to Jess about being a fan as well as a writer, becoming comfortable with your own process, taking the Strengthfinder class and how it helps with that process, generative pain, her publishing path and we go into a deep questioning of the premise of having to be on ALL THE TIME on social media.

USA Today Bestseller Zoe York joins Journeys to talk about all the factors that make each other different, from cannon entry to publication path to writing direction to everything in between. We also cover her process, how to pick the metrics that matter to you AND all the things we don't talk about in Romancelandia. 

Georgina Kiersten joins Jess to talk about the importance of teachers, the joy of tropes and archetypes, snark as seduction, their process and cracking open all the paths for publication, marketing and writing. 

Historical Romance author Liana De la Rosa joins Jess to talk historical romance, writing projects for herself, 'unlikeable' heroines and the false narratives of 'historical accuracy', plus the joys of pleasure without guilt. 

Becca Syme joins Jess to discuss starting with fanfiction, planting the seeds of what we love to read and write, her process and a deep dive into Clifton Strengths, including why she formed the remarkable Better, Faster Academy and how all of our brains work differently and that's *ok*. 

USA Today Bestselling author Naima Simone talks to Journeys of Romance about pretty planners, being a high producer, how the entire scope of a writing and publishing journey matters, writing category versus single title and traditional versus indie, the joys of DNFing and creating escape.