Jennifer Prokop 10/26/22 Jennifer Prokop 10/26/22

S05.07: Spooky Stuff! Halloween Romance

It’s spooky season and that means we’re reading spooky stuff! We recommend some of our favorite recent witches and demons and incubii and ghosts and vampires and others…and then we try to get to the bottom of why paranormal romance and monster romance doesn’t feel like halloween romance to but these books do? This episode has it all: celebrity witch talk, a welshman named Rhys who isn’t the one you’re thinking of, a peek into Sarah’s past that reveals a painting that just might have installed one of her buttons…she had a beer before we recorded, so stuff happens! This one’s all treat, no trick…but headphones in, y’all. This one isn’t for the kids.

Thanks to Terri Green, author of The Swordmaster’s Daughter and Alyxandra Harvey, author of How to Marry a Viscount, for sponsoring the episode.

Our next read along is Claire Kent’s HOLD. It’s a prison planet romance, so…you know…enter at your own risk. Get it at Amazon or in Kindle Unlimited.

spooky books

Flesh and Stone by Emily Hemenway

Halloween Boo by Sarah Spade

Pumpkin Pounder by Laura Lovely

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

What the Hex by Alexis Daria

Resting Witch Face by Juliette Cross

Blood Moon by Jillian Graves

Charming Your Dad by Sarah Blue

Demon Lover by Heather Guerre

I'll Come Back For You by Charish Reid

The Spirit of Second Chances by Synithia Williams

Dark Needs at Night's Edge by Kresley Cole

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match by Sally Thorne

The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova

Show Notes

Spooky Shit Nitro Stout isn’t a brand, it’s a process.
Although we’ve never done a Halloween episode before, we did have a monster romance interstitial in season 4 with guest Jenny Nordbak. Also, all of season 1, basically.
We came up with a new rule for what makes something a paranormal, which is it’s about whether or not the main characters are immortals or humans. Or, you know, the patriarchy.
And now time for a celebrity gossip interlude: Are Gisele Bündchen & Olivia Wilde witches? It's possible. It has something to do with altars & healing stones, [the Don’t Worry Darling controversy], Jason Sudeikis under a car, and Nora Ephron’s salad dressing.
We have two more Fated States phonebanks! Register here for Oct 29 at 3 eastern to Kentucky for Charles Booker, and Nov 5 at 3 eastern to Pennsylvania for John Fetterman.
Did someone mention a Welshman named Rhys?
Gather round and look at the painting The Nightmare by Henry Fuseli. Here’s a cool explainer about the significance of the painting.
As of Oct 25, 2022, the United States has 1,090, 632 dead from Covid. Worldwide, at least 7.5M people have died. Get boosted. Wear a mask.

S05.02: Romance Novel Beginnings: Starting With a Bang!

Not that kind of bang! We’re talking about beginnings today, on the first interstitial of Season 5! This one edges into a bit more writing shop talk than usual, but we’re still name checking lots of favorite books, many of which we’ve done deep dives on already! So consider this your nudge to go back and read some great books we’ve talked about! Also, Sarah has Covid, Jen’s on the mend, Fated States is back, and next week, we’re reading Marrying Winterborne.

Thanks to Lucy Leroux, Eva Moore and Torie Jean for sponsoring the episode. Read Making Her His, Caught a Vibe and Finding Gene Kelly now.

Next week, our first read along of the season is Lisa Kleypas’s Marrying Winterborne. Get it at Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or at your local indie.

Show Notes

Get boosted!

When a book starts in the middle of the action, it’s called in medias res

If you’re in MA, check out the Rom-Con, a full day celebration of “rom”ance at the “Con”cord free public library this Satruday, Sept 24, from 10-3. Tickets are free!

Fated States has returned, and it looks like we’ll be phonebanking every Saturday starting Oct 1 through the election.