Authorized: Love and Romance

Why do so many straight readers love gay Romance? This week, Faith chats with author Damon Suede, who counts hetero, Texan firefighters among his biggest fans. Damon opens up about researching his debut novel Hot Head on ride-alongs with the FDNY, what it means to "write like a guy," and how Romance helped him discover his own sexuality.

In this episode, lauded author Beverly Jenkins talks with Faith about leading the charge for multicultural Romance and why she calls her African-American Historical Romance novels "edutainment." Together, they examine the complicated relationship between race and Romance in the publishing industry, but also why her characters drink so much lemonade. Plus, Diana Gabaldon, the mind behind the Outlander series, gives Faith some tips on how to write a great sex scene.

Faith talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Sharon Olds about her new collection, Odes, which includes poems like "Blow Job Ode" and "Ode of Withered Cleavage." They discuss how the musicality of her poetry reflects bodies in motion during sex. Plus, Columbia University professor Erik Gray talks about why there's so much bad love poetry, and why his favorite romantic poem comes from…the Bible.

In this episode, Faith spends Valentine's Day with the inimitable Nicholas Sparks to discuss his new novel,Two by Two. They touch on the difference between a Romance novel and a love story and what it's like to be a man in a female-dominated industry. Plus, Nicholas reveals the most romantic thing he's ever done.

Author and humorist Faith Salie jumps heart-first into the world of Romance literature and gets personal with Eloisa James, the best-selling author of Historical Romance novels. They discuss how Eloisa's day job as a Shakespeare scholar inspires her writing (including historical methods for removing body hair) and why – surprise! – Romance lit is really a feminist genre.