The fanfic-to-book-to-adaptation pipeline is real, and we are here for it.

In today's episode, we're chatting all things fanfiction and how it has inspired some major film and book deals. This seems incredibly relevant because The Love Hypothesis comes out THIS WEEK, and it started as a fanfic! What?!?

From Fifty Shades of Grey to Alchemized and so much more in between, we're discussing this unique publishing pipeline. We have a lot of thoughts about these fanfics and the famous franchises they've inspired. And don't worry. If, like Caroline, you have no clue where to start, Catherine shares how to begin your fanfic journey. And friends? It's a journey.

So grab a pen and paper and get ready to blow your TBR out of the water with fanfic. And don't forget to join us for Book Club this month! We're talking about The Love Hypothesis, and as Star Wars girlies, we are here. for. it.

• The fanfic-to-book-to-screen pipeline: How stories that began as fanfiction have made their way into traditional publishing and major film and television adaptations.
• Fifty Shades of Grey: The Twilight fanfic origins of E.L. James's blockbuster series and why the Edward/Bella connection is still blowing our minds.
• Gabriel's Inferno: Another Twilight fanfic that became a published romance and eventually a Passionflix movie franchise.
• Alchemized: How Manacled, one of the most famous Dramione fanfics, became an original dark fantasy novel and landed a major film deal.
• The Love Hypothesis: The Star Wars Reylo fanfic origins of our Book Club pick and why the upcoming adaptation makes this particular publishing journey even more fun.
• From Draco and Hermione to Star Wars: Some of the fanfic rabbit holes Catherine has explored and the fandoms that keep pulling her back in.
• How to find fanfic: Catherine gives Caroline a beginner's guide to fanfiction platforms, including AO3, FanFiction.net, and Wattpad.
• The wild world of fanfic: Pairings, ratings, tags, word counts, and the sheer range of what you can find once you start looking.
• Our TBRs are in danger: Because apparently we did not have enough books to read already.

Ready to fall down the rabbit hole? Here are the three fanfic platforms Catherine recommends:

• Archive of Our Own (AO3)
  https://archiveofourown.org/
• FanFiction.net
  https://www.fanfiction.net/
• Wattpad
  https://www.wattpad.com/

You can find everything from sweet, clean stories to very adult content, so pay attention to the ratings and tags before you start reading. And maybe clear your schedule. 😂

📚 What We're Reading

• Clearly Charmed by Amy True
• Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
• The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
• Alchemized by SenLinYu
• This Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Bridget Knightly
• The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

🎬 Books, Movies & Fanfiction Mentioned

📖 Fifty Shades of Grey • Alchemized • Manacled • Gabriel's Inferno • The Love Hypothesis • This Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy • The Hurricane Wars

🎬 Fifty Shades of Grey • Gabriel's Inferno

🌟 Twilight • Harry Potter • Star Wars • ACOTAR • Star Wars Rebels

💛 Join Book Club

Our September Book Club pick is The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood!

It feels particularly perfect for this episode because the book itself has a fanfic origin, and the movie is finally coming out this week. We're both revisiting the book after several years, and we're very curious to see how it hits us now.

Come read along with us and join the conversation on Substack!

And if you already have a favorite fanfic, please tell us about it. We're especially interested in the ones that are going to completely derail our TBRs. 😂

Come share your recommendations in the comments on Substack or over on Instagram. We want to know what rabbit holes you've fallen into.

Practical Magic 2 is coming out, and do we wish we were the Owens Sisters? Yes, we do. The first movie brought us so much nostalgia and reminds us how much we love witchcraft in the 90's. Naturally, we had to read the book, and of course, we have thoughts.

This week we are talking through our August Book Club Pick, Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, and the cult classic adaptation that captured all of our hearts and made us want to move into a Victorian home with our aunts and start casting spells. We loved the movie, but had a lot of thoughts around the book. We also talk about the importance of the movie and its message about women and how it relates to other cult classics from the time.

And yes, we are basing our Autumn wardrobes around Gillian and Sally. No notes.

• Book vs. movie: Why we struggled with Practical Magic the novel despite loving the movie, and how dramatically different Sally, Gillian, their daughters, and the overall story feel between the two.
• The adaptation: How the filmmakers transformed a book heavy on exposition into a movie that feels warm, charming, and full of personality.
• 90s witchy nostalgia: We talk The Craft, Buffy, The X-Files, Clueless, and the particular magic of '90s movies about women and girls.
• Witches and female power: Why Practical Magic feels different from so many portrayals of witches and why the movie's message about women supporting women still resonates.
• The Owens house: Victorian architecture, mismatched treasures, gardens, candles, and why we would both very much like to move in.
• The Owens sisters' style: Grunge, cardigans, vests, layers, and our plans to steal their entire autumn wardrobes.
• The aunts: Perhaps the real stars of the story. We talk about whimsy, breaking the rules, and why everyone needs a few "just because" moments in their lives.
• A little practical magic: We talk about the everyday rituals that make life feel more magical, from baking and candles to our own little traditions.
• What's next: Our next Book Club pick is The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, just in time for the upcoming movie adaptation.

• The Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
• The Summer Between Us by Jennifer Probst
• Clearly Charmed by Amie True
• First Time Caller by B.K. Borison
• Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

📖 Practical Magic • The Rules of Magic • Magic Lessons • The Book of Magic • Waking the Witch

📺 Buffy the Vampire Slayer • The X-Files

🎬 The Craft • Clueless • Practical Magic • Aquamarine • The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

📚 The entire book list: https://bookshop.org/lists/018-practical-magic-90s-nostalgia-the-power-of-witchy-women

Our next Book Club pick is The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood!

We've both read it before, but it's been a few years, and we're very excited to revisit it before the movie comes out. And yes, we're hoping to get everyone together for another Zoom book club conversation.

If you want to read along with us, come join our Bookish Ambitions community on Substack.

And in the meantime, tell us:

What's one "just because" thing you do that makes your life feel a little more magical?

We're taking notes. ✨

Want more Bookish Ambitions? 📖

Join us on Substack for bonus content, Book Club, reading and adaptation rabbit holes, and all the bookish things we don't have room for here.

👉  https://bookishambitions.substack.com

And follow us on Instagram for more bookish recommendations, behind-the-scenes fun, and everything we're currently reading and watching. 📚🎬

👉 http://instagram.com/bookishambitionspodcast

Come hang out with us!

What happens when you take a Regency romance, give it a tiny budget, a crowdfunding campaign, a set in Utah, and a whole lot of ambition? You get Seeking Persephone, and we're surprisingly into it.

This week we're talking about Sarah M. Eden's Seeking Persephone and its screen adaptation, including the marriage-of-convenience romance, Beauty and the Beast vibes, our favorite characters, and why this might be one of the most faithful book-to-screen adaptations we've covered. We also get into the fascinating story behind the show's production, from crowdfunding to a 20-day shoot split between Utah and England.

And yes, we have notes about the wigs. And the costumes. And those wolves.

📖 What we're reading
We're talking The Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Practical Magic, Dead Romantics, The Happy Ever After Playlist, and the Lancaster family series.

🏰 Why we loved Seeking Persephone
Marriage of convenience, forced proximity, grumpy sunshine, Beauty and the Beast, and a heroine suddenly dropped into the world of a very grumpy duke.

🎬 Book vs. adaptation
We talk about what the show changed, what it kept almost exactly the same, and why Sarah M. Eden's involvement as a screenwriter seems to have made such a difference.

💰 The story behind the show
The series was crowdfunded and filmed in just 20 days, with production split between Utah and England. We talk about what makes the show's independent production story so exciting.

💚 Harry appreciation society
We're already emotionally invested in Harry and Athena, and Catherine has some knowledge from Courting Miss Lancaster that has Caroline very ready for what's coming next.

👗 Our Season 2 wish list
Better costumes. Better wigs. Maybe some less terrifying wolves. We have notes.

• 📖 The Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
• 📖 Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
• 📖 Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
• 📖 The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
• 📖 Courting Miss Lancaster by Sarah M. Eden

📖 The entire book list: https://bookshop.org/lists/017-seeking-persephone-regency-romance-crowdfunded-ambition

📺 Bridgerton • Emma • Downton Abbey • Heated Rivalry • In Good Spirits

🎬 The Black Dagger Brotherhood • Beach Read • Happy Place • Funny Story • Practical Magic

We've officially moved Bookish Ambitions to Substack, and we're building it into our bookish home beyond the podcast. Come join us for our monthly Book Club, extra bookish content, reading conversations, adaptation rabbit holes, and whatever we're currently obsessing over.

📱 Follow us on Instagram & Threads: @bookishambitionspodcast

🎧 Listen to Bookish Ambitions wherever you get your podcasts.

💛 Join our Bookish Ambitions community on Substack and come read with us.

And if you watch Seeking Persephone, come tell us what you thought. Especially if you have strong opinions about Harry. We clearly do.

We decided to let you sit in on book club this week. 📖

We're talking all things The Seven-Year Slip by Ashley Poston, our July Patreon Book Club pick, including the time-travel structure that somehow converted Caroline from a time-hop skeptic, the characters we fell completely in love with, the relationships that made us want a Fiona and Drew of our own, and the very important role of lemon pie.

We also get into grief, change, rediscovering who you are, food as a storytelling device, and why this book made both of us want to book a flight to New York. And yes, we both gave it five stars.

Then we're announcing our August Patreon Book Club pick, and we're heading into spooky season early with Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. With Practical Magic 2 coming to theaters in September, we're feeling extremely ready for midnight margaritas, witches, and fall.

This episode is essentially a little taste of what happens inside our Patreon book club. If you like getting analytical about books, gushing over characters, swapping recipes, and occasionally having a completely unhinged conversation, come join us.

For a full list of every book, show, and movie we mention this episode, head to our Patreon: http://patreon.com/bookishambitions

Bella is the red flag. Edward is the red flag. Jacob is... also a red flag. Honestly? Everyone needs therapy.

This week we're heading back to Forks to revisit New Moon by Stephenie Meyer and the 2009 film adaptation. With Robert Pattinson once again roasting Twilight during The Odyssey press tour, it felt like the perfect excuse to ask the question: did this story age terribly... or did we just grow up?

We dive into Bella's impossible choices, Edward's controlling behavior, Jacob's boundary issues, why the supporting cast carries the entire movie, and how the Volturi somehow become the best part of the franchise. We also talk about the gorgeous cinematography, unforgettable soundtrack, and whether the adaptation made the story even more toxic than the book.

Plus, Catherine shares her unexpected Jane Austen summer, and Caroline gives a writing update from the query trenches, including early agent responses and what's next for Book Two.

For a full list of every book, show, and movie we mention this episode, head to our Patreon: http://patreon.com/bookishambitions

Mary Bennet finally gets her story and we are not calm about it.

This week we're doing a full breakdown of The Other Bennet Sister — Janice Hadlow's novel and the BBC/BritBox adaptation that we have been waiting to talk about for what feels like an entire year.

We cover the book, the show, the casting that made us gasp (Richard E. Grant! The woman who played Mary Bennet in the Colin Firth adaptation!), the two men in a lake scene that rewrote history, and why the Gardiners are the real heroes of this entire story.

Also: Our July book club pick is The Seven Year Slip — with Catherine's famous lemon pie recipe included. Come join us on Patreon!

For a full list of every book, show, and movie we mention this episode, head to our Patreon: http://patreon.com/bookishambitions

We read it. We watched it. We cried at an octopus. We are not okay.

This week we're doing a full book versus movie breakdown of Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt and the new Netflix adaptation starring Sally Field and — yes — Bill Pullman's son. We talk about what the book does beautifully, why Caroline thinks the movie actually improves on it, Marcellus the giant Pacific octopus and why his chapters are the best thing in both versions, the themes of grief and kindness that hit harder than either of us expected, and the Nitwit Crew's dating rules, which we are adopting immediately.

Also: Caroline is officially going the traditional publishing route, Book 2 is already started, and our Patreon book club is reading Every Summer After this month — come join us!

For a full list of every book, show, and movie we mention this episode, head to our Patreon: http://patreon.com/bookishambitions

We have wanted to do this episode since day one!

This week, we're talking Wishbone — the PBS live-action children's series that aired from 1995 to 1997, the new documentary What's the Story, Wishbone? that just dropped, and why we genuinely believe we wouldn't have this podcast if we hadn't grown up watching a Jack Russell Terrier in a Renaissance costume act out Romeo & Juliet.

Also: Caroline's novel is in beta-reader hands, Catherine is reading it and had to stop herself to come record, and we have a new Patreon perk where you can submit TBR recommendations and get a shoutout on the show.

Bonus Patreon episode this week with our favorite Wishbone episodes. Become a member today after you listen!

For a full list of every book, show, and movie we mention this episode, head to our Patreon: http://patreon.com/bookishambitions

We recorded in person, we kept it short, and we are extremely proud of ourselves.

This week we're talking summer — the adaptations we're most excited about, the books we're adding to our TBRs, and the trips we're absolutely planning around our favorite books. We cover Interview with the Vampire Season 3, Every Year After on Prime, Heartstopper Forever, and Five Star Weekend on Peacock. Plus: Caroline is on draft three of her novel and is sending it to beta readers; Catherine is starting a summer thriller for book club; and someone may be planning a book-recipe series for Patreon.

Also, we spent a solid five minutes talking about lobster rolls and how Maine is where Catherine's soul belongs. It's that kind of episode.

For a full list of every book, show, and movie we mention in this episode — plus links to find them — visit our Patreon: http://patreon.com/bookishambitions

We made it to 10 episodes and we are celebrating with the most important deep dive we could think of. This week we're talking Twilight — book one, movie one, and all the feelings.

We cover why Twilight hit so differently for millennials, the Mormon lens Stephenie Meyer brought to her vampires, why Edward Cullen is absolutely a red flag and why we loved him anyway, the iconic blue tint and what it actually meant cinematically, Robert Pattinson reading Midnight Sun to find his character, Taylor Lautner fighting for his role, Anna Kendrick pretending she was never there, and the Off-Campus Easter egg that broke our brains. Plus: Catherine just finished watching it twenty minutes before recording and has thoughts.

This is episode one of many. We have too much to say about each film to do it all at once. Consider this your Twilight re-entry point.

For a full list of every book, show, and movie we mention this episode — plus links to find them — visit our Patreon: http://patreon.com/bookishambitions