First Encounter—A Historical Romance Podcast

For this special episode, I am joined by Valentina Boré, the mastermind behind the Scandal & Swoons Festival, commonly referred to as Swoons Fest! This is special event with bookish events because it focuses exclusively on our favorite genre—historical romance!

 Coming up in January 2027 in Orlando, FL, it promises to be an exciting event with over 40 authors in attendance including Beverly Jenkins and Julia Quinn!

 Listen in as Valentina and I discuss her inspiration for the event, why she loves historical romance, and all the amazing parts of this not to be missed event!

 For all the info on the event, please visit the event website: https://www.swoonsfest.com/

 Stay up to date on announcements and details through Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swoonsfest

 And buy tickets for the event/pre-order books at Beventi: https://beventi.co/tickets/ldebhtt4el

 Follow Valentina and learn more about her editing business:

https://www.instagram.com/sapphic.library

https://sapphiclibrary.carrd.co/

First Encounter is a podcast exploring both the foundations, and the future, of Historical Romance. Hosted by Andie James, Historical Romance enthusiast and author.

Support First Encounter:

Patreon

Follow First Encounter:

Website

Instagram

Follow Andie James:

Website

Instagram

Logo designed by Books and Moods

Theme Music by TheJayMan

I had a delightful time this episode chatting with romance author Alice Murphy about one of her favorite historical romances, RUTHLESS by Anne Stuart (first book in the House of Rohan series). Alice and I discuss writing craft, dastardly heroes, and why old school romances just feel different and could not be written in today’s current political and cultural climate.

You can find out more about Alice and her novel ,A SHOWGIRLS RULES FOR FALLING IN LOVE, as well as her 2027 release, A MODERN GIRLS GUIDE TO LOVE AND DIVORCE, on her website (https://www.alicemurphybooks.com/) and on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/alicemurphybooks/?hl=en)

Learn more about Anne Stuart and The House of Rohan series on her website (https://anne-stuart.com/)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------First Encounter is a podcast exploring both the foundations, and the future, of Historical Romance. Hosted by Andie James, Historical Romance enthusiast and author.

Support First Encounter:

Patreon: https://patreon.com/first_encounter_hr_pod?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

 Follow First Encounter:

Website: https://www.andiejamesauthor.com/firstencounterpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/first_encounter_hr_pod/

 Follow Andie James:Website: https://www.andiejamesauthor.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andiejamesauthor/

Logo designed by Books and Moods (https://www.booksandmoods.com/)

Theme Music by TheJayMan (https://depositphotos.com/music-track/positive-successful-cinematic-vibes-used-movie-soundtrack-764901870.html)

This bonus episode was so much fun for me, as it brought together two of my favorite things to discuss, historical romance and Taylor Swift! It was such a joy to chat with Angela McDow from The Swiftie and The Scholar podcast.

Angela and I discussed my theory that Taylor Swift either is, or would be, a huge historical romance fan! Throughout the episode we point to what we know about Taylor as a reader and romantic based on interviews, her visual aesthetic in her music videos, and most importantly, her lyrics in her songs!

This was an absolute delight for me as two of my favorite Taylor Swift songs inspired my latest novella, STAY HERE FOREVER (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GX33R79V)

Lyric videos for these songs:

Right Where You left Me (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur_wAcYDnuA&list=RDUr_wAcYDnuA&start_radio=1)

Peter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxxswu7V1Us&list=RDMxxswu7V1Us&start_radio=1

The Swiftie and Scholar episode on one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs (and inspo for STAY HERE FOREVER), Peter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caI_NIkCqcg)

Taylor Swift’s interview with Colbert where she describes her favorite books https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLZt_-GU_SA

The book Taylor describes during that interview may as well be my friend Lauren Hayworth’s book THE LOVER’S EYE (https://www.amazon.com/Lovers-Eye-Lauren-M-Hayworth-ebook/dp/B0F8H2G9V2/)

The Swiftie and The Scholar Podcast on Instagram @swiftieandscholarpod (https://www.instagram.com/swiftieandscholarpod/)

The Swiftie and The Scholar Podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@swiftieandscholarpod)

Angela on Instagram @angelawyattmcdow (https://www.instagram.com/angelawyattmcdow/)

Angela's YouTube channel, All Too Unwell (https://www.youtube.com/@angelawyattmcdow)

First Encounter: http://www.andiejamesauthor.com/firstencounterpod

This month I’m joined by Indie historical romance author, Ava Bond. Ava has self published two series and currently has a series she’s releasing with DragonBlade publishing, Lyme Ladies!

We discuss the first book in the Lyme Ladies series, THE SCHOLAR’S SPY, and how it’s setting in Lyme Regis affects the storyline, as well as her upcoming novella, FALLING FOR THE DOWAGER, which is part of the A Match Made in Autumn series. Other topics we chat about include using unique settings and creating original characters in order to set your historicals apart, and our love of period drama, which may have informed why we and so many others have a fondness for the Regency Era.

You can learn more about Ava and her books on her website, and you can follow her on Instagram

Check out THE SCHOLAR’S SPY

And you can hear more from Ava and learn about the A Match Made in Autumn series in a previous episode of First Encounter here

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First Encounter is a podcast exploring both the foundations, and the future, of Historical Romance. Hosted by Andie James, Historical Romance enthusiast and author.

Support First Encounter:

Patreon

Follow First Encounter:

Website

Instagram

Follow Andie James:

Website

Instagram

Logo designed by Books and Moods

Theme Music by TheJayMan

I had such a great time chatting with Melissa this week about my first Meredith Duran, THE DUKE OF SHADOWS!

In this book deep dive for September, we are talking about the bold choice to not only set this book in India, but also in the midst of the Sepoy Rebellion in 1857. We appreciated the way Duran condemns colonialism while still presenting the violence on both sides of the conflict, and the brilliant way she set up both of our characters to be able to deal with this traumatic event.

And as always, we talk about what makes historical romance so great and why we love this genre so much!

Follow Melissa on Instagram (@aduchessinside)

Learn more about Meredith Duran and her books

And support the podcast on Patreon (link below) to get my upcoming novella, STAY HERE FOREVER —out 10/2/2026

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First Encounter is a podcast exploring both the foundations, and the future, of Historical Romance. Hosted by Andie James, Historical Romance enthusiast and author.

Support First Encounter:

Patreon

Follow First Encounter:

Website

Instagram

Follow Andie James:

Website

Instagram

Logo designed by Books and Moods

Theme Music by TheJayMan

I had a fantastic time this week chatting with historical romance author Addy Du Lac about the books in her Troublemakers Trilogy. I absolutely loved these books—they are incredibly romantic with bold heroines and swoony heros and are a great blend of more modern approaches to representation in histrom along with an old school feel of dramatic plot points, and proper villains!

We discuss the need for more inclusive representation within the genre and Addy’s particular focus on Interracial Romance, and why we need to support BIPOC and authors from minoritized communities with our actions, not just our words.

Learn more about Addy and her fabulous romances on her website

Join Addy as she talks with Authors of Color in the Tea Salon

Learn more about Swoons Fest—the historical romance focused event of your dreams!

First Encounter is a podcast exploring both the foundations, and the future, of Historical Romance. Hosted by Andie James, Historical Romance enthusiast and author.

Support First Encounter:

Patreon

Follow First Encounter:

Website

Instagram

Follow Andie James:

Website

Instagram

Logo designed by Books and Moods

Theme Music by TheJayMan

Today’s show brings together all of the authors participating in the A Match Made in Autumn collaborative series, being released in Fall 2026. A series of eight novellas by Indie historical romance authors, all the stories center characters finding themselves with a second chance at finding love, and all are set in Autumn!

I’ve loved collaborating with these ladies and I can’t wait for all of you to read their stories! You can find more information about the series here (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H72JXDV1), and the first novella releases September 11, 2026!

Learn more about the authors participating in the series and find their other novels:

Sylvie Sinclair

Bianca White

Ally Hudson

Andie James

Misty Urban

Kelsey Swanson

Laura Linn

Ava Bond

First Encounter is a podcast exploring both the foundations, and the future, of Historical Romance. Hosted by Andie James, Historical Romance enthusiast and author.

Support First Encounter:

Patreon

Follow First Encounter:

Website

Instagram

Follow Andie James:

Website

Instagram

Logo designed by Books and Moods

Theme Music by TheJayMan

This month we are discussing DEVILISH, by a new to me author, Jo Beverley! I am joined in discussion of this book by my friend and fellow historical romance author, Sri Savita. Sri loves this book and I had heard her talk about it (and re-reading it) several times, so I asked her to come on the podcast and talk about it, and to lend us her expertise in psychology as we examine core themes in the story!

This book is an incredible example of power and control in both society and relationships and takes a deep look at gender dynamics. Written in 2000, it’s also ahead of its time in regard to issues of consent (thought here is a pretty dramatic assault scene, so be warned!)

Sri and I also discuss her own work, centering Indian characters within the peerage in Regency England, and an upcoming Anthology she is participating in—HOLIDAYS AT NORTHFIELD HALL!

Learn more about Jo Beverley and the Malloren books here

Find out more about Sri and her novella, THE DEED WITH THE DUKE here

Learn more about HOLIDAYS AT NORTHFIELD HALL here

Listen to my episode with Katherine Grant and learn more about Northfield Hall here

First Encounter is a podcast exploring both the foundations, and the future, of Historical Romance. Hosted by Andie James, Historical Romance enthusiast and author.

Support First Encounter:

Patreon

Follow First Encounter:

Website

Instagram

Follow Andie James:

Website

Instagram

Logo designed by Books and Moods

Theme Music by TheJayMan

I was so grateful that Nichole Van was willing to sit down with me again for this episode after our bonus episode last week where we discussed AI in publishing.

Nichole is one of my favorite historical romance authors. I think she writes some of the most romantic, swoon-worthy, intimate stories with all the yearning you could ever want, and she manages to get all that deeply sexy emotion across while keeping the door closed.

We discuss several of her books, including her brand new release, A LASS BELOVED, the second book in the Earls of Cairnfell series. We also look at what makes for an enjoyable read at any spice level based on intimate scenes that feel true to the characters, and acknowledging real adult thoughts and emotions around sex even in closed door romances.

Other topics we hit on include writing older characters, and why the social restraints within a historical setting can lead to some really great stories!

You can find out more about Nichole and her books on her website, and you can follow her on Instagram

A LASS BELOVED is now available to purchase or read in Kindle Unlimited

First Encounter is a podcast exploring both the foundations, and the future, of Historical Romance. Hosted by Andie James, Historical Romance enthusiast and author.

Support First Encounter:

Patreon

Follow First Encounter:

Website

Instagram

Follow Andie James:

Website

Instagram

Logo designed by Books and Moods

Theme Music by TheJayMan

After I announced that I’d invited fellow historical romance author Nichole Van onto the podcast, I had a listener reach out to me asking if hosting Nichole came into conflict with my no Gen AI stance as they believed she had used Gen AI images in promoting her books previously.

So, I reached out to Nichole and said, “hey—my bad for not looking into this. I’m leaving it up to you if you still want to do the episode or not, but just be prepared for some comments or questions about AI.”

And Nichole responded that she had stopped using AI and would love to chat about it. As we prepared, we realized we had so much to say about AI that we decided to make this discussion an entirely separate bonus episode.

We talk about A LOT related to AI in this episode and it was fascinating to hear Nichole’s thoughts as someone who’s had not just her writing scrapped by AI, but also her images as a photographer, shaping her understanding and relationship to it. There’s how we define AI tools vs. Gen AI, a lot about all the gray areas in-between that are hard to navigate, and really that we are both against Gen AI, but there are no easy answers. Especially as some of the historical romance space around us has begun to embrace AI. And we wrap up with the thought that at the end of the day, we all just need to think through where we stand and be clear about it ,while lending one another some grace as we all figure this out in a rapidly changing system.

All my thanks to Nichole for a truly great conversation, and I hope you’ll all tune in next week as well to hear about her amazing books!

First Encounter is a podcast exploring both the foundations, and the future, of Historical Romance. Hosted by Andie James, Historical Romance enthusiast and author.

Support First Encounter:

Patreon

Follow First Encounter:

Website

Instagram

Follow Andie James:

Website

Instagram

Logo designed by Books and Moods

Theme Music by TheJayMan