Illicit Liaisons

This week, we talk with author David Gordon, author of the Cutter suspense series, where we talk about the secret lives of men who read romance, bookish events, and more.

David's Amazon Page https://www.amazon.com/author/davidegordonauthor

David's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/degordonauthor

David's Facebook https://www.facebook.com/david.e.gordon.author.2025/

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

Cutter Series https://link.amazon/B08j1DjSC

TENDER & TEMPTING TALES

Tender and Tempting Tales Substack Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/

Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/

Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales

Calls for Submissions https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales

ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY

Tara Leederman Substack https://taleederman.substack.com/

Jenna Harte https://jennaharte.com/

Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman
Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we talk with Sara Snow, author of Luna Rising, a YA paranormal romance, about fan fiction, book events, and more.


Sara Snow Website  https://www.sarasnowbooks.com

Sara's Amazon Page https://link.amazon/B0ef0fJtf

Sara's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sarasnowauthor/

Sara's Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SaraSnowAuthor


MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

Luna Rising by Sara Snow https://link.amazon/B01ijJV7q

Archive of Our Own (AO3) https://archiveofourown.org/

Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg

TENDER & TEMPTING TALES

Tender and Tempting Tales Substack Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/

Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/

Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales

Calls for Submissions https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales

ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY

Tara Leederman Substack https://taleederman.substack.com/

Jenna Harte https://jennaharte.com/

Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman
Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we talk with author Natalina Reis about Blind Date with a Book, scams targeting authors, her new and upcoming release, and more.

Natalina usually has two or three books going at the same time. She might be reading a physical copy of a romantasy, listening to a rom-com during her commute, and carrying an e-reader with her just in case. That of course explains why you’ll find such a variety of romance subgenres under her name. She loves writing all kinds of rebels and outcasts into her stories, and she always roots for the underdog. She speaks five languages (six, if you count sarcasm), unwisely keeps adding books to her towering TBR pile, and doesn’t believe in a life without coffee. She could easily live on bananas and lobster (probably not at the same time), and she has an irrational love for technology, puzzles, and crochet. When she’s not writing, reading, or crocheting a chicken (don’t ask), you’ll find her watching British mysteries or Chinese period fantasy shows.

Natalina's Website https://natalinareis.com/
Natalina's Amazon page https://link.amazon/B08I3usbh
Natalina's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/reisnatalina
Natalina's Facebook https://www.facebook.com/authornatalinareis/

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

Stinky Sardines & Roses by Natlina Reis https://link.amazon/B00dFOVPq

TENDER & TEMPTING TALES

Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/

Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/

Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales

Calls for Submissions https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales

ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY

Tara Leederman Substack https://taleederman.substack.com/

Jenna Harte https://jennaharte.com/

Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman
Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we talk with author Lizzy Hartwell about cliffhangers, writing what you know, and her upcoming new release and advent romance on Substack.

Lizzy Hartwell writes witty, warm romance about competent women who've spent years doing everything right and are finally ready to do something deliciously wrong. A former NASA employee married to a test pilot (for real), she knows a thing or two about smart women in dangerous situations—and the men brave enough to love them. When she's not crafting page-turners, she's reading in sweatpants with her Instant Pot doing the heavy lifting. She lives in Southern California and is a recovering children's book author who finally let her characters kiss.

Lizzy's Substack https://substack.com/@lizzyhartwellauthor

Lizzy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizzyhartwellauthor/

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon https://link.amazon/B0cfXMqUG

Not Another Love Song Julie Soto https://link.amazon/B079RogFg

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb https://link.amazon/B0gqmWwqv

Cordials Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold https://link.amazon/B0ihqT3sj

The LOVE Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood https://link.amazon/B0eiWpgUp

The LOVE Hypothesis TV show https://link.amazon/B01gLUH03

The Deal by Elle Kennedy https://link.amazon/B048wYlAG

Off Campus (The Deal) https://link.amazon/A02JrltGo

Tommy & Tuppence by Agatha Christie https://link.amazon/A0gdwWfGU

Partners in Crime (Tommy & Tuppence) (1980s TV) https://link.amazon/A0aRQyHQn

Tommy & Tuppence (new show) https://link.amazon/A0gdwWfGU

TENDER & TEMPTING TALES

Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/

Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/

Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales

Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales

ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY

Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/

Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/

Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman
Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we continue celebrating the release of Starlit & Spellbound, our first fall anthology featuring 10 spellbinding romances with witches, ghosts, fated mates, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden love, curses, fate & more!

We're chatting with Suzy Langevin and Lynne Solisse about audiobook narration, red-flag characters, New Adult/later-in-life romance, and more!

Suzy Langevine: Suzy Langevin loves love, even though she forgot how to say it in Latin when she was a contestant on Jeopardy! And she channels that love into writing happily-ever-afters where people are loved because of, not in spite of, the things they see as their flaws. She is the winner of the 2024 RWA Golden Heart Award for her novel The Plus-One Pact, and her short fiction has been featured in several anthologies and magazines. Suzy lives and writes in central Massachusetts, and does, in fact, run on Dunkin'. For information on available titles and upcoming releases, visit

Suzy's Website: https://www.suzylangevin.com/
Suzy's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/suzylangevinwrites/

Lynne Solisse: Writing found Lynne Solisse later in life, and never let go. She writes romance that doesn’t flinch, centering on women who are fierce, loyal, and unafraid to demand more out of life. Women who want to reclaim passion on their own terms.

Whether contemporary, fantasy, or even proving that love can still burn bright in a gritty post-apocalyptic world, her stories are raw but sweet, fun and emotionally charged, threaded with just enough tension to keep your heart racing.

She lives in the Southern US with her three boys and two spoiled cats, and believes it’s never too late for a second chance. Or a plot twist.

Lynne's Website: https://lynnesolisse.com/

Lynne's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynne_solisse

BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

Starlit & Spellbound https://link.amazon/B05WqBMrH

Misbehaving at Cactus Lanes by Patricia Santos Marcantonio (later in life romcom) https://link.amazon/B06FA7nV1

Learning Curves by Rachel Lacey https://link.amazon/B09eSAhLj

Falling Into Fiction by Victorine E. Leiske https://link.amazon/B06DxwNsK

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore https://link.amazon/B07lpTedp

Crew of Hunters Series by Heather Graham https://link.amazon/B0jljO2EA

The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer https://link.amazon/B04f98I11

Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by J.R. Ward https://link.amazon/B0jljO2EA

TENDER & TEMPTING TALES

Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/

Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/

Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales

Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales

ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY

Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/

Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/

Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman
Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we continue celebrating the release of Starlit & Spellbound, our first fall anthology featuring 10 spellbinding romances with witches, ghosts, fated mates, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden love, curses, fate & more!

We're chatting with Mara Heath and Jenna Harte/Eva LeClerc about love triangles, witchy romance, and more.

Mara Heath is the author of the new-adult paranormal romance “Out of Bounds” in Starlit and Spellbound, as well as the author of her contemporary fantasy romance novels Harnessed in Gold and Caged in Silver.

Mara's Website https://maraheathauthor.com/
Mara on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maraheathauthor/
Mara on Substack https://maraheathauthor.substack.com/

Jenna Harte wrote the paranormal rom-com “Quantum Entanglement” for Starlit & Spellbound. She's also the author of the Southern Heat contemporary romance series and the sexy Valentine Mysteries.

Jenna's Website https://jennaharte.com/
Jenna on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jennaharteauthor/

Eva LeClerc is Jenna's alter ego, author of the paranormal romance, “A Love Stronger Than Fate" in Starlit & Spellbound. She writes the Southern Gothic paranormal romance series, Oathmarked, set in New Orleans.

Eva's Website https://evaleclerc.com
Eva on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/evaleclercauthor/
Eva on Substack https://evaleclercauthor.substack.com/

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

Starlit & Spellbound https://link.amazon/B05WqBMrH

Echoes in Ashmere by Ann Isaacs https://link.amazon/B04f98I11

The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer https://link.amazon/B04f98I11

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead https://link.amazon/B05yI8Mca

Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid Series) by Richelle Mead https://link.amazon/B0eRfMwrN

TENDER & TEMPTING TALES

Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/

Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/

Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales

Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales

ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY

Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/

Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/

Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman
Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we continue celebrating the release of Starlit & Spellbound, our first fall anthology featuring 10 spellbinding romances with witches, ghosts, fated mates, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden love, curses, fate & more!

We're chatting with two of the authors in Starlit & Spellbound, T.A. Leederman and Urna Semper, about bookish drama, their stories in Starlit & Spellbound, and more.

Urna Semper is a romance author from Argoshaan, known for her books depicting passionate tales of forbidden love between clones and born-humans. Born to a family of scriveners, her breakthrough came with Olava: Fallen into Bondage, followed by Kyrie: Betrayed into Bondage, and Kingdom of Maids. Her most recent projects, The Pearl Crucible and Where All Past Years Are, are available on Amazon. 

Urna's Substack https://urnasemper.substack.com/
Urna's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/urnasemperauthor/

T.A. Leederman is a PhD in English Literature and a sci-fi, sci-fi romance, and urban fantasy author based out of Los Angeles, California. She is Lore Lead and central fiction writer for Starship Valkyrie, a science-fiction crisis-simulator game and science-fiction world based out of Los Angeles, which she runs alongside her partner at LA gaming conventions like Strategicon and LFG Con. Her first independent Starship Valkyrie collection, Contact Unknown, is available on Amazon and from her in person at events and conventions.

Tara's Substack https://taleederman.substack.com/
Tara's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/author_taleederman/

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

Starlit & Spellbound https://link.amazon/B05WqBMrH

Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher https://link.amazon/B0fCSdGGj

Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold  https://link.amazon/B0iedkYTz

Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold https://link.amazon/B040UN4D6

The Chanur Saga by C.J. Cherryh https://link.amazon/B0907HIJf

Merchanter’s Luck by C.J. Cherryh https://link.amazon/B01qpHq49

In Death series by J.D. Robb https://link.amazon/B0jcEXSXg

TENDER & TEMPTING TALES

Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/

Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/

Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales

Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales

ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY

Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/

Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/

Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman
Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we celebrate the release of Starlit & Spellbound, our first fall anthology, featuring 10 spellbinding romances with witches, ghosts, fated mates, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden love, curses, fate & more!

We're chatting with two of the authors in Starlit & Spellbound, Marissa Marinello and Miranda Tamrakar, about bookish drama, their stories in Starlit & Spellbound, and more.

Marissa Marinello is a SoCal native who writes urban, high fantasy, and cozy-romantasy. A TTRPG nerd who grew up on Tolkien, musical theater & comics, she's always been inspired by finding the fantastical in the mundane and building amazing worlds to tell rich stories in. Much of her work is inspired by real life moments that spark something more. Her work can be found in several anthologies, and she is an active participant in fandom and her writing group in Southern California.   

Marissa's Website https://marissamarinello.com/
Marissa's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mmarinello_author

Miranda Tamrakar was raised in SoCal on a steady diet of books and musicals. She finds joy in creating worlds that chase the same sense of sweeping romance and wonder, sometimes with dragons and sometimes with spies, but always telling a tale of how the right people can change a life. She is inspired by looking at relationships in real life and asking herself, "what if?" When she's not writing, she is winning at cards, losing at elaborate board games, or finding inspiration out in the wild with her husband and two daughters, all of whom are delightfully weird.

Miranda's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/miranda_writes_author/

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

Starlit & Spellbound https://link.amazon/B05WqBMrH

The Hearth Witch's Guide to Spite & Spellwork by Kiri Callaghan https://link.amazon/B0iT4rGD2

Boneyard Key Series by Jen DeLuca https://link.amazon/B031ZMgJm

Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts https://link.amazon/B02taL129

Midnight Bayou Movie https://link.amazon/B04PLYt5S

Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries by Charlaine Harris https://link.amazon/B02qbcg5M

Write with Harte Preptober/Writevember Challenge https://writewithharte.com/preptober-writevember-2026/

TENDER & TEMPTING TALES

Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/

Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/

Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales

Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales

ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY

Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/

Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/

Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman
Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, we chat with author and book event planner Amy Marie about whether romance books need more yearning, Amy's success with SaSS while other book signing events seem to be imploding, the internet's policing of dark romance, and more.

About Amy Marie
Amy Marie was born and raised in the northwest suburbs of Chicago (Go Cubs Go!) until she married the red-headed love of her life in 2005 and made the move to Virginia Beach, Virginia, where she currently resides with her two teenagers and a mini-Australian Shepard, who chases after the four cats!

In 2014, she published her first book in the Unexpected Series and hasn’t looked back since. As a contemporary romance and romantic suspense author, she loves to tell everyone about her books and attend as many signing events as she can.

Not only did her dream of becoming an author come to life, but so did her love of event planning when she started the Sexy and SaSSy Signing (also known as SaSS). SaSS is an annual romance author book signing held in July, with some mini events held in St. Louis and Savannah. Every year she brings over 500 people together to celebrate their love of books and welcome them into the SaSSy Family!

You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads, all under either Author Amy Marie or The Sexy and SaSSy Signing. BTW… SaSS27 tickets are on sale now!

Amy Marie's Books https://amzn.to/4xaztm0

Amy Marie Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amy.marie.679521/

Amy Marie Instagram https://www.instagram.com/author_amy_marie/

Amy Marie TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@authoramymarie

Amy Marie Threads https://www.threads.com/@author_amy_marie

SaSS27 Richmond, VA Tickets https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sass27-unforgettable-nights-richmond-signing-event-tickets-1993293205636

SaSS Attendees Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/sassysigning

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

Adriana Locke https://amzn.to/4gWHB3N

Melanie Harlow https://amzn.to/4gLsnOI

Collide by Gail McHugh https://amzn.to/4cBlK0h

Encore in Death by J.D. Robb https://amzn.to/4r0SgyY

Urna Semper on Substack https://urnasemper.substack.com/

Come Away with Me by Kristin Proby https://amzn.to/3TemlhY

Come Away with Me on Passionflix https://watch.passionflix.com/watch/16e9a261-3fc9-4f0f-bb46-338d78032db2

TENDER & TEMPTING TALES

Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/

Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/

Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales

Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales

ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY

Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/

Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/

Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman
Editing: Jenna Harte

This week, I'm solo (Jenna) with an update to a blast-from-the-past episode from 2021 on what romance books I'd recommend to people who've never read romance but are willing to give it a try, with my updated picks for 2026.

BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

Classic Romance

Persuasion by Jane Austen https://amzn.to/4gGRvX7

Persuasion movie https://amzn.to/4cpXUVk

Contemporary Romance

Big Rock by Lauren Blakely https://amzn.to/4gJuCCe

Can't Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan https://amzn.to/4h78ja3

Category Romance

The Return of Rafe MacKade by Nora Roberts https://amzn.to/4yfahfi

Historical Romance

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn https://amzn.to/4h4oTIA

Paranormal Romance

First Grave to the Right by Darynda Jones https://amzn.to/3T7gHy7 (for some reason, the cover on this book is weird on Amazon, although the covers for the other books in the series are right.)

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward https://amzn.to/4zO6Y0f

Romantic Suspense/Mystery

Envy by Sandra Brown https://amzn.to/3SMcoYK

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb https://amzn.to/3UjkOHP (there are now over 60 books in this series!)

The Doucet Series by Tami Hoag https://amzn.to/3UuLh57

Sweet Romance

Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense (Sept 2026) https://amzn.to/3T7hmj5

Romcom

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne https://amzn.to/3T7hmj5

Chicago Stars Series by Susan Elizabeth Phillips https://amzn.to/3UM7zPS

Welcome to Temptation/Bet Me (2 books in one) by Jennifer Crusie https://amzn.to/4iGITCh  (Jennifer has several books co-written with Bob Mayer that are fun too https://amzn.to/4clkzSH).

Romantacy

A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J. Maas https://amzn.to/4gHAaNv

TENDER & TEMPTING TALES

Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/

Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/

Tender and Tempting Tales on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tandttales

Tender and Tempting Tales ARC Team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/56782/tender-and-tempting-tales

Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales

ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY

Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/

Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/

Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman
Editing: Jenna Harte