This week we talk about Beach Reads! What makes a Beach Read? What books would we take to a beach–mystery, horror, rom com? We talk butterfly-inducing and whether a beach or water setting is required. 

We give the books we’re planning to read over summer, as well as some of our favorite beach reads! 

Also, since it’s the last episode of our first season, we talk favorite moments, hardest part of a podcast, and a few teasers for Season 2 of the Lit Ladies!

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Books We Mention This Episode:

Highland Heist by Pepper Basham

Echoes of Darkness by Darlene Turner

Everything’s Coming Up Rosie by Courtney Walsh

What Not to Do on Vacation by Rachel Magee

Middlemarch by George Eliot

On Writing by Stephen King

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

The Love Haters, by Katherine Center

Say You'll Remember Me, Abby Jimenez

Summer Romance, by Annabel Monaghan

Great Big Beautiful Life, by Emily Henry

Emma St. Clair

Jenny Proctor

On today’s episode, we talk with author Kristine Delano about her debut novel. She writes domestic suspense and psychological thrillers, with a novel coming out in January 2026: The Lies We Trade.

Kristine worked on Wall Street for several years and knows the ins and outs of high finance. She utilizes her real-life knowledge to craft thrilling stories. We talk about interiority, emotional equity, layered characters, her writing journey, writer’s groups, and of course some tips she’s learned along the way!

Kristine empathizes with women and all they must juggle, and works to write stories that speak to those struggles. She also hosts the We Talk Careers podcast, which is a must-have resource for women and leadership. 

Read Kristine's FREE novella,

We Know You Know

Listen to her Podcast, We Talk Careers

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Do you read sad books?

Join our discussion as we talk through sad books, books that made us think, books that made us cry, and whether we *should* read sad books.

We talk: upmarket fiction, literary fiction, genre fiction, what makes a "romance" book, and more!

We want to know your thoughts: does a romance book need a "HEA" to be considered romance?

Join along and let us know what you think!

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Nature of Love by Toni Shiloh

The Happy Life Of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh

Stars in the Grass by Ann Marie Stewart

Looking for Alaska by John Green

All the Yellow Posies by Elaine deBohun

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah

The Last Letter, Rebecca Yarros

11/22/63, Stephen King

https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/what-is-literary-fiction

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Join us on this magical journey through time! We discuss everything from Victorian Literature to Gothic Lit and even Britney Spears!

Tess's novel, Vale, is an epic fantastical adventure with a heavy dose of historical fiction.

We chat the motivation behind Tess's writing, the location (ALL the British feelings!), the difference between life now and life in the past, and of course a TON about Charlotte Bronte.

You won't want to listen to this fantastic interview, and check out Tess's work!

https://tessbentley.com/

Instagram,

Books Referenced this episode:

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

City of Bones, Cassandra Clare

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King

One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Find the Lit Ladies on Instagram: ⁠⁠@litladiespod ⁠⁠

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This week we take a deep dive into a fantastical fantasy world! Author Rachelle Nelson discusses:

*The truth behind her stories

*Lessons for teens

*Good guy vs. bad guy in fiction

*Fantasy world building

*Soft magic vs. hard magic

*The difference between being wanted and being loved. 

You won't want to miss the story behind her journey to publication, inspiration, favorite mythical creatures, and more.

Purchase Sky of Seven Colors and her newest, Embergold!

Follow Rachelle: https://rachellenelsonauthor.com/

Instagram: @rachelle.nelson.author

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Here are some mentioned books and resources this episode:

Brandon Sanderson's Writing Lectures

The Story Equation, Susan May Warren

Karen Hancock

Dust, Kara Swanson

This week we tackle the topic of perseverance with historical fiction writer KyLee Woodley. Her debut novel recently released, and we discuss history, inspiration, writing, rejection, research, waiting, and SO MUCH MORE!

One of our favorite writing resources came up; be sure to check out The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.

This is full of gems for readers and writers alike. Get a glimpse into KyLee's process and be sure to check out her newest book!

The Bandit's Redemption, by KyLee Woodley

https://kyleewoodley.com/

Find her on Instagram and Facebook!

Find the Lit Ladies on Instagram: @litladiespod

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The month of love continues and we take a DEEP dive into romance tropes we LOVE (and hate)! Of course we all have different takes on these hot topics that are all over the literary world! What works, what doesn't, what's overdone? Listen and chime in!

Love triangles, friends to lovers, fish out of water, brother's best friend, manic pixie dream girl, rivals to lovers, grumpy/sunshine, love at first sight, Byronic hero, single dad, age gap, nanny, billionaire romance...we chat about them all!

Books we mention:

The Rom Con, Devon Daniels

The Vow, Kim and Krickitt Carpenter

Memory Lane and Sweet on You, Becky Wade

One Foggy Christmas, Kortney Keisel

Shattered, Dani Pettrey

To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Jenny Han

The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley, Courtney Walsh

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

Looking for Alaska, John Green

Paper Towns, John Green

Jessica Wakefield

The Flat Share, Beth O'Leary

Dear Henry, Love Edith, Becca Kinzer

Love Cliches, Emma St. Clair

All the Yellow Posies, Elaine DeBohun

A Lady's Guide to Scandal, Sophie Irwin

Divine Rivals, Rebecca Ross

Tony Shiloh

Dangerous Beauty, Melissa Koslin

Find the Lit Ladies on Instagram: @litladiespod

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https://www.dabblewriter.com/articles/romance-tropes-the-heartbeat-of-a-genre

It’s the month of love, and we are chatting romance with a queen of Christian romance, Pepper Basham! We talked about favorite romance tropes, the books she’s written, readers’ favorites and more. We also heard a bit about her writing journey and how God has worked in His perfect timing. 

Connect with Pepper:

@pepperbasham, https://www.facebook.com/pepperdbasham  https://pepperdbasham.com/ 

Search for Pepper's books here!

We talk about:

Closet kisses...Easter Eggs!

Why are romance books important?

Does fictional romance set us up for unhealthy expectations? 

Favorite tropes: fish out of water, anyone?

Friends to more?

Find the Lit Ladies on Instagram: @litladiespod

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Books mentioned in this episode:

Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other, Bethany Turner

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Dracula, Bram Stoker

Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

It's the start of the year and today we're talking about reading goals, past and present. Join along for our conversation as we discuss:

Do YOU set reading goals each year? Let us know!

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Some of the books we're looking forward to reading/ have read:

Dani Pettrey,

Lynette Eason

Lynn H. Blackburn

Megan Miranda

Jamie Jo Wright

Becky Wade

The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien

Divine Rivals, Rebecca Ross

Bone Gap, Laura Ruby

The Love Haters, Katherine Center

The Homecoming, Kate Morton

The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman

A Sea of Unspoken Things, Adrienne Young

Middlemarch, George Eliot

Jesus through Medieval Eyes, Grace Haman

The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss

It's January--the time of year we all have resolutions. If you're a writer or aspiring writer, you won't want to miss this episode. Packed with a bunch of practical tips from writers at various stages, you'll get some ideas to implement right away!

We discuss:

Find the Historical Bookworm Podcast, mentioned here:

https://historicalbookworm.com/subscribe-to-podcast-2/

Check out our featured guests and their works:

Darcy Fornier, @darcyfornierwriter

The Crown and the Axe, by Darcy Fornier

Stephanie Goddard @stephgoddardbooks

The Wedding Feast, by Stephanie Goddard

Find the Lit Ladies on Instagram:

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