Lit Ladies

This week we dive into the spooky side of books with Daphne du Maurier and Christy Award-Winning author, Jaime Jo Wright.

We talk about what draws her to the macabre, how she fits into Christian fiction, and her thoughts on colors and her books.

She even gives her best advice for readers!

Find Jamie HERE!

Her newest book, The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall, releases October 21. You won't want to miss it!

The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton

Love Inspired Suspense: Buried Wilderness Secrets by Jaime Jo Wright

Secrets Along the Shore Anthology featuring Jaime Jo Wright

Shop Baker Book House

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We are back to School, back to Podcasting, back to Writing! This week we discuss our summer highlights, favorite books, back to school routines, and books we're looking forward to.

We discuss the various types of readers. Which one are you?

With this school-time of the year, we take a deep dive into school settings in books.

• Do they appeal to readers?
• What themes do we find repeated in school stories?
• Favorite books with school settings?

You won't want to miss this discussion!

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Books Mentioned in this Episode:

Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery

Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Reading for the Love of God by Jessica Hooten Wilson

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

You Belong Here by Megan Miranda

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

The Women by Kristin Hannah

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

Find the Lit Ladies on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@litladiespod ⁠⁠⁠⁠

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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

Find the Lit Ladies on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@litladiespod ⁠⁠⁠

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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!

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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