Our Next Chapter: A Rom-Com & Romance Books Podcast

We’re starting 2026 with coffee, chaos, and a little main-character energy.

First up, Matt and Andrea swap New Year’s resolutions and immediately rate how likely they are to actually happen. Spoiler: confidence is high, follow-through is questionable.

Then we’re joined by a true legend, Jayne Ann Krentz, for a fun and thoughtful conversation about writing, intuition, romantic suspense, psychic energy, and her upcoming novel The Shop on Hidden Lane. It’s craft talk, career wisdom, and a few “wow” moments all rolled into one.

And because this is Our Next Chapter, we also dive into our podcast-within-a-podcast, The Bedazzled Archives, where we revisit the gloriously unhinged 2000 film Bedazzled and ask the important questions. Like… did we love it?

Matt & Andrea here. Thanks for joining us on this journey. 
We'd love to hear from you. Visit us at www.OurNextChapterPodcast.com

We’re hanging out with romance author LaQuette and chatting about her latest novel Janae Sanders' Second Time Around, releasing January 6th! We talk second chances, high school enemies who come back hot and emotionally competent, and why romance after real-life experience just feels good. There’s soap operas, Brooklyn stories, confident heroines, and a very fun game where charming men keep turning out to be walking red flags. If you like smart romance, messy conversations, and brilliant authors, give it a listen.

Matt & Andrea here. Thanks for joining us on this journey. 
We'd love to hear from you. Visit us at www.OurNextChapterPodcast.com

Matt and Andrea roll into Thanksgiving week with birthday chaos, cafeteria turkey lunches, and a quick chat about why gratitude hits a little harder when you’re raising teens. They dig into how gratitude shapes your brain, why it shows up so often in modern romance, and what they’re reading this week. They wrap with “Thankful or Thankful It’s Over,” a fast Thanksgiving game full of hot takes on everything from matching tattoos to big airport gestures.

Matt & Andrea here. Thanks for joining us on this journey. 
We'd love to hear from you. Visit us at www.OurNextChapterPodcast.com

Author Erin La Rosa joins us to talk about her writing journey, the creation of the Burbank Book Festival, and the story behind her new time-loop rom-com. We dig into the balance between joy and grief in storytelling, what community means to a writer, and why giving yourself permission to break the rules might be the key to better writing.

Matt also tests out a few birthday gift ideas for Andrea, and together we imagine what our perfect time-loop day would look like.

Matt & Andrea here. Thanks for joining us on this journey. 
We'd love to hear from you. Visit us at www.OurNextChapterPodcast.com

It’s our Halloween special! Matt and Andrea face off in the ultimate candy draft, play Trick or Thirst (where things get a little spooky and a little steamy), and chat with author Lauren Okie about her debut romance The Best Worst Thing. Come for the sugar rush, stay for the sweet talk.

Matt & Andrea here. Thanks for joining us on this journey. 
We'd love to hear from you. Visit us at www.OurNextChapterPodcast.com

It’s Matt’s birthday, and we’re celebrating with author Jamie Varon. We talk about her newest novel Charlie Quinn Lets Go, a story about starting over, chasing joy, and learning when to finally let go. Jamie shares her honest take on writing, healing, and building a life that truly feels like yours. Plus, we play a chaotic Mad Libs game where we build Jamie’s potential yes day and see if she’d actually be up to the adventure.

Matt & Andrea here. Thanks for joining us on this journey. 
We'd love to hear from you. Visit us at www.OurNextChapterPodcast.com

Matt kicks things off with a brand-new show intro, and Andrea talks about meeting Abby Jimenez, before we welcome author Maggie Gates. We dig into her Griffith Brothers series, her path from pastry chef to bestselling romance author, and why first drafts just need to exist! 

Follow Maggie Gates
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authormaggiegates
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormaggiegates
Website: https://maggiegates.com/

Matt & Andrea here. Thanks for joining us on this journey. 
We'd love to hear from you. Visit us at www.OurNextChapterPodcast.com

We’re chatting with Kathleen Barber, best-selling author of Truth Be Told and Follow Me, about her brand-new novel Both Things Are True. We dive into love, contradictions, and we play a fun game inspired by the title itself. Plus, Andrea is taking a trip to meet Abby J - maybe we should roleplay how that'll go. 

Connect with Kathleen Barber:
Website: kathleenbarber.com
Instagram: @katelizabee

Matt & Andrea here. Thanks for joining us on this journey. 
We'd love to hear from you. Visit us at www.OurNextChapterPodcast.com

This week we kick things off with Matt’s sultry sandwich artist R&B moment, Andrea’s family reunion reflections, and then dive into our author spotlight on the brilliant Kirsty Greenwood. We’ll talk about her books, her humor-filled style, and even her new musical project. Plus, we share updates on Indy, Zoe, and the newest character to join our story. Big laughs, big book talk, and big things ahead.

Matt & Andrea here. Thanks for joining us on this journey. 
We'd love to hear from you. Visit us at www.OurNextChapterPodcast.com

This week, we catch up on summer life, play our Make Up the Date game (this one gets a little ridiculous), and sit down with author Megan Sotelo Padilla to talk about her latest romance novel, I Object, and the writing journey behind it all.

Matt & Andrea here. Thanks for joining us on this journey. 
We'd love to hear from you. Visit us at www.OurNextChapterPodcast.com