My guest this week is Amy Spalding, author of many YA novels and the adult sapphic Out In Hollywood series. The latest installment, ON HER TERMS, was published in February by Kensington Books.

Topics tackled include: How much queer representation in the YA genre has improved in the last decade, and coming out as bisexual "later in life." Is "adulthood" a scam, and what does it look like outside of a cis-het framework? And how to write characters who want a different future (also known as a happily-ever-after) from what everyone else seems to want, i.e. moving in together, marriage and children.

Plus: queer community rules, but you gotta build it!

As a reminder, you can support this podcast by joining my Patreon at patreon.com/brosandprose for as little as $3/month. Independent podcasting is a labor of love and I am so proud of the conversations we're having on this show about romance and activism and community. My patrons make this podcast possible, and they have my sincere gratitude.

You can follow Amy as @thatames on Instagram and Threads, or visit her website at theamyspalding.com. You can purchase her books from the Rebel Ever After shop at bookshop.org/lists/rebel-ever-after.

You can follow Ella on Threads, Instagram and BlueSky @brosandprose for updates about the show and other romance/political shenanigans. My second-chance college reunion romance But How Are You, Really is available at bit.ly/buthowareyoureallynovel