Spill the Smut

Magic is illegal, speakeasies are thriving, and the person tasked with enforcing the ban just walked into the wrong club. I sit down with historical romance author and librarian Martha Waters to celebrate Spellstruck, her fantasy romance set in an alternate 1920s London where potions and powders still carry real power even if the government says they should not exist.

We talk through the heart of the book: Vesper, the youngest daughter of an old magical family who runs her club like it is still the golden age, and Max, the government agent who raids places like hers for a living. When a magical poisoning kicks off a larger mystery, they team up to investigate other clubs, and the tension turns into an enemies-to-lovers romance with genuine stakes. Martha shares why London is such a fun setting for prohibition-style vibes, how she balances humor with danger, and what she hopes readers notice about a heroine who can feel a little spoiled at first.


If you enjoy smart romance, historical fantasy, and behind-the-scenes writing talk, listen now, then subscribe, share the episode with a romance-reading friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find us.

Follow Martha on IG: @marthabwaters

Cover Art by: moi

Intro/Outro Music: positive vibes by nanaacom on Capcut

Contact Email: [email protected]

Podcast IG: @spillthesmutpodcast TT: @spillthesmutpodcast

Jordan IG: @sipsoffiction TT: @sipsoffiction

FAB IS BACK!!

Fall flips a switch in our brains and we’re not fighting it. One minute we’re talking cinnamon buns, pumpkin runs, and cider mill traditions, and the next we’re building a fall reading list that goes from cozy small-town comfort to full gothic dread. If you’ve been hunting for fall book recommendations that actually match the season, we’re naming the titles and the exact vibes they deliver.  

If you love cozy fall books, spooky reads, gothic romance, and building a TBR that fits real life, hit play, then share your best fall rec with us. Subscribe, leave a review, and send this to the friend who starts Halloween on August 31.

Cover Art by: moi

Intro/Outro Music: positive vibes by nanaacom on Capcut

Contact Email: [email protected]

Podcast IG: @spillthesmutpodcast TT: @spillthesmutpodcast

Jordan IG: @sipsoffiction TT: @sipsoffiction

We are living proof that timing can get weird fast: two best friends, pregnant at the same time, with due dates only four days apart. Once we say it out loud, the conversation turns into the kind of catch-up you actually want when life is changing in real time. We talk about trying to conceive, the emotional whiplash of “it happened” after months of thinking and waiting, and why having a friend who truly gets it can make pregnancy feel less isolating.

From there, we get painfully honest about the day-to-day stuff people gloss over. I share what it was like traveling in Italy while pregnant, dealing with intense heat, long walking days, and the small sadness of being offered limoncello at the end of dinner. We also swap stories about pregnancy brain, memory glitches, and the moment you realize your body is doing so much that your mind is just along for the ride. Then we go straight into cravings and aversions, including the truly chaotic combos, plus the more practical side of pregnancy nutrition like protein, fish rules, and why “what you can eat” advice changes depending on where you live.

Cover Art by: moi

Intro/Outro Music: positive vibes by nanaacom on Capcut

Contact Email: [email protected]

Podcast IG: @spillthesmutpodcast TT: @spillthesmutpodcast

Jordan IG: @sipsoffiction TT: @sipsoffiction

A romance can be a love story and a locked door at the same time. I sit down with USA Today bestselling author Veronica Lancet to unpack why her gothic romance and dark fantasy books don’t rush to explain themselves, and why that slow drip of answers is exactly what makes readers binge. From the fever-dream immersion of Fairydale to the moody, genre-blending pull of her newest release Sinister, Veronica shares how she builds stories that dare you to keep reading until the truth finally snaps into place.

We get into the real mechanics behind her work: drafting momentum, writing slumps, and what it’s like to live inside a single project until the last scene lands. Veronica also compares self publishing vs traditional publishing from her perspective, especially when a finished manuscript gets picked up later and protected from heavy creative constraints. Along the way, we talk morally gray characters, point of view choices, and why long standalones can be the best delivery system for clues, payoffs, and deep character development.

Then we dive into Sinister itself: a dark academia gothic romance with dual timelines, a present-day prep school storyline, and a shadowy thread that reaches back to 1896 with versions of Petra and Sin that raise bigger questions about who’s good, who’s dangerous, and what love costs. We close with craft advice for aspiring authors, the role of luck in publishing, a peek at her next project Velacor, plus a few personal surprises including the fictional puppy that became a real one.

Subscribe for more author interviews, share this episode with a friend who loves dark romance and gothic fantasy, and leave a review if you want more conversations like this.

Follow Veronica on IG: @authorveronicalancet

Cover Art by: moi

Intro/Outro Music: positive vibes by nanaacom on Capcut

Contact Email: [email protected]

Podcast IG: @spillthesmutpodcast TT: @spillthesmutpodcast

Jordan IG: @sipsoffiction TT: @sipsoffiction

We are days away from Italy, and the timing is perfect because we are also in a totally different place with social media than we were a year ago. We talk about how easy it is for Bookstagram and Booktok to turn reading into a performance, what it feels like to post just to keep up, and why posting less can bring the fun back. If you have ever felt guilty for not finishing books fast enough or not having content ready, this one is for you. 

Then we get practical and messy about the trip itself. We share our plan for creating travel content without letting filming take over the vacation: get the clips, grab the photos, and do the editing later on the train or back at the hotel. We also get into what we actually want to see in Rome, how we are thinking about the Vatican City day and dress code, and why doing the tourist stuff early can save your sanity when the crowds hit. 

You will also hear the real-life prep that makes or breaks a 10-day Italy itinerary in August: heat management, hydration, comfortable shoes for cobblestones, and the food motivation that keeps you moving. We talk gelato, pasta, a possible pizza-making class in Naples, and our strategy for surviving jet lag without ruining the first few days. 

Follow along for the Italy content, and do not forget the giveaway: guess his age for a shot at a gift card. If you like the vibe, subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a vacation, and leave us a review.

Cover Art by: moi

Intro/Outro Music: positive vibes by nanaacom on Capcut

Contact Email: [email protected]

Podcast IG: @spillthesmutpodcast TT: @spillthesmutpodcast

Jordan IG: @sipsoffiction TT: @sipsoffiction

What happens when a beloved coming-of-age warrior story collides with a dystopian future that feels a little too plausible? I sit down with author Dakota Monroe, whose fantasy romance and dystopian romance novels have built a fiercely loyal readership, to talk about the creative spark behind Daughters of Ash and the emotional craft that makes her characters hit so hard.

Starting with Dakota’s path from lifelong reader to published indie author, including the series that shaped her love of romance and tension. She opens up about being neurodivergent and how that affects her writing process, from hyper-attuned facial expressions and body language to the way she writes trauma with intense physical detail. If you’ve ever wondered why some books feel like you’re living inside the character’s skin, her explanation lands.

Then we go deep on Daughters of Ash, the Bound by Order series, and the scenes that mattered most: a low-stakes simulation that lets the world breathe, and a mission that becomes a turning point for Cassia when safety ends and reality starts. We also talk about the darker theme underneath it all, the pressure indie authors face to publish at an unsustainable pace, and how Dakota protects her creativity from burnout. 

If you love author interviews, writing craft, dystopian fantasy, slow-burn reverse harem tension, and honest talk about publishing, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a reader friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

Cover Art by: moi

Intro/Outro Music: positive vibes by nanaacom on Capcut

Contact Email: [email protected]

Podcast IG: @spillthesmutpodcast TT: @spillthesmutpodcast

Jordan IG: @sipsoffiction TT: @sipsoffiction

Your favorite online identity can turn into a job faster than you think and that’s when the pressure creeps in. Lauren is back, and we get honest about what happens when book content, client work, and constant availability start to blur together. She walks us through her rebrand from LBCReads Author Services to Love On The Line Literary Services, why separating personal and professional accounts matters, and how a clearer brand can create real boundaries instead of just prettier graphics.

Then we go behind the scenes on Love Match, her ARC matchmaking and ARC management system built for romance authors. We talk trope-based matching, pre-vetting ARC readers, opt-in emails, and the surprising amount of labor that goes into vetting hundreds or even thousands of signups. If you’ve ever wondered how authors build ARC teams, how review rates actually work, or what “reader matchmaking” looks like in practice, you’ll leave with a much sharper picture of the process.

If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with a creator friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find us.

Follow Lauren: IG & TT @lbcreads x Love on the Line: IG @literaryloveontheline

Cover Art by: moi

Intro/Outro Music: positive vibes by nanaacom on Capcut

Contact Email: [email protected]

Podcast IG: @spillthesmutpodcast TT: @spillthesmutpodcast

Jordan IG: @sipsoffiction TT: @sipsoffiction

A romance adaptation can survive a lot of changes, but it cannot survive forgetting why readers fell in love in the first place. Olivia and I discuss unpacking the Amazon MGM series Every Year After and why it left us frustrated as fans of Carly Fortune’s Every Summer After. From the title change to the way the timeline is presented, we talk through the choices that made the story feel less like a sweeping summer romance and more like a scattered contemporary drama.

We also go behind the curtain on why these projects can drift so far from the source material, including how publishing contracts and screen rights can limit an author’s creative control, even when the show is marketed on their name. Then we land on practical takeaways: how we evaluate adaptations now, why we avoid rereads right before a premiere, and how to make watch parties more fun than stressful. 

Subscribe, share this with a fellow book lover, and leave a review so more readers can find the show.

Cover Art by: moi

Intro/Outro Music: positive vibes by nanaacom on Capcut

Contact Email: [email protected]

Podcast IG: @spillthesmutpodcast TT: @spillthesmutpodcast

Jordan IG: @sipsoffiction TT: @sipsoffiction

Joined by Lex, the creator behind Fully Booked Babe and the project manager at The Nerd Fam, to pull back the curtain on what modern book marketing actually looks like when you are supporting indie authors and trad authors in real time.

We talk through how The Nerd Fam runs campaigns with a small but mighty three-person team, what goes into monthly catalogs and early reader programs, and why beautifully designed PR boxes can create the kind of shareable content that drives attention and sales on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Lex also gets practical about the systems that make it possible, including the move to Airtable for tracking readers, managing author workflows, and keeping a fast-moving schedule from turning into chaos.

If you like conversations about BookTok, Bookstagram, publishing, and the real behind-the-scenes work that helps books find readers, hit subscribe, share this with a book friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find us.

Follow Lex on IG and TK @fullybookedbabe

Cover Art by: moi

Intro/Outro Music: positive vibes by nanaacom on Capcut

Contact Email: [email protected]

Podcast IG: @spillthesmutpodcast TT: @spillthesmutpodcast

Jordan IG: @sipsoffiction TT: @sipsoffiction

I’m joined by my longtime co-host and twin flame Fabienne, once known online as The Page Pilgrim, for a real talk about Bookstagram burnout, creator pressure, and what happens when reading stops feeling like a hobby and starts feeling like homework. We trace the arc from cozy COVID-era book photos and passionate reviews to the grind of posting, chasing engagement, and trying to keep up with endless new releases.

We also get into what comes after the exit. Fabienne shares how rereads helped her fall back in love with books, why fantasy comfort reads can restart your momentum, and how exploring different genres (from thrillers to classic literature) can bring back genuine curiosity. 

If you’ve ever felt like the algorithm was reading over your shoulder, this one will hit. Subscribe for more conversations about books, reading habits, and creative life, and if this resonates, share the episode and leave a review so more readers can find us.

Cover Art by: moi

Intro/Outro Music: positive vibes by nanaacom on Capcut

Contact Email: [email protected]

Podcast IG: @spillthesmutpodcast TT: @spillthesmutpodcast

Jordan IG: @sipsoffiction TT: @sipsoffiction