Steam Scenes

I know just enough about music to be dangerous (and write rock star romances!). So I am super excited to branch out on the podcast with singer-songwriter Katy Oberle. Katy also worked as a couples therapist before transitioning to creative mindfulness coaching so she knows a thing or twelve about intimacy. This is a fascinating conversation about the neurological functions of love and sex and how they are not all that different from how our bodies respond to things like music and romance books. Plus we discuss the lyrics from her beautiful love song Ghost Town.

Connect with Katy online: 

KatyOberleCreative.com

Instagram

Facebook

Spotify 

Amish porn led Sarah Burnard to romancelandia and she hasn’t looked back. But, Amish porn aside, she struggled with writing the naughty bits. To get comfortable, she wrote a “dirty, sexy, filthy” book, which got her into Pitch Wars and landed her an agent! See, filth works! 

Listen to the end, when I read a sneak peek naughty bit from Sarah’s “dirty, sexy, filthy” not-yet-published book Batteries Not Included.

Connect with Sarah:

Twitter @SarahABurnard 

Instagram: sarah_burnard

Web: SarahBurnardAuthor.com 

Nan Reinhardt pivoted her career from copy editing and proofreading computer manuals (sexy, right?) to writing romance. Nan and I swoon over the beta hero, discuss how an industry pro told her romances with older MCs weren’t saleable, and we talk about steamy moments vs sensual moments and what’s harder to write. Plus I read an intimate scene from her book The Valentine Wager (Book 1 in her Lange Brothers series), which was released in early February.

Grab The Valentine Wager on Amazon.

Connect with Nan online: 

http://nanreinhardt.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/authornanreinhardt 

https://twitter.com/nanreinhardt 

http://instagram.com/nanreinhardt 

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/nan-reinhardt 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58524645-the-valentine-wager

Kelle Z. Riley is in the Steam Seat! In this episode, we talk about how she’s a sucker for a Cinderella story, how her writing process includes interviewing her characters, and how she battles the beauty standards society sets on women in her writing. We also get into the similarities between cozy mysteries and romance, and why she loves writing women-centered stories. And we get into writing sexual tension vs. just writing sex. And I read a steamy scene from book one in her Riches and Royals series, Read My Lips.

Kelle has some wild career and life experiences that inform her writing and talking to her all about it was such a treat! Pour a glass of wine or a cup of tea and settle in for a great convo!

Grab a copy of Read My Lips on Amazon.

Hang out with Kelle online:

Website: https://www.kellezriley.net/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KelleZRiley 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellezriley

 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelle.riley/ 

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/kellezriley
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/kellezriley 

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kelle-z-riley 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOS2wjhd3j2_DANos1Hlccw 

Eliana West is in the Steam Seat! Eliana never imagined being a writer. Originally, she was in retail. But when the economic collapse in 2008 shuttered her clothing boutique, she decided to do NaNoWriMo to “feed her soul” and she was hooked. (Fun fact: Her first book was handwritten!) There’s a ton happening in this ep! We talk about why she chose to write sweet vs steamy, then we take a wide turn to discuss Victorian erotica, before veering back to discuss her work with Writers for Diversity. Oh, and there’s wine! Come join us on this wild ride! 

Connect with Eliana online:

FB: Facebook.com/ElianaWestAuthor 

IG: @ElianaWestBooks 

ElianaWest.com

Writers for Diversity FB: Facebook.com/WritersForDiversity

Grab a copy of her book The Way Forward, the first book in her Heart of Colton series, on Amazon.

Strip down and get comfy, because Rien Gray is on the mic and we have a whole lot to talk about. We dive into how writing mobile romance games were Rien’s gateway into the romance world, writing non-binary and f/f romance, and why representation matters. Plus, we talk about how they wrote the MC romance that I’ve been dying to read! Also, did you know there’s a Leather Archives Museum in Chicago? Me neither! 

And, in a first for the podcast, I make Rien pre-blush!

But wait, there’s more! I read a gorgeous steamy scene from their debut novella Love Kills Twice. This ep’s epic! 

Connect with Rien online:
Twitter: riengray 

Website: https://www.riengray.com/

And grab a copy of Love Kills Twice and Her Wolf in the Wild! 

Michelle McLean is on the Steam Seat this week! We talk about how she waded through 200 rejections before landing a contract with Entangled, how Victoria Holt drew her into romance, nerd out on paranormal romance vs. urban fantasy, and just have a general blast talking all things hot and heavy. And she shares what it takes for her to get the steam scene from brain to page! Plus I read a smokin’ hot scene from Hitched to the Gunslinger. 

Want to hang with Michelle online? Get to all the stalking sites from here:

https://michellemcleanbooks.com/social-media/

Grab your copy of Hitched to the Gunslinger on Amazon.

Romance writer Jody Holford is this week’s guest and she’s bringing the sweet and the cozy! We talk about how to bring intimacy without writing naughty bits, the struggle with reader expectations, and I learn that the one kiss rule is Hallmark Sweet! And I read an exclusive (!!) advance excerpt from her book Home is Where the Body Is, which comes out on August 23, 2022. 

Connect with Jody online:

Where can listeners find you on the internet/social media? Please provide links.

https://twitter.com/jody_holford 

https://www.facebook.com/Authorjodyholford/ 

https://www.instagram.com/jody_holford/ 

https://www.pinterest.ca/jholford/_saved/ 

http://www.jodyholfordauthor.com/

Janet Walden-West is on this week’s Steam Seat! Janet and I get honest about how we both struggle to trust that conflicts developed through relationships are enough to sustain our books. Plus we talk about consent and dubcon, and the importance of sensitivity readers. And I read a naughty bit from her book Agent Zero, which is part of her Region Two urban fantasy series.

Hook up with Janet online: 

Website: http://www.janetwaldenwest.weebly.com 

FB: www.facebook.com/janetwaldenwestauthor 

Twitter: @JanetWaldenWest 

Instagram: janetwaldenwest

Grab a copy of Agent Zero on Amazon.

Kelsey McKnight and Sarah Fischer join me this week to talk about heat hoping! (Yes, it’s a twofer!) Separately, they write steamy. But when they write together, they keep it sweet. We talk about writing with your BFF, penning Grammy-approved romance, and how an emotional connection can bring intimacy but maybe not the heat. (And that’s okay!) And I read excerpts from Sarah’s book Third Wheel and Kelsey’s book What Happens in the Ruins.

Grab a copy of their book Operation Valentine, Sarah’s book Third Wheel, and Kelsey’s book What Happens in the Ruins.

Connect with them online: 

https://kissatmidnight.wordpress.com 

Instagram: @akissatmidnight 

TikTok @kissatmidnight 

Twitter (Kelsey): https://twitter.com/kelseymmck
Goodreads (Kelsey): https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16607432.Kelsey_McKnight
BookBub (Kelsey): https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kelsey-mcknight 

Twitter (Sarah): https://twitter.com/SarhAlexander7 

Goodreads (Sarah): https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3315970.Sarah_Fischer
BookBub (Sarah): https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sarah-fischer