The Book Besties Club 📚

Morgan, founder of The Indecent Book Club, joins us to chat about turning her passion for supporting indie authors into a book subscription business.

We talk about being a single mum navigating small business life, why Morgan reads every book that goes into her boxes, and how she’s only recently found her way back to reading herself.

A conversation about indie authors, entrepreneurship, motherhood and rediscovering your love of books.

This week on Book Besties Club, we’re joined by paranormal shifter romance author Elizabeth Jeffery to talk about the 20-year journey behind her book and why her readers love it so much they tell her they hate her.

We chat about writing through loss, creating emotional damage for readers, and navigating the writing process with ADHD when you’re definitely not a planner.

Shifters, romance, grief, ADHD and 20 years of storytelling. Check it out now!

In this episode of Book Besties Club, we’re chatting with Francesca Riccardi about her journey through the publishing industry, from building a career in publishing to making the move into literary agency.

Francesca shares her advice for anyone hoping to break into publishing, what her career journey has taught her, and what life as a literary agent really looks like.

We also get into the querying process, what authors should know before approaching agents, and practical advice for anyone getting ready to send their work out into the world.

Whether you’re dreaming of a career in publishing, writing your first book, or preparing to query your manuscript, this is an episode packed with honest insight and useful advice.

In this episode, we’re chatting to Helen Blain, author of How to Kill Your Biggest Fan, about writing a bold main character, using her own relationship with romance as inspiration, and taking the unconventional decision to go audio-only.

We talk about laughing at your own jokes, the unavoidable temptation to read every Goodreads review, the realities of marketing an audiobook, and what happens when your book doesn’t quite follow the traditional publishing playbook.

A funny, honest conversation about writing, romance, reader reactions and doing things your own way.

In this episode of the Book Besties Club Podcast, I’m joined by Robyn from HEA Bookshop to chat about the story behind one of the most exciting romance book shops and communities around.

We talk about how HEA began, how the online romance store evolved into a future physical bookstore in Liverpool, and the journey of bringing readers together through pop-up events and bookish experiences.

Robyn shares HEA's vision for creating a welcoming, judgement-free space where readers can find their people, make bookish friends and feel part of a community, whatever, and however, they choose to read.

We also chat about championing indie authors, supporting them through the bookstore, events, along with what’s ahead for HEA, including festival planned for 2027.

In this episode of the Book Besties Club Podcast, I’m joined by Joe Clitheroe, author of Realm of Star*ell, to talk about the journey behind his writing and finding where he fits in the world of books.

Joe opens up about writing with dyslexia, discovering his confidence as a writer, and how the people closest to him, particularly his wife, have inspired both him and his stories.

We chat about his love of fantasy, the challenge of creating a seven-book series, and what it’s like to turn the worlds in your imagination into something other people can escape into.

It’s a conversation about creativity, inspiration, self-belief and finding your place in the world.

Listen now to hear Joe’s story and get to know the author behind Realm of Star*ell!

In this episode, I’m chatting to Amy, the owner of bookish small business Ink & Ivy, about turning her love of books into bookish merch.

We talk about rediscovering a love of reading after becoming a mum, being a fantasy girly at heart, finding her place on BookTok and building a small business around creating things that people genuinely love.

From the books that stay with us long after we’ve finished them, to the joy of surrounding ourselves with things that celebrate the stories we love, this is a conversation about reading, creativity, motherhood and finding your people in the bookish community.

If you’ve ever finished a book and immediately thought, “But I’m not ready for it to be over,” this one is for you.

In this episode of the Book Besties Club Podcast, I’m joined by indie author John M. Bauer, a writer who takes familiar ideas, genres and legendary stories and turns them into something unexpected.

With four novels and three shorter books spanning fantasy, cosy fiction, romance and more, he isn’t interested in following a typical formula. We discuss experimenting with genres, drawing inspiration from great tales and legends, looking for ways to create stories that feel genuinely different and prompting difficult conversations.

We chat about his approach to writing, why he believes in the power of language and his views on becoming completely immersed in a story.

If you love indie authors, genre-bending stories, unconventional ideas and getting completely lost in a good book, this one is for you...

In this episode of the Book Besties Club Podcast, I’m joined by author Rowan Davidson to talk about creating the romance stories she always wanted to read.

After realising there was a long list of things she didn’t want to see in romance books, Rowan decided to write her own, creating realistic characters, emotional journeys and stories designed to make readers feel truly seen.

We chat about mental health representation in books, writing high-angst romances, subverting familiar tropes, and why authentic relationships matter. Rowan also shares what it’s like publishing books just three months apart and her mission to get her stories into the hands of readers who need them.

If you love romance with depth, realistic characters and stories that explore the messy, complicated sides of love, this episode is for you.

In this episode of the Book Besties Club Podcast, I'm joined by fantasy author Stephanie Phillips to explore what it takes to create authentic relationships, compelling characters and a fantasy world that's grittier than ACOTAR.

We discuss why Stephanie wanted to move away from the trend of 19-year-old protagonists, how she builds realistic romance, and why love, or the absence of it drives every decision her characters make. We also chat about creating the ultimate dream book boyfriend, balancing motherhood with writing, and the realities of life as an indie fantasy author.

If you love fantasy romance, morally complex characters, unforgettable book boyfriends and honest conversations with indie authors, this episode is for you.

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