My guest is Andie J. Christopher, the author of many contemporary romances including Unrealistic Expectations, Thank You Next, and Hot Under His Collar. She is also the creator of Stern Brunch Daddy, both the concept and the Substack.

Together we dissected the never-ending "smut" discourse. Why do we keep having the same circular conversations about romance novels getting too explicit, and is that even true? Is the fixation on Hannah Grace's Icebreaker and kids stumbling across sexual content just a moral panic? Should we blame Trump, or traditional publishing, or something else entirely?

Then we talked about how heteropessimism informs Andie's romance novels, and how she writes fictional cis men worth falling for when the real world isn't exactly sending its best. Plus! What ever happened to the bonkbuster, and is it time to bring back these sprawling, glamorous 80s romances?

Purchase Andie's books from the Rebel Ever After bookshop.org store here! Pre-order her Formula 1 romance Faster here. Follow her on Instagram as @authorandiej and subscribe to her Substack here.

Please rate, review, and subscribe to Rebel Ever After on your favorite podcast app! Support the show by becoming a patron at patreon.com/brosandprose starting at $3/month. Make sure you sign up on desktop or in a web browser instead of the Patreon iOS app, where Apple tacks on an extra 30% free because they are greedy.

You can follow me 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 here.

Books mentioned this episode include:

• Unhinged by Vera Valentine
• Lights Out by Navessa allen
• Lucky by Jackie Collins
• Spring Collection by Judith Krantz
• The Joy of Sex
• Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
• Savage Thunder by Joanna Lindsay
• A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke by Adriana Herrera
• Zoey Draven's Horde King series
• Empire of Temptation by Mila Finelli
• The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger