USA Today bestselling author, Beverly Jenkins, writes historic fiction including romance fiction and romantic suspense. Her work brings life and voice to an often forgotten time in US history -- the 1900s when small African American communities thrived. Her work is rooted in American history. She has traditionally published 38 books through a traditional publisher. In this interview, we begin talking about publishing and writing before diving deep into issues of race and storytelling.

Aliette de Bodard writes award winning speculative fiction while raising two children and working full time as a system engineer. She joins us from Paris to talk about her work and her life. We apologize in advance for the slight echo that occurred while taping.

Season 2 of Women and Fiction continues with MD Martin, the pseudonym of Misty Martin. Misty writes something she calls "Southern Gothic Horror." She joins us to discuss her life as a female, Southern, horror author.

Women and Fiction returns for Season Two with Melissa Westemeire. Melissa is the author of three books -- two with small publishers and one on her own. She's written chick lit and literary fiction. She represents a new kind of author that is not tied to a genre nor a publisher. She is also a mother, a wife, a full-time high school teacher. She joins Women and Fiction to discuss her life as an author unhindered by a publisher, genre, or a busy life.

Deborah Smith discusses her personal experiences -- good and bad -- with publishing and why she ended up opening her own publishing company. Deborah is a best selling author of over 35 romance and women's fiction. Her latest book, Kitchen Charmer, was released in September. Her next book Tomato Moon will be out by the end of the year.

Melissa Blue writes romance novels for geeks. She joins Women and Fiction to talk about writing romance and the challenges of being an African American woman. To find out more about Melissa go to theMelissaBlue.com

Maya Rodale joins women and fiction to discuss the world of romance fiction. She shares her research into why romance gets so little respect despite being a billion dollar business and why she believes it's so incredibly popular. For more information about Maya, go to MayaRodale.com. We'd love to hear from you -- drop us a line or leave a review.

Amanda Cochran Helstrom-White is a champion of writers and the written word. She joins Women and Fiction to discuss a wide range of issues about women and writing. She is the author of Tattoo and Haiku. Her work is available at angrypandapoet.tumblr.com. Support her Patreon account at .

Emma Newman talks about promotions, writing, and life as a female science fiction author in this witty, fast podcast. Photo credit: Joby Sessions for SFX Magazine.

Jennifer Leeland helps launch Women and Fiction with her honest, funny stories about writing erotic romance fiction while raising two children.