https://simplecast.com The Hopeless Romantic Amanda Jean delights in wrestling manuscripts for her day job, worships at the altar of tropes, and has never met a villain or sexy alien she doesn’t like. Austin Chant writes books about gay magic and toxic masculinity, likes his queer stories with a slice of anguish, and kinda wants to be a pirate. Together, they discuss queer romance fiction and the broader world of queer media. en http://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.fm Tue, 3 Jul 2018 11:00:00 +0000 Tue, 21 May 2019 21:55:55 +0000 http://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.fm The Hopeless Romantic https://cdn.simplecast.com/images/cf740dc2-5e85-4e73-bacb-1c6d4006b6f0/bb79f315-fa76-4aa2-9e0f-6374a3105bc4/3000x3000/1456554404artwork.jpg?aid=rss_feed episodic Amanda Jean delights in wrestling manuscripts for her day job, worships at the altar of tropes, and has never met a villain or sexy alien she doesn’t like. Austin Chant writes books about gay magic and toxic masculinity, likes his queer stories with a slice of anguish, and kinda wants to be a pirate. Together, they discuss queer romance fiction and the broader world of queer media. Amanda Jean and Austin Chant yes https://feeds.simplecast.com/HH5KbjWf fiction, gay romance, genre fiction, lgbt, lgbtq, queer romance, romance, writing, publishing, austin chant, amanda jean, the hopeless romantic, the hopeless romantic podcast, m/m, m/m podcast, slash, slash podcast, writing, publishing, writing romance Amanda Frechin thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com e6720904-b60c-4b37-bb2f-a250fdd073c9 Episode 40: Thanks for Coming to Our TED Talk **Content warning: This episode contains spoilers for the movie *Annihilation* (as well as some spoilers for the book it's based on). The ending is in no way spoiled, but some plot elements are laid out. There are also spoilers for *The Picture of Dorian Gray*. Also, suicide is mentioned.** After two and a half years, forty episodes, many arguments with Skype, and lots of Overwatch references, The Hopeless Romantic is closing its doors! Join Austin and Amanda for this last episode before their next podcast, The Red Pen, launches later in 2018. Topics include how a performance of *The Picture of Dorian Gray* really packed a punch and made Austin think about queer history and contemporary queer romance; how the book and movie *Annihilation* gave Amanda a lot of feelings about themes in sci-fi; and take a detour to discuss how the hosts are cranky with the state of current discourse on Queer Twitter (and Tumblr). Also, don't miss out on Amanda's feelings of betrayal toward William Shatner, and how Anthony Hopkins is never allowed to betray her. The hosts want to thank the wonderful listeners and amazing guests they've been privileged to have. They hope you'll join them on their next venture. The Red Pen launches later this summer, and it features Austin and Amanda cutting up fiction to see what it's made of. Tue, 3 Jul 2018 11:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-40-thanks-for-coming-to-our-ted-117c92ac Content warning: This episode contains spoilers for the movie Annihilation (as well as some spoilers for the book it's based on). The ending is in no way spoiled, but some plot elements are laid out. There are also spoilers for The Picture of Dorian Gray. Also, suicide is mentioned.

After two and a half years, forty episodes, many arguments with Skype, and lots of Overwatch references, The Hopeless Romantic is closing its doors! Join Austin and Amanda for this last episode before their next podcast, The Red Pen, launches later in 2018. Topics include how a performance of The Picture of Dorian Gray really packed a punch and made Austin think about queer history and contemporary queer romance; how the book and movie Annihilation gave Amanda a lot of feelings about themes in sci-fi; and take a detour to discuss how the hosts are cranky with the state of current discourse on Queer Twitter (and Tumblr). Also, don't miss out on Amanda's feelings of betrayal toward William Shatner, and how Anthony Hopkins is never allowed to betray her.

The hosts want to thank the wonderful listeners and amazing guests they've been privileged to have. They hope you'll join them on their next venture. The Red Pen launches later this summer, and it features Austin and Amanda cutting up fiction to see what it's made of.

Click here to support Austin and Amanda on Patreon!

Episode notes:

The Red Pen on Facebook

@redpenpod

William Shatner

Anthony Hopkins

Frank Sinatra - My Way

Christopher Rice

Anne Rice

VLC Media Player

Book-It Repertory Theater

Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde

Dorian Gray (2009 film)

The McElroy Brothers Shows

A Wrinkle in Time (2018 film)

Pacific Rim Uprising

Annihilation (2018 film)

Jeff VanderMeer - The Southern Reach Trilogy

Washington Post: Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (review) [spoilers for the book]

Alex Garland

]]> Episode 40: Thanks for Coming to Our TED Talk Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:12:29 **Content warning: This episode contains spoilers for the movie *Annihilation* (as well as some spoilers for the book it's based on). The ending is in no way spoiled, but some plot elements are laid out. There are also spoilers for *The Picture of Dorian Gray*. Also, suicide is mentioned.** After two and a half years, forty episodes, many arguments with Skype, and lots of Overwatch references, The Hopeless Romantic is closing its doors! Join Austin and Amanda for this last episode before their next podcast, The Red Pen, launches later in 2018. Topics include how a performance of *The Picture of Dorian Gray* really packed a punch and made Austin think about queer history and contemporary queer romance; how the book and movie *Annihilation* gave Amanda a lot of feelings about themes in sci-fi; and take a detour to discuss how the hosts are cranky with the state of current discourse on Queer Twitter (and Tumblr). Also, don't miss out on Amanda's feelings of betrayal toward William Shatner, and how Anthony Hopkins is never allowed to betray her. The hosts want to thank the wonderful listeners and amazing guests they've been privileged to have. They hope you'll join them on their next venture. The Red Pen launches later this summer, and it features Austin and Amanda cutting up fiction to see what it's made of. **Content warning: This episode contains spoilers for the movie *Annihilation* (as well as some spoilers for the book it's based on). The ending is in no way spoiled, but some plot elements are laid out. There are also spoilers for *The Picture of Dorian Gray*. Also, suicide is mentioned.** After two and a half years, forty episodes, many arguments with Skype, and lots of Overwatch references, The Hopeless Romantic is closing its doors! Join Austin and Amanda for this last episode before their next podcast, The Red Pen, launches later in 2018. Topics include how a performance of *The Picture of Dorian Gray* really packed a punch and made Austin think about queer history and contemporary queer romance; how the book and movie *Annihilation* gave Amanda a lot of feelings about themes in sci-fi; and take a detour to discuss how the hosts are cranky with the state of current discourse on Queer Twitter (and Tumblr). Also, don't miss out on Amanda's feelings of betrayal toward William Shatner, and how Anthony Hopkins is never allowed to betray her. The hosts want to thank the wonderful listeners and amazing guests they've been privileged to have. They hope you'll join them on their next venture. The Red Pen launches later this summer, and it features Austin and Amanda cutting up fiction to see what it's made of. the red pen, queer fiction, m/m, sci-fi, jeff vandermeer, queer romance, oscar wilde, mbmbam, alex garland, lgbt fiction, amanda jean, annihilation, lgbt romance, austin chant, dorian gray yes full 40 0dfb1460-85f3-48c1-9b92-581ecc260f0d Episode 39: What's in a Pen Name? **Content warning:** This episode mentions the *Killing Stalking* manhwa, discusses problematic elements of dramas (such as non-consensual grabbing, stalking, kidnapping, and misogynistic behavior), mentions drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, fictional suicide in *Orphan Black*, underage relationships with regards to *Queer as Folk*, microaggressions and exclusionary behavior re: Pride events, fake suicides and hate crimes, and deals with a complex and potentially tender subject―that of pen names and pronouns in queer romance being policed. We also mention Santino Hassell. Austin and Amanda talk about stuff they've been consuming―including a strangely enjoyable but deeply problematic Chinese BoyLove drama―and also discuss gatekeeping and accessibility issues at Pride events. The last half of the episode is dedicated to the subject of pen names in queer romance, and how policing what pronouns someone uses in their author life can be harmful. Though there are genuine examples of people appropriating experiences for artistic cred and social capital and using that to cause real harm, we need to focus on the harm done and not what pronoun the person used while doing it. Tue, 12 Jun 2018 11:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-39-whats-in-a-pen-name-3f4b3f36 Content warning: This episode mentions the Killing Stalking manhwa, discusses problematic elements of dramas (such as non-consensual grabbing, stalking, kidnapping, and misogynistic behavior), mentions drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, fictional suicide in Orphan Black, underage relationships with regards to Queer as Folk, microaggressions and exclusionary behavior re: Pride events, fake suicides and hate crimes, and deals with a complex and potentially tender subject―that of pen names and pronouns in queer romance being policed. We also mention Santino Hassell.

Austin and Amanda talk about stuff they've been consuming―including a strangely enjoyable but deeply problematic Chinese BoyLove drama―and also discuss gatekeeping and accessibility issues at Pride events. The last half of the episode is dedicated to the subject of pen names in queer romance, and how policing what pronouns someone uses in their author life can be harmful. Though there are genuine examples of people appropriating experiences for artistic cred and social capital and using that to cause real harm, we need to focus on the harm done and not what pronoun the person used while doing it.

Click here to support Amanda and Austin on Patreon!

Episode notes:

The free bleep I used was found here!

Elton John - Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (with Kiki Dee)

The Ella Enchanted version

Ngozi Ukaz - Check, Please!

Koogi - Killing Stalking (TW for kidnapping, rape, murder, violence, and other disturbing content)

Keezy Young - Never Heroes: Yellow Hearts

Robin Bennis - The Guns Above: A Signal Airship Novel

Westworld (TV show)

P.G. Wodehouse

The Hopeless Romantic - Episode 30 - Beefman

Orphan Black (TV show)

Addicted (Chinese drama)

Brokeback Mountain Theme

Screencaps from Addicted

Elton John - The Circle of Life

Queer as Folk (US TV show)

The L Word (TV show)

The Fussy Librarian: "Cockygate" hearing transcript released

J.K. Rowling aka Joanne Rowling

George Sand aka Amantine Lucile Dupin

AO3 Census: Masterpost

Book Binge: A Statement About Santino Hassell

LGBTSR.Org: Gay Mystery Icon Josh Lanyon Comes Out as a Woman

Also, Amanda didn't mention them by name, but another case of manipulation and fraud in M/M had to do with the author Thorny Sterling.

]]> Episode 39: What's in a Pen Name? Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:16:31 **Content warning:** This episode mentions the *Killing Stalking* manhwa, discusses problematic elements of dramas (such as non-consensual grabbing, stalking, kidnapping, and misogynistic behavior), mentions drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, fictional suicide in *Orphan Black*, underage relationships with regards to *Queer as Folk*, microaggressions and exclusionary behavior re: Pride events, fake suicides and hate crimes, and deals with a complex and potentially tender subject―that of pen names and pronouns in queer romance being policed. We also mention Santino Hassell. Austin and Amanda talk about stuff they've been consuming―including a strangely enjoyable but deeply problematic Chinese BoyLove drama―and also discuss gatekeeping and accessibility issues at Pride events. The last half of the episode is dedicated to the subject of pen names in queer romance, and how policing what pronouns someone uses in their author life can be harmful. Though there are genuine examples of people appropriating experiences for artistic cred and social capital and using that to cause real harm, we need to focus on the harm done and not what pronoun the person used while doing it. **Content warning:** This episode mentions the *Killing Stalking* manhwa, discusses problematic elements of dramas (such as non-consensual grabbing, stalking, kidnapping, and misogynistic behavior), mentions drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, fictional suicide in *Orphan Black*, underage relationships with regards to *Queer as Folk*, microaggressions and exclusionary behavior re: Pride events, fake suicides and hate crimes, and deals with a complex and potentially tender subject―that of pen names and pronouns in queer romance being policed. We also mention Santino Hassell. Austin and Amanda talk about stuff they've been consuming―including a strangely enjoyable but deeply problematic Chinese BoyLove drama―and also discuss gatekeeping and accessibility issues at Pride events. The last half of the episode is dedicated to the subject of pen names in queer romance, and how policing what pronouns someone uses in their author life can be harmful. Though there are genuine examples of people appropriating experiences for artistic cred and social capital and using that to cause real harm, we need to focus on the harm done and not what pronoun the person used while doing it. pride, orphan black, boylove drama, chinese drama, addicted, are you addicted, bl drama, orphan black, pen names, queer romance, killing stalking, m/m romance, keezy young, seattle pride yes full 39 633e4509-3327-49e8-a47c-748840be0da6 Episode 38: Problematic Gay Stuff **Content warnings: This episode references potentially triggering topics, including abusive relationships, gaslighting, murder, cannibalism, sexual assault, violence, incest, Real Person Fan Fiction, and age differences--a lot of triggers that constitute "dark" or "problematic" fiction. While we don't dwell on many of these subjects, they are referenced, and people may want to protect themselves accordingly. Also, there are mild spoilers for Hannibal and other pieces of media referenced.** Don't miss the very important announcement about the future of THR and our other podcast ventures! We have exciting news to share and want feedback from our listeners to give you the best experience possible. This episode, we head over to the Dark Side of queer publishing and fan fiction (and give you several more TED Talks). Austin and Amanda think that the widespread use of content and trigger warnings in fandom and queer fiction give readers the ability to curate their own experience and examine their reactions to fiction in ways that mainstream media doesn't typically allow for. Amanda talks about her own journey through dark media and how she's drawn and redrawn her own lines, and Austin does the same. Ultimately, both hosts believe there is no consensus as to what constitutes "good" fiction versus "problematic" fiction, that policing other people's engagement with media is impossible and reductive, and that humans are complicated and messy by nature. Tue, 29 May 2018 11:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-38-problematic-gay-stuff-9409d4d5 Content warnings: This episode references potentially triggering topics, including abusive relationships, gaslighting, murder, cannibalism, sexual assault, violence, incest, Real Person Fan Fiction, and age differences--a lot of triggers that constitute "dark" or "problematic" fiction. While we don't dwell on many of these subjects, they are referenced, and people may want to protect themselves accordingly. Also, there are mild spoilers for Hannibal and other pieces of media referenced.

Don't miss the very important announcement about the future of THR and our other podcast ventures! We have exciting news to share and want feedback from our listeners to give you the best experience possible.

This episode, we head over to the Dark Side of queer publishing and fan fiction (and give you several more TED Talks). Austin and Amanda think that the widespread use of content and trigger warnings in fandom and queer fiction give readers the ability to curate their own experience and examine their reactions to fiction in ways that mainstream media doesn't typically allow for. Amanda talks about her own journey through dark media and how she's drawn and redrawn her own lines, and Austin does the same. Ultimately, both hosts believe there is no consensus as to what constitutes "good" fiction versus "problematic" fiction, that policing other people's engagement with media is impossible and reductive, and that humans are complicated and messy by nature.

Click here to support THR on Patreon!

Episode notes:

Killing Eve (TV show)

KJ Charles - The Henchmen of Zenda

Anthony Hope - The Prisoner of Zenda

Aliette de Bodard - The Citadel of Weeping Pearls (Xuya Universe)

Margaret Killjoy - The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion

Kelly Robson - A Human Stain

The Clarkesworld Podcast

Rich Larson - Carouseling

Rich Larson - God Decay

The Verge: Listen to one of the best short science fiction podcasts right now

Robyn Bennis - The Guns Above: A Signal Airship Novel

Heather Rose Jones - Daughter of Mystery

The Exorcist (TV show)

My Favorite Murder (Podcast)

Poppy Z. Brite - Exquisite Corpse

CS Pacat - The Captive Prince Series

Kurt/Blaine (Glee TV show)

Madeline Miller - The Song of Achilles

Hannibal/Will [Hannigram] (Hannibal TV show)

Brokeback Mountain (Film)

Boys Don't Cry (Film)

Kylo Ren/Hux [Kylux] (Star Wars films)

Clint/Coulson (MCU films)

Goodreads: Popular M/M dark books (couldn't find an F/F equivalent--let me know if you do!)

]]> Episode 38: Problematic Gay Stuff Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:17:06 **Content warnings: This episode references potentially triggering topics, including abusive relationships, gaslighting, murder, cannibalism, sexual assault, violence, incest, Real Person Fan Fiction, and age differences--a lot of triggers that constitute "dark" or "problematic" fiction. While we don't dwell on many of these subjects, they are referenced, and people may want to protect themselves accordingly. Also, there are mild spoilers for Hannibal and other pieces of media referenced.** Don't miss the very important announcement about the future of THR and our other podcast ventures! We have exciting news to share and want feedback from our listeners to give you the best experience possible. This episode, we head over to the Dark Side of queer publishing and fan fiction (and give you several more TED Talks). Austin and Amanda think that the widespread use of content and trigger warnings in fandom and queer fiction give readers the ability to curate their own experience and examine their reactions to fiction in ways that mainstream media doesn't typically allow for. Amanda talks about her own journey through dark media and how she's drawn and redrawn her own lines, and Austin does the same. Ultimately, both hosts believe there is no consensus as to what constitutes "good" fiction versus "problematic" fiction, that policing other people's engagement with media is impossible and reductive, and that humans are complicated and messy by nature. **Content warnings: This episode references potentially triggering topics, including abusive relationships, gaslighting, murder, cannibalism, sexual assault, violence, incest, Real Person Fan Fiction, and age differences--a lot of triggers that constitute "dark" or "problematic" fiction. While we don't dwell on many of these subjects, they are referenced, and people may want to protect themselves accordingly. Also, there are mild spoilers for Hannibal and other pieces of media referenced.** Don't miss the very important announcement about the future of THR and our other podcast ventures! We have exciting news to share and want feedback from our listeners to give you the best experience possible. This episode, we head over to the Dark Side of queer publishing and fan fiction (and give you several more TED Talks). Austin and Amanda think that the widespread use of content and trigger warnings in fandom and queer fiction give readers the ability to curate their own experience and examine their reactions to fiction in ways that mainstream media doesn't typically allow for. Amanda talks about her own journey through dark media and how she's drawn and redrawn her own lines, and Austin does the same. Ultimately, both hosts believe there is no consensus as to what constitutes "good" fiction versus "problematic" fiction, that policing other people's engagement with media is impossible and reductive, and that humans are complicated and messy by nature. dark m/m, problematic fiction, poppy z brite, cs pacat, ship wars, captive prince, dark fiction, m/m, kj charles, killing eve, klaine, hannigram, fandom, serial killers, fan fiction yes full 38 ca852106-1dd5-4621-b323-56e2b8f376c9 Episode 37: Meet Nasty **Content warning: This contains a trigger warning for a dead dog in Killing Eve and also mentions mild spoilers for the endings of *Time Was* and *Person of Interest*.** After repeated technical failure, Brooklyn Wallace finally manages to chat with Austin and Amanda about her upcoming black F/F romance *Sugar and Ice*. Predictably, the group is sidetracked by Cockygate, bad 1920s New York accents, Smokey the Bear's racism, and messy characters in F/F. Amanda Hollywood—Amanda Jean's brand-new and far superior successor—has high praise for *Killing Eve* and a murderous robot, and Austin has two book recommendations. Tue, 15 May 2018 11:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-37-meet-nasty-bbf5843f Content warning: This contains a trigger warning for a dead dog in Killing Eve and also mentions mild spoilers for the endings of Time Was and Person of Interest.

After repeated technical failure, Brooklyn Wallace finally manages to chat with Austin and Amanda about her upcoming black F/F romance Sugar and Ice. Predictably, the group is sidetracked by Cockygate, bad 1920s New York accents, Smokey the Bear's racism, and messy characters in F/F. Amanda Hollywood—Amanda Jean's brand-new and far superior successor—has high praise for Killing Eve and a murderous robot, and Austin has two book recommendations.

Brooklyn Wallace on Twitter

Brooklyn's Website

Click here to support THR on Patreon!

The Cockygate debacle:

Jenny Trout: Don’t Do This, Ever: Faleena Hopkins Cocks The Whole Entire Fuck Up

Cassie Sharp: Open Letter to Faleena Hopkins

Show notes:

Junkrat

Yuri on Ice!!!

Cole McCade - His Cocky Valet

Know Your Meme: Truth Coming Out of Her Well to Shame Mankind

Ian McDonald - Time Was

Jeannelle M. Ferreira - The Covert Captain: Or, A Marriage of Equals

Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries series

Catherynne M. Valente - Space Opera

Eurovision

Douglas Adams

J.Y. Yang - The Black Tides of Heaven (The Tensorate Series)

Reza Aslan - Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

Reza Aslan - No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam

Lost in Space (2018)

Roan Parrish - Natural Enemies

Brooklyn Wallace - Sugar and Ice

Sapphire stereotype

Wes Kennedy - To Terminator, With Love

Fanlore: Root/Shaw

BBC America: Killing Eve

Hannibal (TV show)

SorryWatch: The Curious Incident of the Chocolate Love Monkey

Jake Kosek - Understories: The Political Life of Forests in Northern New Mexico (which contains the chapter "Smokey the Bear is a White Racist Pig")

Austin Chant - Caroline's Heart

#LGBTWIP

Tor Novella Submissions (reopening in July 2018)

Vulture: It Took Sandra Oh 30 Years to Get to Killing Eve

The Exorcist (TV show)

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

]]> Episode 37: Meet Nasty Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:09:46 **Content warning: This contains a trigger warning for a dead dog in Killing Eve and also mentions mild spoilers for the endings of *Time Was* and *Person of Interest*.** After repeated technical failure, Brooklyn Wallace finally manages to chat with Austin and Amanda about her upcoming black F/F romance *Sugar and Ice*. Predictably, the group is sidetracked by Cockygate, bad 1920s New York accents, Smokey the Bear's racism, and messy characters in F/F. Amanda Hollywood—Amanda Jean's brand-new and far superior successor—has high praise for *Killing Eve* and a murderous robot, and Austin has two book recommendations. **Content warning: This contains a trigger warning for a dead dog in Killing Eve and also mentions mild spoilers for the endings of *Time Was* and *Person of Interest*.** After repeated technical failure, Brooklyn Wallace finally manages to chat with Austin and Amanda about her upcoming black F/F romance *Sugar and Ice*. Predictably, the group is sidetracked by Cockygate, bad 1920s New York accents, Smokey the Bear's racism, and messy characters in F/F. Amanda Hollywood—Amanda Jean's brand-new and far superior successor—has high praise for *Killing Eve* and a murderous robot, and Austin has two book recommendations. rose and thorns, riptide publishing, brooklyn wallace, wes kennedy yes full 37 89bf5cfa-de5e-4c7b-84cc-4f048c712662 Episode 36: Chekhov's War **Content warning: We discuss (though not in any detail) Amanda's current ear infection and a staph ear infection Austin had a few years back, as well as general health/medical stuff. Skip to 9:38 if this is a potential trigger or squick for you. There are also some spoilers for *The Ring/Ringu* and the video game *Until Dawn.*** (First off, apologies for Austin sounding like he recorded in a toilet. Podcasts are hard.) This episode focuses on craft, specifically on how Amanda and Austin wrangle their stories and write what they want to write—which involves tuning out the voice in their heads that tells them to make only Serious Fiction. But first, they chat recent life and medical shenanigans, Austin talks comics, Amanda gives fic recs and quizzes Austin on his rudimentary *Star Trek* knowledge, and there's a discussion of horror tropes and how to subvert them a la *The Ring/Ringu*. Tue, 10 Apr 2018 11:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-36-chekhovs-war-37edb224 Content warning: We discuss (though not in any detail) Amanda's current ear infection and a staph ear infection Austin had a few years back, as well as general health/medical stuff. Skip to 9:38 if this is a potential trigger or squick for you. There are also some spoilers for The Ring/Ringu and the video game Until Dawn.

(First off, apologies for Austin sounding like he recorded in a toilet. Podcasts are hard.)

This episode focuses on craft, specifically on how Amanda and Austin wrangle their stories and write what they want to write—which involves tuning out the voice in their heads that tells them to make only Serious Fiction. But first, they chat recent life and medical shenanigans, Austin talks comics, Amanda gives fic recs and quizzes Austin on his rudimentary Star Trek knowledge, and there's a discussion of horror tropes and how to subvert them a la The Ring/Ringu.

Click here to support THR on Patreon!

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture

Strange Horizons

Alternating Current: On Being LGBT+ in Rural Areas and LGBT+ in the Deep South anthology calls

Beyond comics anthologies

Noora Heikkilä - Letters for Lucardo

Space Battle Lunchtime vol. 1

The Adventure Zone: Here There be Gerblins Graphic Novel

yeaka - Inside the River

whochick - Leave No Soul Behind

Marcel Proust - Swann's Way

Chuck Palahniuk - Fight Club

astolat - Peacemaker

wordplay - The Luckiest

Root/Shaw

Vonda N. McIntyre - The Entropy Effect

K.W. Jeter - The Mandalorian Armor: Star Wars Legends

The Ring/Ringu

Until Dawn

]]> Episode 36: Chekhov's War Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:14:24 **Content warning: We discuss (though not in any detail) Amanda's current ear infection and a staph ear infection Austin had a few years back, as well as general health/medical stuff. Skip to 9:38 if this is a potential trigger or squick for you. There are also some spoilers for *The Ring/Ringu* and the video game *Until Dawn.*** (First off, apologies for Austin sounding like he recorded in a toilet. Podcasts are hard.) This episode focuses on craft, specifically on how Amanda and Austin wrangle their stories and write what they want to write—which involves tuning out the voice in their heads that tells them to make only Serious Fiction. But first, they chat recent life and medical shenanigans, Austin talks comics, Amanda gives fic recs and quizzes Austin on his rudimentary *Star Trek* knowledge, and there's a discussion of horror tropes and how to subvert them a la *The Ring/Ringu*. **Content warning: We discuss (though not in any detail) Amanda's current ear infection and a staph ear infection Austin had a few years back, as well as general health/medical stuff. Skip to 9:38 if this is a potential trigger or squick for you. There are also some spoilers for *The Ring/Ringu* and the video game *Until Dawn.*** (First off, apologies for Austin sounding like he recorded in a toilet. Podcasts are hard.) This episode focuses on craft, specifically on how Amanda and Austin wrangle their stories and write what they want to write—which involves tuning out the voice in their heads that tells them to make only Serious Fiction. But first, they chat recent life and medical shenanigans, Austin talks comics, Amanda gives fic recs and quizzes Austin on his rudimentary *Star Trek* knowledge, and there's a discussion of horror tropes and how to subvert them a la *The Ring/Ringu*. astolat, strange horizons, ringu, whochick, star trek, until dawn, the ring, ringu, yeaka, until dawn, horror tropes, astolat, video games, star wars eu, beyond comics, writing, star wars extended universe yes full 36 3edd6bd4-e904-4453-9ab8-167f7fb37394 Episode 35: The State of Things **Content warning: This episode references sexual abuse and harassment, and generally a lot of toxic behavior and boundary crossing. None of it is explicit, but please take care of yourself if you might be triggered.** Austin and Amanda get serious and address racism, gatekeeping, abuse, amateurism, and other broken elements in queer publishing. Another major problem discussed is how a lack of boundaries can lead to those in the industry with power (authors, publishers, editors, etc.) transgressing against those with less power. There's some call-outs for publishers to pay fair wages to editors (including sensitivity editors) and some advice for authors to be wary of predatory contract clauses and author mills. Tue, 27 Mar 2018 11:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-35-the-state-of-things-baaf458a Content warning: This episode references sexual abuse and harassment, and generally a lot of toxic behavior and boundary crossing. None of it is explicitly discussed, but please take care of yourself if you might be triggered.

Austin and Amanda get serious and address racism, gatekeeping, abuse, amateurism, and other broken elements in queer publishing. Another major problem discussed is how a lack of boundaries can lead to those in the industry with power (authors, publishers, editors, etc.) transgressing against those with less power. There's some call-outs for publishers to pay fair wages to editors (including sensitivity editors) and some advice for authors to be wary of predatory contract clauses and author mills.

Support THR on Patreon!

Rebekah Weatherspoon's Tweet re: a racist editorial director

Xen x Cole McCade: On Sarah Lyons and Why I Ended My Relationship With Riptide Publishing

Riptide Publishing: Our Statement on Sarah Lyons

Writer Beware

Absolute Write Water Cooler

]]> Episode 35: The State of Things Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:03:46 **Content warning: This episode references sexual abuse and harassment, and generally a lot of toxic behavior and boundary crossing. None of it is explicit, but please take care of yourself if you might be triggered.** Austin and Amanda get serious and address racism, gatekeeping, abuse, amateurism, and other broken elements in queer publishing. Another major problem discussed is how a lack of boundaries can lead to those in the industry with power (authors, publishers, editors, etc.) transgressing against those with less power. There's some call-outs for publishers to pay fair wages to editors (including sensitivity editors) and some advice for authors to be wary of predatory contract clauses and author mills. **Content warning: This episode references sexual abuse and harassment, and generally a lot of toxic behavior and boundary crossing. None of it is explicit, but please take care of yourself if you might be triggered.** Austin and Amanda get serious and address racism, gatekeeping, abuse, amateurism, and other broken elements in queer publishing. Another major problem discussed is how a lack of boundaries can lead to those in the industry with power (authors, publishers, editors, etc.) transgressing against those with less power. There's some call-outs for publishers to pay fair wages to editors (including sensitivity editors) and some advice for authors to be wary of predatory contract clauses and author mills. santino hassell, m/m, author mills, gay romance, publishing contracts, writer beware, riptide publishing, sarah lyons, queer romance publishing, tristina wright, m/m publishing, gay romance publishers yes full 35 c3486db8-4aca-4fc8-9247-bac6bb5cf6b0 Episode 34: Manic Pixie Scottish Banana At the top of the episode, Austin and Amanda briefly address the ongoing revelations of misconduct and abuse within queer publishing. We stand with authors. Austin and Amanda go digging for comedy gold in ancient Harlequin blurbs, then get serious and talk about how damn hard beginnings can be. Amanda talks about what she typically finds missing in beginnings as an acquisitions editor. The hosts take a moment to address the diversity in romance publishing statistics released by The Ripped Bodice and chat current reads and Disneyland pipe dreams. Finally, it's Amanda's turn to have too many emotions over a D&D podcast. Tue, 13 Mar 2018 13:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-34-manic-pixie-scottish-banana-7914739f At the top of the episode, Austin and Amanda briefly address the ongoing revelations of misconduct and abuse within queer publishing. We stand with authors.

Austin and Amanda go digging for comedy gold in ancient Harlequin blurbs, then get serious and talk about how damn hard beginnings can be. Amanda talks about what she typically finds missing in beginnings as an acquisitions editor. The hosts take a moment to address the diversity in romance publishing statistics released by The Ripped Bodice and chat current reads and Disneyland pipe dreams. Finally, it's Amanda's turn to have too many emotions over a D&D podcast.

Support THR on Patreon!

Riptide Publishing: Statement on Santino Hassell

Riptide Publishing: Statement on Sarah Lyons

The Ripped Bodice: The State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing Report

Austin's Patreon

Kai Ashante Wilson - A Taste of Honey and Sorcerer of the Wildeeps

Kij Johnson - The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe

Helping Writers Become Authors: Story Structure Database

The Adventure Zone Podcast

]]> Episode 34: Manic Pixie Scottish Banana Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:11:59 At the top of the episode, Austin and Amanda briefly address the ongoing revelations of misconduct and abuse within queer publishing. We stand with authors. Austin and Amanda go digging for comedy gold in ancient Harlequin blurbs, then get serious and talk about how damn hard beginnings can be. Amanda talks about what she typically finds missing in beginnings as an acquisitions editor. The hosts take a moment to address the diversity in romance publishing statistics released by The Ripped Bodice and chat current reads and Disneyland pipe dreams. Finally, it's Amanda's turn to have too many emotions over a D&D podcast. At the top of the episode, Austin and Amanda briefly address the ongoing revelations of misconduct and abuse within queer publishing. We stand with authors. Austin and Amanda go digging for comedy gold in ancient Harlequin blurbs, then get serious and talk about how damn hard beginnings can be. Amanda talks about what she typically finds missing in beginnings as an acquisitions editor. The hosts take a moment to address the diversity in romance publishing statistics released by The Ripped Bodice and chat current reads and Disneyland pipe dreams. Finally, it's Amanda's turn to have too many emotions over a D&D podcast. helping writers become authors, blurbs, story structure, kij johnson, kij johnson, tor, the ripped bodice, novel blurbs, tor publishing, the adventure zone, diversity in romance, harlequin romance, diversity in publishing, kai ashante wilson yes full 34 a2fcf42b-b81f-421a-a8ff-101107c66203 Episode 33: If I'm Wrong, @ Me **This episode contains spoilers for God's Own Country.** Celebrate Valentine’s Day two weeks late with the always-prepared THR! Amanda recommends a podcast and tells a story about how she wins friends and influences people, which is followed by the hosts struggling to contain laughter over romance titles generated by a neural network (the punishment for laughter is blurbing said titles). There's discussion about the emotions, authenticity, and sheep in *God's Own Country*, and then, at long last, Austin's crying journey through the Adventure Zone has come to its end. R.I.P. Austin. Tue, 27 Feb 2018 13:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-33-if-im-wrong-me-6a6427f4 This episode contains spoilers for God's Own Country.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day two weeks late with the always-prepared THR! Amanda recommends a podcast and tells a story about how she wins friends and influences people, which is followed by the hosts struggling to contain laughter over romance titles generated by a neural network (the punishment for laughter is blurbing said titles). There's discussion about the emotions, authenticity, and sheep in God's Own Country, and then, at long last, Austin's crying journey through the Adventure Zone has come to its end. R.I.P. Austin.

Support THR on Patreon!

Episode notes:

Be the Serpent Podcast

Dates II anthology

Kai Ashante Wilson - A Taste of Honey

Bei Tong - Bejing Comrades

Beyond Comic

Towards Data Science: Romance Novels, Generated by Artificial Intelligence

AI Weirdness: Letting neural networks be weird

God's Own Country

Patrick Wolf - The Days

The Adventure Zone Podcast

My Brother, My Brother and Me Podcast

]]> Episode 33: If I'm Wrong, @ Me Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:10:49 **This episode contains spoilers for God's Own Country.** Celebrate Valentine’s Day two weeks late with the always-prepared THR! Amanda recommends a podcast and tells a story about how she wins friends and influences people, which is followed by the hosts struggling to contain laughter over romance titles generated by a neural network (the punishment for laughter is blurbing said titles). There's discussion about the emotions, authenticity, and sheep in *God's Own Country*, and then, at long last, Austin's crying journey through the Adventure Zone has come to its end. R.I.P. Austin. **This episode contains spoilers for God's Own Country.** Celebrate Valentine’s Day two weeks late with the always-prepared THR! Amanda recommends a podcast and tells a story about how she wins friends and influences people, which is followed by the hosts struggling to contain laughter over romance titles generated by a neural network (the punishment for laughter is blurbing said titles). There's discussion about the emotions, authenticity, and sheep in *God's Own Country*, and then, at long last, Austin's crying journey through the Adventure Zone has come to its end. R.I.P. Austin. keezy young, god's own country, freya marske, beyond comic, neural network, astolat, the adventure zone, gay movies, god's own country movie, slytherin, fahye, kai ashante wilson, francis lee, romance novel titles, harlequin titles, be the serpent yes full 33 9dc39479-289a-4661-97f8-5c95fb04b5c9 Episode 32: Waiting for My Emotions to Run Out **Warning for very mild spoilers for The Adventure Zone podcast. We warn in-episode and it's nothing earth shattering.** Austin and Amanda reminisce about their experiences at Read With Pride, which recently announced its end, and try to describe the Lynchian quality of the Seattle Public Library's fourth floor. There's also discussion of New Adult stories and how aromantic and asexual people may feel alienated by the levels of sex and romance in the genre, which sparks a bigger conversation about the benefits and drawbacks of queer romance as a catch-all space for LGBTQIA stories. Finally, Austin cries a lot about the Adventure Zone podcast and how it fulfills his needs for queer, romp-y speculative fiction, and Amanda is effusive about the McElroys in general. Tue, 13 Feb 2018 14:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-32-waiting-for-my-emotions-to-b89993b3 Warning for very mild spoilers for The Adventure Zone podcast. We warn in-episode and it's nothing earth shattering.

Austin and Amanda reminisce about their experiences at Read With Pride, which recently announced its end, and try to describe the Lynchian quality of the Seattle Public Library's fourth floor. There's also discussion of New Adult stories and how aromantic and asexual people may feel alienated by the levels of sex and romance in the genre, which sparks a bigger conversation about the benefits and drawbacks of queer romance as a catch-all space for LGBTQIA stories. Finally, Austin cries a lot about the Adventure Zone podcast and how it fulfills his needs for queer, romp-y speculative fiction, and Amanda is effusive about the McElroys in general.

Support THR on Patreon! (And please give us a review on iTunes if you feel so inclined.)

Episode notes:

The Verge: Watch this dancing Pikachu get dragged mercilessly offstage for deflating mid-performance

Vitamin C - Graduation (Friends Forever)

Read With Pride (Austin's 2017 panel; Amanda's 2017 panel)

R. Cooper - A Little Familiar (Familiar Spirits 1)

R. Cooper - Holly and Oak (Familiar Spirits 2)

Alternating Current's Books We Can't Wait to Read in 2018

Kraken Collective

Nathan Burgoine - In Memoriam

Santino Hassell - Down By Contact

New Adult fiction

The Balance: What Is Erotica, and Where Can I Publish My Erotic Fiction?

RT Book Reviews: What Exactly is the Difference Between Steamy Romance and Erotica?

Throwback to our Anatomy of a Sex Scene episode and the dickscription argument

I. W. Gregorio - None of the Above (not an endorsement)

Vincent Virga - Gaywyck

The Adventure Zone Podcast

My Brother, My Brother and Me Podcast

Monster Factory at Polygon (Austin and Amanda's favorites include Mass Effect and The Boy Mayor of Second Life)

Vulture: Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet Dance in the Streets of Italy With Call Me by Your Name Fans

MBMBAM: Griffin McElroy's Stack Soap Song

]]> Episode 32: Waiting for My Emotions to Run Out Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:12:12 **Warning for very mild spoilers for The Adventure Zone podcast. We warn in-episode and it's nothing earth shattering.** Austin and Amanda reminisce about their experiences at Read With Pride, which recently announced its end, and try to describe the Lynchian quality of the Seattle Public Library's fourth floor. There's also discussion of New Adult stories and how aromantic and asexual people may feel alienated by the levels of sex and romance in the genre, which sparks a bigger conversation about the benefits and drawbacks of queer romance as a catch-all space for LGBTQIA stories. Finally, Austin cries a lot about the Adventure Zone podcast and how it fulfills his needs for queer, romp-y speculative fiction, and Amanda is effusive about the McElroys in general. **Warning for very mild spoilers for The Adventure Zone podcast. We warn in-episode and it's nothing earth shattering.** Austin and Amanda reminisce about their experiences at Read With Pride, which recently announced its end, and try to describe the Lynchian quality of the Seattle Public Library's fourth floor. There's also discussion of New Adult stories and how aromantic and asexual people may feel alienated by the levels of sex and romance in the genre, which sparks a bigger conversation about the benefits and drawbacks of queer romance as a catch-all space for LGBTQIA stories. Finally, Austin cries a lot about the Adventure Zone podcast and how it fulfills his needs for queer, romp-y speculative fiction, and Amanda is effusive about the McElroys in general. the adventure zone, grnw, taako, erotica, the mcelroys, gay romance, gay romance northwest, queer romance, lgbt fiction, read with pride northwest, writing fiction, fiction, new adult fiction, taz yes full 32 8b554fcf-6670-4bd0-b230-6604b2d9f2d7 Episode 31: A Peach by Any Other Name **Content warning: part of this episode discusses a fictional relationship between a 17-year-old and a 24-year-old.** THR returns with a semi-revamped format! Austin and Amanda talk about the future of the show, delve into some of the realities of freelancing from their own experiences, and spend the last two-thirds of the episode talking about *Call Me By Your Name* and their wildly disparate reactions to it. (**Warning for book and movie spoilers.** There's a head's up in the episode when we get to spoiler territory as well.) Stay tuned after the credits for the oft-mentioned recording of the hosts and friends watching CMBYN's most infamous scene. Tue, 30 Jan 2018 14:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-31-a-peach-by-any-other-name-9a5099e3 Content warning: part of this episode discusses a fictional relationship between a 17-year-old and a 24-year-old.

THR returns with a semi-revamped format! Austin and Amanda talk about the future of the show, delve into some of the realities of freelancing from their own experiences, and spend the last two-thirds of the episode talking about Call Me By Your Name and their wildly disparate reactions to it. (Warning for book and movie spoilers. There's a head's up in the episode when we get to spoiler territory as well.)

Stay tuned after the credits for the oft-mentioned recording of the hosts and friends watching CMBYN's most infamous scene.

Support THR on Patreon!

Episode notes:

Call Me by Your Name - Andre Aciman

Call Me By Your Name audiobook narrated by Armie Hammer

Call Me By Your Name soundtrack

Brokeback Mountain

Moonlight

Carol

Love, Simon

The Shape of Water

Get Out

Sufjan Stevens

]]> Episode 31: A Peach by Any Other Name Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:15:50 **Content warning: part of this episode discusses a fictional relationship between a 17-year-old and a 24-year-old.** THR returns with a semi-revamped format! Austin and Amanda talk about the future of the show, delve into some of the realities of freelancing from their own experiences, and spend the last two-thirds of the episode talking about *Call Me By Your Name* and their wildly disparate reactions to it. (**Warning for book and movie spoilers.** There's a head's up in the episode when we get to spoiler territory as well.) Stay tuned after the credits for the oft-mentioned recording of the hosts and friends watching CMBYN's most infamous scene. **Content warning: part of this episode discusses a fictional relationship between a 17-year-old and a 24-year-old.** THR returns with a semi-revamped format! Austin and Amanda talk about the future of the show, delve into some of the realities of freelancing from their own experiences, and spend the last two-thirds of the episode talking about *Call Me By Your Name* and their wildly disparate reactions to it. (**Warning for book and movie spoilers.** There's a head's up in the episode when we get to spoiler territory as well.) Stay tuned after the credits for the oft-mentioned recording of the hosts and friends watching CMBYN's most infamous scene. carol, moonlight, armie hammer, timothee chalamat, gay romance, andré aciman, queer romance, cmbyn, amanda jean, luca guadagnino, call me by your name, the hopeless romantic podcast, brokeback mountain, timothée chalamet, austin chant yes full 31 084e275e-0045-44d7-b9e8-7c35e116e095 Episode 30: Beefman **Content warning: Austin and Amanda are tipsy/drunk in this episode again. Weird stuff happens. If drunkeness or people talking about being drunk (and hungover) bugs you, take care to skip this ep and we'll be back with another regular one soon.** THR celebrates its second anniversary with another infamous drunk episode! Or that was the plan, anyway. Austin and Amanda got a little too drunk and the material ranged between boring rambled stories and helpless wheezing about Beefman, *The Exorcist* TV show, The Couch Anecdote, and the origins of our friendship. We've hacked and slashed the best bits and stapled them onto a sober recording to flesh the whole thing out. We hope you enjoy, and thanks so much for sticking with us for two whole years. Tue, 21 Nov 2017 11:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-30-beefman-fdfe3e85 Content warning: Austin and Amanda are tipsy/drunk in this episode again. Weird stuff happens. If drunkeness or people talking about being drunk (and hungover) bugs you, take care to skip this ep and we'll be back with another regular one soon.

THR celebrates its second anniversary with another infamous drunk episode! Or that was the plan, anyway. Austin and Amanda got a little too drunk and the material ranged between boring rambled stories and helpless wheezing about Beefman, The Exorcist TV show, The Couch Anecdote, and the origins of our friendship. We've hacked and slashed the best bits and stapled them onto a sober recording to flesh the whole thing out. We hope you enjoy, and thanks so much for sticking with us for two whole years.

Support THR on Patreon!

Episode notes:

Overwatch, as usual

Ann Leckie - Ancillary Justice

Humans Wanted anthology

Keira Andrews - Kidnapped by the Pirate

Keira Andrews - Beyond the Sea

JM Barrie - Peter and Wendy

JK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Sacha Lamb - Avi Cantor Has Six Months to Live

Cat Sebastian - The Soldier's Scoundrel

Cat Sebastian - It Takes Two to Tumble: Seducing the Sedgewicks

EE Ottoman - The Doctor's Discretion

Psy - Hangover

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody

Frank Sinatra - My Way

Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire

Johnny Cash - Hurt

Hozier - Take Me to Church

Sean Kingston - Fire Burning

The Exorcist (tv show)

]]> Episode 30: Beefman Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:12:32 **Content warning: Austin and Amanda are tipsy/drunk in this episode again. Weird stuff happens. If drunkeness or people talking about being drunk (and hungover) bugs you, take care to skip this ep and we'll be back with another regular one soon.** THR celebrates its second anniversary with another infamous drunk episode! Or that was the plan, anyway. Austin and Amanda got a little too drunk and the material ranged between boring rambled stories and helpless wheezing about Beefman, *The Exorcist* TV show, The Couch Anecdote, and the origins of our friendship. We've hacked and slashed the best bits and stapled them onto a sober recording to flesh the whole thing out. We hope you enjoy, and thanks so much for sticking with us for two whole years. **Content warning: Austin and Amanda are tipsy/drunk in this episode again. Weird stuff happens. If drunkeness or people talking about being drunk (and hungover) bugs you, take care to skip this ep and we'll be back with another regular one soon.** THR celebrates its second anniversary with another infamous drunk episode! Or that was the plan, anyway. Austin and Amanda got a little too drunk and the material ranged between boring rambled stories and helpless wheezing about Beefman, *The Exorcist* TV show, The Couch Anecdote, and the origins of our friendship. We've hacked and slashed the best bits and stapled them onto a sober recording to flesh the whole thing out. We hope you enjoy, and thanks so much for sticking with us for two whole years. the exorcist, queer romance, amanda jean, the hopeless romantic, peter darling, marcus keane, austin chant, the exorcist fox yes full 30 98d12658-b115-42b5-b1d2-e920c3c8b6fe Episode 29: Machines Fueled By Spite **Content warning:** There's two pejorative terms/slurs for a promiscuous person (and a sex worker) mentioned in the episode. This episode tried its hardest to foil us: between meowing cats, barking dogs, ambient rain, and Amanda's recording mysteriously stopping at four minutes and forcing her to rely on a shoddy recording of the Skype call, it's a miracle we made it to the end. Our $10 Patron, Silas, prompted us to talk about media that has fed our creativity, and boy howdy did we have a lot to discuss. Somewhere along the way, we end up talking about why you shouldn't share a microphone, ever, various reactions to *Alien: Covenant*, and the pronunciation of "gaol." Mon, 16 Oct 2017 10:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-29-machines-fueled-by-spite-4229e7c3 Content warning: There's two pejorative terms/slurs for a promiscuous person (and a sex worker) mentioned in the episode.

This episode tried its hardest to foil us: between meowing cats, barking dogs, ambient rain, and Amanda's recording mysteriously stopping at four minutes and forcing her to rely on a shoddy recording of the Skype call, it's a miracle we made it to the end.

Our $10 Patron, Silas, prompted us to talk about media that has fed our creativity, and boy howdy did we have a lot to discuss. Somewhere along the way, we end up talking about why you shouldn't share a microphone, ever, various reactions to Alien: Covenant, and the pronunciation of "gaol."

Click here to support THR on Patreon! (You, too, can ask us to discuss a topic of your choice at the $10 level.)

Episode notes (basically what we mentioned, the good, the bad, and the off topic alike):

Austin's list:

Jurassic Park by Michael Chriton (as well as The Lost World)

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

Diana Wynne Jones

Ray Bradbury

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Jane Austin

Isaac Asimov

Oscar Wilde

The Captive Prince trilogy by CS Pacat

The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by KJ Charles

Lost Boi by Sassafras Lowrey

Nevada by Imogen Binnie

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

The Book of Salt by Monique Truong

Overwatch (game)

Road Not Taken (game)

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan

Amanda's list:

De Profundis by Oscar Wilde

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell (Amanda recs her audiobooks in particular)

The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell

Raymond Chandler

The Simple Art of Murder - Raymond Chandler

The West Wing

Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Art of Screenwriting by Robert McKee (not actually mentioned, but she meant to)

Repetition ("callback") in standup comedy

Jackdaw by KJ Charles

Ancillary Justice by by Anne Leckie

The Changeover by Margaret Mahy

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Alien: Covenant (this is not necessarily an endorsement)

Eyewitness (please heed the warnings Amanda mentioned, which include murder, statutory rape, rape, drugs, violence, internalized homophobia, trauma, and probably more Amanda can't remember)

The Black Rose by Christina Skye

Amanda Quick

Sandra Brown

Julie Garwood

Danielle Steel

Carnivale

Miley Cyrus - Bangerz

(The Raymond Chandler quote Amanda attempted to reproduce was: "Yet some very dull books have been written about God, and some very fine ones about how to make a living and stay fairly honest. It is always a matter of who writes the stuff, and what he has in him to write it with.")

]]> Episode 29: Machines Fueled By Spite Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:16:44 **Content warning:** There's two pejorative terms/slurs for a promiscuous person (and a sex worker) mentioned in the episode. This episode tried its hardest to foil us: between meowing cats, barking dogs, ambient rain, and Amanda's recording mysteriously stopping at four minutes and forcing her to rely on a shoddy recording of the Skype call, it's a miracle we made it to the end. Our $10 Patron, Silas, prompted us to talk about media that has fed our creativity, and boy howdy did we have a lot to discuss. Somewhere along the way, we end up talking about why you shouldn't share a microphone, ever, various reactions to *Alien: Covenant*, and the pronunciation of "gaol." **Content warning:** There's two pejorative terms/slurs for a promiscuous person (and a sex worker) mentioned in the episode. This episode tried its hardest to foil us: between meowing cats, barking dogs, ambient rain, and Amanda's recording mysteriously stopping at four minutes and forcing her to rely on a shoddy recording of the Skype call, it's a miracle we made it to the end. Our $10 Patron, Silas, prompted us to talk about media that has fed our creativity, and boy howdy did we have a lot to discuss. Somewhere along the way, we end up talking about why you shouldn't share a microphone, ever, various reactions to *Alien: Covenant*, and the pronunciation of "gaol." romance novels, kj charles, captive prince, alien covenant, cs pacat yes full 29 84997c77-3633-4869-9729-be2fe8da9590 Episode 28: The Long Con Ginn Hale's newest book, *The Long Past*, is out as of 10/3/17! She joins THR to talk about writing and researching alt Westerns, world building, avoiding the whitewash of history, and also chickens. The episode has a chicken thing. Also discussed is the miracle of modern plumbing, writing religion when you grew up outside of religion, and yet more chickens. Tue, 3 Oct 2017 11:15:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-28-the-long-con-435fdaee Ginn Hale's newest book, The Long Past, is out as of 10/3/17! She joins THR to talk about writing and researching alt Westerns, world building, avoiding the whitewash of history, and also chickens. The episode has a chicken thing.

Also discussed is the miracle of modern plumbing, writing religion when you grew up outside of religion, and yet more chickens.

The Long Past is available for purchase

Follow Ginn Hale on Twitter

Ginn Hale's website

Click here to support THR on Patreon!

Show notes:

TiddlyTools (make your own wiki!)

BeeLine Reader (app to "speed up" reading)

]]> Episode 28: The Long Con Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:16:41 Ginn Hale's newest book, *The Long Past*, is out as of 10/3/17! She joins THR to talk about writing and researching alt Westerns, world building, avoiding the whitewash of history, and also chickens. The episode has a chicken thing. Also discussed is the miracle of modern plumbing, writing religion when you grew up outside of religion, and yet more chickens. Ginn Hale's newest book, *The Long Past*, is out as of 10/3/17! She joins THR to talk about writing and researching alt Westerns, world building, avoiding the whitewash of history, and also chickens. The episode has a chicken thing. Also discussed is the miracle of modern plumbing, writing religion when you grew up outside of religion, and yet more chickens. the long past, wicked gentlemen, ginn hale, blind eye books, fantasy romance, gay romance, ginn hale author, gay fantasy fiction, the rifter series, nicole kimberling yes full 28 d4ed45dc-0f18-4e9a-baf8-55a25d2817df Episode 27: Hopeless After Dark #2 **Content warning: this episode contains references to fisting, actor Kim Woo Bin's cancer diagnosis, and our typical NSFW irreverence.** Austin and Amanda bore the heat of summer in an enclosed space to bring you this episode of Hopeless After Dark. Hear them talk about Kdramas, deadlines, Doomfist, that time Amanda touched Harry Shum Jr but not in a weird way, and what books they've been reading lately. And check the full description for show notes! Tue, 18 Jul 2017 15:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-27-hopeless-after-dark-2-c75dec4d Content warning: this episode contains references to fisting, actor Kim Woo Bin's cancer diagnosis, and our typical NSFW irreverence.

Austin and Amanda bore the heat of summer in an enclosed space to bring you this episode of Hopeless After Dark. Hear them talk about Kdramas, deadlines, Doomfist, that time Amanda touched Harry Shum Jr but not in a weird way, and what books they've been reading lately. And check the full description for show notes!

Support THR on Patreon!

Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator

I Hear Your Voice - DramaFever (unfortunately not on Hulu anymore)

Lee Jong Suk having a good face

School 2013 - DramaFever (Amanda recs watching this only if you're already familiar with Kdramas)

Shadowhunters - Magnus/Alec compilation (season 1)

Matthew Daddario's dumb good face

Cat Sebastian - The Ruin of a Rake

]]> Episode 27: Hopeless After Dark #2 Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 00:58:08 **Content warning: this episode contains references to fisting, actor Kim Woo Bin's cancer diagnosis, and our typical NSFW irreverence.** Austin and Amanda bore the heat of summer in an enclosed space to bring you this episode of Hopeless After Dark. Hear them talk about Kdramas, deadlines, Doomfist, that time Amanda touched Harry Shum Jr but not in a weird way, and what books they've been reading lately. And check the full description for show notes! **Content warning: this episode contains references to fisting, actor Kim Woo Bin's cancer diagnosis, and our typical NSFW irreverence.** Austin and Amanda bore the heat of summer in an enclosed space to bring you this episode of Hopeless After Dark. Hear them talk about Kdramas, deadlines, Doomfist, that time Amanda touched Harry Shum Jr but not in a weird way, and what books they've been reading lately. And check the full description for show notes! queer romance podcast, queer romance, cat sebastian, shadowhunters podcast, kdrama podcast, overwatch podcast yes full 27 908ab53a-6170-4ce7-a8f9-25feb32fa5e2 Episode 26: Gay Elves and Sexy Lizard People Fantasy and speculative fiction is the topic of the day! Austin and Amanda throw around some loose definitions, give examples of their favorite queer fantasy (send Amanda more gaslamp manuscripts!). and writing fantasy with romance in it vs writing romance in a fantasy setting. They answer some questions from Twitter and wonder why people bother to transplant real-life oppression into fantastical settings. Austin and Amanda are big nerds who cry at *Lord of the Rings*, call out *Mass Effect Andromeda*, and demand more gay elves. Tue, 27 Jun 2017 13:20:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-26-gay-elves-and-sexy-lizard-37e47c1e Fantasy and speculative fiction is the topic of the day! Austin and Amanda throw around some loose definitions, give examples of their favorite queer fantasy (send Amanda more gaslamp manuscripts!). and writing fantasy with romance in it vs writing romance in a fantasy setting. They answer some questions from Twitter and wonder why people bother to transplant real-life oppression into fantastical settings.

Austin and Amanda are big nerds who cry at Lord of the Rings, call out Mass Effect Andromeda, and demand more gay elves.

Click here to support THR on Patreon!

Authors and books mentioned in the episode, as well as some others to check out:

Astrid Amara

Sam Argent - Sebastian (Family of Lies)

KJ Charles - A Charm of Magpies

Cassandra Clare - Infernal Devices

Storm Constantine

Kirby Crow - Scarlet and the White Wolf

Megan Derr

Lynn Flewelling - The Nightrunner Series

Rachel Haimowitz - Song of the Fallen series

Jesse Hajicek - The God Eaters

Ginn Hale (includes Lord of the White Hell, Wicked Gentlemen, and the Rifter series)

Jordan L Hawke - Whyborne & Griffin

TJ Klune

Ellen Kushner (includes Swordspoint and Tremontaine, which also features Racheline Maltese and Malinda Lo)

Malinda Lo

C.S. Pacat - Captive Prince trilogy

C.M. Spivey - From Under the Mountain

Chuck Tingle

There's also some Goodreads lists like this one, fantasy with gay MCs.

]]> Episode 26: Gay Elves and Sexy Lizard People Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 00:58:35 Fantasy and speculative fiction is the topic of the day! Austin and Amanda throw around some loose definitions, give examples of their favorite queer fantasy (send Amanda more gaslamp manuscripts!). and writing fantasy with romance in it vs writing romance in a fantasy setting. They answer some questions from Twitter and wonder why people bother to transplant real-life oppression into fantastical settings. Austin and Amanda are big nerds who cry at *Lord of the Rings*, call out *Mass Effect Andromeda*, and demand more gay elves. Fantasy and speculative fiction is the topic of the day! Austin and Amanda throw around some loose definitions, give examples of their favorite queer fantasy (send Amanda more gaslamp manuscripts!). and writing fantasy with romance in it vs writing romance in a fantasy setting. They answer some questions from Twitter and wonder why people bother to transplant real-life oppression into fantastical settings. Austin and Amanda are big nerds who cry at *Lord of the Rings*, call out *Mass Effect Andromeda*, and demand more gay elves. mercedes lackey, ginn hale, lgbt fantasy, speculative fiction, lgbt speculative fiction, gay fantasy, queer fantasy, fantasy yes full 26 652b1a84-a6f7-4301-954e-a14da2234982 Episode 25: Avon & Roan Co-authors of the upcoming *Heart of the Steal*, Avon Gale and Roan Parrish, join THR to chat about their cowriting process! They also talk about working with an agent, hideous hotel breakfasts, and how they got their starts in the queer romance industry. Amanda reveals she cries at every episode of *Friday Night Lights,* Roan is not a food snob, no one really knows how to write serial fiction, and we had to cut twenty minutes of material because Skype made us all sound like robot demons. Tue, 13 Jun 2017 17:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-25-avon-roan-3f066ea4 Co-authors of the upcoming Heart of the Steal, Avon Gale and Roan Parrish, join THR to chat about their cowriting process! They also talk about working with an agent, hideous hotel breakfasts, and how they got started in the queer romance industry.

Amanda reveals she cries at every episode of Friday Night Lights, Roan is not a food snob, no one really knows how to write serial fiction, and we had to cut twenty minutes of material because Skype made us all sound like robot demons.

Heart of the Steal is out July 11!

Avon's website

Roan's website

Avon's twitter: @avongalewrites

Roan's twitter: @roanparrish

]]> Episode 25: Avon & Roan Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 00:48:43 Co-authors of the upcoming *Heart of the Steal*, Avon Gale and Roan Parrish, join THR to chat about their cowriting process! They also talk about working with an agent, hideous hotel breakfasts, and how they got their starts in the queer romance industry. Amanda reveals she cries at every episode of *Friday Night Lights,* Roan is not a food snob, no one really knows how to write serial fiction, and we had to cut twenty minutes of material because Skype made us all sound like robot demons. Co-authors of the upcoming *Heart of the Steal*, Avon Gale and Roan Parrish, join THR to chat about their cowriting process! They also talk about working with an agent, hideous hotel breakfasts, and how they got their starts in the queer romance industry. Amanda reveals she cries at every episode of *Friday Night Lights,* Roan is not a food snob, no one really knows how to write serial fiction, and we had to cut twenty minutes of material because Skype made us all sound like robot demons. lgbt romance, m/m, cowriting, heart of the steal, gay romance, roan parrish, middle of somewhere, hockey romance, scoring chances, gay hockey, avon gale yes full 25 03091842-85bb-487a-8d79-c5e988da09a8 Episode 24: Hopeless After Dark #1 **Content warning: this episode (briefly) mentions fisting and choking, calls certain Overwatch characters Daddy, and generally features a lot of irreverent filth.** Welcome to Hopeless After Dark, a new subset of THR that isn't exclusively dedicated to queer romance. We reached out to Twitter to ask some of our listeners what they'd like to hear us talk about, and we tackled Overwatch and Austin's burgeoning obsessions, AUs of *Peter Darling* and the origins of *Coffee Boy*, and finally failed to create a *Captive Prince* coffee shop AU. We hope you enjoy our strange venture. If not, the next episode of THR will be back on brand. Mon, 1 May 2017 17:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-24-hopeless-after-dark-1-c8eb7bf7 Content warning: this episode (briefly) mentions fisting and choking, calls certain Overwatch characters Daddy, and generally features a lot of irreverent filth.

Welcome to Hopeless After Dark, a new subset of THR that isn't exclusively dedicated to queer romance. We reached out to Twitter to ask some of our listeners what they'd like to hear us talk about, and we tackled Overwatch and Austin's burgeoning obsessions, AUs of Peter Darling and the origins of Coffee Boy, and finally failed to create a Captive Prince coffee shop AU.

We hope you enjoy our strange venture. If not, the next episode of THR will be back on brand.

]]> Episode 24: Hopeless After Dark #1 Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 00:38:37 **Content warning: this episode (briefly) mentions fisting and choking, calls certain Overwatch characters Daddy, and generally features a lot of irreverent filth.** Welcome to Hopeless After Dark, a new subset of THR that isn't exclusively dedicated to queer romance. We reached out to Twitter to ask some of our listeners what they'd like to hear us talk about, and we tackled Overwatch and Austin's burgeoning obsessions, AUs of *Peter Darling* and the origins of *Coffee Boy*, and finally failed to create a *Captive Prince* coffee shop AU. We hope you enjoy our strange venture. If not, the next episode of THR will be back on brand. **Content warning: this episode (briefly) mentions fisting and choking, calls certain Overwatch characters Daddy, and generally features a lot of irreverent filth.** Welcome to Hopeless After Dark, a new subset of THR that isn't exclusively dedicated to queer romance. We reached out to Twitter to ask some of our listeners what they'd like to hear us talk about, and we tackled Overwatch and Austin's burgeoning obsessions, AUs of *Peter Darling* and the origins of *Coffee Boy*, and finally failed to create a *Captive Prince* coffee shop AU. We hope you enjoy our strange venture. If not, the next episode of THR will be back on brand. peter darling, captive prince, overwatch, coffee shop au yes full 24 b503989b-790e-47c1-9808-58d455319827 Episode 23: Amnesia and Peril and Cowboys, Oh My **Content warning: There are a few mentions of racism and a mention of rape in this episode.** THR talks tropes! From their favorites (ask about Austin's love for cowboys and Amanda's for arranged marriage) to their least favorites, when a trope can be neutral, and when it can be potentially harmful. They also cover some tropes that intersect with or differ from those in fan fiction. Also, for some reason Austin attempts to say some stuff in German. Tune in to find out how that goes. Tue, 4 Apr 2017 17:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-23-amnesia-and-peril-and-cowboys-d2b19df8 Content warning: There are a few mentions of racism and a mention of rape in this episode.

THR talks tropes! From their favorites (ask about Austin's love for cowboys and Amanda's for arranged marriage) to their least favorites, when a trope can be neutral, and when it can be potentially harmful. They also cover some tropes that intersect with or differ from those in fan fiction.

Also, for some reason Austin attempts to say some stuff in German. Tune in to find out how that goes.

Click here to support THR on Patreon!

]]> Episode 23: Amnesia and Peril and Cowboys, Oh My Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:15:26 **Content warning: There are a few mentions of racism and a mention of rape in this episode.** THR talks tropes! From their favorites (ask about Austin's love for cowboys and Amanda's for arranged marriage) to their least favorites, when a trope can be neutral, and when it can be potentially harmful. They also cover some tropes that intersect with or differ from those in fan fiction. Also, for some reason Austin attempts to say some stuff in German. Tune in to find out how that goes. **Content warning: There are a few mentions of racism and a mention of rape in this episode.** THR talks tropes! From their favorites (ask about Austin's love for cowboys and Amanda's for arranged marriage) to their least favorites, when a trope can be neutral, and when it can be potentially harmful. They also cover some tropes that intersect with or differ from those in fan fiction. Also, for some reason Austin attempts to say some stuff in German. Tune in to find out how that goes. tropes, enemies to lovers, fiction tropes, gay for you yes full 23 32fa0be1-d5d6-48fb-9abe-4a46bfafbcee Episode 22: Kill Your (Peter) Darlings Co-host Austin Chant's novel *Peter Darling* was released in February, and Amanda and Austin break down the editing process over many months and three recording sessions. Hear them stress over deadlines, complain about talking whales and Hook's outfits, give props to the *Captive Prince* trilogy for various inspiration, discuss the versions of the book that weren't, and totally contradict themselves from session to session! The episode is an in-depth look at what it takes to bring a novel from first draft to publication. It does contain **spoilers** for the book. Tue, 21 Mar 2017 17:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-22-kill-your-peter-darlings-80c48f9e Co-host Austin Chant's novel Peter Darling was released in February, and Amanda and Austin break down the editing process over many months and three recording sessions. Hear them stress over deadlines, complain about talking whales and Hook's outfits, give props to the Captive Prince trilogy for various inspiration, discuss the versions of the book that weren't, and totally contradict themselves from session to session!

The episode is an in-depth look at what it takes to bring a novel from first draft to publication. It does contain spoilers for the book.

Purchase Peter Darling at Less Than Three Press (along with the rest of the books in the My Dearest Enemy collection, which Amanda edited)

Books Austin and Amanda read:

The Captive Prince trilogy by C.S. Pacat

Wanted, A Gentleman by KJ Charles

Downtime by Tamara Allen

Documenting Light by E. E. Ottoman

The Summer Palace by C.S. Pacat

Show Yourself to Me: Queer Kink Erotica by Xan West

Click here to support THR on Patreon.

]]> Episode 22: Kill Your (Peter) Darlings Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:40:19 Co-host Austin Chant's novel *Peter Darling* was released in February, and Amanda and Austin break down the editing process over many months and three recording sessions. Hear them stress over deadlines, complain about talking whales and Hook's outfits, give props to the *Captive Prince* trilogy for various inspiration, discuss the versions of the book that weren't, and totally contradict themselves from session to session! The episode is an in-depth look at what it takes to bring a novel from first draft to publication. It does contain **spoilers** for the book. Co-host Austin Chant's novel *Peter Darling* was released in February, and Amanda and Austin break down the editing process over many months and three recording sessions. Hear them stress over deadlines, complain about talking whales and Hook's outfits, give props to the *Captive Prince* trilogy for various inspiration, discuss the versions of the book that weren't, and totally contradict themselves from session to session! The episode is an in-depth look at what it takes to bring a novel from first draft to publication. It does contain **spoilers** for the book. trans romance, transgender fiction, editing, peter pan, trans peter pan, transgender romance, less than three press, captain hook, trans fiction, austin chant, peter darling, writing yes full 22 87d3bf0a-4e82-40d4-aab2-3e0e112d9b14 Episode 21: Some Sort of Sad Dragon Megan Derr, CEO of Less Than Three Press and a prolific author of high fantasy and spec, covers world building, including where she starts, info dump, winging it, dialog, and languages. She also talks about ace rep, including what she's looking for at LT3 and as an ace reader. The group also discusses how Amanda's got a ton of unread books on her Kindle, but Megan's seated atop a mighty hoard of books and definitely has her beat. Tue, 7 Mar 2017 18:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-21-some-sort-of-sad-dragon-3b57bd04 Megan Derr, CEO of Less Than Three Press and a prolific author of high fantasy and spec, covers world building, including where she starts, info dump, winging it, dialog, and languages. She also talks about ace rep, including what she's looking for at LT3 and as an ace reader.

The group also discusses how Amanda's got a ton of unread books on her Kindle, but Megan's seated atop a mighty hoard of books and definitely has her beat.

Follow Megan Derr on Twitter

Megan Derr's website

Less Than Three Press

Click here to support THR on Patreon!

]]> Episode 21: Some Sort of Sad Dragon Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 00:39:02 Megan Derr, CEO of Less Than Three Press and a prolific author of high fantasy and spec, covers world building, including where she starts, info dump, winging it, dialog, and languages. She also talks about ace rep, including what she's looking for at LT3 and as an ace reader. The group also discusses how Amanda's got a ton of unread books on her Kindle, but Megan's seated atop a mighty hoard of books and definitely has her beat. Megan Derr, CEO of Less Than Three Press and a prolific author of high fantasy and spec, covers world building, including where she starts, info dump, winging it, dialog, and languages. She also talks about ace rep, including what she's looking for at LT3 and as an ace reader. The group also discusses how Amanda's got a ton of unread books on her Kindle, but Megan's seated atop a mighty hoard of books and definitely has her beat. m/m, gay romance, fantasy romance, the high king, lgbt romance, megan derr, less than three press, asexual romance, world building, asexual romance, ace yes full 21 b8fd0101-c814-463d-b042-8959d6c7bc01 Episode 20: The Captivating Pacat **Content warnings:** The *Captive Prince* series contains dark subject matter, including sexual and physical abuse, so please proceed with caution as we briefly discuss some of those elements. The *Captive Prince* started life as a free online serial and became a best seller. Author C.S. Pacat talks process, plotting, her influences as a young queer person, what the 80s covers of the books would look like, Amanda's thing for icy blonds, and the delight that is *Yuri on Ice* in THR's longest episode to date. (We all had a lot to say about who we romanced in *Dragon Age*.) Tue, 14 Feb 2017 17:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-20-the-captivating-pacat-091a9d9e Content warnings: The Captive Prince series contains dark subject matter, including sexual and physical abuse, so please proceed with caution as we briefly discuss some of those elements.

The Captive Prince started life as a free online serial and became a best seller. Author C.S. Pacat talks process, plotting, her influences as a young queer person, what the 80s covers of the books would look like, Amanda's thing for icy blonds, and the delight that is Yuri on Ice in THR's longest episode to date. (We all had a lot to say about who we romanced in Dragon Age.)

Stay tuned for the bonus content after the credits!

Follow C.S. Pacat on Twitter

C.S. Pacat's website

Click here to support THR on Patreon!

]]> Episode 20: The Captivating Pacat Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:49:41 **Content warnings:** The *Captive Prince* series contains dark subject matter, including sexual and physical abuse, so please proceed with caution as we briefly discuss some of those elements. The *Captive Prince* started life as a free online serial and became a best seller. Author C.S. Pacat talks process, plotting, her influences as a young queer person, what the 80s covers of the books would look like, Amanda's thing for icy blonds, and the delight that is *Yuri on Ice* in THR's longest episode to date. (We all had a lot to say about who we romanced in *Dragon Age*.) **Content warnings:** The *Captive Prince* series contains dark subject matter, including sexual and physical abuse, so please proceed with caution as we briefly discuss some of those elements. The *Captive Prince* started life as a free online serial and became a best seller. Author C.S. Pacat talks process, plotting, her influences as a young queer person, what the 80s covers of the books would look like, Amanda's thing for icy blonds, and the delight that is *Yuri on Ice* in THR's longest episode to date. (We all had a lot to say about who we romanced in *Dragon Age*.) the captive prince, laurent, dragon age 2, prince's gambit, the summer palace, yuri on ice, laurent and damen, damen, su pacat, king's rising, cs pacat, writing yes full 20 20b9ca73-bf8f-41da-84bb-fede7ba97b19 Episode 19: Advice for New Authors (Part Two) Taking up where [part one][1] left off, Amanda and Austin discuss contracts and what some of their clauses may mean, the rundown on royalty rates and payment schedules, the editing process from start to finish, social media etiquette for beginners, and even how to address your submission email. (Pretty obviously, no one at THR is a lawyer, and we can't give you legal and/or tax advice. We're relaying very general info from our personal experiences of working in the queer romance industry. Please seek appropriate professional guidance when it comes to contracts and taxes.) Tue, 27 Dec 2016 18:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-19-advice-for-new-authors-part-a72dcedc Taking up where part one left off, Amanda and Austin discuss contracts and what some of their clauses may mean, the rundown on royalty rates and payment schedules, the editing process from start to finish, social media etiquette for beginners, and even how to address your submission email.

(Pretty obviously, no one at THR is a lawyer, and we can't give you legal and/or tax advice. We're relaying very general info from our personal experiences of working in the queer romance industry. Please seek appropriate professional guidance when it comes to contracts and taxes.)

Books Austin and Amanda read:

The Soldier's Scoundrel by Cat Sebastian

The Trouble by Daria Defore

Click here to support THR on Patreon.

]]> Episode 19: Advice for New Authors (Part Two) Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:26:03 Taking up where [part one][1] left off, Amanda and Austin discuss contracts and what some of their clauses may mean, the rundown on royalty rates and payment schedules, the editing process from start to finish, social media etiquette for beginners, and even how to address your submission email. (Pretty obviously, no one at THR is a lawyer, and we can't give you legal and/or tax advice. We're relaying very general info from our personal experiences of working in the queer romance industry. Please seek appropriate professional guidance when it comes to contracts and taxes.) Taking up where [part one][1] left off, Amanda and Austin discuss contracts and what some of their clauses may mean, the rundown on royalty rates and payment schedules, the editing process from start to finish, social media etiquette for beginners, and even how to address your submission email. (Pretty obviously, no one at THR is a lawyer, and we can't give you legal and/or tax advice. We're relaying very general info from our personal experiences of working in the queer romance industry. Please seek appropriate professional guidance when it comes to contracts and taxes.) publishing, lgbt romance, m/m, gay romance, queer romance, new authors, amanda jean, lesbian romance, the hopeless romantic, queer publishing, advice for authors, austin chant yes full 19 67840bcb-7cf8-434b-b625-d1b153052568 Episode 18: You Only Liver Once **Content warning: Austin and Amanda are tipsy/drunk in this episode. They also discuss the TV shows Hannibal and Attack on Titan briefly, which feature morbid subject matter. (Amanda's generally a creep, too.)** It's THR's one-year anniversary! In celebration, Austin and Amanda got drunk and talked about abandoned projects, tried and failed to plot a project, and discussed how Korean dramas are basically just serial romance novels. Lots of inappropriateness was had. Tue, 22 Nov 2016 18:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-18-you-only-liver-once-8acbbe99 Content warning: Austin and Amanda are tipsy/drunk in this episode. They also discuss the TV shows Hannibal and Attack on Titan briefly, which feature morbid subject matter. (Amanda's generally a creep, too.)

It's THR's one-year anniversary! In celebration, Austin and Amanda got drunk and talked about abandoned projects, tried and failed to plot a project, and discussed how Korean dramas are basically just serial romance novels. Lots of inappropriateness was had.

Click here to support THR on Patreon. (We posted bloopers from this ep as well!)

]]> Episode 18: You Only Liver Once Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:10:35 **Content warning: Austin and Amanda are tipsy/drunk in this episode. They also discuss the TV shows Hannibal and Attack on Titan briefly, which feature morbid subject matter. (Amanda's generally a creep, too.)** It's THR's one-year anniversary! In celebration, Austin and Amanda got drunk and talked about abandoned projects, tried and failed to plot a project, and discussed how Korean dramas are basically just serial romance novels. Lots of inappropriateness was had. **Content warning: Austin and Amanda are tipsy/drunk in this episode. They also discuss the TV shows Hannibal and Attack on Titan briefly, which feature morbid subject matter. (Amanda's generally a creep, too.)** It's THR's one-year anniversary! In celebration, Austin and Amanda got drunk and talked about abandoned projects, tried and failed to plot a project, and discussed how Korean dramas are basically just serial romance novels. Lots of inappropriateness was had. anniversary episode, attack on titan, hannibal, korean dramas, m/m, gay romance, gay fiction, amanda jean, drunk podcast, the hopeless romantic podcast, austin chant, lgbt podcast yes full 18 a8007a98-f2de-4939-9d7c-c8b021536b3e Episode 17: Do Ask, Do Tell **Content warning: There is a brief mention of slurs in the episode.** Richard Comspon Sater retired from the US Air Force Reserves having served twenty-four years under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." His debut M/M romance novel "Rank" deals with a second lieutenant in the Air Force falling in love with a brigadier general. Richard talks about writing, serving under DADT, how its repeal changed the book, and it's determined that Austin's father is the personification of a soft, old sweater. Tue, 15 Nov 2016 18:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-17-do-ask-do-tell-3c348bcc Content warning: There is a brief mention of slurs in the episode.

Richard Comspon Sater retired from the US Air Force Reserves having served twenty-four years under Don't Ask, Don't Tell. His debut M/M romance novel "Rank" deals with a second lieutenant in the Air Force falling in love with a brigadier general. Richard talks about writing, serving under DADT, and how its repeal changed the book.

Also, Amanda determines that Austin's father is the personification of a soft, old sweater.

Follow Richard Compson Sater on twitter: @rc_sater

Follow him on Facebook: Richard Compson Sater

Website

Rank at Bold Strokes Books

Click here to support THR on Patreon.

]]> Episode 17: Do Ask, Do Tell Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 00:47:04 **Content warning: There is a brief mention of slurs in the episode.** Richard Comspon Sater retired from the US Air Force Reserves having served twenty-four years under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." His debut M/M romance novel "Rank" deals with a second lieutenant in the Air Force falling in love with a brigadier general. Richard talks about writing, serving under DADT, how its repeal changed the book, and it's determined that Austin's father is the personification of a soft, old sweater. **Content warning: There is a brief mention of slurs in the episode.** Richard Comspon Sater retired from the US Air Force Reserves having served twenty-four years under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." His debut M/M romance novel "Rank" deals with a second lieutenant in the Air Force falling in love with a brigadier general. Richard talks about writing, serving under DADT, how its repeal changed the book, and it's determined that Austin's father is the personification of a soft, old sweater. don't ask don't tell, richard compson sater, lgbt romance, gay military, gay air force, rank, air force, dadt, bold strokes books yes full 17 a92001c5-8964-478f-a98e-3c49b3a8a041 Episode 16: Advice for New Authors (Part One) For anyone new to the queer romance industry or thinking of joining it, this episode, the first of two, is basically a 101. Part one covers what authors need to know prior to submission--everything from defining the genre, HEA vs HFN, the role of editors and betas, author mills, and the community itself. Part two will cover everything authors need to know after submitting their work. Tue, 4 Oct 2016 17:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-16-advice-for-new-authors-part-bb76d7f1 For anyone new to the queer romance industry or thinking of joining it, this episode, the first of two, is basically a 101. Part one covers what authors need to know prior to submission--everything from defining the genre, HEA vs HFN, the role of editors and betas, author mills, and the community itself. Part two will cover everything authors need to know after submitting their work.

As mentioned in the episode, LGBTQ romance is a significant and growing industry. Here's two links to lists of publishers to review:

Lambda Literary's list of queer publishers

Lori L. Lake's LGBT Publishing Links: Books, E-Books, Print Journals, E-Journals

Click here to support THR on Patreon. (We just posted bloopers from the ep there!)

]]> Episode 16: Advice for New Authors (Part One) Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 00:55:58 For anyone new to the queer romance industry or thinking of joining it, this episode, the first of two, is basically a 101. Part one covers what authors need to know prior to submission--everything from defining the genre, HEA vs HFN, the role of editors and betas, author mills, and the community itself. Part two will cover everything authors need to know after submitting their work. For anyone new to the queer romance industry or thinking of joining it, this episode, the first of two, is basically a 101. Part one covers what authors need to know prior to submission--everything from defining the genre, HEA vs HFN, the role of editors and betas, author mills, and the community itself. Part two will cover everything authors need to know after submitting their work. publishing, m/m, gay romance, queer romance, lesbian romance, queer publishing, lgbt romance, the hopeless romantic yes full 16 4fa19ca9-e11e-4f3b-994f-ca050255978b Episode 15: Self-Publishing with Jordan L. Hawk Author Jordan L. Hawk brings her expertise to the program to talk about her own beginnings in self-publishing, the decisions authors must make in regards to what they can do themselves, and the group discusses the importance of treating publishing as a business. There's also a call to action for more queer romance in the historical-specfic genre. Go get writing! Tue, 20 Sep 2016 17:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-15-self-publishing-with-jordan-l-05f9157f Author Jordan L. Hawk brings her expertise to the program to talk about her own beginnings in self-publishing, the decisions authors must make in regards to what they can do themselves, and the group discusses the importance of treating publishing as a business.

There's also call to action for more queer romance in the historical-specfic genre. Go get writing!

Follow Jordan L. Hawk on twitter: @jordanlhawk

Follow her on Facebook: Jordan L. Hawk

Click here to support THR on Patreon.

]]> Episode 15: Self-Publishing with Jordan L. Hawk Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:04:28 Author Jordan L. Hawk brings her expertise to the program to talk about her own beginnings in self-publishing, the decisions authors must make in regards to what they can do themselves, and the group discusses the importance of treating publishing as a business. There's also a call to action for more queer romance in the historical-specfic genre. Go get writing! Author Jordan L. Hawk brings her expertise to the program to talk about her own beginnings in self-publishing, the decisions authors must make in regards to what they can do themselves, and the group discusses the importance of treating publishing as a business. There's also a call to action for more queer romance in the historical-specfic genre. Go get writing! jordan l hawk, jordan l. hawk, m/m, queer romance, whyborne & griffin, self-publishing, self publishing, lgbt romance yes full 15 e7e67de4-9c0c-4976-ab87-a74450e79b02 Episode 14: Grim Jim THR returns from summer hiatus with Jim Grimsley. He's the LAMBDA Literary Award-winning author of "Dream Boy" and "Comfort & Joy." The group discusses the tragic and ambiguous endings Grimsley is known for, the history of publishing's attitude toward queer fiction, and everything from the North Carolina bathroom bill to how your family lies to you. Be sure to listen to the bonus content after the credits! Tue, 23 Aug 2016 14:05:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-14-grim-jim-9b07647c THR returns from summer hiatus with Jim Grimsley. He's the LAMBDA Literary Award-winning author of "Dream Boy" and "Comfort & Joy." The group discusses the tragic and ambiguous endings Grimsley is known for, the history of publishing's attitude toward queer fiction, and everything from the North Carolina bathroom bill to how your family lies to you.

Be sure to listen to the bonus content after the credits!

Follow Jim Grimsley on twitter: @jimgrimsley1

Follow him on Facebook: Jim Grimsley

Click here to support THR on Patreon.

]]> Episode 14: Grim Jim Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:00:39 THR returns from summer hiatus with Jim Grimsley. He's the LAMBDA Literary Award-winning author of "Dream Boy" and "Comfort & Joy." The group discusses the tragic and ambiguous endings Grimsley is known for, the history of publishing's attitude toward queer fiction, and everything from the North Carolina bathroom bill to how your family lies to you. Be sure to listen to the bonus content after the credits! THR returns from summer hiatus with Jim Grimsley. He's the LAMBDA Literary Award-winning author of "Dream Boy" and "Comfort & Joy." The group discusses the tragic and ambiguous endings Grimsley is known for, the history of publishing's attitude toward queer fiction, and everything from the North Carolina bathroom bill to how your family lies to you. Be sure to listen to the bonus content after the credits! publishing, southern writers, dream boy, lambda, jim grimsley, gay fiction, lgbt, tragic endings, comfort & joy yes full 14 23790759-2be9-4a92-a683-f61a7c7ced3b Episode 13: Heidi Below the Covers **Content warning: This episode of THR contains frank discussion of sexual assault, sexual violence, and similarly dark, potentially triggering subject matter.** Heidi Belleau joins the show and Gets Very Real with THR about her history of writing grimdark fiction and the growing pains of leaving some of that behind. She talks about the perils of using the same penname for drastically different works (romcoms and dark fiction like *The Flesh Cartel*), what her personal limits are, bringing humor into darker material--and when it's best to pull back. Heidi compares the process of growing as an author, in public, to the reality of contemporary teenagers growing up on tumblr. (Anyone with a defunct Livejournal and a long fandom history can probably relate.) Most authors can probably relate to the quandary of growing as an artist in such a public sphere. The important and validating realization for Heidi, and maybe for other authors who feel pigeonholed into a darker genre, has been that she can write lighter stories and people will also appreciate them. Fri, 20 May 2016 07:09:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-13-heidi-below-the-covers-9ed8ead9 Content warning: This episode of THR contains frank discussion of sexual assault, sexual violence, and similarly dark, potentially triggering subject matter.

Heidi Belleau joins the show and Gets Very Real with THR about her history of writing grimdark fiction and the growing pains of leaving some of that behind. She talks about the perils of using the same penname for drastically different works (romcoms and dark fiction like The Flesh Cartel), what her personal limits are, bringing humor into darker material--and when it's best to pull back.

Heidi compares the process of growing as an author, in public, to the reality of contemporary teenagers growing up on tumblr. (Anyone with a defunct Livejournal and a long fandom history can probably relate.) Most authors can probably relate to the quandary of growing as an artist in such a public sphere.

The important and validating realization for Heidi, and maybe for other authors who feel pigeonholed into a darker genre, has been that she can write lighter stories and people will also appreciate them.

Follow Heidi on twitter! @HeidiBelleau

Support THR on Patreon!

]]> Episode 13: Heidi Below the Covers Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:24:20 **Content warning: This episode of THR contains frank discussion of sexual assault, sexual violence, and similarly dark, potentially triggering subject matter.** Heidi Belleau joins the show and Gets Very Real with THR about her history of writing grimdark fiction and the growing pains of leaving some of that behind. She talks about the perils of using the same penname for drastically different works (romcoms and dark fiction like *The Flesh Cartel*), what her personal limits are, bringing humor into darker material--and when it's best to pull back. Heidi compares the process of growing as an author, in public, to the reality of contemporary teenagers growing up on tumblr. (Anyone with a defunct Livejournal and a long fandom history can probably relate.) Most authors can probably relate to the quandary of growing as an artist in such a public sphere. The important and validating realization for Heidi, and maybe for other authors who feel pigeonholed into a darker genre, has been that she can write lighter stories and people will also appreciate them. **Content warning: This episode of THR contains frank discussion of sexual assault, sexual violence, and similarly dark, potentially triggering subject matter.** Heidi Belleau joins the show and Gets Very Real with THR about her history of writing grimdark fiction and the growing pains of leaving some of that behind. She talks about the perils of using the same penname for drastically different works (romcoms and dark fiction like *The Flesh Cartel*), what her personal limits are, bringing humor into darker material--and when it's best to pull back. Heidi compares the process of growing as an author, in public, to the reality of contemporary teenagers growing up on tumblr. (Anyone with a defunct Livejournal and a long fandom history can probably relate.) Most authors can probably relate to the quandary of growing as an artist in such a public sphere. The important and validating realization for Heidi, and maybe for other authors who feel pigeonholed into a darker genre, has been that she can write lighter stories and people will also appreciate them. the flesh cartel, the rear entrance video series, lgbt romance, dark fiction, queer romance, riptide publishing, dead ringer, heidi belleau, bliss, grimdark fiction yes full 13 4cb48b15-0386-45ee-a132-c7f35581d400 Episode 12: There Goes My Anti-Hero Villains, antagonists, and anti-heroes are the topic of the day. Austin and Amanda critically run through a roster of their favorite queer or queer-coded villains in media. Cartoonish homophobia and transphobia, coded Disney villains, the lack of female villains, how queer villains are seen as especially evil for their sexuality, redemption stories, how a main character can be the antagonist of their own story, and bisexual murder pits are all discussed. Amanda has a revelation about how straight people consume media while discussing Lex from *Smallville,* Austin recounts the suffering he endured while watching *Downton Abbey* for Thomas Barrow, and the two roll around in their general love of villainy. Thu, 28 Apr 2016 18:30:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-12-there-goes-my-anti-hero-0600d4aa Villains, antagonists, and anti-heroes are the topic of the day. Austin and Amanda critically run through a roster of their favorite queer or queer-coded villains in media. Cartoonish homophobia and transphobia, coded Disney villains, the lack of female villains, how queer villains are seen as especially evil for their sexuality, redemption stories, how a main character can be the antagonist of their own story, and bisexual murder pits are all discussed.

Amanda has a revelation about how straight people consume media while discussing Lex from Smallville, Austin recounts the suffering he endured while watching Downton Abbey for Thomas Barrow, and the two roll around in their general love of villainy.

Finally, Amanda's running a collection call with LT3 all about enemies to lovers! Get your villain on:

Please review the submission guidelines thoroughly.)

My Dearest Enemy - Less Than Three Press collection call

Support THR on Patreon!

]]> Episode 12: There Goes My Anti-Hero Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:13:15 Villains, antagonists, and anti-heroes are the topic of the day. Austin and Amanda critically run through a roster of their favorite queer or queer-coded villains in media. Cartoonish homophobia and transphobia, coded Disney villains, the lack of female villains, how queer villains are seen as especially evil for their sexuality, redemption stories, how a main character can be the antagonist of their own story, and bisexual murder pits are all discussed. Amanda has a revelation about how straight people consume media while discussing Lex from *Smallville,* Austin recounts the suffering he endured while watching *Downton Abbey* for Thomas Barrow, and the two roll around in their general love of villainy. Villains, antagonists, and anti-heroes are the topic of the day. Austin and Amanda critically run through a roster of their favorite queer or queer-coded villains in media. Cartoonish homophobia and transphobia, coded Disney villains, the lack of female villains, how queer villains are seen as especially evil for their sexuality, redemption stories, how a main character can be the antagonist of their own story, and bisexual murder pits are all discussed. Amanda has a revelation about how straight people consume media while discussing Lex from *Smallville,* Austin recounts the suffering he endured while watching *Downton Abbey* for Thomas Barrow, and the two roll around in their general love of villainy. anti-hero, lgbt villains, queer villains, queer romance, villains, queer baiting, lgbt romance, queer coding, antagonist yes full 12 96c42c93-2f12-44dd-a1c5-42110aac7022 Episode 11: Disability Representation Tracy Timmons-Gray, the director of Gay Romance Northwest conference, joins THR to discuss characters with disabilities in queer romance. The gang shares recs, talks about tropes, including the love interest grappling with the reveal of their partner's disability, the narrow span of disabilities portrayed, the sanctification of disabled people, and how often disabled fiction is inspiration porn. The conversation tackles sex scenes, A/B/O, disabled characters in fandom, and resources for writing disabled characters. Amanda, Tracy, and Austin try their best to be positive despite being Cranky Fans. Also, Tracy details GRNW's inception and history and how the conference will change going forward. (Fun fact, GRNW is how Amanda and Austin met!) Tracy and Amanda talk about the upcoming GRNW conference and the charity anthology "Magic & Mayhem." (Pssst, put GRNW 2016 on your calendars! 9/24/16 at the Seattle Public Library! It's freeeee.) Mon, 11 Apr 2016 15:10:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-11-disability-representation-cfe77c80 Tracy Timmons-Gray, the director of Gay Romance Northwest conference, joins THR to discuss characters with disabilities in queer romance. The gang shares recs, talks about tropes, including the love interest grappling with the reveal of their partner's disability, the narrow span of disabilities portrayed, the sanctification of disabled people, and how often disabled fiction is inspiration porn. The conversation tackles sex scenes, A/B/O, disabled characters in fandom, and resources for writing disabled characters.

Amanda, Tracy, and Austin try their best to be positive despite being Cranky Fans. Also, Tracy details GRNW's inception and history and how the conference will change going forward. (Fun fact, GRNW is how Amanda and Austin met!) Tracy and Amanda talk about the upcoming GRNW conference and the charity anthology "Magic & Mayhem."

(Pssst, put GRNW 2016 on your calendars! 9/24/16 at the Seattle Public Library! It's freeeee.)

Follow GRNW on twitter: @gayrom_nw

Book recs mentioned in the episode:

Gives Light by Rose Christo

Think of England by KJ Charles

Mnevermind by Jordan Castillo Price

The Adrien English Mysteries by Josh Lanyon

Speechless by Kim Fielding

Brute by Kim Fielding

Winter's Bees by E.E. Ottoman

Dead Ringer by Heidi Belleau and Sam Schooler

Glitterland by Alexis Hall

Support The Hopeless Romantic on Patreon!

]]> Episode 11: Disability Representation Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:22:40 Tracy Timmons-Gray, the director of Gay Romance Northwest conference, joins THR to discuss characters with disabilities in queer romance. The gang shares recs, talks about tropes, including the love interest grappling with the reveal of their partner's disability, the narrow span of disabilities portrayed, the sanctification of disabled people, and how often disabled fiction is inspiration porn. The conversation tackles sex scenes, A/B/O, disabled characters in fandom, and resources for writing disabled characters. Amanda, Tracy, and Austin try their best to be positive despite being Cranky Fans. Also, Tracy details GRNW's inception and history and how the conference will change going forward. (Fun fact, GRNW is how Amanda and Austin met!) Tracy and Amanda talk about the upcoming GRNW conference and the charity anthology "Magic & Mayhem." (Pssst, put GRNW 2016 on your calendars! 9/24/16 at the Seattle Public Library! It's freeeee.) Tracy Timmons-Gray, the director of Gay Romance Northwest conference, joins THR to discuss characters with disabilities in queer romance. The gang shares recs, talks about tropes, including the love interest grappling with the reveal of their partner's disability, the narrow span of disabilities portrayed, the sanctification of disabled people, and how often disabled fiction is inspiration porn. The conversation tackles sex scenes, A/B/O, disabled characters in fandom, and resources for writing disabled characters. Amanda, Tracy, and Austin try their best to be positive despite being Cranky Fans. Also, Tracy details GRNW's inception and history and how the conference will change going forward. (Fun fact, GRNW is how Amanda and Austin met!) Tracy and Amanda talk about the upcoming GRNW conference and the charity anthology "Magic & Mayhem." (Pssst, put GRNW 2016 on your calendars! 9/24/16 at the Seattle Public Library! It's freeeee.) gay romance northwest, grnw, lgbt romance, disabled characters, disabled romance, queer romance, tracy timmons-gray, disability yes full 11 59a59e6c-6c0c-4f04-9481-6278ebeae83d Episode 10: Poly Yammery Author Racheline Maltese joins THR for episode 9, "Poly Yammery," to discuss poly and ménage romance. Racheline discusses her upcoming poly book, which leads to deeper examination of writing poly: writing multiple dynamic characters, whether having a co-author helps, how different people do poly differently, and how Racheline feels about the perception that writing bi characters as poly is a negative trope. The group is bemused by the trend of M/F/M ménage stories where there can be absolutely no content construed as "gay." Racheline weighs in on whether being poly is inherently queer, and ultimately the group agrees that demanding receipts for someone's identity is icky. Finally, it turns out that in order to discuss tropes in a genre, there has to be enough content in said genre for there to be tropes in the first place. Get writing, folks. Fri, 25 Mar 2016 17:20:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-10-poly-yammery-8ead51db Author Racheline Maltese joins THR for episode 9, "Poly Yammery," to discuss poly and ménage romance. Racheline discusses her upcoming poly book, which leads to deeper examination of writing poly: writing multiple dynamic characters, whether having a co-author helps, how different people do poly differently, and how Racheline feels about the perception that writing bi characters as poly is a negative trope.

The group is bemused by the trend of M/F/M ménage stories where there can be absolutely no content construed as "gay." Racheline weighs in on whether being poly is inherently queer, and ultimately the group agrees that demanding receipts for someone's identity is icky.

Finally, it turns out that in order to discuss tropes in a genre, there has to be enough content in said genre for there to be tropes in the first place. Get writing, folks.

Racheline Maltese:

@racheline_m

Website

Publishers that produce poly and/or menage romance:

Less Than Three Press

Riptide Publishing

Torquere Press

Evernight Publishing

Loose Id

Pride Publishing

Support THR on Patreon!

]]> Episode 10: Poly Yammery Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:19:14 Author Racheline Maltese joins THR for episode 9, "Poly Yammery," to discuss poly and ménage romance. Racheline discusses her upcoming poly book, which leads to deeper examination of writing poly: writing multiple dynamic characters, whether having a co-author helps, how different people do poly differently, and how Racheline feels about the perception that writing bi characters as poly is a negative trope. The group is bemused by the trend of M/F/M ménage stories where there can be absolutely no content construed as "gay." Racheline weighs in on whether being poly is inherently queer, and ultimately the group agrees that demanding receipts for someone's identity is icky. Finally, it turns out that in order to discuss tropes in a genre, there has to be enough content in said genre for there to be tropes in the first place. Get writing, folks. Author Racheline Maltese joins THR for episode 9, "Poly Yammery," to discuss poly and ménage romance. Racheline discusses her upcoming poly book, which leads to deeper examination of writing poly: writing multiple dynamic characters, whether having a co-author helps, how different people do poly differently, and how Racheline feels about the perception that writing bi characters as poly is a negative trope. The group is bemused by the trend of M/F/M ménage stories where there can be absolutely no content construed as "gay." Racheline weighs in on whether being poly is inherently queer, and ultimately the group agrees that demanding receipts for someone's identity is icky. Finally, it turns out that in order to discuss tropes in a genre, there has to be enough content in said genre for there to be tropes in the first place. Get writing, folks. poly, lgbt romance, menage, polyamory, racheline maltese, poly romance yes full 10 7c511c63-1d31-4bc4-9db2-ed92f907a73b Episode 9: Boy Meets Earl **Content warning: There is a mention of an ethnic slur in the episode, as well as some discussion of historical racism (including slavery).** KJ Charles joins THR for episode eight, "Boy Meets Earl". Author of historical fiction and historical fantasy, and an editor, KJ describes her methods of research, discloses fun facts about Victorian and Edwardian body modification, and discusses not wanting to belabor period-accurate racism, sexism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism. The group talks about why sidelining queer romance and other so-called 'niche' romance categories is unacceptable—and makes poor money sense on the part of publishers and distributors. Also, Amanda asks pervy-minded questions about the *Society of Gentlemen* series and reads aloud embarrassing texts about her and Daria's excitement for the upcoming conclusion to the trilogy. [KJ Charles' website][1] KJ Charles on twitter: [@kj_charles][2] The Hopeless Romantic is on [Patreon][3]! ## Retweet to enter to win [Rag and Bone][4]!## RT for a chance to win an ebook copy of KJ Charles' newest, "Rag and Bone"! @kj_charles @theHRpodcast— Hopeless Romantic (@theHRpodcast) March 8, 2016 [1]: http://kjcharleswriter.com/ [2]: http://twitter.com/kj_charles [3]: https://www.patreon.com/thehopelessromantic [4]: https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5753/rag-and-bone Tue, 8 Mar 2016 18:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-9-boy-meets-earl-3acec509 Content warning: There is a mention of an ethnic slur in the episode, as well as some discussion of historical racism (including slavery).

KJ Charles joins THR for episode eight, "Boy Meets Earl". Author of historical fiction and historical fantasy, and an editor, KJ describes her methods of research, discloses fun facts about Victorian and Edwardian body modification, and discusses not wanting to belabor period-accurate racism, sexism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism.

The group talks about why sidelining queer romance and other so-called 'niche' romance categories is unacceptable—and makes poor money sense on the part of publishers and distributors.

Also, Amanda asks pervy-minded questions about the Society of Gentlemen series and reads aloud embarrassing texts about her and Daria's excitement for the upcoming conclusion to the trilogy.

KJ Charles' website

KJ Charles on twitter: @kj_charles

The Hopeless Romantic is on Patreon!

Retweet to enter to win Rag and Bone!##

RT for a chance to win an ebook copy of KJ Charles' newest, "Rag and Bone"! @kj_charles @theHRpodcast

— Hopeless Romantic (@theHRpodcast) March 8, 2016
]]> Episode 9: Boy Meets Earl Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:03:56 **Content warning: There is a mention of an ethnic slur in the episode, as well as some discussion of historical racism (including slavery).** KJ Charles joins THR for episode eight, "Boy Meets Earl". Author of historical fiction and historical fantasy, and an editor, KJ describes her methods of research, discloses fun facts about Victorian and Edwardian body modification, and discusses not wanting to belabor period-accurate racism, sexism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism. The group talks about why sidelining queer romance and other so-called 'niche' romance categories is unacceptable—and makes poor money sense on the part of publishers and distributors. Also, Amanda asks pervy-minded questions about the *Society of Gentlemen* series and reads aloud embarrassing texts about her and Daria's excitement for the upcoming conclusion to the trilogy. [KJ Charles' website][1] KJ Charles on twitter: [@kj_charles][2] The Hopeless Romantic is on [Patreon][3]! ## Retweet to enter to win [Rag and Bone][4]!## RT for a chance to win an ebook copy of KJ Charles' newest, "Rag and Bone"! @kj_charles @theHRpodcast— Hopeless Romantic (@theHRpodcast) March 8, 2016 [1]: http://kjcharleswriter.com/ [2]: http://twitter.com/kj_charles [3]: https://www.patreon.com/thehopelessromantic [4]: https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5753/rag-and-bone **Content warning: There is a mention of an ethnic slur in the episode, as well as some discussion of historical racism (including slavery).** KJ Charles joins THR for episode eight, "Boy Meets Earl". Author of historical fiction and historical fantasy, and an editor, KJ describes her methods of research, discloses fun facts about Victorian and Edwardian body modification, and discusses not wanting to belabor period-accurate racism, sexism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism. The group talks about why sidelining queer romance and other so-called 'niche' romance categories is unacceptable—and makes poor money sense on the part of publishers and distributors. Also, Amanda asks pervy-minded questions about the *Society of Gentlemen* series and reads aloud embarrassing texts about her and Daria's excitement for the upcoming conclusion to the trilogy. [KJ Charles' website][1] KJ Charles on twitter: [@kj_charles][2] The Hopeless Romantic is on [Patreon][3]! ## Retweet to enter to win [Rag and Bone][4]!## RT for a chance to win an ebook copy of KJ Charles' newest, "Rag and Bone"! @kj_charles @theHRpodcast— Hopeless Romantic (@theHRpodcast) March 8, 2016 [1]: http://kjcharleswriter.com/ [2]: http://twitter.com/kj_charles [3]: https://www.patreon.com/thehopelessromantic [4]: https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5753/rag-and-bone a society of gentlemen, gay romance, research, queer romance, historical fiction, the hopeless romantic, kj charles yes full 9 6c0b4ea3a3fcfb7cea847a1574e7b752 Episode 8: A Freshet of Feels Episode 7, "A Freshet of Feels," features guest Nicole Kimberling, author and editor at Blind Eye Books. Nicole brings her expertise and wit to the table to discuss editing, the editor/author relationship, and her propensity for wacky ideas. Other topics include the international market for queer romance, how you should never think about the comment section of Goodreads if you're writing a book, and how second person is the voice of passive aggression. Also, Nicole Kimberling wants to kill your dad. [Nicole Kimberling on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/nicole.kimberling.35) [Nicole Kimberling's website](nicolekimberling.com) Call for submission: Please read the guidelines thoroughly. [Magic & Mayhem (a charity anthology to benefit Gay Romance Northwest)](https://gayromancenorthwest.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/call-for-story-submissions-magic-and-mahem-grnw-charity-anthology/) Tue, 23 Feb 2016 17:00:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-8-a-freshet-of-feels-28311da3 Episode 7, "A Freshet of Feels," features guest Nicole Kimberling, author and editor at Blind Eye Books. Nicole brings her expertise and wit to the table to discuss editing, the editor/author relationship, and her propensity for wacky ideas.

Other topics include the international market for queer romance, how you should never think about the comment section of Goodreads if you're writing a book, and how second person is the voice of passive aggression. 

Also, Nicole Kimberling wants to kill your dad.

 

Nicole Kimberling on Facebook
Nicole Kimberling's website

Call for submission:

Please read the guidelines thoroughly.

Magic & Mayhem (a charity anthology to benefit Gay Romance Northwest)

]]> Episode 8: A Freshet of Feels Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:05:38 Episode 7, "A Freshet of Feels," features guest Nicole Kimberling, author and editor at Blind Eye Books. Nicole brings her expertise and wit to the table to discuss editing, the editor/author relationship, and her propensity for wacky ideas. Other topics include the international market for queer romance, how you should never think about the comment section of Goodreads if you're writing a book, and how second person is the voice of passive aggression. Also, Nicole Kimberling wants to kill your dad. [Nicole Kimberling on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/nicole.kimberling.35) [Nicole Kimberling's website](nicolekimberling.com) Call for submission: Please read the guidelines thoroughly. [Magic & Mayhem (a charity anthology to benefit Gay Romance Northwest)](https://gayromancenorthwest.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/call-for-story-submissions-magic-and-mahem-grnw-charity-anthology/) Episode 7, "A Freshet of Feels," features guest Nicole Kimberling, author and editor at Blind Eye Books. Nicole brings her expertise and wit to the table to discuss editing, the editor/author relationship, and her propensity for wacky ideas. Other topics include the international market for queer romance, how you should never think about the comment section of Goodreads if you're writing a book, and how second person is the voice of passive aggression. Also, Nicole Kimberling wants to kill your dad. [Nicole Kimberling on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/nicole.kimberling.35) [Nicole Kimberling's website](nicolekimberling.com) Call for submission: Please read the guidelines thoroughly. [Magic & Mayhem (a charity anthology to benefit Gay Romance Northwest)](https://gayromancenorthwest.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/call-for-story-submissions-magic-and-mahem-grnw-charity-anthology/) yes full 8 00b21fdc5aa761030481c2de5828a29a Episode 7: Bonus #1 Episode 6.5 is the first bonus episode prompted by a Patreon subscriber. Patrons of $10 or more per month can request that Austin and Amanda discuss a subject of their choice for a minimum of ten minutes. This patron asked how to create convincing and dynamic romantic leads. The hosts go over strategies for fleshing out characters as well inventing them from scratch, and ways to make their conflicts sing--whether you want characters who complement each other or oppose each other. [The Hopeless Romantic on Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/thehopelessromantic?ty=h) Sun, 21 Feb 2016 01:24:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-7-bonus-1-71f98093 Episode 6.5 is the first bonus episode prompted by a Patreon subscriber. Patrons of $10 or more per month can request that Austin and Amanda discuss a subject of their choice for a minimum of ten minutes. This patron asked how to create convincing and dynamic romantic leads.

The hosts go over strategies for fleshing out characters as well inventing them from scratch, and ways to make their conflicts sing--whether you want characters who complement each other or oppose each other.

The Hopeless Romantic on Patreon

]]> Episode 7: Bonus #1 Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 00:40:58 Episode 6.5 is the first bonus episode prompted by a Patreon subscriber. Patrons of $10 or more per month can request that Austin and Amanda discuss a subject of their choice for a minimum of ten minutes. This patron asked how to create convincing and dynamic romantic leads. The hosts go over strategies for fleshing out characters as well inventing them from scratch, and ways to make their conflicts sing--whether you want characters who complement each other or oppose each other. [The Hopeless Romantic on Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/thehopelessromantic?ty=h) Episode 6.5 is the first bonus episode prompted by a Patreon subscriber. Patrons of $10 or more per month can request that Austin and Amanda discuss a subject of their choice for a minimum of ten minutes. This patron asked how to create convincing and dynamic romantic leads. The hosts go over strategies for fleshing out characters as well inventing them from scratch, and ways to make their conflicts sing--whether you want characters who complement each other or oppose each other. [The Hopeless Romantic on Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/thehopelessromantic?ty=h) yes full 7 7fca53013a69a274be3a360a3426f481 Episode 5: The Anatomy of a Sex Scene **Content warning: This episode of THR features frank and explicit discussion of sex scenes (and a lot of swearing for bonus points).** "The Anatomy of a Sex Scene" has Amanda and Austin returning from their holiday hiatus to argue about dickscription, make impassioned pleas for the use of lube in fiction (and real life), and discuss the requirements of heat ratings. Amanda condemns unrealistic beauty standards for genitals and Austin kinkshames literally everyone (he's sorry). The Hopeless Romantic now has a [Patreon account](https://www.patreon.com/thehopelessromantic)! Check it out in case you want access to exclusive content and the chance to request 10 minutes of Austin and Amanda discussing the topic of your choice. Calls for submission: (Please review the guidelines thoroughly.) [Pride Publishing](http://www.totallyboundpublishing.com/submissions/) [Evernight Publishing](http://www.evernightpublishing.com/pages/Submissions.html) Wed, 20 Jan 2016 07:09:33 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-5-the-anatomy-of-a-sex-scene-86aac916 Content warning: This episode of THR features frank and explicit discussion of sex scenes (and a lot of swearing for bonus points).

"The Anatomy of a Sex Scene" has Amanda and Austin returning from their holiday hiatus to argue about dickscription, make impassioned pleas for the use of lube in fiction (and real life), and discuss the requirements of heat ratings.

Amanda condemns unrealistic beauty standards for genitals and Austin kinkshames literally everyone (he's sorry).

The Hopeless Romantic now has a Patreon account! Check it out in case you want access to exclusive content and the chance to request 10 minutes of Austin and Amanda discussing the topic of your choice.

Calls for submission:

(Please review the guidelines thoroughly.)

Pride Publishing
Evernight Publishing

]]> Episode 5: The Anatomy of a Sex Scene Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 00:55:18 **Content warning: This episode of THR features frank and explicit discussion of sex scenes (and a lot of swearing for bonus points).** "The Anatomy of a Sex Scene" has Amanda and Austin returning from their holiday hiatus to argue about dickscription, make impassioned pleas for the use of lube in fiction (and real life), and discuss the requirements of heat ratings. Amanda condemns unrealistic beauty standards for genitals and Austin kinkshames literally everyone (he's sorry). The Hopeless Romantic now has a [Patreon account](https://www.patreon.com/thehopelessromantic)! Check it out in case you want access to exclusive content and the chance to request 10 minutes of Austin and Amanda discussing the topic of your choice. Calls for submission: (Please review the guidelines thoroughly.) [Pride Publishing](http://www.totallyboundpublishing.com/submissions/) [Evernight Publishing](http://www.evernightpublishing.com/pages/Submissions.html) **Content warning: This episode of THR features frank and explicit discussion of sex scenes (and a lot of swearing for bonus points).** "The Anatomy of a Sex Scene" has Amanda and Austin returning from their holiday hiatus to argue about dickscription, make impassioned pleas for the use of lube in fiction (and real life), and discuss the requirements of heat ratings. Amanda condemns unrealistic beauty standards for genitals and Austin kinkshames literally everyone (he's sorry). The Hopeless Romantic now has a [Patreon account](https://www.patreon.com/thehopelessromantic)! Check it out in case you want access to exclusive content and the chance to request 10 minutes of Austin and Amanda discussing the topic of your choice. Calls for submission: (Please review the guidelines thoroughly.) [Pride Publishing](http://www.totallyboundpublishing.com/submissions/) [Evernight Publishing](http://www.evernightpublishing.com/pages/Submissions.html) yes full 5 b6ab68221f6a7eceb2d0dc9b91bfb437 Episode 4: Bi Bi Bi **Content warning: This episode of THR features some discussion of biphobia, transphobia, and other potentially sensitive topics.** Episode four, "Bi Bi Bi," has Austin and Amanda deconstructing bi tropes in LGTBQIA romance and beyond: Gay For You, slutty bisexuals, the conflation of poly (and menage) with bisexuality, and more are tackled. During the episode Amanda gets real about internalized biphobia, Austin talks about gender essentialism, and it's revealed that bisexuals may or may not be sharks. Calls for submission: (Please review the guidelines thoroughly.) [Less Than Three Press ](https://www.lessthanthreepress.com/submissions.php) [Vitality](http://readvitality.tumblr.com/post/131897419333/vitality-seeks-positive-lgbt-genre-fiction-we-pay) (short, positive LGBTQIA+ themed works) Thu, 17 Dec 2015 06:41:49 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-4-bi-bi-bi-17e6ef3d Content warning: This episode of THR features some discussion of biphobia, transphobia, and other potentially sensitive topics.

Episode four, "Bi Bi Bi," has Austin and Amanda deconstructing bi tropes in LGTBQIA romance and beyond: Gay For You, slutty bisexuals, the conflation of poly (and menage) with bisexuality, and more are tackled. 

During the episode Amanda gets real about internalized biphobia, Austin talks about gender essentialism, and it's revealed that bisexuals may or may not be sharks.

Calls for submission:

(Please review the guidelines thoroughly.)

Less Than Three Press 
Vitality (short, positive LGBTQIA+ themed works)

]]> Episode 4: Bi Bi Bi Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 00:45:12 **Content warning: This episode of THR features some discussion of biphobia, transphobia, and other potentially sensitive topics.** Episode four, "Bi Bi Bi," has Austin and Amanda deconstructing bi tropes in LGTBQIA romance and beyond: Gay For You, slutty bisexuals, the conflation of poly (and menage) with bisexuality, and more are tackled. During the episode Amanda gets real about internalized biphobia, Austin talks about gender essentialism, and it's revealed that bisexuals may or may not be sharks. Calls for submission: (Please review the guidelines thoroughly.) [Less Than Three Press ](https://www.lessthanthreepress.com/submissions.php) [Vitality](http://readvitality.tumblr.com/post/131897419333/vitality-seeks-positive-lgbt-genre-fiction-we-pay) (short, positive LGBTQIA+ themed works) **Content warning: This episode of THR features some discussion of biphobia, transphobia, and other potentially sensitive topics.** Episode four, "Bi Bi Bi," has Austin and Amanda deconstructing bi tropes in LGTBQIA romance and beyond: Gay For You, slutty bisexuals, the conflation of poly (and menage) with bisexuality, and more are tackled. During the episode Amanda gets real about internalized biphobia, Austin talks about gender essentialism, and it's revealed that bisexuals may or may not be sharks. Calls for submission: (Please review the guidelines thoroughly.) [Less Than Three Press ](https://www.lessthanthreepress.com/submissions.php) [Vitality](http://readvitality.tumblr.com/post/131897419333/vitality-seeks-positive-lgbt-genre-fiction-we-pay) (short, positive LGBTQIA+ themed works) yes full 4 18e7a55586864e1ac37947bc50729192 Episode 3: You and Me Could Write a Trans Romance **Content warning: This episode of THR features some discussion of transphobia and dysphoria and other potentially triggering subjects.** The third episode of The Hopeless Romantic, "You and Me Could Write a Trans Romance," features the podcast's first guest, author Sam Schooler. Amanda and Austin ask about Sam's experiences as a genderqueer author, discuss ways cis authors can respectfully represent trans characters, and how presses can better market trans books. Other topics include writing contemporary vs historical trans literature, not writing trans characters to meet a diversity quota, and Sam and Austin's favorite trans books. Follow Sam Schooler on twitter: [@samschoolering](twitter.com/samschoolering) Trans submission calls: (Please review the submission guidelines thoroughly. Please note that these calls may not be romance-specific.) [Topside Press ](http://topsidepress.com/call-for-submissions-short-speculative-fiction/) [Trans-Genre Press](http://trans-genre.net/trans-genre-press/submissions/) As mentioned in the episode, many LGBTQIA romance presses accept trans romance. Below is a partial list: [Riptide Publishing](http://riptidepublishing.com/call-for-submissions), [Less Than Three Press](https://www.lessthanthreepress.com/submissions.php), [Bold Strokes Books](http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/submission-guidelines.html), [NineStar Press](http://ninestarpress.com/submissions/), [Dreamspinner Press](https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/pages.php?pID=6&CDpath=0) \*, [Torquere Press](http://www.torquerepress.com/submissions.html), [LooseID](http://www.loose-id.com/submissions/), [Pride Publishing](http://www.totallyboundpublishing.com/submissions/) \* trans m/m only Thu, 10 Dec 2015 10:28:06 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-3-you-and-me-could-write-a-trans-541d6206 Content warning: This episode of THR features some discussion of transphobia and dysphoria and other potentially triggering subjects.

The third episode of The Hopeless Romantic, "You and Me Could Write a Trans Romance," features the podcast's first guest, author Sam Schooler. Amanda and Austin ask about Sam's experiences as a genderqueer author, discuss ways cis authors can respectfully represent trans characters, and how presses can better market trans books.

Other topics include writing contemporary vs historical trans literature, not writing trans characters to meet a diversity quota, and Sam and Austin's favorite trans books.

Follow Sam Schooler on twitter: @samschoolering

Trans submission calls: (Please review the submission guidelines thoroughly. Please note that these calls may not be romance-specific.)

Topside Press
 Trans-Genre Press

As mentioned in the episode, many LGBTQIA romance presses accept trans romance. Below is a partial list:

Riptide Publishing, Less Than Three Press, Bold Strokes Books, NineStar Press, Dreamspinner Press *, Torquere Press, LooseID, Pride Publishing

* trans m/m only

]]> Episode 3: You and Me Could Write a Trans Romance Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 01:01:57 **Content warning: This episode of THR features some discussion of transphobia and dysphoria and other potentially triggering subjects.** The third episode of The Hopeless Romantic, "You and Me Could Write a Trans Romance," features the podcast's first guest, author Sam Schooler. Amanda and Austin ask about Sam's experiences as a genderqueer author, discuss ways cis authors can respectfully represent trans characters, and how presses can better market trans books. Other topics include writing contemporary vs historical trans literature, not writing trans characters to meet a diversity quota, and Sam and Austin's favorite trans books. Follow Sam Schooler on twitter: [@samschoolering](twitter.com/samschoolering) Trans submission calls: (Please review the submission guidelines thoroughly. Please note that these calls may not be romance-specific.) [Topside Press ](http://topsidepress.com/call-for-submissions-short-speculative-fiction/) [Trans-Genre Press](http://trans-genre.net/trans-genre-press/submissions/) As mentioned in the episode, many LGBTQIA romance presses accept trans romance. Below is a partial list: [Riptide Publishing](http://riptidepublishing.com/call-for-submissions), [Less Than Three Press](https://www.lessthanthreepress.com/submissions.php), [Bold Strokes Books](http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/submission-guidelines.html), [NineStar Press](http://ninestarpress.com/submissions/), [Dreamspinner Press](https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/pages.php?pID=6&CDpath=0) \*, [Torquere Press](http://www.torquerepress.com/submissions.html), [LooseID](http://www.loose-id.com/submissions/), [Pride Publishing](http://www.totallyboundpublishing.com/submissions/) \* trans m/m only **Content warning: This episode of THR features some discussion of transphobia and dysphoria and other potentially triggering subjects.** The third episode of The Hopeless Romantic, "You and Me Could Write a Trans Romance," features the podcast's first guest, author Sam Schooler. Amanda and Austin ask about Sam's experiences as a genderqueer author, discuss ways cis authors can respectfully represent trans characters, and how presses can better market trans books. Other topics include writing contemporary vs historical trans literature, not writing trans characters to meet a diversity quota, and Sam and Austin's favorite trans books. Follow Sam Schooler on twitter: [@samschoolering](twitter.com/samschoolering) Trans submission calls: (Please review the submission guidelines thoroughly. Please note that these calls may not be romance-specific.) [Topside Press ](http://topsidepress.com/call-for-submissions-short-speculative-fiction/) [Trans-Genre Press](http://trans-genre.net/trans-genre-press/submissions/) As mentioned in the episode, many LGBTQIA romance presses accept trans romance. Below is a partial list: [Riptide Publishing](http://riptidepublishing.com/call-for-submissions), [Less Than Three Press](https://www.lessthanthreepress.com/submissions.php), [Bold Strokes Books](http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/submission-guidelines.html), [NineStar Press](http://ninestarpress.com/submissions/), [Dreamspinner Press](https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/pages.php?pID=6&CDpath=0) \*, [Torquere Press](http://www.torquerepress.com/submissions.html), [LooseID](http://www.loose-id.com/submissions/), [Pride Publishing](http://www.totallyboundpublishing.com/submissions/) \* trans m/m only yes full 3 582f74d2cc75a71116a39c43d0025d60 Episode 1: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? In The Hopeless Romantic, hosts Austin Chant and Amanda Jean talk about the queer romance genre. In this debut episode they talk about the foundations of the genre, from the pulp tragedies of the 1950s to the shamelessly romantic ebooks of today. Future episodes of The Hopeless Romantic will feature industry guests. The next episode will be about National Novel Writing Month, so be sure to tune in! If you liked this episode, please rate and review us on iTunes. The Hopeless Romantic can be followed on Facebook and Twitter: [https://www.facebook.com/thehopelessromanticpodcast/](https://www.facebook.com/thehopelessromanticpodcast/?fref=ts) [http://www.twitter.com/TheHRPodcast](http://www.twitter.com/TheHRPodcast) Email us at [thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com](mailto:thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com) with your questions and feedback! Art by Keezy Young Music by Carly Ann Worden **Hosts:** **Amanda Jean** **Co-creator/Co-host** Amanda Jean is an editor, publicist, and occasional writer of queer romance. She grew up devouring het romance novels and shifted to LGBT romance as a teen when her thirsty queer nature revealed itself. Amanda has worked with Less Than Three Press, Torquere Press, NineStar Press, Evernight Publishing, Siren-BookStrand, and serves as the LGBT Director for Alternating Current’s The Spark. When not wrangling manuscripts, you can find her watching documentaries, reading too many books on true crime, and caring too much about fictional characters. Find her on twitter (@amandahjean) and at [amandahjean.weebly.com](http://amandahjean.weebly.com/). **Austin Chant** **Co-creator/Co-host** Austin Chant is a bitter millennial, avid gamer, and a queer, trans romance writer. His interests include cooking everything, petting friendly dogs and cats, and writing about all kinds of rad queer people. He lives in Seattle with his partners in crime, a pleasant collection of game consoles, and an abundance of tea. In the regrettably large amount of time he spends not writing romance novels, he works in interactive media as a game designer and does his best to stay awake through college. You can follow him on Twitter (@austinchanted) and his website is [austinchanted.weebly.com.](http://austinchanted.weebly.com/) Wed, 25 Nov 2015 06:41:00 +0000 thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com (Amanda Jean and Austin Chant) https://thehopelessromantic.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-1-where-are-you-going-where-have-d976b2a4 In The Hopeless Romantic, hosts Austin Chant and Amanda Jean talk about the queer romance genre. In this debut episode they talk about the foundations of the genre, from the pulp tragedies of the 1950s to the shamelessly romantic ebooks of today.

Future episodes of The Hopeless Romantic will feature industry guests. The next episode will be about National Novel Writing Month, so be sure to tune in!

If you liked this episode, please rate and review us on iTunes.

The Hopeless Romantic can be followed on Facebook and Twitter:

https://www.facebook.com/thehopelessromanticpodcast/

http://www.twitter.com/TheHRPodcast

Email us at thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com with your questions and feedback!

Art by Keezy Young

Music by Carly Ann Worden

Hosts:

Amanda Jean
Co-creator/Co-host

Amanda Jean is an editor, publicist, and occasional writer of queer romance. She grew up devouring het romance novels and shifted to LGBT romance as a teen when her thirsty queer nature revealed itself. Amanda has worked with Less Than Three Press, Torquere Press, NineStar Press, Evernight Publishing, Siren-BookStrand, and serves as the LGBT Director for Alternating Current’s The Spark. When not wrangling manuscripts, you can find her watching documentaries, reading too many books on true crime, and caring too much about fictional characters.

Find her on twitter (@amandahjean) and at  amandahjean.weebly.com.

Austin Chant
Co-creator/Co-host

Austin Chant is a bitter millennial, avid gamer, and a queer, trans romance writer. His interests include cooking everything, petting friendly dogs and cats, and writing about all kinds of rad queer people. He lives in Seattle with his partners in crime, a pleasant collection of game consoles, and an abundance of tea. In the regrettably large amount of time he spends not writing romance novels, he works in interactive media as a game designer and does his best to stay awake through college. 

You can follow him on Twitter (@austinchanted) and his website is  austinchanted.weebly.com.

]]> Episode 1: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Amanda Jean and Austin Chant 00:33:04 In The Hopeless Romantic, hosts Austin Chant and Amanda Jean talk about the queer romance genre. In this debut episode they talk about the foundations of the genre, from the pulp tragedies of the 1950s to the shamelessly romantic ebooks of today. Future episodes of The Hopeless Romantic will feature industry guests. The next episode will be about National Novel Writing Month, so be sure to tune in! If you liked this episode, please rate and review us on iTunes. The Hopeless Romantic can be followed on Facebook and Twitter: [https://www.facebook.com/thehopelessromanticpodcast/](https://www.facebook.com/thehopelessromanticpodcast/?fref=ts) [http://www.twitter.com/TheHRPodcast](http://www.twitter.com/TheHRPodcast) Email us at [thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com](mailto:thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com) with your questions and feedback! Art by Keezy Young Music by Carly Ann Worden **Hosts:** **Amanda Jean** **Co-creator/Co-host** Amanda Jean is an editor, publicist, and occasional writer of queer romance. She grew up devouring het romance novels and shifted to LGBT romance as a teen when her thirsty queer nature revealed itself. Amanda has worked with Less Than Three Press, Torquere Press, NineStar Press, Evernight Publishing, Siren-BookStrand, and serves as the LGBT Director for Alternating Current’s The Spark. When not wrangling manuscripts, you can find her watching documentaries, reading too many books on true crime, and caring too much about fictional characters. Find her on twitter (@amandahjean) and at [amandahjean.weebly.com](http://amandahjean.weebly.com/). **Austin Chant** **Co-creator/Co-host** Austin Chant is a bitter millennial, avid gamer, and a queer, trans romance writer. His interests include cooking everything, petting friendly dogs and cats, and writing about all kinds of rad queer people. He lives in Seattle with his partners in crime, a pleasant collection of game consoles, and an abundance of tea. In the regrettably large amount of time he spends not writing romance novels, he works in interactive media as a game designer and does his best to stay awake through college. You can follow him on Twitter (@austinchanted) and his website is [austinchanted.weebly.com.](http://austinchanted.weebly.com/) In The Hopeless Romantic, hosts Austin Chant and Amanda Jean talk about the queer romance genre. In this debut episode they talk about the foundations of the genre, from the pulp tragedies of the 1950s to the shamelessly romantic ebooks of today. Future episodes of The Hopeless Romantic will feature industry guests. The next episode will be about National Novel Writing Month, so be sure to tune in! If you liked this episode, please rate and review us on iTunes. The Hopeless Romantic can be followed on Facebook and Twitter: [https://www.facebook.com/thehopelessromanticpodcast/](https://www.facebook.com/thehopelessromanticpodcast/?fref=ts) [http://www.twitter.com/TheHRPodcast](http://www.twitter.com/TheHRPodcast) Email us at [thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com](mailto:thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com) with your questions and feedback! Art by Keezy Young Music by Carly Ann Worden **Hosts:** **Amanda Jean** **Co-creator/Co-host** Amanda Jean is an editor, publicist, and occasional writer of queer romance. She grew up devouring het romance novels and shifted to LGBT romance as a teen when her thirsty queer nature revealed itself. Amanda has worked with Less Than Three Press, Torquere Press, NineStar Press, Evernight Publishing, Siren-BookStrand, and serves as the LGBT Director for Alternating Current’s The Spark. When not wrangling manuscripts, you can find her watching documentaries, reading too many books on true crime, and caring too much about fictional characters. Find her on twitter (@amandahjean) and at [amandahjean.weebly.com](http://amandahjean.weebly.com/). **Austin Chant** **Co-creator/Co-host** Austin Chant is a bitter millennial, avid gamer, and a queer, trans romance writer. His interests include cooking everything, petting friendly dogs and cats, and writing about all kinds of rad queer people. He lives in Seattle with his partners in crime, a pleasant collection of game consoles, and an abundance of tea. In the regrettably large amount of time he spends not writing romance novels, he works in interactive media as a game designer and does his best to stay awake through college. You can follow him on Twitter (@austinchanted) and his website is [austinchanted.weebly.com.](http://austinchanted.weebly.com/) yes full 1