Podcast appearances and mentions of suzanne brockmann

Jeff & Will celebrate the gay romance holiday classic "All Through the Night" by Suzanne Brockmann, recently honored in "Time Magazine's" "50 Best Romances to Read Right Now." As part of the festivities, they revisit their 2017 interview with Suzanne, her husband Ed Gaffney, and son Jason T. Gaffney where they discuss the creation of Jules and Robin, the unforgettable couple from the "Troubleshooters" series. Then the guys dive into their thoughts on "All Through the Night" in a throwback to the 2020 Big Gay Fiction Book Club episode, revisiting one of their favorite holiday romances. Complete show notes for episode 468 along with a transcript of the show are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com. Look for the next episode of Big Gay Fiction Podcast on Monday, December 16. Big Gay Fiction Podcast is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find many more outstanding podcasts at frolic.media/podcasts!

Hey HBs! This is part 2 of FRISCO'S KID by Suzanne Brockmann, the third book in the Tall, Dark, and Dangerous series! We hope you're ready for a little bit of action and more emotional growth! Bonus Content: getting nakie in the living room, "then I'll choose you," the miscommunication trope done with excellent communication, future purveyors of toilet wine, paranormal creatures in regular human bodies, booze cabins, getting smacked in the face with '90s technology, and so much more! Lady Loves Sabrina: donate clothes you don't wear anymore and get the closet of your dreams! Wear what you want RIGHT NOW, not 15 years ago. Mel: our new technique to help with tantrums and processing emotions! We've been offering our 5 year old ice packs to hold against her chest to bring her back to her body when she starts spiraling on negative thoughts and emotions. It's been helping! Want to support the show? Rate and review us on your favorite podcast app! It super helps the algorithm connect us to new listeners.  Want more of us? Check out our PATREON! Credits: Theme Music: Brittany Pfantz  Art: Author Kate Prior Want to tell us a story, ask about advertising, or anything else? Email: heavingbosomspodcast (at) gmail  Follow our socials:  Instagram @heavingbosoms Tiktok @heaving_bosoms  Facebook group: the Heaving Bosoms Geriatric Friendship Cult The above contains affiliate links, which means that when purchasing through them, the podcast gets a small percentage without costing you a penny more.

Happy Veteran's Day to all our American Listeners! It's our annual Veterans Day episode and we decided to continue our journey through the Tall, Dark, and Dangerous series. Today is part 1 of FRISCO'S KID by Suzanne Brockmann! We were hoping for similar ridiculous antics to the first two books, but we got a very sincere recovery story with the following content warnings: debilitating injury and aggressive rehabilitation, disability, alcohol use and abuse and alcoholism, child abuse and neglect, and we discuss the potential suicidal ideation of a character. The good news is that, overall, we liked book! Bonus Content: Mel is irreverent about celebrities again, Sabrina found out some sad news about Tupac, a tragic lack of shenanigans and malarkey, Frisco just needs to be a Yoda, we've got another sexy gardener, preserving toxic masculinity, making aggressive love to...., and so much more! Want to support the show? Rate and review us on your favorite podcast app! It super helps the algorithm connect us to new listeners.  Want more of us? Check out our PATREON! Credits: Theme Music: Brittany Pfantz  Art: Author Kate Prior Want to tell us a story, ask about advertising, or anything else? Email: heavingbosomspodcast (at) gmail  Follow our socials:  Instagram @heavingbosoms Tiktok @heaving_bosoms  Facebook group: the Heaving Bosoms Geriatric Friendship Cult The above contains affiliate links, which means that when purchasing through them, the podcast gets a small percentage without costing you a penny more.

Paranormal tendencies? Sure. This week's pick is Now You See Her by Linda Howard, a (pretty!) spicy pick from Jordan featuring New York City, murder, and an artist with freakily accurate premonitions.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/420731.Now_You_See_HerIf you're looking for similar books, anything by these authors may scratch the itch:Ali Hazelwoodhttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21098177.Ali_HazelwoodSarah J. Maashttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3433047.Sarah_J_MaasSuzanne Brockmannhttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/32638.Suzanne_Brockmann

Happy Veteran's Day, American HBs! We're bringing you book 2 of Suzanne Brockmann's Tall, Dark, and Dangerous series, FOREVER BLUE. A big ol' Navy Seal goes home for his brother's wedding (to his High School sweetheart) and reconnects with the little tomboy he paid no attention to back in the day. Also, there's a murder mystery! And some astonishing police work.Bonus Content: "Is it my meds? Is it my hormones? I don't know, but I'm not okay!", Navy Seals as paranormal creatures, sexual fantasies peaking in High School, motel boning, plants are the original security systems, pond scum lubricant, what are money laundering?, how do credit card APR?, and so much more!Lady Loves:Sabrina: We love talking to you, Listener! Most recently, Caroline D. live-updated us while her husband listened to Fourth Wing on a long drive and it gave us life!Reach out to that friend you've been thinking about! They probably miss you, too!Mel: take the hard left turn if that's what is best or healthiest for you! If you follow us on social media, you may have noticed that we lied to you. We said we would do This Side of Heaven for today's episode and then we decided we had to HARD PASS on that one for problematic ish we couldn't whimsy through. #sorrynotsorryMake sure to check out Mel's new podcast Bonkers Romance! Subscribe! Rate! Review! Tell all your friends :)Get more content on PATREON!!Sign up for our Newsletter! MERCH! Teepublic, Chicaloo Kate, RedbubbleInstagram: @heavingbosomsTwitter: @heaving_bosoms

This week Jordan gives us a lesson on romantic suspense with her pick of the week, "Cover of Night" by Linda Howard. As Katie says, think the love child of James Bond and Gilmore Girls. We don't have any similar books this week (this one is pretty far in left field!) but another author to check out is Suzanne Brockmann, a romantic suspense author that came from the same publishing era as Howard.

Fiction gives us the chance to provide power to or destroy cultural values, sensitivities, current or past issues and much more. We can learn from what characters do, where they are, how they behave and much more. Fiction is not just about a good story but also what we take away from the story. In this episode, we have a chance to talk with Suzanne Brockmann, the New York Times bestselling romance author. We talk about how she came about writing fiction that focused on Navy Seal Hero's before they became popular in all kinds of fiction. Suzanne not only was writing about Navy Seals before it was popular, but her books are also informative. Weaved into her stories are history lessons, cultural values, diversity, family relations and social-economic issues that make us think. In this episode,Suzanne talks about her writing, characters, and her new movie coming out that aired in 2021..

Fiction gives us the chance to provide power to or destroy cultural values, sensitivities, current or past issues and much more. We can learn from what characters do, where they are, how they behave and much more. Fiction is not just about a good story but also what we take away from the story. In this episode, we have a chance to talk with Suzanne Brockmann, the New York Times bestselling romance author. We talk about how she came about writing fiction that focused on Navy Seal Hero's before they became popular in all kinds of fiction. Suzanne not only was writing about Navy Seals before it was popular, but her books are also informative. Weaved into her stories are history lessons, cultural values, diversity, family relations and social-economic issues that make us think. In this episode,Suzanne talks about her writing, characters, and her new movie coming out that aired in 2021..

Fiction gives us the chance to provide power to or destroy cultural values, sensitivities, current or past issues and much more. We can learn from what characters do, where they are, how they behave and much more. Fiction is not just about a good story but also what we take away from the story. In this episode, we have a chance to talk with Suzanne Brockmann, the New York Times bestselling romance author. We talk about how she came about writing fiction that focused on Navy Seal Hero's before they became popular in all kinds of fiction. Suzanne not only was writing about Navy Seals before it was popular, but her books are also informative. Weaved into her stories are history lessons, cultural values, diversity, family relations and social-economic issues that make us think. In this episode,Suzanne talks about her writing, characters, and her new movie coming out on Netflix just in time for Halloween 2021..

Fiction gives us the chance to provide power to or destroy cultural values, sensitivities, current or past issues and much more. We can learn from what characters do, where they are, how they behave and much more. Fiction is not just about a good story but also what we take away from the story. In this episode, we have a chance to talk with Suzanne Brockmann, the New York Times bestselling romance author. We talk about how she came about writing fiction that focused on Navy Seal Hero's before they became popular in all kinds of fiction. Suzanne not only was writing about Navy Seals before it was popular, but her books are also informative. Weaved into her stories are history lessons, cultural values, diversity, family relations and social-economic issues that make us think. In this episode,Suzanne talks about her writing, characters, and her new movie coming out on Netflix just in time for Halloween 2021..

Fiction gives us the chance to provide power to or destroy cultural values, sensitivities, current or past issues and much more. We can learn from what characters do, where they are, how they behave and much more. Fiction is not just about a good story but also what we take away from the story. In this episode, we have a chance to talk with Suzanne Brockmann, the New York Times bestselling romance author. We talk about how she came about writing fiction that focused on Navy Seal Hero's before they became popular in all kinds of fiction. Suzanne not only was writing about Navy Seals before it was popular, but her books are also informative. Weaved into her stories are history lessons, cultural values, diversity, family relations and social-economic issues that make us think. In this episode,Suzanne talks about her writing, characters, and her new movie coming out on Netflix just in time for Halloween 2021..

On today's episode... Danielle traveled and hung out with a bunch of kids! Gwen survived the Seattle heatwave and didn't murder her husband in the process! Host Check-in! Gwen has had an eventful 2021 so far, including moving across the country, bringing back the FF podcast, finding her perfect Costco in her new city, and starting a new event planning job. Danielle has a pub date for her debut novel (but she can't share it just yet). Get ready for Summer 2022! What we've been READING Danielle: Bombshell by Sarah MacLean (August 24), The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon (August 17); Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson (August 3), The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (September 14), and slowly reading Emma by Jane Austen and will follow it up with Northanger Abbey. (PS: Danielle is moderating a virtual panel on Friday August 6 with Alexis Daria, Melonie Johnson, Sarah MacLean, Scarlett Peckham, and Farrah Rochon, all about BFFs in Romance) Gwen: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, The Checklist by Addie Woolridge, and I just started To Sir, With Love by Lauren Layne (You've Got Mail reimagining!) What we've been WATCHING Gwen: Below Deck Med and Real Housewives of Potomac (Bravo) are back, baby! Kevin Can F Himself (AMC+), This is Pop (Netflix), Top Chef Portland season finale (Bravo), The Hustler (ABC), Starstruck (HBO Max), Hacks (HBO), Woolfgang (Disney+) Danielle: The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu), Much Ado About Nothing (Amazon Prime), Shadow and Bone (per Gwen's rec! On Netflix), In the Heights (HBO Max), We are Lady Parts (Peacock TV) PS: Look at all the pretty people in Much Ado About Nothing! What else we've been CONSUMING Danielle: Podcast: Unladylike. All the Trader Joe's snacks, specifically the Giant Peruvian Inca Corn Snacks and Philly Cheesesteak Bao Buns. Gwen: Podcast: I Am All In with Scott Patterson. Carrie Underwood's Calia brand athleisure. Millionaire Cheesecakes and Lemon curd Cheesecakes from Costco. Ellenos Yogurt (Whole Foods and other specialty shops nationwide)   More Summer Fun! Gwen wants to see more friends and has some upcomiong visitors that will be very exciting! She and her husband are also trying to explore Western Washington more, and went to Mt. Rainier recently. She really wants to go to Forks, WA, and Danielle wholeheartedly supports this, even though neither of them got into Twilight AT ALL. Danielle is taking a family trip to a smalltown in Michigan to live that lake life. Also, she had brunch with friends recently and now wants to do that more (safely and within reason). * Recs from Marissa and Roseann Check out LSA's surprise boxes and their YouTube channel! Roseann loved the virtual event they hosted with Beverly Jenkins and Marissa has enjoyed the Boozy Book Broads, including Rosie Danan, Diana Biller, and Jackie Lau All the recs from our rapid fire section! Comfort Reads: Anything Beverly Jenkins, Anything Barbara Delinksey, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, Born in Fire by Nora Roberts. Books we think should be adapted for TV/Film: The Worst Best Man  by Mia Sosa, Modern Love Series by Alisha Rai, Jemima J by Jane Green, You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria. Dream Author Guests for store events or the podcast: Beverly Jenkins (in person!), Alyssa Cole, Suzanne Brockmann, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Nora Roberts Marissa is loving the warmer weather, Frappucinos, Skinny Pop Popcorn, and her dogs. Roseann is finding joy in warmer weather and getting outside more. Follow LSA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, shop their online store, sign up for their newsletter, and check out their Patreon! Also, head to their website for the latest info on events, store hours, and everything else: https://lovessweetarrow.com/ **After this interview was recorded in the springtime, Love's Sweet Arrow and the Boozy Book Broads have put together a NEW Summer Sultry Box with handpicked items by the BBBs, LSA, and a special Novelly Yours Candle called Boozy Books on the Beach!** Goals/Comfort & Joy Gwen did not start un-crossing her legs while working, but it's a work in progress. Gwen's new goal is to find GP/doctors for her and her husband in WA and a vet/groomer for their dog. This week, she has found joy in having her brother and his partner visit soon! Danielle successfully traveled across the country and didn't spiral (too much). Danielle's new goal is to survive family vacation! And this week, she wants to give a special shout out to Novelly Yours Candles. Some of her faves: Book Club, Tarot Reading, Rose All Day, Thriller, and The Muse.   Follow Up: The Worst Best Man [DD1]

Jeff & Will celebrate the holiday season with the groundbreaking romance “All Through the Night” by Suzanne Brockmann. Will also briefly looks at the collection “Beginnings and Ends & When Tony Met Adam,” which features the continuing stories from characters from “All Through the Night.” Complete shownotes for episode 277 are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com. Big Gay Fiction Podcast is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find many more outstanding podcasts at frolic.media/podcasts!

For the last Listener Favorite episode of our fifth anniversary year, we present Suzanne Brockmann. Suzanne, along with her family, has long been a champion of LGBTQ+ inclusion in romance fiction. In this look back at interviews from 2017 (which featured her, her husband Ed Gaffney and her son Jason T. Gaffney), Suzanne discusses her efforts to get gay characters in some of her early work, including the groundbreaking addition of FBI agent Jules Cassidy to her “Troubleshooter” series, and the historic gay wedding she brought to readers in “All Through the Night” (which happens to be our Big Gay Fiction Book Club selection for December). We also hear from Suzanne, Ed and Jason about how the family creates projects like the “California Comedy” books and movies, such as “The Perfect Wedding.” Complete shownotes for episode 272 along with a transcript of the interview are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com. Big Gay Fiction Podcast is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find many more outstanding podcasts at frolic.media/podcasts!

In Bridget's defense, she read the series a long time ago and probably should have just picked one of her favorites, but she thought it was important to start from the beginning of the troubleshooter... but probably should have picked book 2 or 3 to start!Ann (Bridget's sister) reprises her role as guest host and to be honest, this was recorded the week of the election and so we were a bit all over the place reviewing this book. We had a great time reminiscing about our favorite books in the series (Bridget naturally needs her mind jiggered by the sex scenes) and all in all it is a fun hour! We hope this brings you some laughter as always and makes you wanna get it on with some Navy Seals. If you missed our interview with Suz in the previous  episode make sure you check it out! This book actually was the least suspenseful of the seriesWe absolutely loved the subplot with David and Mallory (who is Tom's niece) The WW2 subplot Kelly and Tom re-learning about the other as adults How Suzanne allows her characters to grow throughout the booksSexy times in a closet where they almost get caughtThe old men getting so excited about being in on the action and more!The Unsung HeroBuy on Amazon  | Buy on BookShop ***Leave us a rating and review on Itunes***1000% honest reviews all the time! Read along with us and see the full list: www.romanceataglance.com/upcoming-booksOn Romance at a Glance, we discuss and review all genres of romance novels, as well as get into the nitty-gritty of real-life romance, relationships, and sex... while cracking each other up. Expect some spontaneous singing, funny anecdotes, honest reviews, and naughty language.Check out www.romanceataglance.comChat with us on Instagram at instagram.com/romanceataglanceSupport us on Patreon at patreon.com/romanceataglance

Best-selling author Suzanne Brockmann lived up to all the expectations that Bridget had for her. One of Bridget's OG romance novel obsessions, Bridget was thrilled to talk with Suzanne about Navy Seals, Jules Cassidy (Suzanne's first gay character to get his own book), the evolution of her characters, her advice for white writers on how and why they should be writing a world in color, and more. Shani was there too ;) (HAHA For real though she was and Bridget let her ask questions, and they were great ones! hehe)This interview was AMAZING. We couldn't be prouder of it. We couldn't be more thankful Suzanne was so honest with us!   ***Leave us a rating and review on Itunes***A lot of additional listening on Patreon!1000% honest reviews all the time! Read along with us and see the full list: www.romanceataglance.com/upcoming-booksOn Romance at a Glance, we discuss and review all genres of romance novels, as well as get into the nitty-gritty of real-life romance, relationships, and sex... while cracking each other up. Expect some spontaneous singing, funny anecdotes, honest reviews, and naughty language.Check out www.romanceataglance.comChat with us on Instagram at instagram.com/romanceataglanceSupport us on Patreon at patreon.com/romanceataglance

The last six weeks have been rough, but Fated Mates listeners and a wild number of Romance Authors made them easier by being a part of Fated States, our weekly phonebanking initiative with Indivisible Action. We don’t know how yesterday went, but we know we are so incredibly proud to have worked alongside so many listeners who volunteered their time to phonebank, and so many amazing authors who donated books to phone bankers!On this episode, we rec books by every author who donated free books to Fated States — all 49 of them! Your TBR is going to be full for years after this one! We promise! Special shout out to Julia Quinn, Suzanne Brockmann, AJ Cousins, Carrie Ann Ryan & Cassandra Carr, who each donated books to EVERY phonebanker, once a week for five weeks.Below, in Show Notes, you’ll find a full list of the books we recommend, and links to Amazon. You can buy print versions of books and support independent bookstores at our bookshop.org shop!AND…thanks to our sister pods, Heaving Bosoms, Learning the Tropes and The Wicked Wallflowers, who donated podcasting swag, and to BestFriendKelly for stickers!IMPORTANT UPDATE: This Thursday, November 5th, we’ll be recording our 100th Episode LIVE on Zoom, and we want you to be there! Join us and special guests, for games, laughter, romance recommendations, and as much joy as you can handle. Sign up here.Next week, we’ll release the 100th Episode for those of you who can’t make it Thursday, and the following week, we’re back on read alongs with Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game! Get it at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple or at your local indie via bookshop.org.

Jeff & Will congratulate Suzanne Brockmann, Jason T. Gaffney, Kevin Held and the team behind the film Out of Body. The film opens Cinema Diverse, the Palm Spring LGBTQ Film Festival on Friday, September 11. Reading Challenge Month on Joyfully Jay is also discussed. To celebrate the upcoming fifth anniversary of the podcast, we have the second Listener Favorite episode. This week the spotlight is on Lucy Lennox. They guys present four reviews featuring their all-time favorites from the Forever Wilde series: Felix and the Prince, Hudson’s Luck, Wilde Love and King Me. Next, they re-visit three of Lucy’s interviews. Complete shownotes for episode 257 along with a transcript of the interview are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com. Big Gay Fiction Podcast is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find many more outstanding podcasts at frolic.media/podcasts!

In this episode of Booklist's Shelf Care: The Podcast, host Susan Maguire sits down with librarian extraordinaire Robin Bradford to discuss the hottest topic in all of Libraryland: are trade paperbacks better than mass market paperbacks? They get into patron behavior, format preferences, and, inevitably, romance novels. Then Audio Editor Heather Booth provides a glimpse at the audio award-winners announced at ALA Midwinter in January, and Susan and Adult Books Editor Donna Seaman break down the winners Carnegie Awards for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. It's a big episode, y'all! The books mentioned this episode are: The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev Longarm series of westerns NetGalley The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon Sweet Talkin’ Lover by Tracey Livesay As Good as the First Time by K. M. Jackson (K. M. Jackson’s How to Marry Keanu Reeves in 90 Days comes out in fall 2021. !!!) Suzanne Brockmann’s Navy SEALS Lowdown Dirty by Holly Trent Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye Grumpy Jake by Melissa Blue On Time: A Princely Life in Funk by Morris Day RUSA Listen List; ALSC Notable Children’s Recordings ; YALSA Amazing Audio; Odyssey Award Narrators: Dion Graham Bahni Turpin Tessa Netting Cassandra Morris January LaVoy Own Voices Memoirs Narrated by the Author: Becoming by Michelle Obama, read by the author Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson, read by the author Brave Face by Shaun David Hutchinson, read by the author Notes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi, read by the author Full Cast Productions: Lovely War by Julie Berry, read by Allan Corduner et al Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob, read by a full cast Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, read by Jennifer Beals et al Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, read by the author et al Etc: We Are Grateful: Ostaliheliga by Traci Sorell, read by Lauren Hummingbird Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly, read by Abigail Revasch We’re Not from Here by Geoff Rodkey, read by Dani Martineck Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, read by Shvorne Marks Mango, Abuela, y yo (Mango, Abuela, and Me) by Meg Medina, read by Alisa Amador Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction & Nonfiction Figuring by Maria Popova Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli

Jeff & Will are live from the Coastal Magic Convention! They open the show talking about a new Kickstarter campaign from Suzanne Brockmann and Jason T. Gaffney. They also discuss the Freeform film The Thing About Harry and the new CW series Katy Keene. They also reveal the highlights from their weekend at Coastal Magic. Xio Axelrod talks to Jeff about her Frankie & Johnny books as well as Alt Er Love. Her musical background and love of the Norwegian show Skam are discussed as is how she got into writing romance. Jeff also finds out what's coming up next for her. Complete shownotes for episode 229 along with a transcript of the interview are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com. Big Gay Fiction Podcast is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find many more outstanding podcasts at frolic.media/podcasts!

May Archer is an author of gay romance, including the bestselling Love in O'Leary series. She's also a homeschooling mom of three incredibly sarcastic children and the wife of a man who has never missed a Hallmark movie.LINKS*Amazon AffiliateMayArcher.com https://www.mayarcher.com/May Archer Romance https://www.facebook.com/mayarcherromance/Club May (Reader Group) https://www.facebook.com/groups/clubmay/BOOKS by MAY ARCHERMay Archer | Amazon https://amzn.to/34XRbMXThe Easy Way (Way Home series) — May Archer https://amzn.to/2QdytgqLove in O’Leary series — May Archer https://amzn.to/354ruKZThe Secret — May Archer https://amzn.to/2XajkOl"The Vase" from Heart2Heart Volume 3 https://amzn.to/32Vcq1sOTHER AUTHORSTrouble Shooters series — Suzanne Brockmann https://amzn.to/2X8NIZfHim — Sarina Bowen, Elle Kennedy https://amzn.to/2lsKAt1Us — Sarina Bowen, Elle Kennedy https://amzn.to/2lVpS5lHell & High-water (THIRDS Book 1) — Charlie Cochet https://amzn.to/2rAZFLDHailey Turner https://amzn.to/34AWWB6SUBSCRIBEApple (iOS)| Spotify| Stitcher (Android)Are you new to podcasts?How to subscribe to my podcast— freeHOST LINKSSlade James sladejames.comMM Author Podcast gayromance.showSUPPORT THE SHOWPatreon patreon.com/sladejames

Hey HBs! We're here this gorgeous Veterans Day with Prince Joe by Suzanne Brockmann! When terrorists Digiorno and Sausalito decide to assassinate a Prince, he needs his American Doppleganger, a Navy Seal, to impersonate him. Luckily, he has a high class, dancing, media consultant who can turn this wrong-side-of-the-tracks guy into Royalty. Or something. Begrudging association becomes steamy bed play! And then LOVE!!  Bonus Content:  Erin's spectacular mom reads romance now!, we're stoked for ACOWAR, Jordan Catalano, teeny tiny sleeps, Erin's favorite version of Showgirls with crazy cartoon bikinis covering the T&A and goofily-dubbed cursing, *Bing Boong Bong* SO MANY THINGS with Erin, nipple lapels, bearing down, head hopping (discussed a bit in this episode of Fated Mates), something called a "chopter," and so much more!  Lady Loves: Melody: bras that fit. Get them on your body. Erin endorses the Spanx Pillow Cup Signature Pushup Plunge Bra. It's got memory foam cups!  Erin: one that note, pants that fit! High-waisted Madewell are awesome!  Episode Sponsor:  Wanna Bet by Betsy Dudak!  Harper McReynolds a single mother of two, with a troubled history, who needs stability for herself and her daughters. Randall gives her all she asks for in a boyfriend—kindness, predictability, structure, and routine. Harper's head keeps trying to remind her that she doesn't want the bad boy who makes her combust every time she's near him. Brody Reed's addiction claimed a brother's trust and started his own downward spiral. Growing tired of life on the road, a woman at every concert and a dependency on liquid courage, Brody put his life back together piece by broken piece. But the woman he lusts after may just shatter all of this. An off-handed bet Brody and Harper make after a passionate kiss may change everything for them. Will they gamble on their hearts to prove to each other they are all in? Or when the stakes get too high, will they fold and walk away? Indy Podcast Promo:  The Secret Life of Weddings Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, etc. or at http://secretlifeofweddings.com   Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/secretlifeofweddings/ Twitter | https://twitter.com/secretlifeofwed Facebook Page | https://www.facebook.com/thesecretlifeofweddings Tumblr | https://secretlifeofweddings.tumblr.com YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJ6EVYHYsmIvs_bnHqKXSg

Hey HBs! It's time for Ask-A-Badass! Today Natalie learns about Human Resources and what you can do in romance novels, but not in real life (spoiler alert: DON'T KEEP PANTIES IN YOUR DESK DRAWER, OK??). And tune it on Monday, November 11 for Prince Joe by Suzanne Brockmann for Navy Seals, 90's callbacks, patented HB action sequences, and so much more! To be featured on Ask-A-Badass, email askabadasspod@gmail.com and before you second-guess yourself YES WE MEAN YOU! 

Jeff & Will talk about their upcoming trip to the 2019 LA Times Festival of Books. They also discuss two series they’ve been watching: Comedy Central’s The Other Two and Freeform’s Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists. Books reviewed this week include Kim Fielding’s The Spy’s Love Song, Ari McKay’s Take Two and Erin McLellan’s Clean Break. Jeff interviews Erin McLellan about Clean Break, the second book in her Farm College series, and about why it’s important for her to tell stories based in her home state of Oklahoma. They also talk about her Love Life series, what got her started writing, her author influences and the TV she likes to binge watch. Complete shownotes for episode 182 are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com. -------- Here’s the text of Jeff’s book reviews: The Spy’s Love Song by Kim FieldingRock star and secret agent on a mission to a foreign country to topple a dictator all wrapped up in a Dreamspun Desires package. That combination pushed all of my romantic suspense buttons and I had no choice but to pick up this book. And I loved it every bit as much as I thought I would. I was in tropey goodness heaven with the rock star thing, a bodyguard vibe plus lovers on the run and some occasional forced proximity. Jaxon Powers is a jaded rock star who’s at the end of a long tour. After waking up in a hotel room barely remembering what happened the night before, he might also be ready for a change in lifestyle. He gets a lot more than he bargained for when his manager brings him to a meeting with the State Department. It seems the dictator that runs the small country of Vasnytsia is a fan and wants Jaxon to perform a private concert as well as a large outdoor one for a worker’s festival. The U.S. wants Jaxon to do this because it’s a chance to improve US relations with the Russia-supported dictator. The only person going with Jaxon on the trip is secret agent Reid Stanfill. Besides keeping Jaxon safe, Reid’s got an agenda that has global ramifications. I fell in love with this book right from the beginning. Kim plays with expectations from the beginning. While Jaxon appears to be the spoiled rock star we quickly find that’s not what he wants to be. He’s a small town boy, doing what he loves to do but he wants more substance to the way he’s living. The trip to Vasnytsia does exactly that as his world view gets a complete makeover. Not only does Jaxon end up traveling without the entourage he’s used to, as Reid’s mission goes sideways the two end up on the run. Reid’s mission is to try to destabilize the country and force elections and that makes him an enemy of the state. Despite his fear, Jaxon won’t leave Reid to fend for himself. Jaxon knows his celebrity can protect both of them and he sticks by Reid even as Reid tries to force the star to safety. Through all of the crazy events that could result in either of them dying, Jaxon and Reid manage to start a romance. Reid tries to keep it from beginning since they’re in a country where homosexuality is illegal but they give in to their passions. That’s just the beginning as they share stories about their pasts, which only endears them more to each other. The mix between the romance and suspense is perfect, giving our guys time to fall in love even while things around them go crazy. I liked that Kim avoided the usual Dreamspun scenario of having alternating points of view. Everything in the story is Jaxon, which works perfectly so we don’t know Reid’s mission or anything else too early. It makes for a very snappy read going on the roller coaster that Jaxon experiences. Kim brings Vasnytsia to life through its people. It starts with the guides taking Jaxon around the country, giving him peek behind the propaganda. As he meets fans who must covertly speak to him as it wouldn’t be proper for anyone to talk with the American he begins to understand why Reid’s mission is so important. Ultimately it’s these people who shelter Reid and Jaxon and help complete his mission–with a particularly awesome assist from Jaxon. Drew Bacca does a great job on the audiobook, including having to sing a couple of Jaxon’s songs. This is the first book in the “Stars From Peril” series that Kim has in the Dreamspun line. The second book, Redesigning Landry Bishop, comes out in May and I’m already looking forward to it.  -------- Clean Break by Erin McLellanI almost didn’t pick this book up because I couldn’t imagine reading a book that included the characters taking care of Madagascar hissing cockroaches. I’m not a fan of bugs and the trigger warning page discusses more about the bugs than anything else. However, I’m glad I listened to the re-assurances I wouldn’t be creeped out because this is a terrific book–and the bugs really are a non-thing. This book, the second in Erin’s “Farm College” series, throws together Connor Blume and Travis Bedford–two guys who very much don’t like each other in the aftermath of an awkward, failed hookup. As their final college term begins, Connor and Travis are taking Entomology 101 and because the professor likes students to sit alphabetically, they’re next to each other and end up becoming class partners. Their dislike for each other radiates from them during that first class. Connor’s OCD and anxiety flare up just being near the guy, who he’s still wildly attracted to and wants to have a real discussion with. Travis has the attraction too but carries the anger from their previous hookup. It only gets worse as they get the assignment that they’ll be caring for Madagascar hissing cockroaches for the semester or that they’ll have to answer discussion questions together. It doesn’t take long for the sparks of dislike to turn into sparks of desire and they end up spending time after class in a storage closet making out. Neither of them is particularly happy that they’re giving in to their desires, which makes the scenes cuter and hotter. Travis wants the fussy farmer and Connor very much wants the stand-offish English major. Even as their make out sessions start to cool their hatred, they realize they’re constrained by time. At graduation, Connor is set to take over management of his parent’s farm, even though he doesn’t necessarily want that. Meanwhile, Travis can’t wait to get out of the small town for his legal aid internship and then on to law school. The guys have their futures mapped out and there’s no space for the other. That doesn’t stop them from getting emotionally entangled. Erin does a terrific job of bringing these two together. As they move their hookups to the bedroom, Travis discovers he likes Connor’s controlling side and gives himself over to it. Connor though never takes advantage, making sure that he’s always got Travis’s consent and that Travis enjoys himself. That continues as Travis reveals he’d like to be spanked. Both guys discover this is exactly what they need. Beyond the sex though, their efforts to not get too attached aren’t helped by their post-sex talks. Travis usually wants Connor to tell him a story and it’s here that he opens up bit by bit about his anxiety, his OCD and his pre-determined future. There’s so much going on for him, as a reader I wanted to wrap him in a hug and do whatever I could to ease the load he carried. Travis talks a lot too and over time we learn what makes him so driven–it turns out he lost one of his dreams due to an accident and he doesn’t want to let anything or anyone cost him this one. Just a she was great at bringing them together, Erin tears the guys apart just as expertly. It’s a tough go as Connor and Travis force themselves apart as graduation nears. Erin does a number on the characters as they emotionally hurt themselves and each other as they keep to their plans. Both guys want to talk to the other so badly and yet they’ve promised not too. For Connor, this is particularly bad for his OCD. Of course, this is a romance, so all must end happy. Thankfully how Erin gets the guys back together his as satisfying as everything she did earlier in the book. There is a way for them to be together–it just takes time for them to get there. -------- Interview Transcript - Erin McLellan Jeff: Welcome, Erin, to the podcast. Erin: Hi. Thanks for having me. Jeff: Very excited to have you here. You’re a new-to-me author and I just finished reading “Clean Break,” which I have to tell you, I adored so much. I’m reviewing it right before we get into the interview segment I’ll have reviewed it to kinda tell everybody about it. Erin: Yay, thank you. Jeff: It is the second book in your “Farm College” Series. So before we dive into “Clean Break,” tell us more about what the “Farm College” Series is about. Erin: Okay. So it’s just two books so far like you said and they are set in a fictional college in Western Oklahoma. And I would say kind of the overarching themes are… Since they’re college stories, they’re new adult that’s kind of coming of age and self-discovery, finding your authentic self, finding a home is kind of a big one. I think that’s kind of important at that age. You’ve moved out of your parent’s house or wherever you grew up for a lot of people and kinda figuring out what is home, what is family, that kind of thing. So those types of themes are kind of follow both books. They’re both kind of angsty to be honest though “Controlled Burn,” more so than “Clean Break” actually. Jeff: Oh, my goodness. Erin: So be prepared. But, yeah, and I think in terms of… The setting is really important to me at least as the author and those books is important to me. I’m from Oklahoma. I live in Alaska now, but I’m from Oklahoma. And it’s important to me to write stories that are set in Oklahoma that have, you know, LGBTQIA+ characters in Oklahoma. And I know as somebody that reads a lot of romance, I don’t see that very often. I don’t see romance set there or it might be… I have seen it where it’s, you know, characters that are like, escaping Oklahoma which certainly is the case for a lot of people, but it’s also the case that people live and love, and make their lives there. And I kinda wanna show that. Jeff: Does a farm college like this exist in Oklahoma? Is it based on a real place? Erin: No. Kind of I guess. A lot of the kind of small details mirror Oklahoma State which was my alma mater for undergrad, but Oklahoma State is so much bigger than the college that I created. So Farm College is kind of a smaller college in Western Oklahoma that I’ve created, but in terms of being, you know, having a strong agriculture program, but also kind of having this liberal arts situation that’s going on and a pretty vibrant LGBTQIA community, I’ve kind of made most of that up. So… Jeff: And I agree that we don’t see, I mean, besides books set in Oklahoma, really the more rural settings kinda, it’s always escaping from those places. And I like that you kind of built a place as if this is what you’d like to see even if it doesn’t quite exist there now. Erin: Right. And I think it’s kind of funny when I started writing “Controlled Burn.” It was pre-2016, right? And I kind of had this, you know, I kind of had this idea that it’s getting better, right? It’s looking up for lots of communities and I’m not sure if that’s necessarily the case anymore. I hope it will be and I hope it is eventually. But, you know, there’s good and bad, I think, about places like Oklahoma and Kansas, and Texas. And, you know, Oklahoma is really special to me. It’s really important to me. Kansas is the same, but there’s also problems and, you know, I wanna kinda write those stories. And I also, thinking about Oklahoma or Texas probably more so, a lot of the romances that I’ve read that are set there are like, ranch, you know, the cowboys, the farmers which there is kind of a farmer in “Clean Break.” But there’s a lot of people that live in Oklahoma and in Texas, in Kansas that aren’t cowboys. So I wanted to tell that story too. Jeff: Right. And you really hinted that a little bit with some of the dialogue between Travis and Connor in “Clean Break” too as they kind of talk about the difference between cowboy and more the farmer type that Connor and his family are. Erin: Right. Jeff: And so, as we kinda move this direction, tell us what “Clean break” is about and kind of who Travis and Connor are. Erin: Right. So “Clean Break” is about Travis and Connor. Travis is…he’s the best friend in “Controlled Burn.” So if you read “Controlled Burn,” you see quite a bit of him. He’s an English major. He’s from Houston, Texas, very ambitious. He’s got these kind of life plans and nothing’s gonna slow him down, right? He wants to go to law school. He’s got an internship after for the summer. He’s planning to move to Saint Louis eventually to work at this legal aid charity. He has this very, you know, set goals and he’s also kind of a unique, quirky, funny character to me. And then you have Connor who comes in and I don’t know if I would say at the beginning of the book, it’s more like pre-book before the book happens, they have a little bit of a failed hookup in a lot of ways. Some misunderstandings and so, they don’t like each other very much. And then in the first chapter, they get paired together as class partners in a class. And Connor is a farm boy. He’s kind of a townie, right? He’s from Elkville which is the city that’s it’s set in. He’s expected to take over the family farm and so, he’s got this, you know, he kind of his future plans are set, right? He doesn’t have a say over them and he’s… I have a big soft spot in my heart for him. He’s got anxiety, he has OCD. I really wanted to kind of write against the archetype of the like, lackadaisical cowboy or even like, the kind of the hard cowboy or, you know, that kind of archetype that I had in my head. I wanted to write a sensitive farm boy who’s in therapy and, you know, it doesn’t really match some of the people or the characters that I have seen written that way. And kind of the main issue between them, first is that they don’t like each other, but they’re attracted to each other, right? But the kind of the main two things that I wanted to do with the book is I wanted to write a complex authentic characters that are really well-rounded and hopefully, I accomplish that. And then the other thing that I really wanted to do was kind of write to people that are heading towards their future which is graduation and then, you know, the future beyond. And then their futures don’t mesh. There’s not really a way to come together at the end of graduation. They’re moving in different directions and I think that’s a really universal thing for people in college that are dating and dating seriously… do you compromise your future for somebody else? Do you change it? How do you make it work? So those are kind of the two things that I really wanted to hit on and of course, there’s, you know, there’s some kink that happens in the book and kind of self-discovery with that especially on Connors’ part. So there’s a lot going on, but those two things. The characterization and the conflict there with their futures not meshing are the two things I really wanted to hit. Jeff: And I think you did them both, I mean, really well. This book has so much going on in it and yet it never…the story also never gets way down either with the weight of everything that’s kind of moving around here. Erin: Thank you. Jeff: And really, you started them off as enemies who sort of move to friends to sort of get to lovers. Erin: Right. Jeff: Just that progression was so fun to watch unfold as they both pick at each other and then also help each other grow at the same time. It’s like, they lift each other up and kinda tear each other down at the same time. Erin: Right. And I hope that that is realistic. I think people… Because in a lot of ways they are kind of mean to each other at certain points and people can be mean to each other in real life. Especially, they’re not very old, you know, they’re 21, 22. So they kinda make stupid mistakes sometimes and say things that can be hurtful and then have to figure out how to make it better. Jeff: And I think with Connor too, you talked about writing against the archetypes and just having kinda the anxiety plus the OCD. And being, you know, a young gay man in that setting really just sets up so much for him in that situation. Erin: Right. Yeah. He has a lot going on. He’s bi actually and… Jeff: Right. I’m sorry. You’re right. Yes. Erin: And so, kind of a lot. I mean, it’s just a lot and I think it’s a lot for him to kind of deal with all at the same time. Jeff: What was your research on the mental health side of it to kind of figure out what traits to weave into his personality? Erin: So I did a lot of research and I had some readers too that read it for me. One of the main things that I really looked at was kind of the myths especially with OCD, kind of the myths surrounding OCD. I think a lot of people think it’s just, you know, a cleanliness thing or even an organizational thing where they, you know, people with OCD have an impulse to organize or clean. And that’s not really how it presents for a lot of people. A lot people have intrusive thoughts which he has or, you know, they have checking where he checks the expiration dates on food and he can’t kind of stop doing that even though he knows he shouldn’t be doing it, and it’s not healthy for him to do. And so, I did a lot of research about the myths and the different ways that it presents for people and kind of the hardships that it causes them. And I also really wanted to make sure that I kind of made it clear. It’s something that he’ll always deal with, right? It’s not going away and so, it’s really… I did a lot of research on how to manage it, how, you know, how to kind of continue life dealing with a mental health problem like that. Jeff: Yeah. I just… So often I wanted to just give him a hug when he was starting to lapse into it. It’s like, “Oh, I’m so sorry this is happening.” What you did through the black moments and I don’t wanna give spoilers for folks who, you know, need to read the book. But what you did to the black moments for both Connor and Travis as they dealt with their emotions and for Connor how those emotions kinda manifest themselves in his OCD was really just, I really liked seeing two young adults kinda come to grapple with all of that. Erin: Yeah. And I think it’s pretty normal when you’re more stressed, right? Or when there’s more and more stress for, you know, the OCD to kind of build on itself. The same with anxiety like, whenever I am really stressed about my anxiety, it’s gonna be worse about small things, you know, you can kind of blow them out of proportion. I know I do that and so, I was kind of trying to show that how it’s like as things got more stressful for him with graduation moving and with kind of this relationship with Travis, that’s not going away he wants it to go. It does kind of snowball for him and it kinda snowballs for Travis too just in different ways because he doesn’t, you know, he doesn’t have anxiety or OCD of course, but, you know, he struggles just kind of the same way. Jeff: Yeah. When you were talking about with this books about you left out one of its major points. Erin: The bugs? Jeff: That is the inclusion of the the hissing cockroaches. Where did that idea even come from? Erin: So I knew I wanted to put them in a class together and I wanted them to be class partners. But Travis is an English major and Connor is agriculture sciences, agribusiness major. And so, I knew it had to be like a gen ed class for at least one of them. And so, I really started thinking about the gen ed class that I had taken as an English major whenever I was an undergrad trying to figure out what class would make sense. And then I realized that I actually had taken an ag class that was Entomology 101. And I loved it, I, you know, I held like, tarantulas and I held millipedes. And I could see myself being that like, weird bug girl a little bit. I just loved it. And so, that’s kinda how I decided to put them in an entomology class. And it’s funny because, I mean, I do think that college is one of those times to take the weird class and do the weird thing. And so, I think it kind of made sense there and I also felt like, I gave a degree of what kind of humor and lightness I thought it would to the story. But I realize now that a lot of readers maybe don’t like bugs. So it’s something that’s like a little distracting to some people. When I had took the entomology class, we had an assignment where we had that exact assignment with the Madagascar hissing cockroaches where we had to take them home and observe them. And so, you know, for an entire semester, I had a Madagascar hissing cockroach in my dorm room with me. I never took it out of its box. I like, you know, I fed it, like, carrots through the little hole that it couldn’t get out and so, that would be fun to put that in the story. And I can tell you for the readers, the cockroaches do not escape ever. They never… There’s no, like, unexpected cockroach scenes. I promise. Jeff: Yeah. And I can vouch for that. There are no unexpected scenes and in fact, I had to check… I had to ask about that before I took the book to read and I’m like, “Bugs, I don’t know about that.” Erin: I know. I have put it in the trigger warnings for the book and on my website, it really does lay out kinda scene by scene where they’re at and kind of the degree that they’re on the page. And they’re not on the page that much. Jeff: No, they’re not and I never got squirmy reading it either because I really don’t like bugs. But I was totally fine with how this turned out. So… Erin: Yeah. I know. I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me that it would gross people out. At that point it was too late when it, like, finally hit me. I was like, “Well, I can’t do anything about it.” But I kind of thought that they were funny. Jeff: Well, I think it really fits with the whole ag culture of the college that of course, they’re gonna end up with bugs or whatever and have to learn about them. So it all meshed in together and like you said, there’s no point where they’re escaping or, you know, being gross. They’re just kind of there. Erin: Right. And students… Jeff: I like to, you know, those classes sometimes you take in high school where you’re having to take care of the doll for a week or whatever. And in this case you’re hanging out with a cockroach. So… Erin: Right. It’s kinda like a little pet for them for this semester. Jeff: So is there more plan for the Farm College Series? Erin: I have not kind of set plans. I do want to write a story for Alex. He’s in both books. He’s not in “Controlled Burn” for very much though his part is kind of important in “Controlled Burn.” He’s a friend of Connor’s really in “Clean Break” and I do wanna give him a story and I will. I’ll probably start writing that soon. Kind of be on that. I don’t know how much more I’ll write in the Farm College Series though I do wanna do a spin off that’s kind of several years in the future. So they’re not really in college anymore and I want to do an F/F romance for Desie and Lena. So I would start there for them. Jeff: Yay. Yeah. I would totally read that book because one of the things you did in “Clean Break” and I’m sure you established it back in “Controlled Burn” too, was just the tight community of friends that Travis and Connor both have, and even, like, the strong family presence of Connor’s family and how they support him. So it would be great to see more of all of that. Erin: Yeah. So… Yeah. And I definitely… I think I did a little bit more successfully in “Clean Break” for sure where they have very supportive families and they do have kind of a big wide friend group. And so, yeah, I’m glad that you like that, but I do want to do the F/F romance for Lena and Desie kind of. But Lena is quite young in this book. She’s 20 and so, I wanna give her a little bit of time to grow up, I guess. Jeff: Yeah. That’s cool. Now, you’ve got another series out there called “Love Life.” And tell us a little bit about what goes on in that series? Erin: Sure. So that’s also, they’re both male/male romances. Set in Oklahoma, Eastern Oklahoma for the first book, “Life on Pause.” They’re kind of small town romances there. The first one is about a guy that works at a homestead kind of prairie museum. They’re kind of common in Oklahoma where the people that work there have to dress in like, historical costumes of the time. So he works at that type of museum and then he is paired with a high school choir teacher. And it’s kind of them trying to fall in love and figure out how their relationship will work. It’s definitely kind of lighter in tone than the farm college series, but it’s still a little angsty. The second book in the series, “Life of Bliss,” is more novella link that’s a little short and it’s very tropey. It’s kind of two people that don’t like each other very much, but are fooling around kind of behind their friends’ backs. They agree to be fake boyfriends for a family wedding in Arkansas and Arkansas kind of, well, it has this… Historically in the area, it was the only state that didn’t have a waiting period for marriage licenses. Now, most of the states don’t, but back in the day, you know, they made you like, test for syphilis and all kind of stuffs. But extended the marriage license period. So Arkansas is kind of the place where people go for their shotgun weddings historically. So this is going back quite away, but in this book they go to a wedding in Arkansas, they get drunk at the wedding and basically, end up getting married themselves. It’s set in Eureka Springs, Arkansas for the wedding part and I don’t know if anybody would be familiar with that. But you can get married practically anywhere in Eureka Springs. It’s kind of an economy there. So it’s quite easy to get married and that’s what happens. So it’s kind of fake dating to accidental marriage. Jeff: Fake dating to accidental marriage. I like… Those are favorite tropes right there. Erin: Yeah. It’s a fun one, I think. Jeff: So what is your writing origin story? You’ve got these four books out. How did all this start? Erin: Well, I was a creative writing English major in undergrad, but then I ended up going to grad school for library and information studies. And I was a public librarian. And I had… I kind of had a lot of big changes in my life. I just graduated grad school. I just got married, I just moved away from home like, all of these big changes. I had a full time job for the first time and I had… I was living in Houston, Texas and I had this horrible commute. It was like, an hour and a half each way and… Jeff: Yeah. that’s pretty horrible. Erin: I think most people that have been in Houston know what I’m talking about. And I had all this time to kind of think and I basically on my commute started plotting a book. And some of it came from, I missed kind of the creative outlet writing research papers and stuff like that from school. And so, yeah, that’s kind of how I started writing as I plotted this book on my commute and then finally, I decided that I was gonna sit down and write it. And that book was “Controlled Burn.” Jeff: That’s an awesome story. Erin: Thank you. Jeff: What led you into putting this creativity towards M/M romance amongst all of the genres that were possible? Erin: Yeah. Some of it I think is that I was reading a lot of it at that time, I kind of got into M/M romance I guess if we’re going further back by reading Suzanne Brockmann, right? So she has the “Troubleshooters” series and that has Jules Cassidy who’s the gay FBI agent, right? He’s got that kind of the secondary romance through several books and then the primary thorugh a novella. And then whenever I was in grad school, I kind of didn’t have time to read for pleasure very much. So I wasn’t reading very much and then I took a class about reader’s advisory that we had to read like, the books from the best books of the year for “Publishers Weekly” and “Kirkus,” and stuff. And I just kind of… I can’t remember what year it was, but I grabbed kind of a random book off the romance list and it ended up being “Brothers of the Wild North Sea” by Harper Fox and I didn’t really realize that it was a male/male romance. So I just kinda grabbed it and started reading, and then it became quite clear, you know, very early on what it was. And it’s a beautiful book. Harper Fox is, you know, is a beautiful writer. Everything that she writes is really awesome and so, I kind of gobbled up everything that she had written and then it kind of hit me at that time. There has to be other writers that are doing this and, you know, they weren’t the books that were in the libraries. They weren’t in my libraries. So I kind of started searching them out and, you know, read a lot of K.A. Mitchell and Z.A. Maxfield, and some of those authors at that time that were the most prolific. And I was just very excited because I felt like there are all these authors that I had never heard of that I didn’t know about and they were all really, really good. And they were writing, you know, stories that kind of the themes were very important to me. And so, then when I write finally, eventually, decided to sit down and write a book. I think probably the main thing for me is that I wanted to write characters who are LGBTQIA in Oklahoma and it just happened to be that the first book that kind of came to mind, and that I plotted fully was an M/M romance in “Controlled Burn.” So that’s definitely how I got started. Jeff: That’s very cool and some great authors there to get you introduced to the genre as well. Who do you count as your author influences? Erin: Well, definitely, you know, my gateways were Suzanne Brockmann into romance in general and then Harper Fox. Kind of on a wider scale, I really like Alisha Rai. She kind of, she writes the heroines that are the type of parents that I just love. They are raunchy and rowdy, and wonderful. I would say also Annabeth Albert in terms of contemporary romance. Alexis Hall, I think kind of teaches or his books are like a master class on first person point of view if you look at “For Real” or “Glitterland.” And so, I really, really like his books too. Jeff: Now, your bio mentions that you like binge worthy TV shows. So of course, we have to know what are you binging these days or have binged recently that you would recommend? Erin: So my husband and I have been rewatching “Game of Thrones” of course, because the last season was about to come out. So when you binge that show, you just kind of realize how many awful things happened back to back to back because the first time we watched it, we didn’t binge it. We are watching it week to week, but when you’re binge watching that it’s like, “Oh, my God. That’s so awful, these things that keep happening.” Other than that, I really like… I like true crime, but I’m not watching any kind of true crime right now. And I like comedies. So I’ve watched “Schitt’s Creek” recently which I love, “The Good Place,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “One Day at a Time,” all these sitcoms that I think are really good, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” because I love musicals is really good. And then I also watch a lot of like, reality TV. So I like, like, “Tiny House Hunters,” and “Instant Hotel,” and “Project Runway,” shows kind of like that. Jeff: Very cool. Yeah. Some good stuff on there. Erin: You can tell me I watch a lot of TV. Jeff: “The Good Place” is a particular favorite. Erin: Yeah. It’s so smart. It’s so different than like, yeah, it’s very, very unique. So this is a great list for everybody who’s looking for something to binge the spring right here. So what’s coming up next for you in your release plans? Jeff: So I don’t have anything kind of set in stone. I’m not very good at planning. [I”m working on one about] tornado chasers or storm chasers. That’s a male/male romance that I have on submission right now to a publisher that I’m hoping will pick it up. If they don’t, then, you know, it’ll keep going out and hopefully somebody else will want it. I’m currently writing a book about a rec league softball team and I want this to be really, really tropey and kind of fun and light. The first one is using kind of the one bed trope. So I hope that that would be a lot of fun. I’ll write Alex’s story pretty soon and then I have a book that I wrote. But I’m hoping to put out at Christmas, it’s called “Stocking Stuffers.” And it’s a M/F romance with a bi heroine who sell sex toys. You know, like the Tupperware parties, but it’s like the, you know, the sex toy Tupperware parties kind of. And so, she works for a company kinda is the marketing person for a company like that and she’s hosting one of those parties, get snowed in, you know, with a big red bag of toys basically. Jeff: Yeah. That’s like an interesting forced proximity story. Erin: yeah. So it was a lot of fun to write. Jeff: And I’m very interested in the storm chasers one too because I’m kind of a weather geek at heart. So you kind of got me on that one. Erin: It was a lot of fun to write. Growing up in Oklahoma, you know, tornadoes are such a kind of a constant really. I mean, my parents have lost a house in tornado. I know lots of people that have lost houses in tornado. It’s so common. It’s just kind of a part of your life especially if you’re from Central Oklahoma like me and so, it’s… Yeah. It was a really fun one to write because you are just kind of entrenched in bad weather in Oklahoma in the spring all the time. So… Jeff: Very cool. And how can readers keep up with you online to keep track of all these projects? Erin: So I have a Facebook group called Erin McLellan’s Meet Cute. That’s a good one if you kind of… I do giveaways and book recs, and stuff. On Twitter my handle is @emclellanwrites and I’m on Twitter pretty often. On Instagram it’s @erinmclellanwrites and on Instagram, I would say it’s about 70% Alaska stuff like, every moves that I’ve ever seen and then 30% books. Unless there’s a book released and then it flips. But it’s a lot of Alaska if you follow me on Instagram. And then my newsletter which you can get too on my website or through any of the social media too. You would be able to kind of find the link to my newsletter and that’s probably the best way if you just want like, to know about new releases or sales, or things like that without having to kind of trudge through Twitter. Jeff: Well, fantastic. Well, I thank you so much for coming to talk to us about “Clean Break” and wish you all the success on that one and the upcoming releases as well. Erin: Thank you so much. It was so fun.

First off, LGBT romance authors nominated for 2019 RITA Awards are congratulated, including Layla Reyne, Amy Lane, Suzanne Brockmann, Melanie Hansen and Aurora Rey. New patron Angela is welcomed. Jeff discusses his second visit to Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen as well as seeing an immersive production of Bare: A Pop Opera. Rather than review books this week, the guys talk about titles they are looking forward to this spring: Arctic Sun by Annabeth Albert, LOL by Lucy Lennox and Molly Maddox, Under His Protection by LaQuette, Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, American Fairytale by Adriana Herrera and Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee, Jeff also calls out the start of a new series from Layla Reyne that he’s looking forward to but can’t discuss. Brandilyn stops by to recommend the audiobook of Badlands by Morgan Brice and talks about some old favorites from Rhys Ford, Jordan L. Hawk and Ethan Stone. Complete shownotes for episode 181 are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com. Jeff's Musical Reviews Here’s the text of Jeff’s reviews of the shows he saw in New York: While I was in New York this past week, I caught two musicals that have the common theme of teenagers looking for a connection to each other, finding their voice and being able to live as their authentic selves. I started off with a return trip to Dear Evan Hansen. We originally reviewed our trip to see the original Broadway cast back in episode 91 in July 2017. I went back this week because I wanted to see the current Evan, sixteen-year-old Andrew Barth Feldman. Andrew won the 2018 National High School Musical Theater Award and was invited to audition for the role. Within a few weeks, he was cast. Before this, Evan’s were in their mid-20s because the role is difficult to sing and requires skills to manage the emotional arc. Andrew blew me away. I watched some clips of other roles he’s posted on his YouTube channel and a pretty good idea he could sing the right range for the show. His vocal performance though was through the roof. In the early songs, he had amazing vocal breaks that conveyed Evan’s anxiety and timidness and as he felt more emboldened by the story he waved the vocals got more confident. By the time he hit “You Will Be Found” at the end of the first act he was a different person, only to come crashing down again for “Words Fail,” which is the show’s 11 o’clock show stopper. The acting too was spot on, at times looking like he wanted to shatter into a million pieces to escape. In the moment where his mom talks to him about what he’d done, he’s pressed so much into the corner of the couch, you know he wants to be eaten by the furniture. It’ll be interesting to see how he continues to grow into the role. He was in week seven when I saw him. The producers are giving him time and training to handle the rigors of a Broadway schedule–currently, he’s playing five out of eight shows a week. Beyond Evan, I look forward to what Andrew’s future roles will be because I suspect he’ll be rocking Broadway for many years to come. The next night I went to see Bare: A Pop Opera for its first performance. I’ve been a fan of this show since the mid-2000s when I saw some clips of it’s off-Broadway run and eventually got its studio cast recording. Through March 31, the show is being presented as a site-aware production in the St. John’s Lutheran Chruch on Christopher Street as part of the church’s theater season that pays tribute to the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. I’m going to give you the synopsis the production wrote as it sums the show up perfectly: Bare, a pop/rock opera, follows a group of students at a Catholic boarding school as they grapple with their sexuality, identity, and the future. As the group attempts to put up a production of Romeo and Juliet, tensions flare, self-doubt creeps in and God’s path blurs. The students’ journeys ring with the sounds of youthful repression and revolt. With an exhilarating sung-through pop score, bare is a provocative and honest look at the dangers of baring your soul, and the consequences of continuing to hide. Peter and Jason are the core of the show. They’re best friends, roommates and lovers. Jason, however, can’t embrace that he’s gay–pressure from his parents to be perfect, pressure to follow Catholic doctrine, pressure to conform consume him and yet he can’t deny that he loves Peter. On the other side, Peter is tired of hiding and wants to be open about their relationship. Jacob Entenman and Jared Hopper were stunning as Peter and Jason. From their first song that introduces their relationship to the more difficult, emotionally charged songs were their relationship fractures I was all in with them. Jacob in particular with “Ever After” and “The Role of A Lifetime” were stunning and the two coming together for the title song ripped my heart out. Other standouts here included Noni Celine as Sister Chantelle. She knows what’s up with Peter and tells him that “God Don’t Make No Trash.” She also comes to Peter when he’s in a drunken stupor … he sees her as the Virgin Mary. Noni brought the house down with “911 Emergency” where she told Peter in no uncertain terms that he needed to come out to his mother. Jessie Rae Jordan as Ivy nailed the role of bad girl who didn’t want to be a bad girl. Her “All Grown Up” as she reveals exactly what happened the night Jason and her spent together was amazing. Beth Ann Stripling as Jason’s sister Nadia was tremendous in her portrayal of a young woman grappling with many issues at home and school. We backed this Kickstarter even though we weren’t going to get to see it. It turned out I was able to be in the city and I was ecstatic to get to see the show for the first time. It exceeded every expectation and if I could’ve been in the city longer, I’d have gone back to see it again. It runs through March 30 and you can get information at BareInTheChurch.com Spring Book Recommendations Here are the blurbs we read on the show for the books we’re excited about: Arctic Sun by Annabeth Albert (Releases April 1) Everything’s bigger in Alaska, especially the HEAs. Annabeth Albert kicks off the brand-new Frozen Hearts series with Arctic Sun, an opposites-attract romance between a rugged outdoorsman and a smoking hot former male model. He’s built a quiet life for himself in Alaska. But it doesn’t stand a chance against the unrelenting pull of a man who’s everything he shouldn’t want. Ex-military mountain man Griffin Barrett likes his solitude. It keeps him from falling back into old habits. Bad habits. He’s fought too hard for his sobriety to lose control now. However, his gig as a wildlife guide presents a new kind of temptation in superhot supermodel River Vale. Nothing the Alaskan wilderness has to offer has ever called to Griffin so badly. And that can only lead to trouble… River has his own methods for coping. Chasing adventure means always moving forward. Nobody’s ever made him want to stand still—until Griffin. The rugged bush pilot is the very best kind of distraction, but the emotions he stirs up in River feel anything but casual, and he’s in no position to stay put. With temptation lurking in close quarters, keeping even a shred of distance is a challenge neither’s willing to meet. And the closer Griffin gets to River, the easier it is to ignore every last reason he should run.  LOL by Lucy Lennox and Molly Maddox (Releases April 2) Scotty: When a gorgeous cop comes racing out of a building on 5th Avenue, hops in your horse-drawn carriage, and screams, “Go!” You go. You don’t stop and ask for paperwork. Or a badge. Or an explanation of who you’re chasing. You simply follow his shouted orders and try not to kill anyone in the process. At least, that’s what I did when it happened to me. But then it turns out that the “cop” is none other than Roman Burke, Hollywood’s hottest star, and our little joy ride gets me fired. Now I’m broke, my horse has been evicted from her barn, and I’ve got nowhere to turn. Roman: When you accidentally hijack a Central Park carriage trying to escape the paparazzi, get pulled over by the police, and your crisis manager insists you lay low for a while, you nod your head and go. And when the cute carriage driver shows up on your front step, horse in tow, blaming you for losing his job, you agree to fix it. Even if that means hauling both him and his horse along with you on your Vermont getaway. At least that’s what I did when it happened to me. Unfortunately, trouble seems to stick to the sexy carriage driver like hot syrup on a hotter waffle, making my Vermont retreat anything but quiet. Now the carriage driver is in my bed, unexpected guests are crawling out of the woodwork, and the paparazzi is on my tail. With chaos and scandal swarming around me, suddenly, it isn’t just my career on the line. It’s my heart. Under His Protection by LaQuette (Releases April 16) They can escape their enemies, but not the desire between them. Prosecutor Camden Warren is on the fast track to professional nirvana. With his charm, his sharp legal mind, and his father as chief judge in the highest court in NY, he can’t fail. Nothing can derail his rise to the top… until an attempt on his life forces him to accept the help of a man he walked out on five years ago. Wounded in the line of duty, Lieutenant Elijah Stephenson wants to ride his new desk job until retirement—not take a glorified babysitting gig with more risk than it’s worth… especially not protecting the entitled lawyer who disappeared after the best sex of their lives. The threat against Camden’s life is real, but their passion for each other might prove the greatest danger they’ve yet to face. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (Releases May 14) What happens when America’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales? When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius—his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There’s only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse. Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through? Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue proves: true love isn’t always diplomatic.  American Fairytale by Adriana Herrera (Releases May 20) Fairy-tale endings don’t just happen; they have to be fought for. New York City social worker Camilo Santiago Briggs grew up surrounded by survivors who taught him to never rely on anything you didn’t earn yourself. He’s always dreamed of his own happily-ever-after, but he lives in the real world. Men who seem too good to be true…usually are. And Milo never ever mixes business with pleasure…until the mysterious man he had an unforgettable hookup with turns out to be the wealthy donor behind his agency’s new, next-level funding. Thomas Hughes built a billion-dollar business from nothing: he knows what he wants and isn’t shy about going after it. When the enthralling stranger who blew his mind at a black-tie gala reappears, Tom’s more than ready to be his Prince Charming. Showering Milo with the very best of everything is how Tom shows his affection. Trouble is, Milo’s not interested in any of it. The only thing Milo wants is Tom. Fairy-tale endings take work as well as love. For Milo, that means learning to let someone take care of him, for a change. And for Tom, it’s figuring out that real love is the one thing you can’t buy. Not Your Backup by C.B. Lee  (Releases June 4) Emma Robledo has a few more responsibilities that the usual high school senior, but then again, she and her friends have left school to lead a fractured Resistance movement against a corrupt Heroes League of Heroes. Emma is the only member of a supercharged team without powers, she isnt always taken seriously. A natural leader, Emma is determined to win this battle, and when thats done, get back to school. As the Resistance moves to challenge the League, Emma realizes where her place is in this fight: at the front.

The show opens with Jeff talking about turning in the manuscript for new/revised edition of Hat Trick. The guys also talk about Captain Marvel. Will reviews Wanted-Bad Boyfriend by TA Moore and IRL: In Real Life by Lucy Lennox and Molly Maddox. Jeff reviews Diversion by Eden Winters. Jason T. Gaffney and Kevin Held join Jeff & Will to discuss their new movie project, the romantic comedy/paranormal themed Out of Body. They recorded the audiobook of the novelization, which was written by Suzanne Brockmann. We also find out about their history-based podcast, The Bright Side with Kevin and Jason. Complete shownotes for episode 180 are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com. Book Reviews Here’s the text of this week’s book reviews: Diversion by Eden Winters, narrated by Darcy Stark. Reviewed by Jeff Eden Winters Diversion series has been recommended to me for some time now and I finally took the leap. This first book was first published in 2012 but just came out in audio in October 2018 with narration from new to me voice artist Darcy Stark, who does a great job with both the suspense and romance. This enemies-to-lovers, workplace romantic suspense story centers on agents for the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau, Richmond “Lucky” Lucklighter and Bo Schollenberger. Lucky’s nearing the end of his forced stint on the job–forced as it was his way out of jail. Bo is new and eager, but is also at the job because of incidents in his past. They end up working together to bring down a ring of drug diversion and insurance fraud that involves a doctor, a drug manufacturer and a drug destruction company. I fell in love with gruff, no nonsense Lucky right away. He’s extremely good at his job, mostly because he used to be on the other side of the law. He exudes frustration and irritation at what he has to do and why and yet there’s a teddy bear in there too because he cares about getting the job done right. The friction that’s stirred up when Lucky’s saddled with mentoring Bo is sublime. Lucky’s looking to ride a desk during his last few weeks at the bureau, but his boss has other ideas. Bo’s very green in terms of what he has to do here–but he is ex-military so he’s no pushover either. He can take what Lucky dishes out and it pisses the senior agent off… and eventually Bo gives back as good as he gets. The friction gets explosive as Lucky battles with himself about the feelings he develops for Bo. The other thing the friction brings is a ton of humor. Lucky and Bo know how to push each other’s buttons–whether it’s blasting Billy Ray Cyrus, forcing healthy eating habits or being messy. It’s a wonderful odd couple pairing that morphs in a beautiful way as it becomes less about antagonizing and more about a sweet nudging of one another to just maybe move things to another level in their relationships. Both men have complicated backstories that make you feel for even more for them. Lucky ended up at the bureau after going to prison for the part he played in a large scale drug operation. He’d been in love with the guy behind that operation and when it all came crashing down Lucky was sure he wanted no part of loving anyone again. The pain Eden created for Lucky is devastating, which makes him all the more loveable when he’s able to come out of his shell. Bo did illegal things to help an ex and ended up taking illegal substances to the point that it’s very difficult for him to be around the drugs in a Pharmacy, which his job requires. There’s also abuse in his past and Lucky’s careful to keep Bo away from triggers as much as he can. The lengths he goes to keep Bo feeling safe are extremely sweet. Eden takes great care in how backstory is presented. Once the men get past their posturing and disdain for each other, they peel back they reveal themselves in a very natural way–as friends, coworkers and eventually lovers do. The good and bad are offered in equal measure and it’s perfect relationship development. The only thing I wanted in this story that I didn’t get was Bo’s point of view. I would’ve loved to know what was rattling around in his head. Not to take away from Lucky though as he was quite the good narrator and this one point doesn’t take away from my love of the book. The Diversion series is up to book seven as of January 2019–with the third book released in audio in February 2019–so I’ve got some catching up to do. I’m looking very forward to that. IRL: In Real Life by Lucy Lennox & Molly Maddox. Reviewed by Will In Real Life combines the classic alpha billionaire character trope with the time-honored scenario of two characters who are combative in real life, but are secretly corresponding with one another and falling in love. Which is the long-winded way of saying it’s a similar set up as the classic movies Shop Around the Corner, You’ve Got Mail, In the Good Old Summertime, and the musical She Loves Me. The way that the characters write to each other has changed and evolved, but the premise remains the same. There’s also hints of enemies to lovers and opposites attract. This book is ripe with tropey goodness. So what’s it all about you might ask? Nice guy geek Conor is in New York to sell his mother’s bio-med technology to a ruthless CEO. The evening before his big presentation he decides to live a little and begins sexting with who he thinks is the sexy hotel bartender. It’s not. The text exchange he ends up having with a stranger, who he calls Trace, is amazing, and through several flirtatious and super-hot online conversations, they begin a fling. At the meeting the next morning, Wells Grange recognizes Conor thanks to the Dalek tie he is wearing. Conor is the hot and horny guy he sexted with the night before. His first inclination is to use this information as leverage in their business negotiations. But Wells quickly begins to fall for Conor, both the sexy online version and the awkward real-life version. As they work through the contracts for the sale, Wells continues his deception. They spend several days together and get to know one another, Conor unaware that Wells and Trace are the same person. We follow our heroes, almost in real time, as they fall in love while working together, going out to dinner, and taking carriage rides in Central Park. Once the business deal is finalized, Wells and Conor finally give in to their attraction and sleep with each other. Needless to say, it’s amazing and life altering for both of them. But, as is the case in stories like these, Conor finally puts two and two together before Wells can come clean about his sexting alter ego. Conor is humiliated and justifiably furious. He packs his bags and returns to North Carolina, with zero intention of ever speaking to Wells again. And rightly so. I’m going to be super upfront with you guys, there are certain aspects of the billionaire trope that I personally find problematic. I was on board with Wells and Conor for most of the story, but there were moments when I had a hard time dealing with certain aspects of Wells’ alphahole personality. In my view, if the ending of this book was going to be believable, Wells was going to have to move mountains and pull off one of the biggest mea culpas in romance history. It may not have been the biggest, but Lucy Lennox and Molly Maddox crafted a finale that was truly heartfelt and genuinely appropriate for our two heroes. To make amends, Wells makes sure Conor’s sick mom is well taken care of and part of an experimental treatment program (her illness was the reason they needed the money from the business deal). Later, when Conor is unable to attend a Comic convention to unveil an important new development in his gaming business, Wells steps in, and personally gives a rousing presentation on Conor’s behalf. Wells proves he isn’t the billionaire alphahole he seems. Yea for true love and happily-ever-afters! Interview Transcript Jeff: Welcome back to the show, Jason and Kevin. Kevin: Thank you. Jason: Hello. Thank you. Kevin: Nice to be back. How you been? Jeff: Awesome. Jeff: Well, we had you on before, we were talking all about “Analysis Paralysis.” But you guys have a lot more going on besides that movie. You’re actually in pre-production right now on a film called “Out of Body.” Jason: Yeah. Jeff: Tell us what that one’s about. Jason: So “Out of Body” is basically a story where it’s a friends-to-lover rom-com. And basically, Malcolm, who’s Kevin’s character, has his body stolen from him and he kind of ends up as a spirit for a while. And he has to prove that he exists to me, Henry, and then when that finally happens, we do some magic, we fight some demons, we might get the body back, there’s definitely a happily ever after because it’s a rom-com. Kevin: You and your end happily-ever-afters. Jason: Yeah. Jeff: It’s important. Kevin: I know, I know. But I just want to the rom…just one time I want a rom-com to be…it’s mostly romantic and funny but everyone does die. Jason: Or they die hilariously. Kevin: It’s a rom-com drama. Jason: Death by rubber chicken. Jeff: And what was kind of the inspiration behind this movie this time? Jason: I don’t even know how this idea came in my head. But I was sleeping one day and I woke up and I was like, “Oh, that’d be really cool. A movie where someone’s dead but they wanted to be together but then they didn’t get to be together. And then they have to fight to get their body back and come back to life.” And so I wrote a kind of a similar but different kind of script. And we did a table read, and my mom was a part of the table read. And she was like, “I love the story you have here. Can I take it and can I change a lot of it and make it like super romance with the comedy?” And so this particular movie and book and audiobook is definitely heavier on the romance than the comedy, as opposed to “Analysis Paralysis.” But it’s, in my opinion, really, really good because the romance really makes…it’s gripping, it really gets you right in the heartstrings. And she basically saw what I was going for and was able to finesse it and really kind of mold it into what my kind of original vision was and then some. So I’m really psyched about it. It’s got a little bit of everything. Will: Yeah, not too long ago, I talked about the novelization of “Out of Body” here on the show. Jason, your mom, Suzanne Brockmann, of course, wrote that novelization, it was rather amusing. Like, I think in the forward she kind of does like a behind the scenes thing where she kind of tells that story where she says, “Jason, this is great. But do you mind if I take it and make it better?” Kevin: Yeah. Jason: Yeah. And here’s the thing, I am all about that. Like the filmmaking, it’s such a collaborative process and storytelling can be a really collaborative process. And I want to make good movies. And so I was really happy with the script that I had written, but when someone who’s as great of a writer as my mom is comes and says, “I want to have fun with this and let me just see what I can do with it,” I’m like, “Hell yeah. Take it. Have at it.” Yeah. Kevin: And the end result is really a script, a novel, and a script that really looks like if brilliant improviser and plot maker and gay comedy guy let his script be taken over by a bestselling romance novelist, what would happen, it would be this. You know. And so it’s really got great, great aspects of all of those elements. Will: Yeah, I really enjoyed the book and the audiobook as well. And I think it’s a really unique opportunity for people who are interested in “Out of Body,” the movie, to check out the audiobook and sort of, it’s essentially like a preview of what they’re going to be getting when the film comes out to the public. Can you give us a little bit of an idea about what it was like to kind of get into the material early before you even like were thinking about shooting by recording the audiobook? Kevin: I can tell you for my part, like, since I’m not one of the writers on this, which is, you know, traditional for me because I’m not usually the writer on a project that I’m acting in. But it’s completely unprecedented to have a novel that you get to perform about the thing before you even film the script. You know, so we get…like as an actor, it’s a freaking dream because I have…so you know how actors have to create subtext and everything, I just have to go to the book, you know, it’s like, “Don’t worry. I don’t have to make it.” It’s already been written down for me. So if I’m wondering, like, what’s happening for Malcolm now, what’s going on there? What’s the deep, deep part of it? It’s already written out for me now. So I would say, so the book is available. It’s on, it’s called “Out of Body.” It’s on Audible.com. And I would say, don’t deprive yourself of the opportunity to say the book was better. Jason: Yeah. And, you know, it was really cool to do the audiobook in general because it was our first audiobook for both of us as narrators. And when we were talking about doing it, we were talking with my mom about it and I was interested in the idea of recording it in a way where it was more like a radio show where we are our characters’ dialogue voices all the time, even if it’s in the other person’s point of view. Whoever’s point of view reads the descriptive stuff in the chapters. But if Malcolm’s speaking, even though I’m the narrator of that chapter, he still says his line, and he still says the lines of the other characters that he had been assigned and vice versa for me. And that was really kind of fun to do because, you know, how often do you get to do kind of a radio show acting gig? And it was also really fun for me as a director to get to do this with Kevin in advance, because, like, he now really knows the story and I know he knows the story. So I know that when he comes to set, that’s going to be really easy. And I got into the head of the other characters as well reading them, and that’ll help me be able to hold my other actors hands and kind of with them through their parts, and still allow them to bring what they want to bring to the role and have it blossom into how great it can be. Kevin: Yeah, and that’s like all separate and apart from the experience of actually recording the audiobook, which you might think was done him some and then me some on consecutive days or anything, but it was actually live together. So we actually recorded in a space that had two recording booths in it. We could both hear each other so that when I am narrating a section and it’s his line, I can hear him do it. And then I jump back in. So it was live editing, like, to take out any breaths or anything, or mess-ups or anything, so, but we got to…you know, it was amazing because I had him in my head the whole time doing it, too. So that was wonderful. It’s a great experience. Jeff: That’s amazing, especially how it connected to your even now pre-production process that you’re involved in because you’re getting ready to shoot in about a month from when we’re recording. In pre-production, give everybody kind of an idea of what that means. What’s going on as you get ready for your 12 days of shooting? Jason: So basically, what I just did was go through each of the scenes and break them up on a piece of paper so that now I have the page count number, like how many pages each scene is. Kevin: These are them. Jason: Oh, yeah. Little strip paper… Kevin: Each one of these is a scene. Jason: And basically, the page count, when it starts, who is in the scene, all that stuff. Because I need to…you know I don’t have every actor every day. I’m going to have Kevin every day because he’s one of the leads. But there’s other parts in it where they’re only going to film for one day…anywhere from one to three days. And so you have to plan their scenes on the same day. And this time, we’re going to actually be filming in two different locations because our neighbors next door sold their house to flippers and they’re doing construction and it’s been kind of never-ending. So we can’t film when there’s kind of heavy construction going on in this house. So we’re going to do a lot of stuff at my father in law’s house and then will come get the rest of it after they’re done here. And so I’ve been doing that with my dad and breaking it into those days while simultaneously working with my cinematographer Nacia to map out which shots are needed for each scene and what angles are we doing. So I put little maps on the other side of the table here. Basically, me drawing out the room layout and doing little circles with an M for Malcolm and an H or Henry, and the arrows pointing they go here and then they go here… Kevin: Oh my god. And this isn’t even talking about how to deal with SAG paperwork or any of the art direction that he’s doing, or any of the clearances that he’s getting for this or that kind of thing. Jason: We’ve got a, we’re going to have a… Kevin: He’s a bit of a doer. Jason: We got Andrew Christian giving us underwear… Kevin: Oh, yeah, we have Andrew Christian underwear over here. Jason: And I’m working with some other companies too. So Outfit is a gay like sports good wear, they’ve given me a patent to us for the movie. Kevin: He’s been stenciling t-shirts and… Jason: Hand design t-shirts specific to the characters. I’m going to be making him a specific shirt three times because he wears the same outfit the whole movie and so if anything spills on it, it’s got to be good and not spilled upon because he magically can’t get stains. And so it’s intense, there’s a lot going on. Like Pinterest is my best friend. I’ve been learning all about how to make DIY Halloween decorations. Because again, when you’re low budget, you can’t spend, you know, $3,000 on set design. You can spend like $200, and so you have to get a little crafty. You have to start thinking like, “Okay, I’ve got five pages of construction paper and a pair of scissors and some tape, how going to make this look like I spent a lot of money on it?” Kevin: He’s like MacGyver. So that’s his experience with pre-production, mine’s a little bit different because I’m not all the hyphenates. So I’m busy making no changes at all to my daily routine. Jeff: You do have a script to learn. Kevin: Sure, when I get it. Jason: It’s in the mail. Kevin: We’re at your house. Jeff: Oh my goodness. Jason: The creating part, like creating the artwork, it actually makes me feel calm. The paperwork stresses me out. And so Matt, thankfully, jumps on that grenade and deals with SAG-AFTRA and making sure that all the paperwork’s there and all the money is in the right place and all that stuff. So thank you, Matt. Jeff: Now, we should say Matt is your husband, so he’s in the production family. Jason: Yes. Kevin: Yeah. Will: So now that our listeners know how completely awesome and funny this project is going to be, can you give us a little bit of info about the Indiegogo campaign? Jason: We have an Indiegogo campaign, basically we crowd-funded “Out of Body” on Kickstarter first, a successful crowdfunding campaign last year. and Indiegogo came to us and said, “We’d like to do an in-demand campaign for you.” So we have an open-ended campaign on Indiegogo right now, where you can help sponsor the film help and get some fabulous rewards, such as DVDs of “Out of Body” when it finally is all finished, you can get DVDs of “Analysis Paralysis,” our last feature film. Kevin: I’m going to get these down from the thingy here. Jason: So you can show people. Kevin: You can actually, because now we’re in the second feature film that stars the two of us. Like we got other projects that I have to do with like if you’re your fans of “Analysis Paralysis,” or perhaps the audiobook of “Out of Body,” you can get these copies, you can get copies of all that stuff. And so as we are on the way to becoming things of all media. Jason: Yeah, exactly. And yeah, so if you go to indiegogo.com and you go, indiegogo.com/projects/out-of-body-a-feature-length-lgbtq-rom-com-movie/, it’s a very long title. Kevin: Really, why don’t you go to indiegogo.com and search “Out of Body.” Yes. Jeff: Or just come to our show notes, it’ll be much easier. Will: Yes, do that. Kevin: Exactly. Go to “Big Gay Podcast” website and it’s going to be in the show notes. Jason: Another place you can find out information about “Out of Body” in the future and any sort of campaigns we’re having, etc., is if you go to tinyletter.com/mypethippo and join our newsletter, you’ll be able to find out things about “Analysis Paralysis” or “Out of Body,” or our podcast, “The Bright Side with Kevin and Jason,” all sorts of fun stuff. And yeah, so and basically indie film, it’s low budget. So every dollar really does make a difference. Like if we get enough money to buy a better meal for the cast and crew, everybody’s spirits raised, it gets raised up a little higher, you know, or we can afford an extra day of filming, or we can afford…it really does matter. So thank you to everyone who has supported us so far. And thank you to everyone who comes and supports us after this. Kevin: Yes, indeed. Jeff: Now, Kevin had this wonderful term about you guys, you know, essentially taking over media. You mentioned the podcast, “The Bright Side with Kevin and Jason.” It’s a comedy podcast about history. How did this idea spark? Because this just adds to you, I imagine, having to research these historical things. Kevin: Now, Jason does all the research for this, you know, and that’s huge. Like, because basically, he doesn’t have enough to do. But the impetus for the podcast, which is “The Bright Side with Kevin and Jason” is, you know, there’s so much bad news all the time. And my mom taught me how to look on the bright side of stuff, you know. If I got one thing from my mom, it was to…I would always complain about this or that and she would constantly remind me of there’s something good here, you know, and you have to find that. And so that’s really the gem of this, it’s really the heart of that show is that, especially when you look around at the news right now, there’s so much bad stuff that is going on. But you have to also recognize that bad stuff creates the opposite reaction. And so who is making the good out of that? You know, who is looking at that and reacting to it in a way of love, or in a way of furthering acceptance, or you know, who’s looking at the transgender ban, for example, that was finally instituted by the Supreme Court? And who is saying, you know, I want to reach out and tell my trans brothers and sisters that you are people and you are valuable and your service is useful and we love you? You know, so who’s doing that? You know, and so that’s what the podcast really kind of focuses on. We do wallow in some tragedy on the podcast because every week we take a historical episode of some varying degree of tragic-ness and talk about it. But then we also, every episode, find out what good that led to. Jason: And it kind of came about a long time ago after “Analysis Paralysis,” like Kevin mentioned in the last episode, we talked a little bit about how we met on a student film and basically got along really well, really quickly, and then we started hanging out together with our husbands and going on double dates, and so it kind of formed this bond. And after “Analysis Paralysis,” which was so much fun, it was 10 days of basically seeing Kevin and laughing and having a good time, I was like, “I don’t want to wait a year-and-a-half for the next project. I want to do something now with you.” Kevin: The experience of just chatting about a topic on a set or something was so much fun and we thought, “We should bottle this.” And then we thought, “You can.” There’s a method for this that’s called a podcast, and that’s what started. Yeah, you know, so now I get to come over here every damn week. Jason: Yeah, come to the Valley. You’re welcome. Kevin: Yeah, when I moved to Westwood I was hoping that my second bedroom would be a good place to record. But it’s not, it’s not good. Too much noise there. The valley’s a lot of things, but it is quiet. Jason: It is quiet. Unless they’re doing construction next door. Kevin: Right. Jeff: You could just turn that second bedroom into a soundproof area. Kevin: No, actually, currently, we didn’t have any…we moved from a house that had a lot of storage into a house that had another bedroom, but no storage. So that second bedroom has just become basically the id of our house. You know, everything’s like ahhhhh, you know? Jason: It’s like in “Harry Potter,” what’s that closet? Kevin: The room of requirements? Jason: Yes. Kevin: It’s the room of please don’t go in there actually. Will: Now, guys, I’m curious. How do you choose which historical events to feature and how much research goes into each episode? Kevin: That’s 100% question for Jason because though I feel that the podcast is a 50/50 pursuit, because Jason does all of the research for the topics that we do, and I don’t ever know what we’re going to talk about until I get here, but then I do all the web mastering and editing and I put up the shownotes and I do all of that stuff. So I feel like we end up spending around the same amount of time on things. Jason: Yeah. So basically, generally about a day of work I kind of surf the web, I find a topic that…like I kind of search, you know, the rabbit hole as to like what kind of weird historical thing is this? And I’ll like Google really weird stuff so my search history… Kevin: Yeah, they’re coming for you. Jason: …completely messed at this point. But like, you know, I’ll look up like “wild strikes historical funny” to see what I get from it. But honestly, there’s been a ton of them I’ve gotten through recommendations of friends and family and listeners of the podcast, and we really encourage listeners to throw ideas at us because there’s some really obscure events in history that I don’t know about that I would love to know about and I could easily find it if I knew to search for it. And so if anyone out there listening has weird events, definitely tweet me or email me. Kevin: You can find him @jasontgaffney on Twitter, and tell him and I don’t want to know about it. Jeff: That’s right. Kevin has to stay in the dark. Kevin: Right. Jason: So what I look for also, I try to look for topics where there’s a lot of tragedy, but you can still make fun of it. Like, if it’s a natural disaster, I try to find one where people made bad decisions with the natural disaster, not that it’s just, like, everyone got screwed and they tried to do the right thing, but they still got screwed because you can’t really make fun of those people. That’s just sad. Kevin: And mean. And it’s really not. I mean, I know we’re talking about a lot of tragedy, and that’s kind of what we focus on. But it’s not a cruel show. It’s not a Schadenfreude, really, because the ultimate goal is to find out what the hopeful aspect of it, who turned that situation into something good, you know. Jason: And you’d be surprised, like, we generally can find it. I don’t think we found one yet where there’s really nothing, no bright side to it. Kevin: No. Because the arc of history is long and you never know what the end result of a pebble, you know, when a pebble goes into a puddle, you don’t know how farther in they’re going to go, you know, and so, like, we talked about that event but that could lead to something incredible later, you know. Jeff: For you, Kevin, since you come in cold to these, what’s been of the episode so far that you’re like, “What? What did I just hear?” Kevin: Oh, my God. Well, the “Empire” panic, for example, has been insane. Like, I have a feeling when I post the episodes, I have a feeling like I hope…My mom and I listened to the Christmas episode over Christmas. And at the end of it, she said, “That was funny and I learned some stuff.” So that’s what…it was like I was, “Oh, good. There we go.” That’s what I would like people to have from it. Is like, “Oh, I enjoyed that, you know, conversation. That was fun and stuff.” But also, “God, who knew?” Yeah, that’s amazing. Because he’s pretty good at this, every episode there’s gonna be some point where I’m like, “Are you kidding? Human beings did this,” you know? It’s always, “Yes, they did,” good Lord. Jason: It’s also it’s gotten way more fun to do the research than it initially was because I was really nervous the first couple episodes to like, “Oh, my God, is this going to be funny? How can I make this funny?” And I was trying a little like…we actually have a couple of episodes that just never aired because I was trying too hard as opposed to just seeing that, yeah, that was absurd. I don’t need to say anything except what they said. And now that I’ve kind of mastered that to a degree. I mean, I’ll keep getting better as time goes on. But now I can really see like as I’m reading stuff, I’ll be like, “Oh, I know that Kevin’s gonna hear that and go, ‘Stop it.'” And then he’s gonna call it out, call the absurdity of it. I don’t need to do anything except, say, like, you know, “And then she picked up the knife and stabbed her own foot.” And it’s like, “Why?” Kevin: Spoiler alert. Jeff: Did you have a knack for history before this, Jason? Or did this just kind of happen? Jason: So I’ve always loved history. I always love the idea of history. When I was actually a little kid, I used to play with blocks a lot. And it’s probably why I like being a producer and a storyteller. I used to have like this giant castle and a giant village and an army of bad guys and I acted out this soap opera for years with the royal family and all that. And I was fascinated with the Romanovs and stuff so I kind of like did a little spoof on them. And so I kind of created like my own worlds, and history and stuff. And so when I can find sites that tell historical stories like a story, which is what history should be told as because it essentially is our story, it’s really fun. It’s really exciting to read it and be like, “No, oh, my goodness, that person’s totally the villain.” And then you read a couple more paragraphs, and you’re like, “Oh, no, they’re misguided. They have a heart of gold. They didn’t know.” And then five pages later, you’re like, “No, they’re just a dick.” And it’s exciting, it’s riveting, it gets you on the of the edge of your seat constantly with how people just constantly mess up. And then occasionally, you have a hero who’s just like, actually a good person, you’re like, “What’s the catch?” So, yeah, you know, history is really fun, especially when it’s told with a fun storytelling lens because… Kevin: And I think that’s like the thrust of the podcast is also it’s about the topic, sure, but it’s also just about how Jason and I interact with each other. And we just have such a fun friendship. And I don’t mean that it’s fun from the inside. I hope it is, but it’s fun from the inside of it. So I have such a good time with him that whatever we’re talking about is going to be fun for me. Jeff: That’s awesome. So besides “Out of Body” and more podcast episodes, what else is coming up for you both? Kevin: I may never work again. Who knows? Jason: We’ve actually started writing the sequel to “Analysis Paralysis” with the hope of filming it at the end of the year, with the additional hope of trying to film it in Palm Springs. Kevin: First time hearing of that. Really? Jeff: Breaking news. Kevin: I love Palm Springs. Jason: We’re gonna do what we can to make it work. And it would require assistance from the Palm Springs community, sure, help house us and give us locations and stuff. Kevin: It’s gonna be all on the gondola. Only there. Jason: What gondola? Kevin: The gondola up to the mountain thing. Jason: Oh, yeah, that gondola. Kevin: The whole thing is set on the gondola. Jason: I was thinking like the gondola with a little stick… Kevin: Yeah, the canals in Palm Springs. Jason: But another thing that I’m actually working on is my dad and I wrote a couple of novellas that you can get on Amazon. Kevin: What are they called? Jeff: “California Comedy Series.” Jason: The “California Comedy Series.” Yes. And I wrote a version of “Fixing Frank” with the hopes to get that kind of ball rolling. And it’s definitely a film that requires a bigger budget than what we have right now. But I’m starting to get those wheels in motion for you know, movie four, five, six sometime in the near future. And so yeah, that’s kind of what I’m working on. Kevin: We keep cranking them out. If people will keep putting them on screens and things, we’ll keep making them. Jason: The goal is to make people laugh. I feel like that’s why I was put on Earth and I feel like that’s why you were put on Earth. Kevin: Well, yeah. I know am laughing whenever I see you so that’s probably true. Jeff: Do we get new “California Comedy” anytime soon? Jason: I have been talking about that with my dad, we actually have a couple that are in the works, it’s just trying to figure out when we have a good time to sit down and edit it. I think after “Out of Body,” I’ll be able to take a look back at one of them that we wrote a while ago and kind of tweak it because there were a couple of things that just never felt right. And so it’s just figuring out how to fix those kinds of plot holes. And then hopefully that’ll be on the market before the end of 2019. Jeff: Excellent. And Kevin, what about you, anything you want to throw out for people to keep an eye out for? Kevin: Super excited about the podcast, actually. You know, going into production on “Out of Body” is really, really exciting. I don’t have a lot of acting projects coming up after that, that I can think of right now. But that’s kind of the nature of acting projects. Jeff: Sure. Kevin: You know, and so the podcast is where you can find us weekly up until the end…and actually, we make announcements there about projects that do come up for us, you know, in the interim. So, you know, to be a loyal listener to the show would be the best way to find out about what’s new with us. You know. Jason: Oh, and I almost forgot. We’re going to try in some way whether it’s self-published or with some other company helping us, the goal is to turn the “California Comedy Series” into audiobooks as well, similar to “Out of Body.” Jeff: Oh, fantastic. So both of you voicing? Jason: Yeah, for two of them. One of them, the plan is to have my good friend David Singletary come in as the role of Mike since that role is African American. And my friend David Singletary is African American and I’m all about… Kevin: Kevin Held is very much not. Jason: I’m all about own voices reading parts and stuff like that. And he’s great. You’re going to love him. Kevin: He is great. I’m a little jealous, but I’m okay. Jeff: Well, guys, thank you so much for telling us about “Out of Body” and the podcast. We wish you much success with those. Jason: Well, thank you. Kevin: Well, much success with your own podcast, gentlemen. Jason: Thank you, yes.  

Jeff opens the show reminding everyone that his new m/m hockey romance novella, Head in the Game, releases on Thursday, January 24. The guys discuss movies from this past summer that they've finally seen: Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Spy Who Dumped Me, Skyscraper and Bad Times at the El Royale. Jeff reviews Looking for Billy Haines by Suzanne Brockmann and Ed Gaffney. Gregory Ashe talks with Jeff about how he got his start writing as well as his ongoing series Hazard and Somerset and Hollow Folk. He also discusses how he balances writing and his day job as well as what's coming next from him--including a new trilogy. Complete shownotes for episode 172 are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com.

OK, OK. All your heroes are a lie. History is told by those who live the longest, and this week, most of the people in our story don't live long enough to tell the tale. That's OK, though, because Jason T. Gaffney is on the case, ably assisted by best-selling author Suzanne Brockmann, who also just happens to be Jason's mom! This story gets dicey, but you'll be OK. Corral your feelings and check your weapons at the city limits!

This week the podcast celebrates its 150th episode, which features a freshened up introduction and closing by voice artist Derrick McClain. The guys congratulate the filmmaking team of Jason T. Gaffney, Ed Gaffney and Suzanne Brockmann on Analysis Paralysis getting its world premiere screening at September's Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival. The documentary Kiki is reviewed. Jeff then reviews Not Your Villain by C.B. Lee and also gives a shoutout to Rhys Ford's upcoming book, Savior. He encourages people to pre-order that ahead of its mid-September release. Author and filmmaker Brian Sloan is interviewed about his latest project, West 40s. Brian also talks about earlier works, such as his YA novels, the film WTC View and what he currently enjoys watching. Complete shownotes for episode 150 are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com.

Opening this week's show, Jeff announces that he submitted the fourth Codename: Winger book. Kendra is congratulated as the winner of the Layla Reyne giveaway from episode 146. The guys talk about the latest Kickstarter from Suzanne Brockmann and Jason T. Gaffney for their upcoming film Out of Body. Will reviews Kidnapped by the Pirate by Keira Andrews and Jeff reviews Five Minutes Longer by Victoria Sue and There Goes Sunday School by Alexander C. Eberhart. Jeff interviews Carrie Pack about her latest book, Past Imperfect, as well as her new podcast, Bi Sci Fi. Carrie's also giving away a paperback ARC of Past Imperfect. For a chance to win, listeners should send an email to giveaway@biggayfictionpodcast.com with the word "Past" in the subject line. More details on the giveaway are at the bottom of the shownotes page. Complete shownotes for episode 148 are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com.

Jess and Trisha discuss some excellent and important RWA speeches by Suzanne Brockmann and Sonali Dev; note the anti-climactic end of a certain trademark battle; and talk more about the romance (books) still to come in 2018. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot’s own Recommended Podcastand Igniteby Angel Payne. Also! Book Riot is giving away $500 worth of the year's best YA fiction and nonfiction so far!Go to bookriot.com/500yagiveaway to enter before July 31 to enter. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts  and Google Play AND find full show notes at the When in Romance page on Bookriot.com.

The show kicks off this week congratulating Suzanne Brockmann, who accepted her Romance Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award with a powerful speech. Missy is congratulated as the winner of the free Coastal Magic Convention registration that we gave away back in episode 144. Jeff gives a shoutout to marInspired for their amazing dance this past week on World of Dance. The guys also discuss the documentaries Making Fun: The Story of Funko and Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story. Will reviews The Veranda, the third in Rosalind Abel's Lavender Shores series. Jeff reviews Imperial Stout, the first book in Lalya Reyne's new Trouble Brewing series. Layla then talks with Jeff about her new series, as well as the Agents Irish & Whiskey series, how she got her start and what's still to come. She's also giving away a mass market paperback copy of Imperial Stout and a $25 Amazon gift card to one lucky listener who sends an email to giveaway@biggayfictionpodcast with the word "Trouble" in the subject line (more details on the giveaway are at the bottom of the shownotes page). Complete shownotes for episode 146 are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com.

The podcast begins with a tribute to Edith Windsor, the LGBTQ activist whose Supreme Court case legalized marriage equality in the U.S. Jeff talks more about the editing that went on in the past week. Jeff reviews the new Love & Luck Podcast that premieres this week. It's a fictional radio play podcast that focuses on the romance between Kane and Jason. The guys also discuss the film Handsome Devil, a coming of age / sports / find your own voice movie. Suzanne Brockmann returns to the show. This time she discusses her author journey, which includes making sure her son could find himself in her books. Complete shownotes for episode 102 are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com.

Awards news kicks off this week's episode with a look at LGBT finalists for the 2017 Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense and the 2017 RITA Awards, both sponsored by RWA. Will talks about new merchandise supporting the children's book Promised Land, including a coloring book. The guys also announce that they'll be attending screenings at OutFest for Jay Bell's Something Like Summer and the premiere of Eastsiders Season 3. Will reviews Stage Two by Ariel Tachna and Cowboys Don't Come Out by Tara Lain. The guys also discuss, and highly recommend, the recent ABC mini-series When We Rise, which documents the gay liberation movement from 1971-2015. Suzanne Brockmann, Ed Gaffney and Jason T. Gaffney are welcomed back to the show to continue their interview. This week they discuss their many family collaborations and what's coming up next for each of them. Complete shownotes for episode 90 are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com.

Jeff and Will announce that they've been selected, for a second year, to be part of the GayRomLit featured bloggers. The first GRL Blog Tour spot will appear in episode 91 on July 3. Kenneth is congratulated as the winner of the recent Sweet Summer Fun Paperback Giveaway. New patrons Lu Ann, Megan and A.E. were welcomed. The guys review Fixing Frank, book three in the California Comedy series, by Jason T. Gaffney and Ed Gaffney and presented under the Suzanne Brockmann Presents banner. Then they welcome Suzanne, Ed and Jason for part one of an interview where they talk about Suzanne's history of writing m/m characters going back to the mid-2000s in her Troubleshooters series and the collaboration that lead to the California Comedy series. Complete shownotes for episode 89 are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com.