Amy & Book Club

Holiday season is upon us! Today, Amy, Abby, and Harry are joined by returning special guest Kathleen Stanley a.k.a The Christmas Expert. Observe as Kathleen works her magic on the Grinches of the group by breaking down what Christmas fiction means to people and what, at its core, this holiday should really be about. Anybody else have a list of new Christmas Romance movies to binge, or is it just me?

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This week we’re throwing back to September when we headed over to the Flinders University Library for a live chat about all things reading and writing romance. Does dark romance need content ratings or trigger warnings? Why do straight women love to read and write gay male romance? What can romance novels teach us about love? Are horror romance and paranormal romance the same thing? Do people yearn for an epic slowburn? And w...

Kickstartin' November with a bang, we catch up on a Book Club we were all plague-ridden for and had to miss! Introducing...An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister! Our rocky August was nothing in comparison to Sadie and Jodi's marriage of convenience in this fun rom-com, packed with some lighthearted truths about the academic world.

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🦜 Buy An Academic Affair: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/An-Academic-Affair/Jodi...

For the final week of October, we're putting our books aside to discuss horror movies: our favourite (and not so favourite) horror films, the return of campy monster horror, future horror movie trends, potentially controversial opinions about the movies Weapons, and more!

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Join the podcast team and get spooky as we sit down to chat about our horror BOTM, Feast While You Can by Mikaella Clements & Onjuli Datta.

Feast While You Can is a (extremely delicious) strange and sexy novel of queer love in a small town, in which the monster that possesses Angelina Sicco can only be repelled by the touch of her childhood crush, sternly handsome Jagvi … oh no 😔 

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This week, we dive straight into talking about one of our favourite reads this year, and get the chance to interview married couple and our BotM authors, Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta. We talk about what it's like to write possession, how horror and romance intertwine, the consumption of the dreaded Pit Monster, and--of course--what's behind Jagvi and Angelina's tender, thorny path towards each other. 🎃 

Our book ...

Strap in for more horror talk this week because Amy & Harry and Millie are joined by horror connoisseur Riley Jones to talk all things horrormance (horror/romance). Is paranormal fiction just a subgenre of horror? Does horror actually have to be scary? Are you allowed to kill the queer characters in your horrormance? All these questions and more will be answered.

Our book of the month is Feast While You Can. Read along with us ...

Amy & Abby are joined by writers and experts Tabby Knight and Oscar Sparkes to kick off our horror-themed October (because what else would we be doing this month?!). What to expect from this spooky episode: defining genres, the origins of liminal horror, mad scientists, fears, and a watch- or read-list the length of a Stephen King novel.

Our book of the month is Feast While You Can. Read along with us and tune in to our intervi...

Hi Booklovers! This week, Amy & the podcast team sit down to chat about Fiona Wright's 'The World Was Whole', a gorgeous essay collection about our bodies, homes and shelter and how we might navigate the world and our place within it. Join us to chat about what home means to us, the comfort of everyday habits, slowing down to appreciate the mundane, why more poets should write prose, and more.

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• Find Fiona Wrigh...

This week we're stepping away from our books and onto the internet (oh no) as Amy, Justina & Abby chat to life writing expert Dr. Emma Maguire about online girlhood cultures and digital life writing. Join us as we discuss self representation online, 'authenticity' on social media, the commodification of the self and 'content' creation, the voices of women in a space labelled for 'girls', and the personal act of creating a zine....

This week life writing month takes an experimental turn as Amy, Payton & Justina chat to Olivia De Zilva about her debut genre-defying book Plastic Budgie, out now with Pink Shorts Press. Join us as we dive into the messy intersections of memory, nostalgia, fact and fiction, and we wax poetic about the unapologetically cringey kitsch of Adelaide and our love of novelty processed meats.

Our Book of the Month is The World Was Who...

This month we're talking about life writing.... including what on earth that means. Amy & series regulars Justina, Payton, and Millie may not be experts, but it turns out they've consumed a lot more of the genre than they thought. Join them as they talk about the myriad types of life writing, how scary it is to write about yourself, and why the patriarchy is at it again.

Our Book of the Month is The World Was Whole by Fiona Wri...

This week on Amy & we're thrilled to be interviewing romance author and academic, Jodi McAlister, about her career and latest romance novel, An Academic Affair !! Join us as we ask Jodi all about writing romance fiction as an academic from her latest research on bonkbusters and erotic audio, to creating a believable rivals to lovers plot against the backdrop of a 'brutal neoliberal institution that will never love you back...

Welcome back to Academia Month!

This week, we talk through two fascinating academic articles, 'The Australian Convict Prostitute Romance', and 'Conflict and Colonialism in 21st Century Romantic Historical Fiction: Repairing the Past, Repurposing History' by one of our podcast favourites, Professor Hsu-Ming Teo, with a shoutout to Dr Paloma Fresno-Calleja too! Prepare for a raucous discussion, a mysterious disappearance by our very ...

Welcome to Academia Month, where the vibes are casual but the thoughts are deep 🧠. In this episode, Amy is joined by Justina, Millie, and special return guestie Kathleen Stanley to talk all things academia. Tune in to hear all about their TEXT special issue, how being an academic is both scary and fun, and why you don't have to justify being a romance researcher anymore! Our Book of the Month is An Academic Affair by Jodi McAliste...

Not ready to say goodbye to Western month yet? Good! Neither are we! It's the last week of our cast takeover and we’re lucky enough to have a cheeky fifth Thursday – which means it's time for Amy & After Dark! These are the late-night episodes where we get cosy and yap about all the things that don't fit into our regular podcast schedule.

At the behest of Amy, our holidaying host, we tucked into some popcorn and s'm...

Our amazing host is off galavanting in the mountains and in her absence we read Amy Barry's latest release, Seven Brides for Beau Mcbride. ⋆˖°.𖤓𓄀🂾𐚁𓃗.°˖⋆

Beau Mcbride might just be Amy Barry's most swoon-worthy cowboy yet — and we are so ready to catch the next train to Montana. Join us as we discuss why we (genuinely) love these books, and just how easily the Mcbride siblings have lassoed our heart...

SPOILER ALERT! Cast takeover month continues as Abby, Harry, and Payton interrogate— I mean interview bestselling author Amy Barry about her latest release and our July book club pick, Seven Brides for Beau McBride! Learn what Harry REALLY thinks about this book, why Abby fantasises about getting stuck on fences, and whether or not Payton is a brown-noser, this week on Amy &.

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• The McBrides of Montana by Amy ...

Put on your cowboy boots and grab a partner for the square dance, because we ain't finished talkin' cowboys just yet! ⋆˖°.𖤓𓄀🂾𐚁𓃗.°˖⋆

In this episode we are joined by writer, social media manager, cowboy enthusiast and boot scootin' professional, Bee Saint James, as well as academic and Christmas romance (occasionally on a ranch) expert Kathleen Stanley, to talk all things contemporary cowboy romance novels.

Should we br...