The bill, which would prohibit books depicting sexual or gender identity, proposes up to 30 days imprisonment for librarians who refuse to remove banned titles.
Normalize the word abortion. It’s not dirty. It’s a medical procedure that is literally saving someone’s life tonight. And we all should want it to be safe, legal and accessible.
It is a bright beautiful day and we're here to tell you that Fated States is coming back to flip GA! Stay tuned for more information on our phonebanking schedule (we're letting
@IndivisibleTeam
celebrate for 24 hours!) -- but we're in, and we hope you are too!
You guys we do not want to brag but a real vampire just emailed us and offered to turn us and help us go on a world tour and learn many languages and be apex predators so, farewell mortal losers our time has come.
Wow! We are blown away - one million downloads! Thanks to the genre we love, to all of our guests, to the authors and books we've discussed, and to you our listeners! Thanks to our producer
@ericmortensen
!
Team Vertas Forever! xoxo Sarah & Jen
Thanks for the pure joy today. No matter who your favorite is, we love that Derek Craven Day can inspire you to shout about him (we see you, Zachary Bronson fans).
Tell us which Kleypas you're going to reread (or read for the first time!) in comments, and remember:
It's going to be difficult this year. But it was difficult in 2020, too. Local elections are the whole ballgame, and Fated States is coming back online this spring to help in as many places as we can. Stay tuned.
Season 2 of
@TedLasso
starts this week, and to celebrate we've released a very special episode. Our investigation centers on this very important question: Is Roy Kent a romance hero?
That's a wrap on
#fatedstates2020
-- over 6 weeks, more than 250 people we made more than 300,000 calls to TX, KY, IA, WI, SC, GA & MS! Thank you to every listener who came out to phonebank & to every author who donated books to the phone bankers. We love you! xo
This week's Trailblazer episode is with romance legend
@authorMsBev
. We talk about her path to romance writing, about how librarians make the best writers, and about her role as the first Black historical romance novelist.
This week, we have trailblazer Mary Balogh on the podcast. We talk about historical accuracy, about research, about love, about staying true to your voice and your purpose, and about who Mary Balogh thinks is writing at the top of the game.
Thanks to everyone for making yesterday the most fun holiday ever -- no family drama, no kitchen to clean up, an no superspreading -- just a straight shot of joy!
(And our biggest download day ever, which worries us a bit as that episode is EXTREME SILLY)
We love youuuuuu!
It's A Heart of Blood and Ashes week, and Eric just said, "I’m out of practice editing podcasts where you just scream at each other about bloody sex for an hour."
To which I replied: "Excuse me, it was an hour and a HALF."
Today’s episode is a freewheeling chat about what makes a romance novel a romance novel. The requirements, the quirks, the shorthand that avid readers totally understand but people new to the genre have to learn.
Join us for FATED STATES this Saturday 7/9 between 2-4pm central: We are making calls to Kansas voters to encourage them to vote NO on the proposed state constitutional amendment on the August 2022 primary ballot, which would pave the way for a total ban on abortion in Kansas.
my grandma just told me that she is now in a long-distance relationship with the 79-year-old vol who phone banked her before the election and they talk three times a day so anyways anything can happen when you make calls
It's Season Three: Back on our Bullshit. We introduce the idea for the season, talk about how to save democracy, and share our love for Gaslighter and WAP.
You know what you might need to do, a list of like 90 romances that will get you through. Thanks to all the authors who donated books to our
#FatedStates2020
phone banks.
this week, we're talking about devils in romance. to qualify, the character has to be named devil, or the title has to have devil or hell, or you know, the literal devil.
Eric, after editing the Derek Craven Day episode: "So, the takeaway is, this is a man of the people who would have ten gold Christmas trees.”
Sarah: “Accurate.”
Jen: “Don’t worry about it.”
This week, we are in conversation with Elda Minger, author of over 30 romances. She was the first contemporary romance author to include condom use on page.
This week, we read RAVISHING THE HEIRESS by
@sherrythomas
. Please clear an entire day to read it, followed closely by hours to lay in bed and think about your feelings. It's sublime.
Happy Derek Craven Day to all who celebrate. This is a rerelease of last year's episode with
@kateclayborn
because we are ALL still going through some things and this year we're just celebrating quietly at home.
In case you are wondering how much bantr is in Wednesday's episode, we say welcome to Fated Mates at the 16 minute mark and "I guess we're starting" at the 24 minute mark. Please fast forward as needed. 🤣
Orc porn, Santa fetishes, Roy Kent: At a live taping of the romance novel podcast
@FatedMates
, hosts Sarah MacLean and Jen Prokop discuss the seduction of erotica — and the scourge of book bans.
We just dropped a special episode focused on book bans in the US. We’re joined by author & librarian
@jarrettdapier
, activist Lily Freeman and author & activist
@melissacwalker
to talk about what’s happening, who is most impacted, & how we can all help.
This man who produces the podcast and the long-suffering sigh he just let out when he saw what topic was waiting for him in the June 20th episode folder.
We had special guests today! Julia Quinn popped in to donate signed books to everyone on the phonebank, and brought her infectious disease specialist husband with her, who took COVID questions for a while! Every day with us is a ride!
Tomorrow our episode on Dark Romance drops, and the whole episode is amazing, but
@kenyagoreebell
saying "We know who the grumpy and sunshine ones are in your relationship" is the hardest we've ever been dragged by a guest.
It’s happening LIVE, in New York City! Join Jen, Sarah, and an absolutely fire lineup of special guests for a Fated Mates LIVE recording, in person, in Brooklyn. Time to book tickets, flights, and make plans to spend the weekend in NYC with your romance loving friends!
Thank you to everyone who was part of Fated Mates Live tonight. You all are amazing. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ tag us in your pictures on social media so we can see them!
It's been a tough weekend, Fated Mates fam. But we have an extra episode this week -- one where we rage against the machine, mourn RBG, and talk about the masquerade trope? It all made sense at the time.
This week, author
@kateclayborn
is on with us to talk about romances with the "best friend's sibling" trope. We talk about Kate's new book BEST OF LUCK, SINNER by
@TheSierraSimone
GODDESS OF THE HUNT by
@TessaDare
and CLEAN BREAKS by
@RubeLang
This week, we are rereleasing an episode from May 2019-- it's all about bodily autonomy, birth control, and abortion in romance. It was a call to action then, and it's a call to action now.
This one is probably as goofy as we get — Romance Science class is in session! We’re talking biology, physiology, astronomy, neurology, urology, gynecology, obstetrics and dermatology. Basically, we’ve studied this enough to hold multiple romance PhDs.
10 books to get to know me, in no particular order:
Emily's Runaway Imagination
The Pawn of Prophecy
The Sun Also Rises (i know OKAY)
The Dark Tower
The Children of the Jedi
Say Yes to the Marquess
The Scorpio Races
Finnikin of the Rock
Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover
IT
This week we're talking about families in romance--for many readers, big sprawling series with families are the best part of romance! And for so many of us unable to spend time with our own families, maybe these books will bring you some comfort & joy.
we once again wish you the happiest new year with the absolute wildest topic we can think of. This year, it's breeding kink with author Joanna Shupe, who writes mafia romance as Mila Finelli. CW: heteronormativity all over the place.
Friday is Derek Craven day, and we're still going through some things! Sarah & Eric moved, and we're re-releasing to get us through the transition to their new home (and new computer set up).
Today: our Dreaming of You episode...