In the first Rebel Ever After episode of 2026, my guest is Ashley Herring Blake! I asked the author of DELILAH GREEN DOESN'T CARE and countless other queer books about her shift from writing kid-lit to adult romance, and the authors who inspired her along the way. Then we broke down the role of astrology and tarot in her new book GET OVER IT, APRIL EVANS (Feb 2026) and why queers love our star charts so much.

I also asked Ashley for her advice on how to live and work in line with your values in an industry where having principles can feel like a luxury. Plus: writing about kink and queerness in small-town settings, and why third-act breakups are the best, actually.

Find Ashley on Instagram @ashleyhblake or at www.ashleyherringblake.com

Pre-order Get Over It, April Evans from the Rebel Ever After affiliate bookstore at bit.ly/REABooks

Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee is an all-volunteer, grassroots, multiracial, and multinational immigrant rights mass-movement organization. MIRAC fights for legalization for all, an end to immigration raids and deportations, an end to all anti-immigrant laws, and full equality in all areas of life. Donate to MIRAC here: www.miracmn.com

Subscribe on Patreon at patreon.com/brosandprose to get access to the Rebel Ever After Discord server, as well as premium episodes of the podcast. Save 10% when you buy an annual membership! Your financial support makes this independent production possible.

Please remember to RATE AND REVIEW the podcast wherever you like to listen. Theme music created by Dalton Deschain. This show is brought to you with the support of my patrons.

Books and authors mentioned this episode:

• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
• Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner
• The Brown Sisters series by Talia Hibbert
• Rebekah Witherspoon
• Kennedy Ryan
• Nicole Brinkley

This week my guest is Allie Oleander, author of the dark-ish romance WILLING PREY about a woman who gets paid $30,000 to let a sexy, awkward lawyer hunt her in the woods. We talked about the definition of primal kink, how Allie approached consent and power dynamics in the book, and the differences between BDSM and Dark Romance.

Plus: Why do some readers find Dark Romances so cathartic to read? Allie patiently helped me make sense of my complicated feelings about the subgenre's rising popularity.

Content warning: This episode is definitely not safe for work and includes discussion of kink, stalking, trauma and sexual violence.

Follow Allie on Instagram and Threads @allie.oleander. You can also subscribe to her Patreon for free at Patreon.com/AllieOleander.

Purchase Willing Prey from the Rebel Ever After affiliate bookstore at bit.ly/REABooks

Subscribe on Patreon at patreon.com/brosandprose to get access to the Rebel Ever After Discord server, as well as premium episodes of the podcast. Save 10% when you buy an annual membership! Your financial support makes this independent production possible. Please reach out at rebeleverafterpod.com/contact with advertising and sponsorship inquiries.

Please remember to RATE AND REVIEW the podcast wherever you like to listen. Theme music created by Dalton Deschain. This show is brought to you with the support of my patrons.

Books mentioned this episode:

• The works of Nenia Campbell
• Rebecca Kinkade's Streams and Schemes trilogy

This week my guest is Katherine Grant, indie romance author and the host of the Historical Romance Sampler podcast. We talked about the conclusion of her historical romance series The Prestons and how her characters live by their progressive principles in Regency Era England. On a craft level, Katherine shares how she interrogates thorny issues of labor exploitation and divesting from the slave trade while writing character-driven romance novels. Plus: How she approached writing the sexuality and personal growth of characters in their 60s in THE WIDOWER WITHOUT A WILL.

Then we dove into the state of historical romance in the indie publishing space. Is it true that indie authors will keep the subgenre alive? How are hist-rom authors doing these days? And how can historical romance appeal to new and young readers?

Find Katherine on Instagram as @katherine_grant_romance and at katherinegrantromance.com. Listen to the Historical Romance Sampler wherever you get your podcasts, and follow the show on Instagram at @historicalromancesampler.

Purchase Katherine's romances from the Rebel Ever After affiliate bookstore at bit.ly/REABooks

Subscribe on Patreon at patreon.com/brosandprose to get access to the Rebel Ever After Discord server, as well as premium episodes of the podcast. Save 10% when you buy an annual membership! Your financial support makes this independent production possible. Please reach out at rebeleverafterpod.com/contact with advertising and sponsorship inquiries.

Please remember to RATE AND REVIEW the podcast wherever you like to listen. Theme music created by Dalton Deschain. This show is brought to you with the support of my patrons.

Books mentioned this episode:

• The work of Nicholas Sparks
• The work of Jodi Picoult
• The work of Mary Higgins Clark
• The work of Mary Balogh
• What a Wallflower Wants by Maya Rodale
• Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel by Elizabeth Everett
• The Sea Witch by Eva Leigh
• The Roman Heirs series by Jenna Bigelow
• Mate by Ali Hazelwood
• Princess Weekes's Dramione video
• The work of Emma R. Alban
• The work of Adriana Herrera

This week my guest is Marisa Kanter, author of the adult rom-com FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS, as well as several YA romance novels. We talked about writing the ultimate contemporary marriage-of-convenience about best friends who get married for health insurance and housing. We had a good venting session about ableism and misogyny in romance reviews, and the weird trend of readers wanting to "rescue" male main characters from their chronically ill heroines.

Topics include: Romance characters who don't want to get married, the disgraceful state of the United States healthcare system, and if escapism has to mean a love story completely untethered from economic reality.

Follow Marisa on Instagram @marisakanter and visit her website at marisakanter.com. Purchase Marisa's FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS from the Rebel Ever After affiliate bookstore here!

My second-chance college reunion romance BUT HOW ARE YOU, REALLY is available wherever books are sold and at bit.ly/buthowareyoureallynovel

Subscribe on Patreon at patreon.com/brosandprose to get access to the Rebel Ever After Discord server, as well as premium episodes of the podcast. Your financial support makes this independent production possible. Please reach out at rebeleverafterpod.com/contact with advertising and sponsorship inquiries.

Please remember to RATE AND REVIEW the podcast wherever you like to listen. Theme music created by Dalton Deschain. This show is brought to you with the support of my patrons.

Books referenced this episode include:

• The works of Sarah Dessen
• The works of Meg Cabot
• The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
• The Broposal by Sonora Reyes

My guest this week is Rachel Runya Katz, the author of Thank You For Sharing, Whenever You're Ready and the brand new instant USA Today Best Seller Isn't It Obvious? We talked about writing rom-traum-coms, balancing serious subjects with swoony romance, bipolar representation and our love of Michael Hobbes podcasts. Plus, should we be concerned about all the condomless big penises taking over sex scenes? And our hot takes about You've Got Mail.

Follow Rachel on Instagram @rachelrunyakatz and on Substack here. Purchase Rachel's books from the Rebel Ever After affiliate bookstore here!

Subscribe on Patreon at patreon.com/brosandprose to get access to the Rebel Ever After Discord server, as well as premium episodes of the podcast. Your financial support makes this independent production possible. Please reach out at rebeleverafterpod.com/contact with advertising and sponsorship inquiries.

Please remember to RATE AND REVIEW the podcast wherever you like to listen. Theme music created by Dalton Deschain. This show is brought to you with the support of my patrons.

Books and podcasts mentioned this episode:

• The works of Jasmine Gillory
• The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest
• Can't Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan
• The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements & Onjuli Datta
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• Maintenance Phase podcast
• You're Wrong About podcast
• If Books Could Kill podcast

P.S. My second-chance college reunion romance BUT HOW ARE YOU, REALLY is available wherever books are sold and at bit.ly/buthowareyoureallynovel

My guest this week is Julian Winters, the author of adult rom-coms I THINK THEY LOVE YOU and LAST FIRST KISS, as well as many books for teens and children. We talked about his passion for writing inclusive love stories that make people feel seen and celebrated. Julian walked me through how he approached demisexuality and pansexuality on the page of his new book LAST FIRST KISS in a responsible and character-driven way. Plus: Discovering your queer identity at your own pace, no matter your age; conversations about safe sex between characters; and writing ideal "first" sexual experiences.

Follow Julian on Instagram @wintersjulian at julianwinters.com. Purchase Julian's books from the Rebel Ever After affiliate bookstore here!

Subscribe on Patreon at patreon.com/brosandprose to get access to the Rebel Ever After Discord server, as well as premium episodes of the podcast. Your financial support makes this independent production possible! Please reach out at rebeleverafterpod.com/contact with advertising and sponsorship inquiries.

Please remember to RATE AND REVIEW the podcast wherever you like to listen. Theme music created by Dalton Deschain. This show is brought to you with the support of my patrons.

Get tickets for my event with Candice Jalili at Powerhouse Arena (Brooklyn 10/14): https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/powerhousebookstores/book-launch-seeing-stars-by-candice-jalili

Get tickets for my event with Cait Jacobs at The Next Chapter (Huntington NY, 10/20): https://www.thenextchapterli.com/product/cait-jacobs-book-talk-signing-monday-october-20th-7pm/20275

Other books mentioned this episode:

• How to Be a Normal Person by TJ Klune
• Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood
• Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe
• The works of Keith Miller

This week my guest is former journalist and current novelist Chloe Angyal! In her Dancers Down Under trilogy, Chloe writes about ballet dancers as athletes, employees, and hotties. We talked about her decision to self-publish BARRE FIGHT, the final book in the series, and how she wove the extensive research she did for her nonfiction book Turning Pointe: How a New Generation of Dancers is Saving Ballet From Itself into genre romance novels.

Plus: how she wrote a high-steam romance novel without any penetrative sex scenes in POINTE OF PRIDE, the current conservative project to disenfranchise women, and her real-life meet cute with her husband Zach Wahls, who is now running for Senate in Iowa.

Follow Chloe on Instagram as @chloe.angyal.writes and on Substack at https://chloeangyal.substack.com/

Order a signed copy of BARRE FIGHT here: https://chloeangyal.substack.com/p/how-to-get-a-signed-copy-of-barre

Support Zach Wahls for Senate: https://zachwahls.com/

Subscribe on Patreon at patreon.com/brosandprose to get access to the Rebel Ever After Discord server, as well as premium episodes of the podcast. Your financial support makes this independent production possible! Please reach out at rebeleverafterpod.com/contact with advertising and sponsorship inquiries.

Get tickets for my event with Candice Jalili at Powerhouse Arena (Brooklyn 10/14): https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/powerhousebookstores/book-launch-seeing-stars-by-candice-jalili

Get tickets for my event with Cait Jacobs at The Next Chapter (Huntington NY, 10/20): https://www.thenextchapterli.com/product/cait-jacobs-book-talk-signing-monday-october-20th-7pm/20275

Theme music created by Dalton Deschain. This show is brought to you with the support of my patrons.

It's time for another Rebel Ever After's premium episode! This month my guest is Katherine Morgan, the owner of Grand Gesture Books, Portland's first romance bookstore. She shared what she has learned during the store's first year at 814 SW 10th Ave — from managing stock to building community at events.

She shared her advice on how authors can build strong relationships with their local booksellers, and how you can still support indie bookstores if you're on a book buying freeze. Plus we talked about all those beautiful hardcover special editions… and wondered what makes a special edition "special" anyway?

You can listen to the full episode at patreon.com/brosandprose. Subscribe for $3/month to support the show and pay an independent podcaster's rent.

Follow Grand Gesture Books on Instagram and Threads at @grandgesturebooks, and @grandgesturebks on TikTok. Learn more about the store and sign up for the newsletter at https://linktr.ee/grandgesturebooks.