This week my guest is LaQuette, author of many contemporary romances including The King's Pregnancy Proposition and the brand new rom-com Janae Sanders' Second Time Around. We talked about her Savvy, Sexy, and Single Club series about couples in their 40s that explores communication, healing and mental health. Then we discussed the beautiful ridiculousness of romance and the perils of expecting a character's choices to be "plausible."

Plus: LaQuette told me about her Ph.D. research on representations of Black women in popular media and how stereotypes limit the types of stories Black romance authors are able to get published.

Follow her on Instagram @la_quette and at https://laquette.com/.

Purchase LaQuette's books 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 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:

• Carole Mortimer's The Devil's Price
• Kimberla Lawson Roby
• Donna Hill
• Sandra Kitt
• Rochelle Alers
• Francis Ray
• Zane

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

This week I'm the guest! I went on my friend Emily Hessney Lynch's podcast It's A Lot to talk about my romance novel, BUT HOW ARE YOU, REALLY. We dug into my writer's block and the depression a lot of authors experience thanks to the shifting goal posts of success in this industry. Plus I shared some conspiracy theories about why best-seller lists are rigged and if hardcover books are doomed to fail.

Be sure to subscribe to the It's A Lot podcast! Emily does a great job interviewing folks about social media, parenting, books, and all sorts of stuff that feels way too much.

Buy BUT HOW ARE YOU, REALLY in any format here or at bit.ly/buthowareyoureallynovel

Join my Patreon community for free and get email updates about the show and my upcoming events at patreon.com/brosandprose.

Get tickets for my 2/5 event at the Ripped Bodice with Jennifer Iacopelli: https://www.therippedbodice.com/brooklyn-events

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