The Hopeless Romantic

Author Racheline Maltese joins THR for episode 9, "Poly Yammery," to discuss poly and ménage romance. Racheline discusses her upcoming poly book, which leads to deeper examination of writing poly: writing multiple dynamic characters, whether having a co-author helps, how different people do poly differently, and how Racheline feels about the perception that writing bi characters as poly is a negative trope. The group is bemused by the trend of M/F/M ménage stories where there can be absolutely no content construed as "gay." Racheline weighs in on whether being poly is inherently queer, and ultimately the group agrees that demanding receipts for someone's identity is icky. Finally, it turns out that in order to discuss tropes in a genre, there has to be enough content in said genre for there to be tropes in the first place. Get writing, folks.

Content warning: There is a mention of an ethnic slur in the episode, as well as some discussion of historical racism (including slavery). KJ Charles joins THR for episode eight, "Boy Meets Earl". Author of historical fiction and historical fantasy, and an editor, KJ describes her methods of research, discloses fun facts about Victorian and Edwardian body modification, and discusses not wanting to belabor period-accurate racism, sexism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism. The group talks about why sidelining queer romance and other so-called 'niche' romance categories is unacceptable—and makes poor money sense on the part of publishers and distributors. Also, Amanda asks pervy-minded questions about the Society of Gentlemen series and reads aloud embarrassing texts about her and Daria's excitement for the upcoming conclusion to the trilogy. KJ Charles' website KJ Charles on twitter: @kj_charles The Hopeless Romantic is on Patreon! Retweet to enter to win Rag and Bone! RT for a chance to win an ebook copy of KJ Charles' newest, "Rag and Bone"! @kj_charles @theHRpodcast— Hopeless Romantic (@theHRpodcast) March 8, 2016

Episode 7, "A Freshet of Feels," features guest Nicole Kimberling, author and editor at Blind Eye Books. Nicole brings her expertise and wit to the table to discuss editing, the editor/author relationship, and her propensity for wacky ideas. Other topics include the international market for queer romance, how you should never think about the comment section of Goodreads if you're writing a book, and how second person is the voice of passive aggression.  Also, Nicole Kimberling wants to kill your dad.   Nicole Kimberling on Facebook Nicole Kimberling's website Call for submission: Please read the guidelines thoroughly. Magic & Mayhem (a charity anthology to benefit Gay Romance Northwest)

Episode 6.5 is the first bonus episode prompted by a Patreon subscriber. Patrons of $10 or more per month can request that Austin and Amanda discuss a subject of their choice for a minimum of ten minutes. This patron asked how to create convincing and dynamic romantic leads. The hosts go over strategies for fleshing out characters as well inventing them from scratch, and ways to make their conflicts sing--whether you want characters who complement each other or oppose each other. The Hopeless Romantic on Patreon

"2 Become 1", episode six of The Hopeless Romantic, is the first in a series of episodes that will tackle co-writing. Austin and Amanda cover their co-writing styles, including Austin's preciousness over privacy and tendency to write garbage the first time through, and Amanda's control-freak habits and horrible tendency to edit as she writes. Also, THR's own audio producer, Daria Defore, joins to discuss co-writing with Austin. More topics discussed include Amanda's true-crime references in her choice of co-writing penname, Daria's role as the witty co-writer (and Austin's as the one rolling around in feels), and the ways that original universes spin out of control. Daria Defore: @dariadefore and her website. The Hopeless Romantic's Patreon account can be found here! Call for submission: (Please review the guidelines thoroughly.) Bella Books (lesbian romance)

Content warning: This episode of THR features frank and explicit discussion of sex scenes (and a lot of swearing for bonus points). "The Anatomy of a Sex Scene" has Amanda and Austin returning from their holiday hiatus to argue about dickscription, make impassioned pleas for the use of lube in fiction (and real life), and discuss the requirements of heat ratings. Amanda condemns unrealistic beauty standards for genitals and Austin kinkshames literally everyone (he's sorry). The Hopeless Romantic now has a Patreon account! Check it out in case you want access to exclusive content and the chance to request 10 minutes of Austin and Amanda discussing the topic of your choice. Calls for submission: (Please review the guidelines thoroughly.) Pride Publishing Evernight Publishing

Content warning: This episode of THR features some discussion of biphobia, transphobia, and other potentially sensitive topics. Episode four, "Bi Bi Bi," has Austin and Amanda deconstructing bi tropes in LGTBQIA romance and beyond: Gay For You, slutty bisexuals, the conflation of poly (and menage) with bisexuality, and more are tackled.  During the episode Amanda gets real about internalized biphobia, Austin talks about gender essentialism, and it's revealed that bisexuals may or may not be sharks. Calls for submission: (Please review the guidelines thoroughly.) Less Than Three Press  Vitality (short, positive LGBTQIA+ themed works)

Content warning: This episode of THR features some discussion of transphobia and dysphoria and other potentially triggering subjects. The third episode of The Hopeless Romantic, "You and Me Could Write a Trans Romance," features the podcast's first guest, author Sam Schooler. Amanda and Austin ask about Sam's experiences as a genderqueer author, discuss ways cis authors can respectfully represent trans characters, and how presses can better market trans books. Other topics include writing contemporary vs historical trans literature, not writing trans characters to meet a diversity quota, and Sam and Austin's favorite trans books. Follow Sam Schooler on twitter: @samschoolering Trans submission calls: (Please review the submission guidelines thoroughly. Please note that these calls may not be romance-specific.) Topside Press Trans-Genre Press As mentioned in the episode, many LGBTQIA romance presses accept trans romance. Below is a partial list: Riptide Publishing, Less Than Three Press, Bold Strokes Books, NineStar Press, Dreamspinner Press *, Torquere Press, LooseID, Pride Publishing * trans m/m only

The Hopeless Romantic is an queer romance podcast hosted by Austin Chant and Amanda Jean. Episode two discusses National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), which challenges authors to write 50,000 words in a month. Austin, a multi-year Nano winner, covers strategies best suited for Nano, while Amanda covers the structural conventions of 50,000-word romance novels. Also, the hosts dissect using sex scenes as shorthand, and classify romance as a bad boy on a Vespa scooter. If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review on iTunes.

In The Hopeless Romantic, hosts Austin Chant and Amanda Jean talk about the queer romance genre. In this debut episode they talk about the foundations of the genre, from the pulp tragedies of the 1950s to the shamelessly romantic ebooks of today. Future episodes of The Hopeless Romantic will feature industry guests. The next episode will be about National Novel Writing Month, so be sure to tune in! If you liked this episode, please rate and review us on iTunes. The Hopeless Romantic can be followed on Facebook and Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/thehopelessromanticpodcast/ http://www.twitter.com/TheHRPodcast Email us at thehopelessromanticpodcast@gmail.com with your questions and feedback! Art by Keezy Young Music by Carly Ann Worden Hosts: Amanda Jean Co-creator/Co-host Amanda Jean is an editor, publicist, and occasional writer of queer romance. She grew up devouring het romance novels and shifted to LGBT romance as a teen when her thirsty queer nature revealed itself. Amanda has worked with Less Than Three Press, Torquere Press, NineStar Press, Evernight Publishing, Siren-BookStrand, and serves as the LGBT Director for Alternating Current’s The Spark. When not wrangling manuscripts, you can find her watching documentaries, reading too many books on true crime, and caring too much about fictional characters. Find her on twitter (@amandahjean) and at  amandahjean.weebly.com. Austin Chant Co-creator/Co-host Austin Chant is a bitter millennial, avid gamer, and a queer, trans romance writer. His interests include cooking everything, petting friendly dogs and cats, and writing about all kinds of rad queer people. He lives in Seattle with his partners in crime, a pleasant collection of game consoles, and an abundance of tea. In the regrettably large amount of time he spends not writing romance novels, he works in interactive media as a game designer and does his best to stay awake through college.  You can follow him on Twitter (@austinchanted) and his website is  austinchanted.weebly.com.