Hot and Bothered

Romance novels are the publishing industry’s dirty little secret. They make up 34% of the U.S. fiction market, yet there's still so much stigma around reading them. Join Vanessa Zoltan in October 2018 as she investigates the joyful, feminist, sacred space of the Romance genre. Every episode, Vanessa challenges one of her friends to write their first romance novel. With the help of N.Y. Times Best Selling Novelist Julia Quinn of the Bridgerton series, we'll be falling in love again and again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A closer look at Season One of Hot & Bothered, coming early 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here is an Anti-Valentine from Vanessa and Ariana.All 20 episodes of Hot & Bothered will be launching weekly, on Tuesdays, starting July 16th. In the meantime, we wanted to wish you a happy Valentine’s Day. Really! Happy Valentine’s Day! Or at least, happy Emma’s birthday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vanessa Zoltan thinks that happy endings are the best part of romance novels. Bryce Gilfillian is writing his first romance novel and refuses to write a happy ending.This week on Hot and Bothered, we explore the trope of “Updated Fairytale.” Bryce sets out to write the gay fairytale he never had growing up. Meanwhile, Vanessa wrestles with her own princes, witches, and dragons.Along the way we get a little help from Professor of Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University, Maria Tatar, and receive our first writing assignment from our own fairy godmother, #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Bridgerton series, Julia Quinn.Follow along on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and send us your romance advice questions for future episodes to hotandbotheredrompod@gmail.com. Next week: Love advice and a conversation with award-winning romance novelist, Alyssa Cole.

Haven't finished the first writing assignment? No problem! We know writing takes time, so you'll have two weeks for each of Julia Quinn's assignments. In the meantime, Vanessa and her friend Julia Argy will buy you some time and turn to Reddit romance questions to offer their unsolicited (but solid) dating advice. This week’s advice? Dump Him.As Vanessa and Julia consider how power and money work negatively in real dating relationships, Vanessa turns to award-winning romance novelist Alyssa Cole to explore why it is she likes the power imbalances in Cole’s love stories - as well as feminism, bailing on dates, and the restorative pleasure of masseuses on planes.  Send us your own romance advice questions for future episodes on our website at https://www.hotandbotheredrompod.com/advice

Ariana Nedelman wants to write a romance novel, no matter how much it hurts. Vanessa Zoltan loves her friend Ariana, and doesn’t want her to do things that hurt!This week on Hot & Bothered, we explore the trope “Enemies to Lovers.” Ariana confronts her own enemy, writing, in hopes she may grow to love it again. Vanessa reckons with letting a toxic enemy near her dearest friend.Additionally, we get some guidance from Professor Stephanie Paulsell at Harvard Divinity School, and our next writing assignment from writer’s-block-busting, #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Bridgerton series, Julia Quinn.Follow along on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and send us your romance advice questions for future episodes to hotandbotheredrompod@gmail.com.Next week: More love advice and a conversation with your new best friend and cultural critic Margaret H. Willison.

Another week to work on your next writing assignment? You’re welcome! This week, Vanessa and friend Julia Argy offer more unsolicited advice to a romance-fraught Redditor caught between the love she has in her arms and the love she’s read about in books. Torn between fantasy and reality, Vanessa turns to librarian, pop culture expert, and America's Next Top Best Friend Margaret H. Willison to discuss the power of fantasy, and how imagining the love we *could* have helps us get the love we deserve. Send us your own romance advice questions for future episodes on our website at https://www.hotandbotheredrompod.com/advice

Vanessa has been faithfully holding onto her old love letters. Her friend Sejal, however, has decided to burn her own memorabilia and never look back. Which one is right?This week on Hot & Bothered, we explore the trope “Reunited Lovers.” Sejal has made peace with her past and seeks a vicarious happy ending for two fictional former flames. Vanessa, on the other hand, is forced to confront the reality of a former toxic lover and what it means to doctor the evidence of her romantic history.Along the way, Rev. Dr. Matthew Potts weighs-in on how much of forgiveness is forgetting, and we get our next writing assignment from #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Bridgerton , Julia Quinn.Follow along on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and send us your romance advice questions for future episodes to hotandbotheredrompod@gmail.com. Next week: More love advice and a conversation with mind-blowing sex educator and NYT best-selling author, Emily Nagoski. 

That’s right! You work on your writing, we’ll work on other people’s love lives! This week, Vanessa and friend Julia Argy offer their support and unsolicited advice to an especially distraught Redditor wondering what to do with a husband who claims he’s no longer sexually attracted to her because of her past trauma.In addition to the obvious answer (divorce him!), Vanessa turns to sex educator and NYT best-selling author Emily Nagoski to better understand the nuances around attraction, sexual connection, and how to live confidently and joyfully in our bodies.Don’t forget to check out Emily’s new book, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle https://www.amazon.com/Come-You-Are-Surprising-Transform/dp/1476762090 Send us your own romance advice questions for future episodes on our website at https://www.hotandbotheredrompod.com/advice