Authorized: Love and Romance

In the Season 2 finale of Authorized, Faith talks about romance in the real world with Rebecca Traister, author of All The Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation. They have a candid conversation about our culture’s changing views on marriage and how it has affected women and their love lives. Plus, Faith goes to Lady Jane's Salon, New York City's first and only Romance literary salon, to meet fellow fans.

Paranormal Romance author Nalini Singh talks about creating the complex world and characters of her Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series. And she shares a sneak peek into the wild passion and dark betrayal in her new novel, Silver Silence. Plus, Faith's sex scene gets its very own cover design thanks to author/designers Lena Hart and K.M. Jackson.

Author and transgender rights activist Jennifer Finney Boylan talks about her thrilling new Mystery Romance, Long Black Veil. This intimate conversation explores the secrets we hide in our relationships and the truths we discover within ourselves. Plus, photojournalist Glenna Gordon takes us to Kano, Nigeria where a vibrant community of Muslim women are writing littattafan soyayya, or "literature of love," for an eager, communal audience.

Larissa Pham opens up about her debut Erotica novella, Fantasian, which brings readers to Yale to explore the laws of attraction through a philosophical lens… and explicit sex scenes. And Faith wonders, is all sex about power? Plus, Audible voiceover artists Therese Plummer and Chris Kipiniak talk about getting into character to narrate Romance audiobooks.

Faith sits down with author and Proust scholar, André Aciman to discuss his new novel Enigma Variations: A Novel. They discuss his new character’s life of all consuming, covetous love and the difference between remorse and regret. Plus, Frank Brinkley of Literary Review talks about the Bad Sex in Fiction Award.

Faith finds out what makes Regency Romance author Julia Quinn’s novels so Julia shares what it’s like to be published all over the world, and then takes on Faith’s tricky trivia game of Romance novel titles. Plus, Jezebel staff writer Kelly Faircloth walks Faith through the history of the billion-dollar Romance industry, including old commercials from Harlequin and Silhouette that need to be heard to be believed.

YA author Kami Garcia sits down with Faith to talk about her first Romance novel, The Lovely Reckless. In a wide-ranging conversation, Kami explains how she channels her inner 17-year-old while writing, why her strong female characters have to work to get to happily ever after, and the ramifications of dating as a teen while having an undercover cop for a parent.

Faith talks to Sophie Kinsella, whose new novel, My Not So Perfect Life, explores a unique and intense relationship between a struggling employee and a domineering boss. The queen of “chick lit” digs into the label to see just how accurate it is, and shares her writing process and inspirations. Plus, Faith visits Harlequin Romance editor Patience Bloom to get feedback on her first attempt at writing a sex scene.

Terry McMillan – world-renowned author of Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and the new I Almost Forgot About You – joins Faith for a frank and funny talk that explores her strong views on personal growth and why it’s so important to create stories that reflect middle-aged women and their sexual needs. Terry also reads an unpublished poem that she wrote following her highly-publicized (and painful) divorce.

Faith sits down with Curtis Sittenfeld to discuss the author’s reinterpretation of Jane Austen's classic Romance, Pride and Prejudice and the unique challenges in transferring the action from Regency England to 21st century Cincinnati. Plus, the show goes to Oxford University to find out what Austen was reading and writing as a teenager. Spoiler: she was into saucy Romance novels, too.

Why do so many straight readers love gay Romance? This week, Faith chats with author Damon Suede, who counts hetero, Texan firefighters among his biggest fans. Damon opens up about researching his debut novel Hot Head on ride-alongs with the FDNY, what it means to “write like a guy,” and how Romance helped him discover his own sexuality.

In this episode, lauded author Beverly Jenkins talks with Faith about leading the charge for multicultural Romance and why she calls her African-American Historical Romance novels “edutainment.” Together, they examine the complicated relationship between race and Romance in the publishing industry, but also why her characters drink so much lemonade. Plus, Diana Gabaldon, the mind behind the Outlander series, gives Faith some tips on how to write a great sex scene.

Faith talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Sharon Olds about her new collection, Odes, which includes poems like “Blow Job Ode” and “Ode of Withered Cleavage.” They discuss how the musicality of her poetry reflects bodies in motion during sex. Plus, Columbia University professor Erik Gray talks about why there’s so much bad love poetry, and why his favorite romantic poem comes from…the Bible.

In this episode, Faith spends Valentine’s Day with the inimitable Nicholas Sparks to discuss his new novel,Two by Two. They touch on the difference between a Romance novel and a love story and what it’s like to be a man in a female-dominated industry. Plus, Nicholas reveals the most romantic thing he’s ever done.

Author and humorist Faith Salie jumps heart-first into the world of Romance literature and gets personal with Eloisa James, the best-selling author of Historical Romance novels. They discuss how Eloisa’s day job as a Shakespeare scholar inspires her writing (including historical methods for removing body hair) and why – surprise! – Romance lit is really a feminist genre.