Love Letters and Books

Author CJ North returns to Love Letters and Books to discuss What’s Beneath, a post-apocalyptic transactional dark romance set years after a world-ending pandemic. CJ introduces Nyx and her sister Skye, who survive in a remote cabin while managing Skye’s hypothyroidism with scarce, improvised medicine, forcing Nyx into increasingly compromising choices to keep them alive. Inspired by The Walking Dead and a desire to portray chronic illness in a post-medicine world, CJ explores vulnerability, survival, and what happens when people hide their pain “beneath the surface.” The conversation dives into Nyx’s secrecy, the morally gray dynamic with masked MMC Rattle, and the book’s spiritual, mythic elements tied to obsession, ritual, and identity. They also discuss the cultish settlement Bright Meadow’s takeover, shifting power dynamics, women’s agency, and the consequences men fail to anticipate. What’s Beneath releases September 24 on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.Connect with Love Letters and BooksTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lovelettersandbooks Threads: https://www.threads.com/@lovelettersandbooksInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelettersandbooks/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovelettersandbookspodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LoveLettersandBooksPodcast Write me a love letter: [email protected] with CJ NorthTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cj_north_writes Threads: https://www.threads.com/@cj_north_writesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575075535014# Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cj_north_writes/

Author Maggie Gates joins Love Letters and Books to discuss Blue Jean Summer, a cowboy marriage-of-convenience romance set on the Wilder Estate in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Hayes Wilder must marry to inherit his grandfather’s land and protect it from his half-brother, so he strikes a deal with childhood friend Katherine, the current Miss Virginia. Follow their journey of falling in love one summer as they navigate grief, abandonment, and the masks they wear to get through the world. Gates highlights themes of being held (physically and emotionally), partnership, trust, and learning to accept care—as shown in Hayes’s protective “my wife” moments and Katherine’s struggle to believe she deserves care. The episode teases the next Wilder Estate book, Steel-Toed Slow Dance, and shares release dates and upcoming events for Blue Jean Summer and Smoke Ring.Connect with Love Letters and BooksTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lovelettersandbooks Threads: https://www.threads.com/@lovelettersandbooksInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelettersandbooks/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovelettersandbookspodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LoveLettersandBooksPodcast Write me a love letter: [email protected] with Maggie GatesTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authormaggiegates Threads: https://www.threads.com/@authormaggiegates Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormaggiegates Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/authormaggiegates/Website: https://maggiegates.com/

Ceilidh returns to Love Letters and Books direct from the Bailey Hannah headquarters to talk about Wild With You by Lynsey Harper. This is a Canadian ranch romance about Josie who wrestles with belonging and choosing a relationship that supports adventure. Lynsey shares a love letter about worthiness, hope, and love in all its forms. Ceilidh and I discuss her recent experience moderating an in-person author event in Alberta—hosted by romance author Lynsey Harper—alongside Canadian authors C.N. Rudy, Tamara Rene, Tanisha Headley, and Kylie Waechter. We cover a lot of ground in this episode, including speaking our dreams out loud and showing up when opportunities arise, romanticizing your life through presence, and slowing down.Connect with Love Letters and BooksTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lovelettersandbooks Threads: https://www.threads.com/@lovelettersandbooksInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelettersandbooks/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovelettersandbookspodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LoveLettersandBooksPodcast Write me a love letter: [email protected] with Ceilidh aka @yourhopefulromanticTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yourhopefulromantic Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yourhopefulromantic Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourhopefulromantic/

Romance author Tawnya Torres returns to the Love Letters and Books podcast to discuss all of our favorite books where SHE is the stalker! Tawnya’s book, A Taste of Candy, was my introduction to this sub-genre. Her book flipped the Haunting Adeline-style dynamic, making the woman the stalker. We discuss how FMC stalkers challenge restrictive gender roles and relationship dynamics. I share my “She’s the Stalker” reading list, including Cracked Ice by K.D. Cureton, The Wrong Catch by C.R. Jane, The Blood We Crave by Monty Jay, and Empire of Hate by Rina Kent. Tawnya also talks about leaving a toxic job that crushed her creativity, regaining her writing spark, and teasing her upcoming Halloween release, The Patience of Alligator Teeth, a New Orleans-set literary horror/Gothic romance about a kidnapped cook caring for a criminal family’s ill daughter in the bayou.Connect with Love Letters and BooksTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lovelettersandbooks Threads: https://www.threads.com/@lovelettersandbooksInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelettersandbooks/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovelettersandbookspodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LoveLettersandBooksPodcast Write me a love letter: [email protected] with Tawnya TorresTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tawnyewestwriter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tawnye_westwriter/

Sports romance author Allie Lasky joins the Love Letters and Books podcast to discuss Instigator, book six in the Boston Grizzlies Hockey Club series, centered on a grumpy, misunderstood team captain and longtime caretaker who discovers he’s autistic while confronting years of romantic relationship trauma and learning to receive support. The FMC is a 43-year-old billionaire tech genius with ADHD navigating perimenopause and a lifelong pattern of seeking validation through work and attention. Today we’re touching on joy, therapy, disability representation, and the book’s heightened spice, plus Lasky’s busy release and event schedule, with Instigator out August 14, followed by One Timer in September and Delay of Game in December to finish the series.Connect with Love Letters and BooksTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lovelettersandbooks Threads: https://www.threads.com/@lovelettersandbooksInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelettersandbooks/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovelettersandbookspodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LoveLettersandBooksPodcast Write me a love letter: [email protected] with Allie LaskyTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@allielasky Threads: https://www.threads.com/@allielaskyFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/allielasky/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allielasky/ Website: https://www.allielasky.com