The Nerds Awaken

We are Ali Hazelwood stans until we die, but when we say that her newest novel Bride is far and away the best thing she's ever written, it's a BIG DEAL.We can not shut up about good this book was, with its weres and vampires and marriages of convenience. And yes, even with its knots, which aren't our favorite but were as tastefully incorporated as we could have hoped for. We dive deep into our favorite moments, what makes this book special, and the stories we're dying for Ali to write next! This is a full-spoiler discussion, so we highly recommend reading the book before listening!Find us on social media and buy Bride wherever books are sold!

Would you believe that it's been over two years since we devoted an entire episode to talking about Adam Driver? An egregiously long amount of time, we know. So we are back with all things Adam, covering his films from the last year, media appearances and press tours, tantalizing rumored  projects, and the dream roles we would love to see Adam play.If you too are #blessed with an unhealthy Adam Driver obsession and need a safe place to shout about it, find us on social media!

We were so lucky to welcome Katrina Kwan, author of Knives, Seasoning, & a Dash of Love  and an all around gem of a human being, as our very last Writing Reylo author. We had an awesome time chatting with Katrina about her fanfic origins, her career as a ghost writer, and all about her debut novel. We loved this sweet and spicy romance, which is set in the fast-paced, cut throat world of haute cuisine. Find Katrina on Instagram, her website, and buy Knives, Seasoning, & a Dash of Love  or request at your local library!www.katrinakwan.com

We were so thrilled to welcome Kirsten S. Blacketer as the first guest in our new Author Spotlight series. A self-published author with an impressive backlist, Kirsten was a wealth of information on self-publishing, genre tropes, and improving your writing craft. We loved talking with her about the importance of romance novels with happily ever afters, learning how she gets inspiration for her books (and sexy male leads), and hearing how her first novel was written in an Italian villa (not as romantic as it sounds). Connect with Kirsten on X/Twitter and start diving into her books today!Website: https://kirstensblacketer.com/Notes: this episode was recorded earlier this summer

If there's one thing our friendship is built on (that isn't Adam Driver), it's spending hours on the phone talking/gossiping/venting about pop culture and entertainment. So this time we thought, why not let people listen in? So congratulations! You all get to be flies on the wall while we discuss everything that's been on our radar lately-the books we're reading, the TV shows and K-dramas we're watching, the current state of Marvel, and how Julie is thriving on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's very public relationship. And yes...we also talk about all the recent Adam Driver sightings too. How could we not?*We recorded this two days before the SAG strike ended and some of the conversations reflect that. 

We were so happy to welcome Katie Shepard back to talk about her new book Sweeten the Deal, out October 17th from Berkley!We loved Katie's debut novel Bear with Me Now and went into Sweeten the Deal with high expectations that were absolutely met. With a gender-swapped sugar baby plot and vibrant, likeable characters, the story completely sucked us in with its themes and romantic tension.  We had a great conversation with Katie about how she crafted these characters and where the inspiration for the story came from.Visit Katie's website and buy Sweeten the Deal today!

Somebody pinch us, we must be dreaming...because our literary hero Thea Guanzon is in The Nerds Awaken studio! We were so privileged to talk with Thea about her gorgeous debut fantasy novel The Hurricane Wars, out October 3 from Harper Voyager. We heard about her writing and research process (mostly just vibes), her fanfic origins (plus the first time she was caught reading smut) and how her Filipino culture inspired much of the world-building and plot of her novel. We're obsessed with this book and can't wait to watch it take the literary world by storm (pun intended). Visit Thea's website at theaguanzon.com and buy The Hurricane Wars today! Website mentioned by Thea: www.writerbeware.blog

We were DELIGHTED, overjoyed, ecstatic, and all other possible synonyms for "extremely excited" to welcome one of our all-time favorite fanfic writers, Jenna Levine (aka Jeeno) to The Nerds Awaken to talk about her greatly anticipated debut novel My Roommate is a Vampire!We learned all about Jenna's fanfic origins, the inspiration for her book, and why a 300 year old vampire and a 30-something starving artist make such a cute couple . We also asked the important questions like "do the vampires in your book sparkle" and "why is Only One Bed the superior trope"?  Find Jenna Levine on Instagram and Twitter and buy My Roommate is a Vampire today!

We were so excited to sit down with Ashley Hawthorne, whose debut novel Deliver Me arrives July 18th from Creative James Media!We chatted with Ashley about how The Rise of Skywalker inspired her to become a writer, learned the inspiration for her novel and the tough themes of trauma that the story explores (and found out which character was inspired by Rian Johnson!). Ashley also had great advice for other writers on how to improve their writing, as well as tips to navigate the often stressful world of publishing.Find Ashley Hawthorne on social media and buy Deliver Me here!

We were thrilled to welcome back Julie Soto, whose debut novel Forget Me Not arrives July 11th from Forever Publishing!Whether you know her as Julie or as her fanfic alter ego Lovesbitca8, anyone who has read her works knows her incredible talent for storytelling. We were so excited to chat with her about how Forget Me Not  was born,  hear about exciting TV adaptation news, and see what advice she had for other writers hoping to make the jump to traditional publishing.Listen to our first interview with Julie Soto here, and find her on social media!

Have you ever had to break up with a TV show or book series? We have, and that show/book series was Outlander.But thanks to our friend Nagier at Big Gold Belt Media, we had the opportunity to interview some of the cast and producers behind the Starz hit show, and we asked ourselves the question: could the new season of Outlander convince us to come back?We explored that and more, remembering our heady early days in the Outlander fandom, the impact it had on our lives, and why we initially walked away. The episode also includes clips from our interviews with cast members David Berry (Lord John Grey), Charles Vandervaart (William Ransom) and executive producer Maril Davis. The seventh season of Outlander is airing now on Starz!David Berry, John Bell, and Charles Vandervaart full interviewJoey Phillips (Denzell Hunter) and Izzy Meikle-Smith (Rachel Hunter) full interviewMaril Davis full interview 

Us? Not talk about an Ali Hazelwood book? NEVER GONNA HAPPEN.We LOVED Ali’s latest enemies-to-lovers novel Love, Theoretically, which pits an experimental physicist against a theoretical physicist and trust us when we say that that combo is WAY hotter than you’d think. Elsie and Jack miiiight just be our new favorite STEMinist couple (no offense, Adam and Olive). Listen to find out why we think this is Ali’s best book yet, all the ways in which we identified with Elsie, and what the best Twilight movie is (it’s relevant, we swear).Love, Theoretically is on shelves now!

It was our pleasure and delight to chat with author and fellow Reylo Tristen Crone, whose debut novel Playing for Keeps arrives from Lake Country Press June 27th!We learned how The Rise of Skywalker got her into fan fiction, how her and her husband’s love of board games helped inspire the plot for her novel, and what other stories she has in the works (spoiler: they sound amazing!).Connect with Tristen on her website and buy Playing for Keeps today!

Breaking down Bridgerton is back with a deep, very spoiler-y dive into the recent Netflix series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. We discuss the things we loved (the list was very, very long), and the few aspects that didn’t quite work for us, as well as how the show compared to previous Bridgerton seasons.Find us on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, or FaceBook and let us know what you thought about Queen Charlotte!

It took a few years, but Din Djarin and his little green sidekick were finally back on our screens!In this episode we discuss our thoughts on the entire season, from Grogu’s adorable toddler moments to the deeper look at  Mandalorian culture and that stunning finale. All that plus our hopes and theories for the future (*cough* Bo-Katan spin-off *cough*). Find us on social media and let us know what you thought about The Mandalorian Season 3! 

The year of Reylos in publishing continues! We had the honor of sitting down with Katie Shepard, whose upcoming debut novel Bear With Me Now is out April 25th.We loved this book, from its bear attack meet-cute at a Goop-esque wilderness retreat, to the tender romance that develops while the main couple each face their own mental health issues. We talked with Katie about her inspiration for the book, and how she went from a fan fiction author to getting a traditional publishing deal. Be sure to visit Katie’s website and order Bear with Me Now!

It was our absolute pleasure to talk with historical romance and Reylo fanfic writer Liana De la Rosa, the author of the upcoming Latinx novel Ana Maria and the Fox, the first book of The Luna Sisters trilogy and a story that we absolutely fell in love with.We grilled Liana on very important topics like the first fanfiction she ever read, her least favorite historical fiction trope, and why enemies-to-lovers is so addicting. She also shared all about her unique personal journey in publishing, and the inspirations and process of creating The Luna Sisters trilogy. All that plus our spoiler-free discussion of the characters, themes, and historical events of Ana Maria and the Fox.  Buy Ana Maria and the Fox and connect with Liana on Twitter, Instagram or her website!

Ignore the Rotten Tomatoes score, because we both agreed that Adam Driver’s new film 65 was the most fun we’ve had in a movie theater in a long time.There was little we didn’t love; the jump scares, the locations, Adam Driver fighting dinosaurs, Adam Driver climbing trees, Adam Driver going full Protective Girl Dad…and so on and so forth.Did you also love 65? Come find us on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok and let us know!

We are obsessed with 2022 Chinese fantasy drama Love Between Fairy and Devil and we need you to be obsessed too! Because the more the merrier, right? In this episode, Janna and special guest Andee give you all of our spoiler-free reasons to start binging this epically romantic drama, from the talented cast and cool Chinese mythology, to the jaw-dropping visuals and sweeping musical soundtrack. We also not-so-briefly-describe how we swooned, we squealed, and we watched the feminism leave our bodies anytime the male lead came onscreen.  Find Janna and Andee on social media to chat all things Love Between Fairy and Devil or start watching on Netflix!

Writing Reylo is back! Our first guest of 2023 is author (and fanfic legend) Sarah Hawley. She down with us to discuss her debut novel A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon, and share her personal journey in getting published with all of its highs and lows. Find Sarah at her website, on social media and order her book here!