Angela Montoya and Melanie Schubert, two iconic Try Reading All-Stars, are back on the pod this week! Angela and Melanie are back to discuss their most recent joint endeavor: the Jingle These Bells holiday romance anthology! Melanie and Angela discuss what inspired them to create an anthology and they talk about the ups and downs of the creator and editorial journey. We talk about the stories each of us contributed to this book, our favorite holiday romances, and how spicy romance is becoming popularized beyond the book community.

Angela’s Links: https://linktr.ee/AngelaMontoyWrites

Melanie’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melanie_schubert_writer/

Get your copy of Jingle These Bells: https://books2read.com

Listen to Of the Publishing Persuasion: https://linktr.ee/pubpersuasion

Try Reading Links: https://linktr.ee/tryreading

USA Today and nationally bestselling author and Try Reading All-Star, Kamilah Cole joins me on the pod this week! Kamilah talks about seeing readers fall in love with her debut novel and the process of writing and putting the sequel, This Ends In Embers, out into the world. She discusses the ups and downs of a second book, the new cover art, and what it was like concluding a duology. She talks about her excitement for her adult debut, An Arcane Inharentence, revealing the cover in People Magazine, the importance of diverse voices, and what readers can expect from this story.

Kamilah’s Links: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/kamilahcole⁠⁠⁠

Try Reading Links: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/tryreading

Try Reading All-Star, Jennifer Chen is back this week! Jennifer talks about seeing readers' reactions to her debut novel and the experience of doing research at the Huntington Library for a historical fiction novel. She shares what inspired Hangry Hearts, her sophomore novel, the choice behind writing dual POVs that alternate within the chapters, the importance of queer and BIPOC voices on the page, and the important work of sensitivity readers. Jennifer and I also discuss the Cowboy Carter tour, the Beyoncé song that best fits Hangry Hearts, the joys of farmers markets, and what readers can expect from Jennifer's third novel!

Jennifer’s Links: https://linktr.ee/jchenwriter

Try Reading Links: https://linktr.ee/tryreading