Dr. Julie E Moody-Freeman and co-host Dr. Carole Bell interview Sarah Dass , award-winning writer of Where the Rhythm Takes You . Sarah Dass Sarah Dass is a young adult fiction author from Tobago that is best known for her debut work of fiction Where the Rhythm Takes You . While she was born in Trinidad, her family moved to Tobago when she was two years old. Dass has been telling stories since she was a young child. At the age of eight years old, when she ran out of Nancy Drew novels to read, sh...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 13
Dr. Julie E Moody-Freeman and co-host Dr. Carole Bell interview Rufaro Faith Mazarura , award-winning writer of Let the Games Begin . Rufaro Faith Mazarura is a British Zimbabwean writer who grew up in Birmingham and studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Surrey. She works as a podcast producer, bringing stories to life through audio, and has written and produced podcasts for the BBC, iHeartRadio and Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children’s Books. Let The Games Begin ...
Nov 05, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 4Ep. 13
In part 2 of the Vivian Stephens birthday special, she discusses the following: her work at Dell; her transition as editor from Dell to Harlequin; Harlequin’s release of her; her subsequent work with Black romance writers; marketing an all-Black line of Vivian Stephens romance; and her own publication Second Act . This episode originally aired on September 15, 2020. Thanks to the Center for Black Diaspora at DePaul University for sponsoring this episode.
Sep 24, 2024•46 min•Season 4Ep. 12
In honor of Vivian Stephen’s birthday, we are sharing her podcast episode, which first aired on September 8, 2020. In this podcast, Vivian Stephens discusses her experiences as an editor at Dell Publishing, and she talks about her role in the founding of The Romance Writers of America. Thanks to the Center for Black Diaspora at for sponsoring this episode.
Sep 23, 2024•55 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Dr. Julie E Moody-Freeman and co-host Dr. Carole Bell interview Vanessa Riley, award-winning writer of A Duke The Lady and A Baby . Vanessa Riley is an award-winning author of over twenty-five novels like Island Queen (a GMA buzz pick), A Duke The Lady and A Baby , and the Lady Worthing mystery series (2024 Georgia Author of the Year for Mystery). Her works spotlight hidden narratives of Black women and women of color, emphasizing power, sisterhoods, and family sagas across historical fiction, r...
Sep 17, 2024•1 hr 43 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Dr. Julie E Moody-Freeman and co-host Dr. Carole Bell interview Aminat Sanni-Kamal, best-selling Nigerian writer of Amber Fire . Aminat Sanni-Kamal, our first writer who sets her novel in Lagos, Nigeria, writes contemporary and fantasy romance stories, ranging from clean to sweet to spicy. As an introvert, she finds joy in the quieter moments. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting, watching dramas, occasionally baking, or taking a nap. Aminat also enjoys savoring delicious...
Sep 10, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Dr. Julie E Moody-Freeman and co-host Dr. Carole Bell interview Chencia C. Higgins, best-selling writer of D’Vaughn and Chris Plan a Wedding . Chencia C. Higgins is just a girl from Texas writing about sassy, southern women finding love. In 2019 she won an Emma award for her debut paranormal romance Janine: His True Alpha , and in 2022 her traditionally published debut D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding was named one of the best romances of the year by the New York Times . When she isn't daydreami...
Sep 03, 2024•1 hr 36 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Dr. Julie E Moody-Freeman and co-host Dr. Carole Bell interview N.G. Peltier, best-selling writer of Sweethand . N.G. Peltier is an anime watching, book reading, video-game playing, story writing kinda girl. A devourer of words and books from a young age, she enjoys writing romance and creeping people out with the Caribbean folklore stories she grew up hearing. A Trinidadian born and raised, she currently lives in Trinidad with her mountain of ideas and characters battling each other for whose s...
Aug 28, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Dr. Julie E Moody-Freeman and co-host Dr. Carole Bell interview Rebekah Weatherspoon, best-selling writer of Harbor . After years of meddling in her friends’ love lives, multi award winning author Rebekah Weatherspoon turned to writing romance to get her fix. Raised in Southern New Hampshire, Rebekah Weatherspoon now lives in Southern California where she will remain forever because she hates moving. With over twenty titles under her belt, Rebekah has covered sub-genres from suspenseful paranorm...
Aug 20, 2024•1 hr 37 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Dr. Julie E Moody-Freeman and co-host Dr. Carole Bell interview Kennedy Ryan, best-selling writer of Reel . New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kennedy Ryan writes for women from all walks of life, empowering them and placing them firmly at the center of each story and in charge of their own destinies. Kennedy and her writings have been featured in NPR, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, Glamour, Cosmo, Ebony, TIME , and many others. The audio edition of her novel Reel received the pre...
Aug 13, 2024•1 hr 39 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Dr. Julie E Moody-Freeman and co-host Dr. Carole Bell interview Adriana Herrera, best-selling writer of A Caribbean Heiress in Paris . Adriana Herrera is a USA Today Best Selling and Audie winning author of over a dozen novels. Adriana was born and raised in the Caribbean and loves writing stories about people who look and sound like her, getting unapologetic happy endings. When she’s not dreaming up love stories, planning logistically complex vacations with her family or hunting for discount Br...
Aug 06, 2024•1 hr 57 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Dr. Julie E Moody-Freeman and co-host Dr. Carole Bell interview Beverly Jenkins, best-selling writer of Vivid . Beverly Jenkins is the recipient of the 2017 Romance Writers of America Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the 2016 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for historical romance. She has been nominated for the NAACP Image Award in Literature, was featured both in the documentary “Love Between the Covers” and on CBS Sunday Morning. Since the publication of Night Song in...
Jul 30, 2024•1 hr 40 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Dr. Julie E Moody-Freeman and co-host Dr. Carole Bell interview Seressia Glass, best-selling writer of Shadow Blade . Seressia Glass is an award-winning author of more than twenty-five contemporary and paranormal romance and urban fantasy stories. Her paranormal series, (Shadowchasers, Sons of Anubis) are steeped in Egyptian mythology. Her follow-up to THE LOVE CON, a story about a Black plus-sized nerd in a cosplaying reality show competition is her latest release GAME ON, about a Black female ...
Jul 23, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Dr. Julie E Moody-Freeman and co-host Dr. Carole Bell interview Tia Williams, best-selling writer of A Love Song For Ricki Wilde . Tia Williams had a fifteen-year career as a beauty editor for magazines including Elle, Glamour, Teen People, and Essence . She’s the author of The Accidental Diva, the It Chicks series, and The Perfect Find —now a Netflix film starring Gabrielle Union. Her novel, Seven Days in June , was an instant New York Times bestseller and a Reese’s Book Club pick. Her latest b...
Jul 16, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 4Ep. 1
In season four, I’m joined by Dr. Carole Bell. Carole is a culture writer, a media scholar, and a romance fan. This season’s focus is on “Pathbreaking Books and New Directions.” We are diving into novels both past and present that have expanded the domain of romance produced by Black writers – works that speak to the complexities of Black experience across different settings and contexts, time periods, spaces, genres, and sites of production. We will talk to an author about a single outstanding ...
Jul 15, 2024•6 min
Julie E Moody-Freeman and co-host Dr. Carole Bell interview best-selling writer of Love in Colour and Honey & Spice Bolu Babalola. Bolu Babalola is a British-Nigerian journalist, writer, and lover of love. In 2016, she was shortlisted in 4th Estate’s B4ME competition for her short story “Netflix & Chill,” a hilarious tale of teen romance. Bolu has worked as a writer for books, TV, press and as a cultural commentator . Dr. Carole Bell is a Jamaican-born communication researcher, writer, a...
Jun 27, 2023•53 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Julie E Moody-Freeman interviews award winning romance writer Bette Ford. Ford is the author of fourteen books including, For Always , Forever After , All the Love , The Prescott Series, and Mrs. Green Girls Series. Thanks to the Center for Black Diaspora at DePaul University for sponsoring this podcast. Creator, producer, and host of the Black Romance Podcast: Julie E Moody-Freeman Marketing and Promotions: Jennifer Gardner @jpgm.a Sound Editor: Randall Spriggs with @rsvideophoto_media. Website...
Jun 06, 2023•29 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Julie E Moody-Freeman is joined by Race and Romance: Coloring the Past writer Margo Hendricks, by Michelle Ray, and by Ann Fields to discuss Black romance writers Francis Ray and Anna Larence. Francis Ray’s books can be found at: FrancisRay.com One can find Fields online at: www.annfields.com , https://twitter.com/ann_fields , www.facebook.com/AnnFieldsAuthor , https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7892483.Ann_Fields Thanks to the Center for Black Diaspora at DePaul University for sponsoring thi...
May 23, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 7
In this episode, Julie E Moody-Freeman is joined by Black Love Matters writer and When In Romance podcast co-host Jessica P. Pryde to interview Christina C. Jones, a best-selling romance novelist and digital media creator. They discuss Jones’ self-published romance novels as well as her experiences publishing and marketing romance novels through her self-built online platform. Christina C. Jones’ audio and eBooks can be purchased at Christina C Jones Romance (beingmrsjones.com) . Thanks to the C...
Apr 18, 2023•49 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Julie E Moody-Freeman is joined this episode by two best-selling and award-winning romance writers: Rochelle Alers and Jacquelin Thomas. In Season 1 episode 10 of the Black Romance Podcast, Rochelle Alers joined Julie to talk about Alers’ experiences in the romance industry. In this episode, Alers joins as co-host of the show to talk with Jacquelin Thomas about her experiences publishing romance, romantic suspense, mainstream fiction and young adult fiction. In this conversation, Thomas recounts...
Apr 04, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 5
DL White joins Julie E Moody-Freeman to talk about White’s experiences writing, publishing, and marketing romance novels through her self-built online platform. DL White’s eBooks, print, and audio books can be purchased at booksbydlwhite.com/books. Thanks to the Center for Black Diaspora for sponsoring this podcast. Creator, producer, and host of the Black Romance Podcast: Julie E Moody-Freeman Marketing and Promotions: Jennifer Gardner @jpgm.a Sound Editor: Randall Spriggs with @rsvideophoto_me...
Mar 28, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 3Ep. 4
In this episode, Julie E Moody-Freeman and her co-host romance writer Barbara Keaton speak with award-winning romance writer Natalie Dunbar. They discuss Dunbar’s experiences publishing with Genesis Press, Parker Publishing, Silhouette, and Kimani Arabesque. Thanks to the Center for Black Diaspora at DePaul for sponsoring this podcast. Creator, producer, and host of the Black Romance Podcast: Julie E Moody-Freeman Marketing and Promotions: Jennifer Gardner @jpgm.a Sound Editor: Randall Spriggs w...
Mar 21, 2023•56 min•Season 3Ep. 3
In this episode, Julie E Moody-Freeman speaks with award-winning romance writer Seressia Glass about her experiences publishing with Genesis Press, Parker Publishing, Simon & Schuster, and Berkley. They also discuss Glass's Shadowchasers series and The Love Con . Thanks to the Center for Black Diaspora at DePaul for sponsoring this podcast and to Jennifer Gardner for media promotion. Creator, producer, and host of the Black Romance Podcast: Julie E Moody-Freeman Sound Editor: Randall Spriggs...
Dec 09, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Join Black Romance authors Katrina Jackson and Elysabeth Grace as they discuss writing Black historical romance. The authors engage the question of readerly and publishing perceptions about the place of African/African diaspora love in historical spaces. For Black romance authors, what does it entail to represent Black love within historical romance? Questions of colorism, sexuality, class, and gender affect perceptions of historical romance fiction. Is historical fiction or women’s fiction the ...
Dec 01, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Season 3Ep. 1
This week historical novelist Patricia Vaughn talks about her experiences writing and publishing her first two historical novels in the 1990’s. She discusses how her agent Vivian Stephens helped her to publish her first historical novel Murmur of Rain with Pocket Books in 1996 and talk about her second Shadows on the Bayou . Thanks to @cbddepaul and @romancewriters for sponsoring this podcast. Creator, producer, and host of the Black Romance Podcast: Julie E Moody-Freeman Sound Editor: Randall S...
Aug 31, 2021•28 min•Season 2Ep. 16
In today’s episode I talk with Frederick Smith and Chaz Lamar Cruz, co-authors of In Case You Forgot and their recent release Busy Ain’t The Half Of It . We discuss their co-authored books as well as many other topics, including: the importance of publishing love stories between Black queer characters; how Frederick Smith’s romance novels Right Side of the Wrong Bed and Down For Whatever , published by Kensington, were inspirational to Chaz; their path to becoming co-authors; and how Chaz’s care...
Aug 24, 2021•58 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Best-selling writer Farrah Rochon and I talk about her new release The Dating Playbook and also deep dive into several topics: how she wrote and published her 2007 debut novel, Deliver Me , the first in her Holmes Brothers Series; we talk about her New York Sabers Football Series; Bayou Dream Series; Moments in Maplesville Series; and The Boyfriend Project . Rochon was named Shades of Romance Magazine 's Best New Author of 2007. She has been a Romantic Times Book Reviews Reviewer's Choice Award ...
Aug 17, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Barbara Keaton’s first romance novel, All I Ask , was published in 2000. Since then she has gone on to write thirteen romance novels, which celebrate black love. In this episode, we discuss: her experiences publishing with Genesis Press, working with Romance Slam Jam, the mentorship a community of Black writers have provided her, and we deep dive into her novels Nights Over Egypt , Heat at First Sight , and Show Me! . In addition to her books, Keaton has also written several articles and editori...
Aug 03, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Chilufiya Safaa is a romance novelist whose books put a fresh twist on African and African American love themes and allow readers to examine what they thought they knew about African and African American people. In this episode, we talk about Safaa’s first four novels, A Foreign Affair, Passionate Encounters, The Art of Love, and Stay the Night, which were all published by New York publisher Kensington Publishing, her fifth and sixth books, Stolen Dreams and Bittersweet , that were independently...
Jul 27, 2021•50 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Veronica Mixon, my guest today, was an editor at Doubleday for fourteen years from 1974 to 1988. She was hired as assistant to an editor of Romance and Science fiction novels and then promoted to editor when her boss left the press. She recounts her experiences during these years: creating Doubleday’s Starlight Romances, working with many writers, including Barbara Stephens, Millie Ragosta, and Rochelle Alers, building relationships with other Black editors at the time like Marie Brown at Anchor...
Jul 20, 2021•48 min•Season 2Ep. 11
