S07.04 Trailblazer Meg Cabot

S07.04 Trailblazer Meg Cabot

Author: Fated Mates October 1, 2024 Duration: 1:51:32

We are so thrilled to have thee Meg Cabot with us, one of the original queens of YA romance. We talk about her longstanding writing career, about the authors who inspired her, about her early historical romances, written as Patricia Cabot, about her pivot into young adult romance and the power of the subgenre, about her own love story, and, of course, about The Princess Diaries of it all. It will surprise absolutely no one that Meg is a delight as a guest--we're so grateful for her time and her insight, and she's welcome back any time.

If you also love romance, maybe you want to join our Patreon, where you get another episode from us each month, and access to the incredible readers and listeners and brilliant people on the Fated Mates discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our first read along of Season 7 will be Molly O'Keefe's Everything I Left Unsaid duology, selected by Jen which despite the first book being a cliffhanger should not surprise you because she contains multitudes. The second book is The Truth About Him. Read them both and get ready for Jen to talk to you for hours. You will thank us.

Also! We're back on the phonebanking train this election season! Join us Saturdays between now and Election Day to phonebank with fellow romance lovers. Jen & Sarah are joined by special guests who will knock your socks off! Learn more and register at fatedmates.net/fatedstates. If phonebanking isn't your thing, we're also raising money for downticket house and senate races, because state legislatures may not be sexy, but they sure hold all the power. Learn more, and give what you can at fatedmates.net/givingcircle.

Looking for Sarah's Conflict Writing class? It starts this Sunday--find it right here.

The Books


Show Notes


The Sponsors



Co-hosted by bestselling author Sarah MacLean and critic Jen Prokop, Fated Mates-Romance Books for Novel People digs into the genre with a blend of scholarly enthusiasm and pure fandom. This isn't just a book club; it's a deep, weekly examination of why romance novels work, how they mirror and challenge our world, and why they are often dismissed despite their massive cultural impact. The conversation is always grounded in the text itself, often through structured read-alongs of seminal works, where Sarah and Jen unpack character motivations, tropes, and narrative structure with the detail they deserve. You'll hear lively discussions that treat the genre seriously-analyzing its function as a subversive force and a powerful tool against patriarchal norms-while never losing the joy and sheer fun of a good love story. The tone is inclusive, insightful, and famously without kink-shaming, creating a space where appreciation and critical analysis coexist. Tune into this podcast for a dialogue that celebrates complexity, champions the reader's experience, and consistently argues for the intellectual and emotional heft of romance fiction.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People
Podcast Episodes
S07:14 Excellent 2024 Debut Romance Novels [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:35:48
We're so excited to be talking about some of the bright new voices in romance this week -- every book we talk about in this episode is a debut romance from 2024. We're introducing you to eighteen new authors, all of whom…
S07:13 Getting Pearl Jammed: Romance After 40 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:53:40
Let's talk about the over 40s and how they deserve love, too! This week, we're diving into what the industry calls "seasoned" romance, though we're not wild about this phrasing and prefer "Women over forty can get it!" W…
S07:12 Bookstores and Booksellers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:28:40
It's Thanksgiving week in the United States, which means capitalism! We're skipping (mainly) the talk of the midnight electronics runs, and heading straight to Small Business Saturday, when your local independent booksel…
S07:11 Best Romance Novels of 2024 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:29:40
The Best Romance Novels of 2024! This is our favorite episode of the year, where we get to shout at you about the terrific books we read this year, and tell you all the ways romance continues to excite us. It's the best…
S07:10 Comfort Reads and Finding Solace in Romance [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:15
Like many people, we don't have much to say this week, and whatever we might have said probably wouldn't have been very eloquent, so we've decided to talk about something we know about: Comfort reading and the way romanc…
November 2024 Bantr+ [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:00
It’s just a very normal first Tuesday in November, and you need — and deserve — a distraction! We’re here to help with an episode that not only avoids discussing anything that might or might not be happening in the US to…
S07:09 Mermaid Romance with Zoraida Córdova/Zoey Castile [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:53
Today we're talking mermaids with our friend, Zóraida Cordova, an author of many genres who also writes romance under the name Zoey Castile. We talk about the appeal of mermaids, why we're so drawn to them as creatures,…
S07:07 The Seven Deadly Sins: Let's Fire Up Wikipedia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:56:07
Happy anniversary, Firebirds! Seven years ago this week, we launched Fated Mates with our first Episode, "A Wolf Without a Foot," in which we planned a tight 18 episode series, here and gone before you'd know it. Seven y…
S07:06 The Everything I Left Unsaid duology [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:55:10
We're starting our Season 7 read alongs off with a bang! M. O'Keefe's Everything I Left Unsaid duology is some of the best contemporary romance out there, and if you need proof, here it is: The first book ends on a cliff…