S08.01: Cold Open: Craft, Criticism, and Summer Vacation

Season Eight! How is it possible you're all still here?! We're so incredibly thrilled to have you all with us for another season. We've got big plans for talking to your favorite people, getting under the hood of your favorite tropes, and filling your TBR pile with your new favorite books. We quickly find ourselves in the deep end, talking about craft, criticism, and romance’s place in 2025. But first, we share what we did on our summer vacations.

Season Eight. Wowzer. Honestly, we love knowing you're out there. Thank you so much for listening.

If you'd like more romance chat in your life, please consider joining our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! There, magnificent firebirds hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

Notes

• If you’re a writer looking to learn more about in person events for romance craft, check out Romancing the Craft in Anaheim this fall or Spring Fling which will be hosted by Chicago North Romance Writers in spring of 2026. 
• Australia is not actually a land of criminals, but Tasmania is a dark place…the sky we mean. On the This is Love podcast, there was an episode about it! Check out the Night Sky app, which will help you identify the stars you are seeing in the night sky. 
• Martha’s Vineyard is great, actually. But watch out for ticks and sharks. Speaking of Jaws, it’s a different vibe without that music and here’s more about John Williams and the power of the score.
• AP isn’t doing book reviews anymore, and that means that there will be less book news in papers across America. We talked about the decline of cultural criticism this week. Read more about music criticism and film criticism. This goes hand in hand with news that less Americans are reading for pleasure.
• Across storytelling mediums, people are noticing a breakdown in the ability to tell a story. Here’s a great essay about the difference between premise and narrative in film. Here’s a really interesting thread from Blue Sky wondering if Sci-Fi is a genre that’s dying.
• Ten years ago gay marriage passed and it felt like the world had changed, but they’re determined to roll them back. Keep fighting.

--

Sponsors

• Blue Box Press, publishers of Kristen Ashley's Finding the One, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
• HarperCollins, publishers of Laurie Gilmore's The Gingerbread Bakery, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
• Vasilisa Drake, author of A Bargain So Bloody, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, or Apple Books or wherever you get your books. Get the audiobook wherever you listen.
• Lumi Gummies, THC gummies available nationwide. Go to Lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off. 

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/9/10/0801-season-eight-the-state-of-the-romance-union
• If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates.
• Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough.
• If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.