Illustration via sarahmaclean.net
Orc porn, Santa fetishes, Roy Kent: Scenes from a romance podcast taping
At a live taping of “Fated Mates," hosts Sarah MacLean and Jen Prokop discuss the seduction of erotica — and the scourge of book bans
The conference center at the William Vale hotel is positively aflutter on a Friday night with romance novel fans here to see a live taping of the romance-centric podcast “Fated Mates.” Hosted by author Sarah MacLean and romance critic Jen Prokop, the two are here to lead a panel of bestselling romance authors, an audience Q&A, and book giveaways.
MacLean, the Brooklyn-based author of dozens of delightfully debauched historical romance books, is a columnist for The Washington Post, Bustle, and the New York Times. She takes to the stage and greets the sold-out crowd with a slow, drawn-out “hoooly shiiit.” And the room rewards her with hoots of excitement. She thanks everyone for coming; some attendees have traveled from as far as Los Angeles and Vancouver, and those journeywomen will receive a tote stuffed with books and goodies for their efforts.
Fated Mates launched in 2018 as a fan podcast about Kresley Cole’s internationally bestselling paranormal romance series, “Immortals After Dark.” Now, four seasons in, Fated Mates is a top romance podcast. MacLean and Prokop read and discuss a book per episode, and weave in discussions on a range of topics from bodily autonomy in romance, to pegging, to Ted Lasso’s grouchy Roy Kent. But not pegging Roy Kent.
Prokop, for her part, has reviewed countless romance novels for Kirkus and The Book Queen. She takes a moment to note that the venue is hosting a shibari (ancient art of Japanese rope bondage) convention next weekend. The audience cheers and raises their drinks. For a podcast that was meant to detail their love of a seemingly tiny niche in the literary world, MacLean and Prokop have amassed a vast and loyal listenership of like minded romance readers.
As MacLean muses, reading romance novels is like being a frog in a pond. For a while, early on, you’re swimming around, enjoying the water. Then the water starts to heat up, and you realize you’re a frog in a boiling pot of water: “How did I get here!? This is so hot!”
The vibe in the room is friendly, joyfully conspiratorial and unabashed, a full-scale appreciation for all things sexy, kinky and stimulating — in mind and body. There’s not a lot of talk of bodices being ripped here. When Sarah brings up orc porn or twin kink, no one is phased and some even hoot in approval. The capacity crowd is almost entirely female, with the exception of “Fated Mates” producer Eric and a handful of other guys.
The first discussion of the evening is on the decidedly un-ravishing topic of book banning. As literary enthusiasts, MacLean and Prokop have recently been using the podcast to emphasize the emergency mindset that all librarians, writers and editors are currently in. Books are being banned across the country with any kind of so-called “objectionable subject matter.” No genre is safe; romance and erotica are especially vulnerable.
The first guest of the evening is Amanda Litman, co-founder of “Run For Something,” the progressive organization that supports and helps to establish down-ballot hopefuls in all 50 states. She encourages folks to consider running for local school boards, as 90 percent of U.S. school boards are elected (though not in New York State) and the power that these boards have over the book bans can not be understated. The audience is asked for a show of hands from librarians in the room (we’re sitting next to one) And the room erupts in appreciative applause. Also of note, the New York Public Library’s Romance Committee is in attendance.
According to the NYPL’s website, the romance committee’s “50 All-Time Favorite Romance Books” contains MacLean’s “Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake”and “It Happened One Summer” by Tessa Bailey, who is also here tonight.
A panel of four romance authors — Adriana Herrera, Tessa Bailey, Andie J. Christopher and Joanna Shupe, who also writes as Mila Finelli — are brought to the stage and the audience is pulled into a boisterous discussion about “gateway” novels. One panelist admits she shoplifted a Lisa Kleypas novel as a teen because she was so hard up for romance. Herrera heatedly describes reading Elizabeth Lowell’s “Forbidden” for the first time: “She’s rubbing him with oils to bring him out of a coma, and let me tell you …” The room ignites with moans and chuckles.
Other common romance gateways: finding a novel in an older sister’s nightstand, or a grocery bag of tattered Harlequin paperbacks in grandma’s closet (or in my case, a sack in the trunk of Grandma Marge’s ‘94 Cadillac Silverado.) As dozens of giggling heads bob up and down in recognition, MacLean quips, “Shout out to grandmas! Grandmas do fuck.”
The panel then moves on to tropes, and Erin Leafe, host of the podcast “Learning the Tropes,” breaks down the cliches, or scenarios, that bring the genre both a sense of variety and comfort. Some are pretty standard: the enemies to lovers trope, vampires, runaway brides, age gaps and, apparently, secret babies. When Joanna Shupe’s “My Dirty Duke” is brought up, a collective “Mmmmmmmm” ripples through the room regarding the silver-fox love interest. Prokop beams, saying, “That is my favorite sound.” When it comes to tropes the audience is “done with” — this crowd is over amnesia tropes, fake dating, and … adult breastfeeding.
Next, Prokop plays a game she calls “Cowboy/Gangster/Billionaire/Santa” in which one must pick who they’d want to co-star with in a steamy scenario. One would think the majority would go for… Cowboys? Billionaires! But the room is evenly split. Even Santa gets love. As one panelist put it, “He’s a blue collar man! He’s working!”
I ask my librarian seatmate Sylvia what her “gateway” book was and she happily tells me that she started reading books by Julie Garwood in eighth grade as well as “The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty” by Anne Rice. Maddie, an engineer from Jersey City, says her gateway was “Halfway to Heaven” by Susan Wiggs. Paloma, from Connecticut, insists that the “Maiden Lane” series by Elizabeth Hoyt was her way into the genre. All of the women have different answers regarding cowboys and gangsters and Santa.
As the crowd files out at the end of the night, the (handsome, young) hotel doorman notes that the atmosphere was very different from the typical conference here. “There’s usually a lot of business stuff downstairs,” he says. “Tonight was good. It was juicy.”