Episode Summary: This episode has been a long time coming, and it's a wild one for sure! We cover everything from the wonderful world of fanfiction - "The Practice" and the Green & Pink Power Rangers, obviously - to the effects of purity culture on readers and writers today, and even a few helpful tips for how to write more authentic fat characters in romance novels.

Guest: Kayla Grosse, author of Rein Me In (The Cowboys of Night Hawk)

Book Summary:
BLAKE TANNER never thought she’d return to her hometown after her brother Reed died in a tragic accident. But when her mom gets injured, she comes home to help out on her family's ranch. Now, only five years after her brother's accident, she can’t hide from the grief, the people, or the guilt that she's been running from.

GAVIN MONTGOMERY didn’t plan for his life to be this way. He didn’t ask to be stuck with a pile of debt, the responsibility of a failing family business, or a little brother with a drinking problem. But when his dad died nine months ago, Gavin had no choice but to step up and take care of his family, even if that involved hiding the truth from them: that they’re about to lose everything.

When Blake reluctantly agrees to attend a charity “date auction” at the local townie bar, she figures supporting the family of her late brother's best friend is the right thing to do. Only Gavin is no longer the sweet young boy she remembers, and when he challenges her to ride the mechanical bull in front of the whole town, what choice does she have but to saddle up.

But getting back in the saddle might be a mistake. Because even if she's an expert rider, there’s no way in hell she's letting that cowboy hold the reins.

Will Blake and Gavin find a way to work through their grief and ride off into the sunset?

Or will they be over faster than an eight-second ride?

Authors Note: Rein Me In is the first in The Cowboys of Night Hawk series. This book can be read as a standalone novel and has a HEA. Please know that while there are lots of fun and uplifting moments in this book, the characters also deal with themes of loss, grief, alcohol abuse, and depression.

Show Notes:
- May Patreon Shoutout
- Kelly and Kayla have WAY too much in common
- Soap operas as gateway into reading (and writing) romance
- How purity culture has affected a generation of romance readers (00:07:19)
- Glad to know I'm not the only person who watched "The 10th Kingdom"
- From "The Practice" to "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers"... Kayla is a shipper
- Don't try to legislate LGBTQIA+ romances "for the sake of kids" when there have ALWAYS been cishet romances in our media
- How positive fat rep in "Hairspray" changed our outlook on love (00:17:45)
- Fat joy & fat liberation
- How the love we see in books and on screen affects the way we receive love in real life (00:27:30)
- From rockstars to cowboys...
- The almost bull ride that inspired Rein Me In
- Writing meet cutes from missed opportunities
- Third. Act. Break-ups. Are. NOT. Necessary. (00:38:18)
- Hockey romance vs. romance with hockey in it (especially with plus-size love interests)
- Writing plus-size characters without a weight loss journey or shame (00:45:27)
- What's up next for Kayla?

Books & Other Media Mentioned:
- Julia Wolf's rockstar romance - check out our episode on Built to Fall
- Kat Blackthorne's The Halloween Boys - a good example of a straight-sized author writing a plus-size character
- I Like You Like That aka the fastest book that Kayla's written (before now) based on her high school friends and one traumatic 15-year-old girl experience.
- Emily Rath's Pucking Around

Links:
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