Whether it's through words or wands, falling in love and sharing the burdens of life with someone you love and trust is a power we all wish to possess. Romantasy author LJ Andrews joins us to talk about how the fight for romance - spoken or otherwise - is always magic.
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38:33
Fantasy vs Reality? Finding Balance with Xio Axelrod
A great romance novel knows how to deliver the fantasy of a perfect relationship and the reality of one. Author Xio Axlerod joins us to talk about how she balances dreamy boyfriends with the gritty reality of what makes relationships work.
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33:41
Wanted: Tall, Dark, and Handsome
If the saying "love is blind" is true, then why are most of the men in romance novels hot, ripped, and over 6 feet tall? Allie and fellow romance novel narrator (and Zipless male-voice-in-residence) Gideon Frost explore what the 'perfect man' looks like in romance, and just as importantly, how he sounds.
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30:38
Fears and Tears: Crafting Dark Survivor Romance with Jennifer Hartmann and Chelley St Clair
Dark themed romances can take readers through some pretty hairy situations, but the scariest scenes involve affairs of the heart. Authors Jennifer Hartmann and Chelley St Clair, two experts at breaking your heart and putting it back together, join us to talk about how the best dark romances can balance scaring us to death with a really good cry.
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48:43
Zipless Live! at The Ripped Bodice in Brooklyn, NY
Whether we're getting cozy with a paperback or escaping with an audiobook, we love all types of romance novels. In our first interview in front of a live audience, Allie and fellow romance novel narrators Samantha Brentmoor, Gideon Frost, and Robert Hatchet break down the art of romance narration at the most iconic romance bookstore in town.
A (sometimes spicy) podcast for romance lovers and listeners.
Women have been reading and writing about romance for centuries. But what was once considered a scandalous and secretive pastime, the romance novel has now burst proudly onto the open market.
In fact, romance novels account for nearly a quarter of all adult print fiction sold in the United States.
And with more and more women listening to romance books, it also matters how these books sound.
Hosted by Allie Martina, a professional romance novel narrator, Zipless explores how the language of romance is shaped by writers and narrators, and asks what is it about forbidden love, age gaps, love triangles, friends to lovers, and steamy sex scenes that women find so timelessly appealing. Do romance novels offer windows into the lives women want, or mirror the lives they already have? Can narration, depth of a male voice, or cadence in artistic performance affect a romantic scene? When it comes to the language of love, can the romance novel finally take words long considered shameful and flip them into words of empowerment?
In interviews with bestselling romance authors including Evie Dunmore, Sara Cate, Sierra Simone, Stephanie Archer, Xio Axelrod, and more, Zipless explores how romance novels change and reflect women’s lives on and off the page.
And in one-of-a-kind cameos appearances, professional actor and romance novel narrator Gideon Frost joins Allie in exploring how performance, delivery, and the language of romance can impact the hearts and minds of an audience.
For more information about the show, guests, and forums to share your thoughts, go to ziplesspodcast.com
Zipless is produced by Allie Martina and Jill Ruby.
Listener discretion advised.
New Zealand