Spill The Spice Podcast

Paranormal romance… but make it a little deeper than witches and werewolves. 👀🐺🔮🌶️
We’re spilling the spice with M.J. Etkind, and this conversation goes EVERYWHERE in the best way.
We’re talking about her journey from writing fanfiction to becoming a published romance author, creating paranormal worlds that still feel incredibly human, and writing characters who are allowed to be messy, complicated, and in charge of their own happiness.
We get into mental health and ADHD representation, relationships and career, addiction, reproductive rights, writing heavier real-life experiences into romance, and why an HEA doesn’t have to mean every part of someone’s life is suddenly perfect.
Plus, we obviously talk The Witch of Wall Street, The Lone Wolf Paradox, cozy small-town werewolves, world-building, indie publishing, what she might be writing next, and all the wonderfully chaotic bookish tangents you expect when you give us microphones.
A little magic. A little spice. A lot of heart.

This episode is sponsored by
www.bloomstories.com
www.heathensandheartbreakers.com

CURSES, CANDLELIGHT & DARK DESIRES 🕯️🖤
This week, we’re stepping into the shadows and spilling the spice on Gothic Romance.
From haunted castles and dark academia to curses, monsters, complicated love interests, and stories that blur the line between fear and desire, we’re talking about what makes Gothic Romance so damn captivating.
We dive into the books we’ve been reading, including Gothikana, Fairydale, The Cruel Dark, One Dark Window, Necromance, My Darling Dreadful Thing, and Crown Me Dead, and unpack everything from atmosphere and timelines to morally complicated characters, magic systems, emotional devastation, and the difference between Gothic Romance and Dark Romance.
But naturally, we had to go deeper.
Why are we drawn to darkness? Why can fictional monsters feel so alluring? What happens psychologically when fear, curiosity, attraction, and desire collide? And why does our moral compass suddenly become a little questionable when you add a haunted manor and some candlelight?
Plus, we talk spooky season, audiobooks, dark academia, our own fears, questionable fictional men, and play a little Red Flag or Gothically Romantic?
Grab your headphones, light a candle, and come into the darkness with us. 🕯️🌶️🖤
Sponsored by Bloom Stories and Heathens & Heartbreakers Book Bash.

This week we’re spilling the spice with Alise Monroe, the best-friend romance co-author duo behind the Ripple Effect series! 💗
We’re talking writing together, creating Indigo Hill, deeply flawed characters who still deserve their HEA, mental health, healing, second chances, LGBTQ+ representation, found family, and why romance can give us something even bigger than happiness: hope.
Plus… unexpected plot twists, bourbon, Bigfoot, writing spice with your best friend 😂, rival tattoo artists, and what they’re creating next. 👀

This episode is proudly sponsored by:
💜 Bloom Stories Immersive audio stories, audiobooks & fantasies made for your headphones. 🎧🔥
Use code SPILLTHESPICE for up to 30% off a premium subscription.
📚 Heathens & Heartbreakers Book Bash
We’re proud to be sponsored by Heathens & Heartbreakers, coming to Dallas June 24–26, 2027! Authors, readers, panels, vendors, karaoke & a Midsummer Night’s Dream Ball. ✨

What happens when you sit down with a literary agent to talk publishing and end up talking about motherhood, romance, taking risks, the realities behind success, and everything in between?
You get a very Spill the Spice conversation. 🌶️
This week, Veronica & Lizzy are joined by Angie, founder of Lunar Literary Agency, for an honest look behind the curtain of the publishing world.
Angie shares her journey from editing more than 200 books to launching her own literary agency, why she believes in nurturing an author’s career rather than simply representing a book, and what writers should know about querying, rejection, trusting their creativity, and finally having the courage to hit send.
We talk about the parts of publishing that don’t always make the highlight reel, the pressure to succeed, competition in the literary world, championing diverse voices, balancing motherhood with building a career, and why every author-agent relationship looks a little different.
And because this is Spill the Spice, we don’t stay strictly in the publishing lane. 😂 We get into romance, emotional connection, the stories that stay with us, self-expression, the changing landscape of literature, and what it means to take a chance on yourself and your work.
We first met Angie at Villains & Vixens a year ago, making this conversation feel especially full-circle. Now we finally get to sit down, spill the publishing spice, and introduce you to the woman behind Lunar Literary Agency. 🌙
Whether you’re staring at a finished manuscript wondering if it’s good enough, already navigating the publishing world, or simply love hearing what happens behind the scenes of the books on your shelf, this episode is for you.

🌙 Learn more about Lunar Literary Agency:
https://lunarliteraryagency.com/

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
💗 Bloom StoriesImmersive audio storytelling for the romantics, the spice lovers, and anyone who likes their stories with a little extra heat. Use code SPILLTHESPICE to explore Bloom.
Explore Bloom Stories⁠

🖤 Heathens & Heartbreakers Book BashA weekend made for romance readers, authors, creators, and the bookishly obsessed. Spill the Spice is proud to be a sponsor of Heathens & Heartbreakers Book Bash.
Heathens & Heartbreakers Book Bash⁠

Sometimes the only way to find out what your story can become is to give it the chance. ✨

This week, we’re joined by Inez Ocon, author of the Shattered Queens series, for a conversation that goes far beyond dark romance.
We dive into the inspiration behind her emotionally powerful stories, writing trauma with authenticity, breaking generational cycles, body image, self-acceptance, mental health representation, and creating heroines who prove that being shattered doesn’t mean being broken.
Of course, we couldn’t resist talking about the spice too! From unforgettable quotes to the chemistry between her characters, we cover everything readers love about the Shattered Queens world.
If you’ve ever found healing through a story, connected with a character who felt real, or believe romance can be both emotionally powerful and incredibly spicy, this episode is for you.

✨ This episode is proudly sponsored by Bloom Stories. Discover immersive audio romances and fantasies, and save up to 80% with our code SPILLTHESPICE at www.bloomstories.com.
✨This episode is sponsored by Heathens & Heartbreakers Book Bash, an unforgettable weekend in Dallas 2027 celebrating romance authors, readers, and all things bookish.

What was your favorite moment from today’s episode? 👇