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In the Lime Light with with E.L. Kaltenberg
Debut author Emily joins Jenna and Cait to talk The Care and Feeding of Dead Mothers, a psychological thriller set in the Wisconsin Northwoods. Margot Hale flees Manhattan after her career collapses, only to have her estranged sister and long-buried trauma come clawing back. Emily digs into her wild Wisconsin research, her indie publishing journey, and the unhinged meta-twist waiting in book two. Dark, twisty, and exactly our kind of story.
An Irish Matchmaking Festival, Some Magic, and a Rom-Com | Kat Mackenzie
Travel rom-com author Kat Mackenzie joins us to talk about her new release, Experiments in Offline Dating, set around a real Irish matchmaking festival in County Clare. We dig into how she lived the research in Ireland, writing authentic dialect, her six rescue dogs, the art of a good insult, and her honest take on the indie vs trad publishing divide. Pour a marg and settle in.
In the Lime Light with Marissa Malson
This episode's Lime Light shines on Marissa Malson, author of the Average Jane PI series, cozy-adjacent mysteries following a delightfully forgettable private investigator with a knack for landing in the middle of a heist. We talk about the book that arrived fully formed after a yoga class, building her own publishing company with her sister, and why author events became her secret weapon.
"I'm the Magic Here": Cara Alwill on Girl Code, Pink Ink, and Never Waiting to Be Chosen
This week we're pulling up a chair for Cara Alwill, and honestly, we could have talked to her for five more hours. Cara is a bestselling author, the founder of Pink Ink Press, and the host of Cara Says It All, and she built her whole universe the hard way, starting a blog back in 2008 while trafficking ads in a cubicle at MTV. We get into all of it: how she went from 19 rejection letters to selling 100,000 copies of Girl Code on her own, why she walked away from her Penguin Random House deal and never looked back, and what it actually takes to write memoir about your real life (exes included). If you've ever wondered whether you need permission to do the thing, this one's your sign that you don't.
This YA Debut Reads Like Her 10th Book | Jasmine Smith
Debut author Jasmine Smith joins us to talk Death Card, her witchy YA set in New Orleans, and the wild road that got it here. We get into how she sold the book on just ten chapters, why it reads like her tenth novel instead of her first, and how tarot, gentrification, and a grandmother's love all got woven into one story. Plus gold foil, sprayed edges, and why this one might just land on a banned books list.
The Extra Shot: Just Be a Good Hang
Talent is a dime a dozen, so what actually sets you apart? Being a good hang. In this bonus episode it's just Cait and Jenna, no guest, inside thoughts fully becoming outside thoughts. We get into why being someone people want in the room beats raw talent, why we bump a book to the top of our TBR the second we love the author, and the trad vs indie question we've both stopped stressing about. Be kind, be easy to work with, and people will want to read your shit.
She Wrote a Rom-Com That Starts Where Romance Books End
Debut author Lavanya Lakshmi joins us to talk Leave and Come Back, her Bollywood-loving rom-com about an Indian wedding, family you've been avoiding, and a boyfriend who crashes the party. Plus her wild path from Twilight fanfiction to Penguin Random House.
In the Lime Light with Rebecca Gould Baeurle
This bonus episode's Lime Light shines on Rebecca Gould Baeurle, author of The Secrets Trilogy — a love story with a criminal twist, following two sisters through betrayal and danger in Philadelphia. We talk about writing a full debut in two months, almost not publishing at all, and the real sisterhood behind her fiction.
She Wrote a Sexy Retirement-Home Romance. And Nailed It | Julie Murphy
Dumplin author Julie Murphy joins us to talk Vera Stein Is Fine, her first adult romance about a Palm Springs retirement home full of scandal and second chances. We cover the decade-long road to publishing it, the real story behind the Dumplin movie, and stories about Jennifer Aniston and Dolly Parton.
She Scrapped a Finished Manuscript to Write Yes, Chef | Grace Reilly
Romance author Grace Reilly joins Margs & Manuscripts on release day for Yes Chef to talk about the 80,000-word manuscript she scrapped, the Kitchen Confidential and The Bear research behind Fable's kitchen, and separating art from content as an author online.