Your Mom's Romance Shelf

DescriptionBefore BookTok, romance readers found each other on blogs and in Facebook groups, and Shauna Casey was right in the middle of it. A Navy veteran and breast cancer survivor, Shauna started blogging about books in 2014. Today she co-owns The Author Agency, which helps authors launch their books with cover reveals, Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) and release promotion.
We talk about the romances that made us readers, why older romance like Judith McNaught's Paradise feels so different from today's books, the great cover debate, AI in the book world, the 2010s authors who deserve more love, and Shauna's best advice for authors and creators.
Chapters00:00 Intro
01:48 Our first romances: Carolina Moon, Danielle Steel and Lurlene McDaniel
04:55 How Shauna started book blogging in 2014
06:43 Why older romance feels different: depth, world-building and Judith McNaught
11:27 Public Secrets, Paradise and the books we reread every year
13:13 The great romance cover debate
14:54 AI in the book world and the "witch hunt"
18:17 The 2010s authors who deserve more love
22:42 Tropes, sameness and the books that stand out
27:01 Quality over quantity
30:26 Shauna's favorite books from The Author Agency
35:14 Breast cancer, perspective and "find what you love"
36:13 How Shauna built The Author Agency
39:30 Human connection, and why "shock reviewers" don't last
43:37 Work-life balance and the right business partner
46:29 Why older romance deserves respect
50:49 What The Author Agency does
Connect with ShaunaInstagram: @shauna_taa
The Author AgencyWebsite: theauthor.agency
Instagram: @theauthor.agency
TikTok: @theauthor.agency
Facebook: The Author Agency
Books mentionedEvery book we talked about, including the nostalgic picks, is listed at allireadstoomuch.com/podcast. A few highlights:
The 2010s and indie romanceLady Luck and Fast Lane by Kristen Ashley
The Until series and King of Nothing by Aurora Rose Reynolds
The Blacktop Cowboys series by Lorelei James
Broken Knight, Vicious and Beautiful Graves by L.J. Shen
Current picksLet's Be Real by Julia Wolf
You, with a View and The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce
Shattered Dreams, Buried Dreams and Made for You by Natasha Madison
Soul by Eva Simmons
Smoke Ring and What Saves Us by Maggie Gates
Maggie Moves On by Lucy Score
Connect with AlliInstagram: @allireadstoomuch
TikTok: @allireadstoomuch
YouTube: @allireadstoomuch
Facebook: allireadstoomuch
Substack: @allireadstoomuch
allireadstoomuch.com/podcast

On this episode of Your Mom’s Romance Shelf, I’m joined by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, New York Times bestseller, RWA Hall of Fame member, and the Queen of Romantic Comedy. Susan has been writing romance for more than 40 years, and her Chicago Stars series is widely credited with launching sports romance.
We talk about why Kiss an Angel has one of the best grovels of all time, what it was like to read bodice rippers in the ’70s as someone raised in the ’50s, and how The Flame and the Flower was pulled off a slush pile and changed the genre forever. Susan also shares how the Chicago Stars series happened completely by accident, the unwritten “rule” that once kept athletes out of romance, and why she thinks the NFL owes her an award.
Chapters
00:00 Cold open
00:27 Welcome and introducing Susan Elizabeth Phillips
01:59 A Cincinnati connection and sports romance fandom
04:09 How Susan started writing romance
05:35 Kiss an Angel and the art of the grovel
08:38 Why alpha heroes are harder to write today
10:35 “A book about your marriage would be kinda boring”
11:50 Nuance and flawed heroes in older romance
12:56 Bodice rippers, the 1950s, and “good girls didn’t”
14:16 Bodice rippers and the rise of the feminist movement
17:20 How The Flame and the Flower was pulled off the slush pile
18:34 Sweet Savage Love and the missing grovel
20:22 Before bodice rippers: Victoria Holt, Phyllis Whitney, and more
21:12 Alli’s nostalgia reading list and Susan’s recommendations
23:25 Rewriting Risen Glory as Just Imagine
24:11 Reading older romances in historical context
25:42 Sandra Brown’s “way of getting even”
27:09 LaVyrle Spencer and Laura Kinsale
29:18 Pacing and point of view, then and now
30:06 Why romance history matters
31:31 Why we reach for romance in hard times
32:21 How the Chicago Stars series happened by accident
36:17 Strong heroines ahead of their time
38:14 Writing secondary love stories
40:47 Will the Chicago Stars kids get their own books?
41:55 Sports romance today and Susan as its pioneer
43:35 The “rule” against sports romance and why the NFL owes Susan an award
44:47 Golf romance: Fancy Pants and Lady Be Good
46:38 What Susan is reading now
48:06 What Alli is reading now
50:47 The one older romance everyone should read
Learn more about the podcast: https://www.allireadstoomuch.com/podcast
Follow Alli:
Instagram: @allireadstoomuch · TikTok: @allireadstoomuch · YouTube: @allireadstoomuch
Website: https://allireadstoomuch.com/
Follow Susan Elizabeth Phillips:
Website: susanelizabethphillips.com
Instagram: @sepauthor
Facebook: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Join the Your Mom’s Romance Shelf book club on Fable: https://fable.co/club/you-moms-romance-shelf-with-allison-mowrey-402199741406?club_type=free

Why has romance been dismissed for so long—and what can the books of the past tell us about the genre today?
In the first episode of Your Mom’s Romance Shelf, I’m joined by romance author and scholar Jodi McAlister to talk about the history and evolution of romance, from bodice rippers and bonkbusters to dark romance and the books that shaped the genre.
We talk about sexism and the stigma around romance, why older romances were so wildly popular, how the genre has changed, and what we can learn from the books readers loved decades ago.
Learn more about the podcast:
allireadstoomuch.com/podcast
Follow Alli:
Instagram · TikTok · YouTube · Facebook
Follow Jodi McAllister:
Instagram · TikTok
Join theYour Mom’s Romance Shelf book club:
Fable Book Club
Books Mentioned in the Podcast:
Jodi McAllister
An Academic Affair — Jodi McAlister — Amazon
A Study in Sparkling — Jodi McAlister — Amazon
Books Discussed & Recommended
Welcome to Temptation — Jennifer Crusie — Amazon
The Flame and the Flower — Kathleen Woodiwiss — Amazon
Scruples — Judith Krantz — Amazon
Hollywood Wives — Jackie Collins — Amazon
Lady Boss — Jackie Collins — Amazon
Paradise — Judith McNaught — Amazon
Bet Me — Jennifer Crusie — Amazon
Lovelight Farms — B.K. Borison — Amazon
Devil in Winter — Lisa Kleypas

What can the romance novels women have loved for generations tell us about us? Welcome to Your Mom’s Romance Shelf, a new podcast exploring the books, authors, fantasies, and cultural conversations behind the romance genre. New episodes coming soon