Illicit Liaisons

Jenna Harte

5.0 (1)
Books
Updated Biweekly

The good, the bad, and the naughty of romance fiction.

6d ago

Illicit Liaisons: Fireworks & Flirtation with Aline Francoure and Jenna Harte

This week, we're celebrating the upcoming release of Fireworks & Flirtation by chatting with Aline Francoure and Jenna Harte. We discuss: - The Romancestasy controversy - What inspired Aline's story, Back to Us, a second chance romance with a singing telegram - Factoids about the mafia and New Orleans, and Blackbeard folklore, and a whole lot more! Aline Francoure is a passionate romance writer hailing from the picturesque countryside of Spotsylvania County, Virginia. When she's not crafting tales of love and passion, she enjoys the company of her two loyal dogs and my supportive husband. A lover of all things Scotland, she's enchanted by the rugged beauty of the Highlands and the iconic Highland cows. She also has a passion for crime TV, and you can often find her glued to the screen, unraveling thrilling mysteries. LINKS TO ALINE Aline's Website: https://alinefrancoure.com/ Aline's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alinefrancoure/ Jenna Harte is a die-hard romantic who writes with heat, heart, and always an HEA. She's the author of the Southern Heat contemporary romance series and the sexy Valentine Mysteries. She's also the managing editor of Tender & Tempting Tales, a romance anthology for readers who like romantic quickies. LINKS TO JENNA Jenna's Website https://jennaharte.com Jenna's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jennaharteauthor Jenna's Page on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4x9ZweH BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Fireworks & Flirtation https://amzn.to/4uacLtQ It's About Damn Time (free short story) Subscribe: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ CURRENTLY READING & RECOMMENDATIONS Poison Ivy by Misty Simon https://amzn.to/4uBF1pt Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain https://amzn.to/43vxBrL Disability in Romance (article by Mariah Ankenman) https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/disability-in-romance TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

1h 5m
May 19

Illicit Liaisons: Fireworks & Guy Fawkes with Annie R McEwen

This week, we're celebrating the upcoming release of Fireworks & Flirtation by chatting with Annie R McEwen. We discuss: - Publishers ending their historical romance lines - The future of publishing - Plus, we learn how Guy Fawkes inspired Annie's story in Fireworks & Flirtation, share book recommendations, and more. A career historian, Annie R McEwen has lived in six countries and under every roof from a canvas tent to a Georgian Era manor house. She writes historical romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and historical fiction. Annie is published by Bloodhound Books (UK), Harbor Lane Books (US), The Wild Rose Press, and Rowan Prose Publishing. She lives in both the UK and US. Winner of the 2022 Page Turners Writing Award (Romance Category), Annie garnered both a First and Second Place 2022 RTTA (Romance Through the Ages Award), the 2023 MAGGIE Award, and Finalist Status in the 2023 Daphne du Maurier Award. She was a Finalist for the 2024 Page Turners Writing Award and Shortlisted for a Writer’s Mentorship Award. Annie’s short fiction appears in numerous anthologies. LINKS TO ANNIE Annie's Website https://www.anniermcewen.com Annie's Books https://amzn.to/4dwetyr Annie on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/anniermcewen/ FIREWORKS & FLIRTATION Fireworks & Flirtation https://amzn.to/4uacLtQ Available in print, ebook, and in KU. CURRENTLY READING & RECOMMENDATIONS Austen at Sea by Natalie Jenner https://amzn.to/42G2gT1 Fantastical Foes...coming in July from Tender & Tempting Tales The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow https://amzn.to/4wCQwhF Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain https://amzn.to/43mDZkU Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery (Bryant & May) by Christopher Fowler https://amzn.to/4v1ayB1 British Library Crime Classics https://amzn.to/4tMd8K3 TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

56 min
May 12

Illicit Liaisons: Celebrating Summer Romance with Suzy Langevin and Marissa Marinello

This week, we're celebrating the upcoming release of Fireworks & Flirtation with our authors, Suzy Langevin and Marissa Marinello. We discuss: Bookish drama over an editor asking an author to remove similes and other metaphorical language from their story to avoid being accused of using AIWith the popularity of MM romance, where is the love for sapphic romance? Plus a whole lot more. Suzy Langevin writes happily ever afters where people are loved because of, not in spite of, the things they see as their flaws. She is the winner of the 2024 RWA Golden Heart Award, and her short fiction appears in anthologies and magazines. Suzy lives in Massachusetts, and does, in fact, run on Dunkin'. Marissa Marinello writes urban, high fantasy, and cozy-romantasy. A TTRPG nerd who grew up on Tolkien, musical theater & comics, she's inspired by finding the fantastical in the mundane. Her work can be found in several anthologies, and she is an active participant in fandom and her writing group in Southern California. LINKS TO SUZY AND MARISSA Suzy's Website https://www.suzylangevin.com/ Suzy's Books https://www.suzylangevin.com/team-3 Suzy on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/suzylangevinwrites/ Marissa's Website https://marissamarinello.com/ Marissa's Books https://marissamarinello.com/books/ Marissa on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mmarinello_author/ BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Fireworks & Flirtation https://amzn.to/4uacLtQ BEACH READ RECOMMENDATIONS Moonlight & Margaritas: Steamy Romance Anthology https://amzn.to/4tNokqt Summer Sisters by Judy Blume https://amzn.to/4u7XuJO Chesapeake Bay Series by Nora Roberts https://amzn.to/42tZksA Persuasion by Jane Austen It's About Damn Time (Skullhaven Bay) Free at https://tenderandtemptingtales.com/free-romance-story/ or https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Urna Semper on Substack https://urnasemper.substack.com/ Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson https://amzn.to/49GJsGQ Paws & Peril: Steamy Romantic Suspense Stories with a Dog (Tender & Tempting Tales Magazine) https://amzn.to/4nmxg3M TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

1h 1m
May 5

Illicit Liaisons: MM Hockey Romance with Jason Wrench

This week, our guest host is author Jason Wrench, and we discuss: * Face Off cover controversy * Jason's appearance at BookCon * Hockey romance and more! Jason Wrench writes. He writes a lot. With his publisher, Pride Publishing (now Totally Entwined) he’s the author of three different series: 12 Days of Murder & Till Death Do Us Wed, Up on the Farm (Finding a Farmer, Bewitched by the Barista, Sanctuary for the Surgeon, & Catching the Composer), and the Love and Liquidation Series (Boy Bands and Bullets, A Choreographed Coup, & Rhythmic Reclamation), and the standalone novella Wolf Island. As an Indy author, he’s published Life on the Naughty List, or What the Elf!, Jekyll/Hyde, and The Veil. His latest book, Shattering Securities, came out in Spring 2025. His day job is a college professor at SUNY New Paltz where he teaches in the Department of Communication. He’s a member of the Romance Writers of America, Rainbow Romance Writers, Text and Academic Authors Association, and The Authors Guild. Jason appears in our first summer anthology, Moonlight and Margaritas, with his gay enemies-to-lovers romance, “Ship Happens,” a contemporary story set on a cruise ship. LINKS TO JASON WRENCH Jason's Website: https://jasonwrench.com/ Jason's Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/42T2ZQw BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Goalie and the Geek by Jason Wrench https://amzn.to/4tgOnoW Moonlight & Margaritas https://amzn.to/4tNokqt Face Off by Chelsea Curto https://amzn.to/4eoTuzN Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid https://amzn.to/3QP9Jwo READING OR RECOMMENDED Playing Dirty by CE Ricci https://amzn.to/4d78f8c The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow https://amzn.to/42ffc20 Shadow of Betrayal by Eva LeClerc https://evaleclercauthor.substack.com/ Urna Semper on Substack https://urnasemper.substack.com/ TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

1h 21m
Apr 28

Illicit Liaisons: Sports Romance with Sierra Hill

This week, our guest host is Sierra Hill, with whom we discuss the controversial attempt by Ivory Chapters to trademark "Blind Date with a Book," the impact of AI in publishing, sports romance, and more! Sierra Hill is a RONE Award-winning romance author of Game Changer and the award-winning college sports series Courting Love. She writes steamy new adult and sports romances, including the Vancouver Vikings hockey series, the Puget Sound Pilots, and the Clearview Falls University football series with her co-writing partner, S.E. Rose. She also writes award-winning LGBTQ+ romance under the pen name, K.C. Kassidy. SIERRA'S LINKS Website: https://www.sierrahillbooks.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sierrahillbooks Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/4twzU9o READING & RECOMMENDED We All Live Here by JoJo Moyes https://amzn.to/4cDPoma The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow https://amzn.to/4tqPiUD Shadow of Betrayal by Eva LeClerc https://evaleclercauthor.substack.com/ Urna Semper on Substack https://urnasemper.substack.com/ TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

1h 11m
Apr 22

Illicit Liaisons: Mariah Ankeman & Disability Representation in Romance

This week, our guest host is author Mariah Ankenman. We discuss hot takes around the author ARCs, disability representation in romance fiction, #authorapril, and book adaptations we'd love to watch. Mariah Ankeman is a bestselling romance author living in the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her two rambunctious children and loving spouse, who is her own personal spell checker when her dyslexia gets the best of her. Mariah loves to lose herself in a world of words. Her favorite thing about writing is when she can make someone’s day a little brighter with one of her books. MARIAH'S LINKS Website: https://mariahankenman.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariahankenman/ Mariah's Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/4t84Rjr Backstage Night with the Billionaire by Mariah Ankenman https://amzn.to/3OIyk50 AUTHORS & BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Talia Hibbert https://amzn.to/48hKiJB E.V. Mitchell https://amzn.to/4tX0HLN In Death Books by J.D. Robb https://amzn.to/3Owa32f Fox & O'Hare books by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg https://amzn.to/4mGckEw Evelina by Frances Burney https://amzn.to/4cEfyUx READING & RECOMMENDED Lore Olympus Vol 9 by Rachel Smythe https://amzn.to/4tVxsZQ The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow https://amzn.to/4tqPiUD Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley https://amzn.to/4cFOhRs Shadow of Betrayal by Eva LeClerc https://evaleclercauthor.substack.com/ TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ Calls for Submissions: https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/p/write-for-tender-and-tempting-tales ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Substack: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

1h 2m
Apr 14

Illicit Liaisons: Bookish Tea, Hot takes, News and More in the Romance World

This week, Tara and I share the tea, hot takes, and news from the romance book world, including Shy Girl drama, worst spicy writing, and more. AUTHORS & BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE SHOW The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn Paws & Peril from Tender & Tempting Tales READING & RECOMMENDED Shadow of Betrayal by Eva LeClerc Urna Semper on Substack TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram Tender and Tempting Tales Calls for Submissions: ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman Website Jenna Harte Website Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

1h 17m
Apr 7

Illicit Liaisons: Bea from Mama Needs to Read Romance

This week, we talk with book influencer Bea from Mama Needs to Read Romance about the state of historical romance, being a booktuber, and more. LINKS TO BEA Mama Needs to Read Romance YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mamaneedstoreadromance Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mama.needs.to.read.romance/ Goodreads: goodreads.com/user/show/75674482-mama-needs-to-read-romance AUTHORS & BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Joanna Shupe https://amzn.to/4m9lOYA Kate Bateman https://amzn.to/4mb9qHE Teresa Medeiros https://amzn.to/4sZ264y Lindz McLeod https://amzn.to/4txFW9n Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon https://amzn.to/3PSOBom Bridgerton Series by Julia Quinn https://amzn.to/41h9BHS NOW READING & RECOMMENDED Once Smitten, Twice Shy by Chloe Liese https://amzn.to/4c8PPDc With This Ring I Thee Kill by Jenna Harte https://amzn.to/4vtSUa6 Thessaly Affair by Urna Semper https://urnasemper.substack.com/s/the-thessaly-affair Shadow of Betrayal Eva LeClerc https://evaleclercauthor.substack.com/s/shadow-of-betrayal TENDER & TEMPTING TALES Tender and Tempting Tales Substack: Subscribe and get a FREE story! https://tenderandtemptingtales.substack.com/ Tender and Tempting Tales on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertemptingtales/ ILLICIT LIAISONS PRODUCED & HOSTED BY Tara Leederman: https://taleederman.substack.com/ Jenna Harte: https://jennaharte.com/ Outline and Show Notes: T.A. Leederman Editing: Jenna Harte

1h 3m

The good, the bad, and the naughty of romance fiction.

Creator

Jenna Harte
Years Active

2020 - 2026
Episodes

37
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© 2026 Illicit Liaisons
Show Website

Illicit Liaisons