S07.21: Meet My Vibe Criteria: V.E. Schwab on writing, obsession, and romance outside of Romance

We're mixing it up today with a fabulous special guest! The brilliant V.E. Schwab joins us for a far-reaching chat about writing romance outside of romance novels™️, about the difference between obsession and love, about the way we can't help but ship characters who will never get together, and about writing in general...and how we tackle character, conflict, and power in storytelling. We had a great time, and you will, too. If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com . Our next read along is Julie Anne Long's What I Did For a Duke , available in print, ebook, and audio at Amazon , Barnes & Noble , Kobo , Apple Books or wherever you get your books . Enter the Macmillan Audio sweepstakes to win one of five free audiobook copies of Emma Lord's The Rival . The Books Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab Vicious and Vengeful by V.E. Schwab A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley Babel by RF Kuang The Midnight Line by Lee Child Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo When Among Crows by Veronica Roth A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane Chaos by Constance Fay Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells The Notes Welcome V.E. Schwab to the podcast! You can check out her podcast about writing called No Write Way , and you can click her to sign up for her newsletter . Sarah has a new birdfeeder for her office. You, too, can watch Lee Child playing chess. Philip Larkin wrote a great poem about parents, This Be the Verse. The Sponsors Max Monroe , author of Playing Games, available in print or ebook from Amazon . Adriana Herrera , author of A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke, available in print or ebook from Amazon , Barnes & Noble , Kobo , Apple Books or wherever you get your books . Macmilllan Audio , publishers of The Rival by Emma Lord, read by Jesse Vilinsky, available from Audible , Kobo , Apple , Barnes & Noble , Libro.fm or wherever you get your audiobooks. Enter the Macmillan Audio sweepstakes to win one of five free copies of this audiobook. Allison A. Andrews , author of The Winning Ticket , available in print or ebook from Amazon , or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. 00:00 Bantr 07:54 Welcome VE Schwab 15:15 AD: THE WINNING TICKET 21:37 Writing Relationship 32:29 The Marketing Problem 34:24 AD: THE RIVAL 44:47 Characters and Genres Evolve 49:10 AD: PLAYING GAMES 57:35 Judgement & Labels 1:03:56 AD: A TROPICAL REBEL GETS THE DUKE 1:12:32 The Minions Complex 1:20:02 Recommendations 1:31:25 Outro 1:33:44 AD: THE RIVAL