S7 Ep. 44: Ellie Palmer and Elle Everhart on the Rise of Romance

fiction/non/fiction

Romance novelists Elle Everhart and Ellie Palmer join co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about the genre’s increasing popularity. Everhart, the London-based author of the new book Hot Summer, featuring a protagonist who joins the cast of a reality show only to realize she’s interested in a fellow contestant, discusses coming to romance writing as a fourth grader fascinated by kissing, and wonders why as sales boom, the U.S.—but not the U.K.—is seeing more romance-specific bookstores. Palmer, the author of the new book Four Weekends and a Funeral, whose main character is a carrier of the BRCA1 mutation, recalls falling in love with the genre as she prepared for her own preventative double mastectomy. She reflects on how the genre’s structure promises positive endings for those who need them at challenging moments, and how the language of romance gave her a way to think about her own body and sexuality. Everhart reads from Hot Summer and Palmer reads from Four Weekends and a Funeral.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/

This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf.

Elle Everhart

• Hot Summer
• Wanderlust

Ellie Palmer

• Four Weekends and a Funeral

Others

• "9 New Books We Recommend This Week" | May 4, 2023 | The New York Times
• "Hot and Bothered: Four New Romance Novels" by Olivia Waite | August 7, 2020 | The New York Times
• Nora Ephron
• Nancy Meyers
• Mhairi McFarlane
• Beth O'Leary
• Talia Hibbert
• Bolu Babalola
• “A Romance Bookstore Boom” by Olivia Waite | The New York Times
• “Emily Henry is Proud to be Called a Romance Writer” by | The New York Times
• Olivia Waite
• Jodi Picoult
• Love Island
• Tropes & Trifles

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