"It's not 'happily ever after' - it's 'happy enough for now'." - Vicki Essex

In this episode, Mike and Wendy ponder their feelings about romance, and Wendy recounts her foray into the world of romance publishing. Then, Mike interviews romance writer Vicki Essex - and they correct some fusty stereotypes about the genre. Finally: a reckoning.

Books, movies and articles mentioned in this episode:

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante

The Dim Sum of All Things by Kim Wong Keltner

Avatar, the Last Airbender

Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

Matinees with Miriam by Vicki Essex

Dangerous Books for Girls by Maya Rodale

Red Carpet Arrangement by Vicki Essex

Love Between the Covers

The Original Sinners by Tiffany Reisz

The Night Mark by Tiffany Reisz

The Devil's Revolver by Vicki Essex

"In Harlequin's new Dare series, heroines own their sexuality" by Joseph Saraceno in The Globe and Mail

"Authors of Fiction Confront a Problem: How to Write About Sex" by Sarah Lyall in The New York Times

Outline by Rachel Cusk

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

Find Vicki Essex at http://www.vickiessex.com and http://www.vsmcgrath.com. The Devil's Pact, the third book in The Devil's Revolver series, will be released on December 18th, 2018.

Note: This episode has been edited from a previous version.

Click here for a transcript of this episode.

Your hosts: Christina, Mike, Jason, and Wendy

Contact us at shelveunder@torontopubliclibrary.ca

Please take our survey.