Fated Mates S08.01: Welcome to Fated Mates: Season Eight Cold Open
Podcast: Fated Mates – Romance Books for Novel People
Hosts: Sarah MacLean & Jen Prokop
Date: September 13, 2025
Episode: S08.01
Overview
Season Eight of Fated Mates kicks off with a classic “cold open” episode, featuring hosts Sarah MacLean (bestselling author) and Jen Prokop (romance literary critic/editor). They reflect on nearly seven years of podcasting, share their summer adventures, dig deep into the current state of the romance genre, and lay out what listeners can expect in the new season. The episode blends the personal—catching up after summer breaks—with big-picture, candid analysis of shifting trends, industry challenges, and what keeps the hosts passionate about romance novels. Listeners new and old get a primer on the podcast, the hosts, and the unique spirit that drives Fated Mates.
Episode Breakdown
1. Opening Banter & Season Eight Milestone
Timestamps: 00:00 - 02:47
- Celebrating Season Eight: The hosts joke about their longevity, marveling at “1700 episodes apparently is the answer” when wondering how much there is to possibly say about romance (00:15, Sarah).
- Energy of New Beginnings: Emphasize recording at the turn of the season, feeling “new and crisp in the fall, as F. Scott Fitzgerald would say” (00:38, Sarah).
- What’s Coming This Episode: Banter will include their summer updates, thoughts on the state of romance, introductions for new listeners, and “predictions and wishes” for the genre this year.
2. Summer Recap & Adventures
Timestamps: 03:04 – 20:29
Sarah’s Summer
- Traveled to New Zealand, Australia, and Tasmania to meet local romance communities.
- Highlights: “I met several people from Tasmania who are magnificent firebirds” (05:14, Sarah).
- Discussed the collapse/transition of Romance Writers of America (RWA), the invigorating effect of connecting with international romance writers, and the joys of being among passionate genre enthusiasts.
- Observed the southern hemisphere’s night sky: “There are only like 10 [true dark spaces] on the planet... and Tasmania is one of them” (08:51, Sarah).
- Recommends “This Is Love” podcast’s episode on dark spaces for romance lovers (09:19–10:02).
Jen’s Summer
- Took a family trip to Martha’s Vineyard, relishing the low-key, “rented house” family vibe.
- Amusing culture clash with Martha’s Vineyard logistics and Jaws memorabilia (“There was Jaws shit everywhere” – 12:52, Jen).
- Recap of summer reading, watching Jaws, and the joys/hassles of back-to-school shopping for tweens.
3. Reading Roundup: What the Hosts Enjoyed This Summer
Timestamps: 16:10 – 20:29
- Jen: Read widely (mysteries, non-fiction, pieces from The New Yorker) to “reset” the brain before digging back into romance. Noted anxieties about the future scarcity/ephemerality of certain books.
- Sarah: Suffered jet lag and countered it by binge-reading, especially Joanna Shupe’s The Gilded Heiress, prompting a pivot back to historicals.
- Community & Events: Both hosts reflected on the distinct, community-oriented vibe of romance book events (“Romance events feel different than all other book events”—20:03, Sarah).
4. Fated Mates Origin Story
Timestamps: 22:41 – 27:29
- How It Began: The hosts became friends via “loudmouth” romance Twitter, bonding especially over Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series.
- Podcast grew from public passion and private DM encouragement.
- Early obstacles: “We recorded an episode that we thought was terrific... and [Eric] was like, ‘It’s fucking terrible’” (25:32, Sarah).
- Reflections on how the podcast has transformed their perspectives on romance, reading, teaching, editing, and writing.
5. The Fated Mates Ethos: Lifting Up the Genre
Timestamps: 30:12 – 34:19
- No Tearing Down: The show’s guiding rule is to celebrate and analyze great romantic fiction, not critique what they dislike. “We don’t think about what we hate, we think about what we love” (31:35, Sarah).
- Why it Matters: Connecting positive discussion and careful textual analysis with raising the genre’s reputation, encouraging readers and writers alike.
6. Criticism, Reviews, and the Publishing Ecosystem
Timestamps: 36:39 – 53:18
- Defending Criticism: In-depth conversation about the state and role of reviews/critics, including what is (and isn’t) useful about negative criticism and why it’s essential for romance to be viewed as a serious art form.
- “Criticism is an art form... [it] lifts an art form into a place of cultural discussion” (40:46, Sarah).
- The flattening of book coverage: Local newspapers, major outlets, and the vanishing of thoughtful, critical review columns.
- How shifts at Barnes & Noble and changing retail landscapes affect what romance readers can find on shelves.
Notable Quote:
“But I think ultimately if you do that too much, what you’re really communicating is ‘I don’t like this genre.’ For us, it has been better practice—and better praxis—to essentially say, ‘No, we’re talking about books we love and why they work, because we love romance.’”—(33:32, Jen)
7. State of Genre & Industry: Pricing, Distribution, and Format Upheaval
Timestamps: 53:50 – 66:34
- Class Warfare & Book Pricing: Sarah details how the end of mass market paperbacks and shift to trade paperbacks is driving up prices, creating barriers for passionate, high-volume genre readers.
- The economics of being a romance reader: "It’s a really, really difficult time to sink your teeth into the genre as a writer" (57:39, Sarah).
- Discussion of the impact that Kindle Unlimited and indies have had on access, diversity of stories, and risk-taking within the genre.
- The pandemic’s effect on buying, the “flattening” of the industry, and how current economic woes challenge the old adage that “romance does well in a down economy.”
Notable Quote:
“Books remained a sort of easy way to inject your nervous, anxious life with joy. Right now... $20 feels like a lot of money.” (64:05, Sarah)
8. The Historical Dilemma, Publisher Strategies, and Genre Content
Timestamps: 68:22 – 75:27
- Transition Trouble: Sarah gives a frank, behind-the-scenes account of how publishers’ treatment of historical romance is creating a dramatic crunch—“Are we down market because of the content or are we down market because of the price?” (71:41, Sarah).
- How book banning pressures, format shifts, and the loss of shelf space are affecting not just what gets published, but what gets written—and how.
- Jen worries about withdrawal from core romance content: “I already see authors pulling back... from romance as a plot, from sex on page... is it all women’s fiction now?” (72:06, Jen).
- Why indie (self-publishing) platforms are a lifeline for more daring and emotionally rich romance stories.
9. Hopeful Trends and New Energy
Timestamps: 75:27 – 87:32
- Celebrating the steady influx of new readers discovering the genre, particularly via TikTok and evolving social media platforms.
- The genre’s democratization—decline of “shame” over reading romance, rise of diverse book communities.
- Return of “bananas plots,” time travel, and high-emotion storytelling, particularly in indies.
- Affirmation of the genre’s resilience in times of social and political stress—“Historically, romance has really produced after this kind of tight, frightening [moment]” (85:15, Sarah).
Notable Quote:
“As long as we keep showing up for the books, and keep saying out loud... what the genre can be, can do, how it can inspire and evoke and engage and keep us turning pages, then we're going to be okay.” (87:32, Sarah)
10. Call to (Writerly) Action & Closing Reflections
Timestamps: 87:48 – 94:53
- Sarah and Jen urge romance writers to “put it in the text”—"I think it’s actually vital that we put it in the text.” (88:02, Jen)
- The ongoing necessity of telling inclusive, hopeful, subversive stories in the face of cultural backlash: “If you’re writing romances that are fulfilling [the myth that not everyone is deserving of love], I don’t want them.” (90:18, Jen)
- Season Eight previews: guests, book recommendations, autumn previews, end-of-year favorites, continued activism via Fated States, and growing the Fated Mates community.
Notable Quotes & Moments
- On Community: “Romance events feel different than all other book events... it lends itself to community. Right? We all read so much. We all have so many feelings about the books. We all understand why we’re all in the room.” (20:03, Sarah)
- On Criticism: “Critics are essential to the publishing ecosystem... because they are part of what lifts an art form into a place of cultural discussion.” (40:46, Sarah)
- On Book Pricing/Class: “Books are class warfare. The loss of mass market is... damaging debut romance in a really particular way.” (55:58, Sarah)
- On Current Industry: “Is it dead or are they killing it?”—regarding historical romance, and the business/creative squeeze (73:12, Jen)
- On Resilience: “As long as we keep showing up for the books, and keep saying out loud... what the genre can be, can do, how it can inspire and evoke and engage and keep us turning pages, then we're going to be okay.” (87:32, Sarah)
- On the Purpose of Romance: “Anyone who values love in their life is deserving of it. And that I think is why more than anything, I keep reading romance—because some days are harder than others when it comes to believing that.” (90:18, Jen)
Upcoming This Season
Timestamps: 91:17 – End
- Special guests, deep dives on genre “work,” autumn and best-of-the-year recommendations, and politics through Fated States.
- Continued building of the podcast’s community through Patreon and Discord.
Memorable, Shareable Title Drop
“Season eight. Amazing. And you know what? We started this podcast in October, so we’re like, a little short of seven. Seven full years of podcasting.” (01:20, Sarah)
Extra Content
- Snippet of audiobook A Bargain So Bloody by Vasiliza Drake at end of episode.