A (1:47)

Yeah, sure, right.

B (1:48)

Like, for you, I say to you, oh, the trees are gonna be covered in a half an inch of ice. And you're like, well, how much? What could it.

A (1:57)

What could it be? I've seen a half an inch before.

B (1:59)

It's one banana, Michael. And so. And I think what they were trying to stress that a tree covered in an inch and a half of ice.

A (2:10)

Okay, I got you.

B (2:11)

Was going to be bearing, like, this massive amount of weight. And then I honestly think there was an intern, like, who was like, that's like 160 golden retrievers.

A (2:20)

And they were like, funny. Let's do it.

B (2:22)

They were like, make that graphic. And Eric was like, no. As somebody who, like, does make these graphics for the podcast, I don't think this is AI. I think this is just, like, a dork in the newsroom who is bored out of their mind with the news about this impending storm that nobody knows what it is.

A (2:39)

Yeah.

B (2:40)

So anyway, and then I guess we all kind of vaguely understand the weight of a golden retriever. Sure.

A (2:47)

Intuitively.

B (2:48)

And also now you get to see a picture of golden retrievers in Treece, which is silly.

A (2:54)

You know what? That's nice, though. Okay. That makes sense. I was like, wait, what is this?

B (2:57)

What's happening? We don't. This is a new measurement. This is like the new administration has thrown away the pound system. Yes. Now we're measuring things in the weight of golden retriever.

A (3:06)

I mean, horsepower. Why not? Golden retriever weight, same energy.

B (3:11)

Exactly. Return to another age.

A (3:16)

And listen, it is no joke. I mean, we here in Chicago are suffering under extreme cold. You know, it's funny because one of the reasons we don't have school when it's this cold, because I know a lot of places have colder weather. Right. Is because so many of our students in the city are taking public transit and so walk. Yeah, they walk to school. And so this is so cold that you can get frostbite from being outside for, like, eight or 10 minutes, and that could be how long you're waiting on a corner for a bus. And so anyway, I.

B (3:47)

And anybody who's ever known a child who's able to dress themselves knows that they are not able to dress themselves warmly and not for lack of trying on the part of parents. No, no, listen, I want to give a shout out to magnificent firebirds in Minnesota.

A (4:05)

Oh, yes.

B (4:06)

Because you guys are doing the fucking work. And right now, Minneapolis is on a general strike.

A (4:14)

Yeah. It's really inspiring.

B (4:15)

Like, a bunch of unions and students and small businesses are closing, are closed, and doing the job of protesting. Just. I don't even have words for it. Ghoulish, monstrous, evil, vile behavior. We are watching from afar. We are watching from our cities. Jen has seen Chicago. We are girding our loins for it here in New York. Yeah, but, man, you guys are brave. And I'm kind of in love with every. I did not understand your game, Minnesota, and now I deeply respect it.

A (4:59)

So today is the day of the general strike. So it's January 23rd when we're recording, and I put on blue sky. And it is going to be days later when you finally hear this. But I will open this up to you. If you still want to do it, you can go find this post. I am giving romance recommendations, essentially. Like, if you buy the book from Tropes and Trifles, which is a Minneapolis bookstore, or an use bookshop.org to support your own favorite indie in the Twin Cities, or if I recommend something that's ebook only, which is pretty common in the romance space, essentially. There's a really cool website that has tons of places you can donate to in Minnesota. So if you hear this and you want to participate, just find that thread and reply to it or send me an email and I would be happy to do the same thing. You don't even have to, like, prove that you did it. Like, I believe in you and I trust you, but you know, it's just like, how can we support, you know, when you're far away? Like, that question of, like, how can we support each other is always so key. And I think that this is something that, like, the thing that Chicago taught us and the thing that Los Angeles taught us and now that Minnesota is teaching us is that like, really people don't want this. We don't want fascism, right? We want our communities to stay whole and we want to support each other. And when you see people, people doing that work, it's beautiful and inspiring. And so when you're far away, you know, it's kind of like, well, what can you do? Well, you can donate to the people currently, like in the middle of it. You can support the local, like Tropes and Trifles is open today. They will not sell a single book online or in their store. It's just like community gathering, which I think is amazing. And so, you know, you can support those people, but also, you know, start building your community yourself. This will be everywhere. And so that's the other thing, right? When you look and you're like, okay, how are these people organizing? What can I do now so that we are ready too when ICE comes to our town or our city? So anyway, I don't know, everybody. Romance really keeps me going, but it's the romance community that really keeps us going. So, yes, we love you all.

B (7:14)

We do. I want to shout out two other bookstores that people have flagged for me because Tropes and Trifles is giving away pins and free whistles for people in Minneapolis. And then there's another bookstore in the Twin Cities called Black Garnet Books, which is a black owned bipoc bookstore with a broader selection. Not just romance, but they do have a very extensive romance selection and they're also doing that kind of community work. And then I want to talk about, I just want to name Birch Bark.

A (7:48)

Oh yes. Louise Erdrich Bookstore.

B (7:50)

Cool. Which is indigenous owned, celebrating native stories, art and culture. So you can buy books from them, but also you can buy art and you know, other items from them. Indigenous made art from. And they are doing tremendous community work all the time, but especially right now, leaving space for people to come in and be a part of their community. So that's Birch Bark books. And we'll put links to all these in show notes.

A (8:19)

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And then you know what I think also just like find other ways somebody would had posted on Blue Sky. Like a woman who was essentially like had an, you know, an Amazon cart that was just like a wish list of like hand warmers and toe warmers for people protesting in this frigid gold. And I was like, great. That to me is always really satisfying. People have heard me say this like, like I love donors shoes. I'm like, I want to know that the stuff I'm giving, it's like zero. It's immed. And so I'm sure there are like lots of people on your social media channels or in your networks who are also just like, you know, it's like a really direct way to support something like, right. Like send a thousand hand warmers to people and you will know that you've done some good today. So, you know, I know that but my point here is like it doesn't always have to be about money. Right? Like there's another, you know, like organization that's just like, you know, targeting Minnesota companies and like sort of writing to them and telling them like what, you know, why you are going to not sort of shop in their stores anymore if they don't start supporting their citizens. So I mean, even if you don't have money to give, you have time to give. You know, there's lots of ways to like sort of do this. And action Action is the way to help you feel more inspired and more hopeful to keep up this fight, which is really just starting.

B (9:48)

I just gave a bunch of money to an organization called Monarcha, which I will put information in, in show notes about. It's a, basically a, a coalition in Minnesota that provides training and resources to community members who are, are, you know, doing work protecting immigrants and the people who are being pursued by ice. And I will put information about that in there. But it again, community action. They are looking for volunteers. They are collecting food they are collecting. I mean, there are tons and tons and tons of opportunities. Maybe we'll put some others in, in show notes as well.

A (10:34)

And like I said, any of these types of things that you're inspired by, you could probably find a similar thing in the place where you live. Right. So just figure out how, how to be in community of people.

B (10:47)

Now my in laws live in Fresno, California, which is a red place in, in California. And you know, obviously they feel very much like, well, what can we do here? Like, California's blue. You know, Newsom has come out, everybody's doing their thing and you know, we have been talking so much, my husband and I have been talking so much with them about, you know, it's, we understand that you're, you're looking at, you know, the president and you're saying like, how can we stop him? And it's like you have local. Yeah, you live in a red district in, yes, a blue state. But like you, that means you have real local work that needs to be done.

A (11:23)

You can be doing. Yeah.

B (11:25)

And so, you know, we, I, we've been talking about how Indivisible is doing small scale community action and obviously in places like New York, Chicago, Minnesota. Indivisible is doing massive scale stuff. But like Indivisible is doing small scale stuff all around the country. And we're just, I don't know, you all, we are, we've been saying it for years, but community, community, community. Anyway, we love you, Minnesota.

A (11:52)

Oh, wait, can I say one more thing, Sarah, before we start talking about these blue aliens? February is coming and there tends to be a lot of romance events in February. And I have two local events that I am pretty excited about. I'm not going to like get super into the details now. Just check for check in show notes. One is, okay, I am super excited about this. In early February, there is, I'm going to be doing an event with a woman who has written at WNBA Romance called Rooting Interest. And the author's name is Kat Desebasto. And we are going to be at Babe Sports Bar, which is a women's only sports bar. Hello. And so I'm really excited about that. And then later on in February, I will be doing a talk in Romeoville, which is like a Chicagoland suburb. So if you're ever like, why is this lady never leave the city of Chicago? I am going to be leaving the city of Chicago to be giving a talk about romance at the White Oak Library. Thank you everyone for your support. So that is the WNBA one is February 12th. It's an evening event during the week. The Romeo Library event is a Saturday morning, the 21st, I think. So just check show notes for those details and you know, this is a good time to go to romance events.

B (13:15)

It is, it is. If you are a heated rivalry fan, which, I mean, who among us?

A (13:21)

I don't know, who is it?

B (13:22)

I've never met a single heated rivalry fan. Um, if you are one then, and you live anywhere near Philadelphia, you definitely maybe want to spend your Valentine's Day at the heated rivalry in the library events at the Parkway Central Library with Zio Axelrod, Rosie Dannon and Joanna Shoup. Three of our faves here. So there's lots going on. And then since we're just doing it, if you are in Rhode island or anywhere near Rhode island and you love historical romance, which I know for a fact there are people who do. Tickets are available now on the first weekend of March. On the 7th of March, I will be in Bristol at Linden Place, which is a like estate house. It's very lovely with Caroline Linden, Adriana Herrera, Joanna Shoup and others. And the whole day is historical romance fun. Kate Canterbury's coming to moderate a panel so it'll be really fun and you can get tickets to that somewhere and links will be in show notes.

A (14:43)

This week's episode of Fated Mates is brought to you by the romanticy letters promoting an exciting new romantic fantasy experience by bringing magic back to your mailbox.

B (14:55)

I love the idea of this. I love mail. I love getting cool things in the mail and this is really that. So every. The concept here is that you'll be told a broad romantasy story over the course of 12 months. Two letters every month straight to your mailbox. And the letters will include all sorts of unique collectible items and additional text for you to read to really embed yourself into the world of this story. This story is a classic romantasy tee up. It's called a treaty of hearts. A mortal king and a fae star weaver are bound by a blood treaty. And what begins as duty for them ignites into a dangerous slow burn passion that could unite their worlds or destroy them both. And I think one of the especially cool things about this is that this is all written by real authors. It is a designed by real artists. And you'll get stickers and sigils and journal entries and coded messages so you can play along and watch these two people fall wildly in love.

A (16:12)

So if you would like to check it out, you can visit their website@romantasyletters.com and you can use the code faded for 20% off your year subscription if your podcasting app supports it. You can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to their website to check it all out where they have. Also, you can see some cool images and other things that will let you get a sneak peek in at this very cool item. Thanks to the Romantasy Letters for sponsoring this week's episode.

B (16:42)

This is fated Mates. Welcome, everyone, to Faded mates. I'm Sarah McLean. I read romance novels and I write them.

A (16:48)

And I'm Jennifer Prokop, a romance reader and editor. And this week we are talking about Ice Planet Barbarians.

B (16:55)

I can't believe we haven't done this. This episode.

A (16:57)

Yeah, no, it's crazy.

B (16:58)

Halfway through the book, I was like, we surely have done this book before and we have not. All right. It is a delight.

A (17:04)

It is a delight. So, okay, everybody, the. This series has been around for a long time, right? And it has spawned like several, like, you know, sad.

B (17:13)

A whole.

A (17:13)

Entire galaxies, of course. Right?

B (17:15)

Million books.

A (17:17)

Listen, you're not gonna be sad.

B (17:19)

And Nixon writes fast.

A (17:21)

Yes, Fast and furious. And so I think part of the reason we never did it, Sarah, is because. And I think we'll link to this in show notes too. Our friend Danny had an ice planet pod that was happening like in the late. I mean, late 20 teens. Because that, you know, like, we were all so into it at the time, and then all of a sudden, tick tock discovered it.

B (17:47)

Like, excuse me, Romance podcast.

A (17:51)

Oh, yes.

B (17:52)

Yeah, there were like, everybody had a podcast. Yeah, right.

A (17:56)

So you and I, we're still here. You know what? Stay jealous, everybody.

B (18:03)

We. I'm jealous of them.

A (18:06)

No, you're not. You love talking to me about romance. Every week, everybody. She's on deadline and she's cranky. Just stop.

B (18:11)

And I hate everything. I cried about a house plant yesterday. It's fine.

A (18:14)

Okay, listen, everybody. Listen, Sarah. This is all really everyone self inflicted. She truly hates herself because she always does this to herself. And every year I'm just like, it's your process. But, you know, you can grow and change. Anyway, anyway, it's funny, the first year I was like, oh, man, Sarah is really going through it. And now this many years later, I'm.

B (18:39)

Like, anybody who knows my writing process. In fact, probably most of the people listening right now are like, shut up.

A (18:44)

Shut that up. Self inflicted.

B (18:47)

We've heard this before. It's not very sympathetic, but why? Anyway, okay, Dani. It was the heyday Danny had the Ice planet pod.

A (18:57)

Yeah.

B (18:58)

And we were both on ice. And so I think that's why we.

A (19:01)

Didn'T do it like somebody else already done it.

B (19:03)

Right.

A (19:03)

That's.

B (19:04)

That's.

A (19:04)

Danny's pro had been in action.

B (19:07)

Exactly. And so I feel like I was on the first wave of Ice Planet Barbarians because I can remember recommending it. I feel like I don't even know if we knew each other.

A (19:20)

I reviewed a book for the book Queen that was sort of like fantasy ish. And I was like, I think you should read Ice Planet Pod or, you know, Ice Planet Barbarians instead. So I don't know if you recommended it to me because that might have been one we both knew about. Yeah.

B (19:35)

I think this might have even predated us.

A (19:37)

No, I think so, because it.

B (19:40)

So, But I do. I do remember I. I got it from Sophie Jordan, who. I don't know where she got it from, but, like, this was like, early enough in this world where, like, you could still, like, one book could, like, just shatter everyone all at once.

A (20:01)

Yes.

B (20:02)

So it came out and I was with. And Sophie called me and was like, oh, my God, I just read the most insane book ever. And I was like, hit me with it.

A (20:19)

Because Obviously this was 2015, everybody.

B (20:23)

Yeah, this pre date. I mean, please. I had a two year old and I was like, okay, give it to me. And she was like, all right, let me paint you a picture. And she was like, you know, a spaceship full of women of, you know, questionably, of fertile young women have been abducted by aliens onto a spaceship. And I'm like, of course. Like, this is Sophie Jordan Catnip. Sophie also recommended hold to Me. So, like, this is all on brand. And she was like. And then. And there are these terrible people. They're all like, in a cage on the ship and they're being kind of tortured by these terrible alien creatures. And it turns out they're gonna be sex trafficked. And I'm like, what is happening? And she's like. And then. And there's like one character and she's the heroine of the book. And she's like. She decides she's gonna fight them. And there's this whole back and forth. And then the ship crashes on a planet full of ice.

A (21:31)

And I was like, okay.

B (21:33)

And she's like, I meant. But they don't have any food. They don't have anything. And like, they're. They've pooped in a bucket. Like, there's just. She's like, covered in like, in like, feces and, like, there's no food. And I'm like, what is this book?

A (21:48)

And you're like, and you're recommending this to me? Why?

B (21:50)

And she's like. And so she's like, I have to go outside. Like, I have to be brave. I have to find. We have to survive. And she goes outside and she walks like an hour. And then she stumbles upon a gigantic blue alien who immediately is like, I'm gonna go down on this creature.

A (22:15)

What?

B (22:17)

She's like. She's like, it's gonna be great.

A (22:20)

You're gonna love it.

B (22:21)

And sure enough, I mean, I immediately downloaded this book because I was like, how?

A (22:25)

What?

B (22:26)

And Sophie was like, sarah, the world building is so good. You're gonna love it. It's so good. And then she said, and I've already read six of them because Ruby put out like the first, like five or six, like one right after another.

A (22:44)

I was really drawn when Sarah said we should do this book. Like, part of the reason I said yes is I do feel like when we do read along books, when we do deep dive books, we tend to pick sort of like straight down the middle. Like, I don't know, like. But this really does live in the bonkers side of the romance continuum.

B (23:03)

It sure does.

A (23:03)

It's really fun to, like, talk about these books. Right?

B (23:06)

Not to put too fine a point on this, but this book is the reason why monster romance had a revolution. Yes, it is the trailblazing monster. It took paranormal and it reinvented it as like these, like, big, soft, caregiving, love pussy goobers, you know, want to eat you out.

A (23:32)

Here's the other thing, though, that this book did. I'm gonna Mia Culp on this because I never would have believed that this would happen. Ruby Dixon sold the print rights to Berkeley and kept her digital rights. And I was like, blessed. And now I was like, excuse me, Listen, I said this. I was like, whom? Whomst among us is going to buy a print copy of a book that they can read in KU for free? 99. And the answer is millions of you dumbasses, all of us. And I love you so. Ah.

B (24:03)

But let me tell you, let me qualify because the book slaps. Yeah. Like, it's so good.

A (24:09)

But I think, like, the whole idea that, like, also that cover was great. Yeah. The whole idea that you could get essentially, like, publishers now looking to Kindle Unlimited as sort of like their slush pile was also an invention of Ruby Dixon.

B (24:26)

Right.

A (24:27)

Like, she really was the one who, I don't know, rode that wave right into, I hope, a swimming pool full of cash.

B (24:34)

That is my hope for her as well, because these books are so.

A (24:37)

They're so fun. They really are.

B (24:39)

And I think part of the reason why they are so fun and part of the reason why this book particularly is so special is because it's very clear that Ruby Dixon understands the beats of a good romance novel. This is not the work of an amateur and also has this kind of real skill in terms of writing. Like there is. This book is very cleverly written. And the structure, not just the plot or the structure or whatever, the actual sentence work is very clever. And we'll get to it, I think. But I think that that is why this book has sort of transcended whatever else was in KU at the time, because it's just. It is. It's very good. It's very well done. This week's episode of Faded Mates is sponsored by Denise Williams, author of the Redo List.

A (25:39)

So Willow experienced all her big firsts, of course, with her high school sweetheart. But now, reeling from their very public breakup, she wants to redo all those important moments. So while dog sitting for her brother during his deployment, she has a chance essentially to, like, start everything over, after deciding that the person who is right to do these with is Deacon, her brother's best friend. Now, Deacon promised his best friend Cruz two things when Cruz left for deployment. One, that he'd look out for Willow, and two, that he would keep his hands off of Willow. So Operation Redo is kind of dangerous for him. Now, it starts off innocently enough. He likes Willow. He wants to help her any way he can. But then those first start turning into seconds, thirds, and fourths. This pair cannot get enough of each other. But there's dummies, right?

B (26:34)

There's an end date.

A (26:35)

Cruz is gonna be coming back to town. And then what's going to happen? Deacon doesn't know. Can he choose between Willow or his best friend? And no Deacon, with no more romantic moments on her list for them to redo, can they make some new, fresh starts together?

B (26:53)

Amazing. Well, if you love a brother's best friend story, this one is for you. You can get the Redo list right now, wherever you get your books in print, ebook, book, or audio. And if your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to Denise Williams for sponsoring this week's episode.

A (27:14)

I think, like, the thing that we're always sort of dancing around is, like, romance is a huge driver of publishing. It now produces thousands of books. It feels like A week. And so, like, kind of like, what has staying power? Is always, like, a really interesting question. And you know what? It's, like, kind of fascinating that here we are ten years later, and we're like, okay, yeah, we can do Ice Planet Barbarians. And everyone is going to be super excited about it because this book is one of those books, right? It has real staying power. And so I think it's just. And listen, I've reread this book a lot. A lot, right? I have, I have. Because it's going to deliver me exactly what I want every time. And every time I am just as delighted reading it again.

B (28:09)

Yes. Right.

A (28:10)

I will say this now. Sarah has already mentioned this. I do think that tonally, the beginning, right, when they're trapped in the bad alien's cargo hold, it is truly upsetting.

B (28:25)

It's dark.

A (28:25)

It's dark. And then I think, though, it's really a powerful way to then show the kind of different world that they're catapulted into.

B (28:36)

Yes.

A (28:37)

And I think the other thing, though, is it's like, there's a lot of smart choices that get made with that world building, right? Like, they can't go back again. They are, you know, somewhere different now, and there's no spaceship back. You know what I mean? And so I think the other thing that's really smart about it is they have, you know, like the sort of switch over to, oh, well, I guess we live on the ice planet now. You know what I mean?

B (29:04)

It happens pretty fast.

A (29:05)

And I'm not mad about it. Am I mad about other things? We'll get to it. Not mad. There was one part where I was like, oh, but every time. I'm like, you've already mentioned it. Maybe I could just talk about, you know, I really wanted her to have a bath before, you know, he went down on her.

B (29:22)

But, you know, it's fine. For a long, long time, everybody. This was referred to as that book with poop cunnilingus. For me, like, I would say. I'd say. I would tell people, I'd be like.

A (29:31)

You'Re gonna love it.

B (29:32)

You just get through the poop cunnilingus part. Correct.

A (29:37)

Okay, so now you know everybody.

B (29:39)

That's how good it is, is I got through the poop cunningus part. I mean, also, everybody. Everybody listening who knows anything about me is like, sarah, of course you did. You heard that and you were like, I'm gonna get that book. Not because I was intrigued by that concept, but because I was like, now listen, how could somebody Write that into a book and also make me want to read more.

A (29:57)

Sure. Exactly.

B (29:59)

And in. So I want to get to. Let's get into it, so.

A (30:03)

Well, you kind of have given the whole point. I gave you the sort of.

B (30:07)

So that's the tee up. Right? I gave you the tee up. So Georgie, our heroine, is like, you know, traipsing through Ice planet, which she refers to as not Hoth.

A (30:23)

Right.

B (30:24)

Because it's like Hoth in Star wars, but it's not Hoth.

A (30:28)

Yeah. Now, I will say one other thing. The other smart thing is it literally the book puts all of the other women she crash landed with. Like, she leaves them in the right. Like, they're injured enough that they can't, like, walk with her. They can't go with her, so she has to go out on her own. Right. They're all just.

B (30:45)

She's the only one able to. Whatever. There's also like some number of women in pods. Like, it's all very. You know, I think Ruby was sort of like, I need a lot of women to crash on this island.

A (30:59)

Listen, what I love is like a regular romance author is like, oh, okay, it's gonna be three friends. And Ruby Dixon was like, how about 25, you bitches?

B (31:08)

She's like, I know what needs to happen.

A (31:12)

I am gonna put so many women in this hold.

B (31:15)

Because the other thing is this book is not long. And that's good because it shouldn't be. It is very tightly plotted. It's very, like, clear. There's a clear, quick structure to it. So she is so, so off Georgie goes. And then she gets into. So she. And then she meets her alien. Right? Now listen, the alien and Georgie do not speak the same language. And this is where truly, like, this is where the rubber meets the road for me, for this book. And it is actually where I had a moment where I was like, ruby Dixon is not brand new.

A (31:53)

No.

B (31:53)

Because look at this genius. It's dual pov. And the decision to do that is inspired. But when the characters are. When we are in the hero's point of view, he is like, look, he's like 8ft tall.

A (32:13)

Oh, yeah.

B (32:14)

And he is looking down at this, like, what he refers to as like a flat face, like, tiny pale creature.

A (32:20)

With no hair on it.

B (32:23)

And she's like, jabbering, like. And he. All he can hear is, like, just noise coming from her. But he doesn't. He doesn't perceive it as language at all. And when Ruby writes the words, the dialogue, she writes Georgie sort of blathering at him. Like, just making sounds.

A (32:46)

Yeah.

B (32:47)

And we as. As English speakers, see the sound and understand what she's saying.

A (32:54)

Right.

B (32:55)

Even though, like, the language and it. What's fascinating about it is, yes, obviously you could do, like. Obviously, this is not like a complex. A complex thing to be able to do as a writer. However, I don't think it. You don't really slow down reading.

A (33:12)

Oh, no.

B (33:12)

Like, it's a very. Like, I don't have. I didn't have to go back and, like, sound anything out. It made. Made perfect sense. She's so this. And this is where I. I was like, oh, this book is special. Like, something is going on in this book. Like, this is. I'm in the hands of somebody who really knows what they're doing.

A (33:31)

Yeah. Yeah. I also would like to say that, like, the dialogue, like, it's just like, like, I laughed a lot when reading this.

B (33:42)

Funny.

A (33:42)

It's super fucking funny. And there's like, it's very funny because you're kind. I don't know. I. Oh, what a.

B (33:48)

Well, she also has this great way of thinking to, like, her internal dialogue with herself when she's like, I really shouldn't be, like, just letting this giant monster creature go down on me. But it's kind of nice. Yeah, I know.

A (34:04)

Like, nothing else has gone right for me these past days.

B (34:08)

Well, might as well.

A (34:11)

Okay, so there's like, another part of the plot, though, that is interesting, especially to us, which is these are, like, also fated mate stories. So.

B (34:20)

Yeah.

A (34:21)

Right. So the deal is, is, like, okay, this ice planet is freezing, so cold. No one's going to school. No one is standing on the L platform. And the, like, band of, like, kind of the clan of survivors. Right. Has recently experienced some kind of illness that has, like, swept through. And there's really only, like, young kind of men, like, hunters left. Four women. Yeah.

B (34:52)

And three of them are mated. No, two of them are mated. One of them isn't. And one of them is a child.

A (34:57)

Yes. So essentially, the Vectel is our hero and he's like their leader. And he understands that realistically, he's like, they're the last band of survivors on this planet and they won't survive because there's no way for them literally to, like, to do that, like, mathematically speaking. Right.

B (35:21)

So a spaceship full of women.

A (35:23)

Yes. Fertile. You know, it's fate. So they have, in order to survive this, like, super cold climate, have a symbiotic sort of relationship with this thing. They look all like the cootie the women just like the cooey, I guess, and you essentially, they have to kill this huge animal and then you pull these things out and then like, you know, I don't know, you stick it in their ear or whatever and they like, like, you know, and it keeps you warm and it turns your eyes blue and it's like. Which is like a real romance thing. And you know, and then you can survive the like freezing cold temperatures, but otherwise you're definitely gonna die in this place.

B (36:02)

Well, because there's also something in the atmosphere, right, that's killing.

A (36:06)

Like, you will get like.

B (36:07)

Like they sort of know you have, I don't know, six or seven days and then you're gonna die if you don't have one of these things. And also that creature y thing is how you know your fated mate.

A (36:22)

Yes. So you will like resonate, essentially these. The Cuis will recognize each other and then you'll sort of resonate and that will be the way that you know. And you can't. There's no undoing that because now this is all by the way, everybody, it's like real. If you're not like into gender essentialism, right, this might not be for you, but if essentially what Vectel describes her essentially at one point, you'll hear how that happens later is my. You'll resonate with the thing that you are a good match for in terms of bearing children. Now, what's interesting to me is it's not really clear if this is like a secondary talent of these things. Like, we understand this is what you really need. Like, we're going to keep you warm and we're going to do whatever. We're also going to help you do this because that's how you're going to survive in this place. But, you know, that's the deal. Like, Right. Like, you're going to resonate with like the. The man in this case, like the alien, the hunter, who's going to be your best bet at getting knocked up. And so the whole thing here is really tied into like fertility and, you know, like growing this band of small band of survivors of aliens together, et cetera. But I didn't really mind it. I feel like as long as, you know, going in that that's what it's doing.

B (37:48)

I mean, it's a very. It's a type of book like.

A (37:51)

Exactly.

B (37:52)

You don't go into this for. Not this.

A (37:59)

This week's episode of Fated Mates is brought to you by the Wild Rose Press, publishers of Simplicity by the Sea by Jennifer Vita.

B (38:08)

So our heroine, Delaney Huger, has been a high powered marketing executive in the Virginia wine community for years and she really loves that work. She, it feels, you know, she feels rewarded by it. She makes a lot of money, she's very fancy, and she's just planning on a quick trip back to her hometown, Gull island for a wedding. Gull island is a low con in the low country Carolina. She starts to slow down because that's what everybody does there. And she starts to really question the life she's built and what comes next. And what comes next. Jen is charter captain Luke Sullivan, who has built himself a very quiet, very predictable, very small town life on Gull island, where he's raising his daughter as a single dad and growing his business. But when he hits this wedding and Delaney Huger is there, she's pretty captivating and she's stirring something in him that he thought he buried, making him wonder if he also has a new beginning in his future. And maybe these two crazy kids will chart a new course toward love.

A (39:22)

I love it. So if you would like to check out Simplicity by the Sea, it is available right now in print and ebook. And if your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to the Wild Rose Press and Jennifer Vito for sponsoring this week's episode.

B (39:42)

There are some really clever choices that are made here. So basically the story, this book. So there are, I don't know, 20, maybe Ice Planet Barbarians books now.

A (39:54)

Oh, I mean, it's 20.

B (39:56)

There are spinoff stories too, and other planets and like all sorts of things. But like, I think the core group is like, I don't know, 16 or 20. And the interesting thing about this is that, that you sort of tear when you start with Ice Planet Barbarians. You sort of tear through the first however many, and then you're. Then you're like, well, how, how many of the, like, how is she going to expand this, right? Like how many more versions of these two are resonating to each other on a kind of deserted planet? Is it is going, you know, can there be? And I think what's really interesting and the way that she answers that question, aside from ultimately she does expand the planet, they explore, they find other parts of the planet. Like there's a whole thing over the course of the series. But Ruby has a very like, great talent of keeping the, holding the reins really tight in the story. So the instinct in the hands of, I think a lesser monster romance, alien romance author would be to Let Georgie kind of explore this community, this society, this, like, space, and see more. But instead, like, Ruby really keeps the walls, like, very tight around the crashed ship, which is like a day's walk from the cave where the.

A (41:29)

The.

B (41:30)

The community of barbarians live. And then there is this sort of sense. And the structure of the book is very simple. Georgie and Vectal meet, they fuck. He's basically like, you're my mate. You're going to die within seven days if you don't get this thingy.

A (41:50)

Yeah.

B (41:50)

She's like, but wait a second, I want bottle. I want a choice. And he's like, like, cool, cool. Let's just do it more. And then you decide. And then, you know, they go back to camp. Yeah. Because he needs to find a bunch of warriors.

A (42:09)

Yeah.

B (42:09)

Right. To go and hunt this beastie.

A (42:12)

Yes.

B (42:13)

To get 25. Not 25. It's like 11 of these, like, cootie things. Then they go back to the girls on the ship and, like, it's all very kind of tightly confined to that world, you know, like the actual. He carries her everywhere. She's like a backpack, like. Cause she's so little and he's so big. And so I think there's a lot. And then I think what she really did is she. And this is such a. For the writers who listen. I know, like, sometimes I get in the weeds about the writing of a series, but. But, you know, often, like, the biggest pitfall in writing a series is you put too much on the page in the early books.

A (42:58)

Yeah. And then you're really. And then you're tied to it.

B (43:01)

Stuck. You're like, well, I don't know what to do. This book has to be like. Like, I can't change where he lives. Or, like, how the structure of the world is or whatever. And so what. But what Ruby really does is she answers every question with a very, like, tight, the most elegant of answers. So, for example, a lot of information has to get out about, like, we as readers, right, have tons of questions. What is this planet? Who are these people? How does it work? Why is everybody getting sick? Like, we have a ton of questions. She does not speak the language of these creatures.

A (43:38)

Right.

B (43:39)

So, like, how are we going to get those answers without it being a massive info dump on the part of the hero? And they find they sleep overnight in what he refers to as, like, the.

A (43:50)

Cave of the elder. Caves. Yeah, but she.

B (43:54)

And so they're, like, in there, like, laying on. I don't know, they're doing it. And she's Like, I see lights. And he's like, oh, yeah, those are the stars. And she's like, no, I. No, no, you dummy.

A (44:04)

This is a fucking ship.

B (44:06)

She's like, this is a spaceship. And he's like, what's a spaceship? And I mean, this is one of those great moments in romance and like a real callback to old school romance where, like, he has brute strength on his side, but she's the brains of the operation.

A (44:23)

Correct? Right.

B (44:24)

And she turns on this ship, and this ship, very cleverly is able to teach you a foreign language just by like instantly, right?

A (44:37)

Like it gives you a headache. Like Keanu Reeves in the Matrix. Like, I know kung fu.

B (44:42)

Right.

A (44:42)

It's like that. I mean, I think she even like falls over. Right?

B (44:46)

Yeah.

A (44:47)

One of the things I found myself thinking is a lot about world building, which I, everybody, I'm sorry to admit, have usually very little patience for. It's typically why I like sci fi more than fantasy generally because I am always just kind of like, okay, so it's space, it's fine. Right. I don't really need to think that much about, you know, kind of creating all that world, like this alien. Just do that. Great. And it's not to say that there isn't world building in sci fi, but I feel like you can really, like, cut some corners where in fantasy, I think you really are having, you know, I. I respect the game of a fantasy writer because I think they have way more things they're considering. So it's kind of like Ruby, I think, is really saying, like, okay, there's a couple things I need to, like, solve. I need to solve a couple problems in order to get people to like, believe in this, this. And it starts off with one of the women who has been kidnapped has been given some sort of translator device right from the jump. And so it really is seeding the reader with the idea that this technology exists. And we understand that, like, somehow, you know, everyone is gonna have to, you know, get the. Get some sort of translator chip installed. Right. So it's like right from the beginning, we're sort of told, okay, like, this is technology that exists. Don't. You know? And then I can like, sort of not worry about it. I can just enjoy.

B (46:13)

Don't worry about it. It's not your business.

A (46:15)

Right. I can just enjoy, you know, Georgie being like, what the fuck is this? Right.

B (46:20)

And this ship is also like, it's like, as you know, Bob, Right?

A (46:25)

Yeah.

B (46:26)

Which is like shorthand for those of you who don't know, like, they're you know, on TV often, like, there will be a moment where a character says, well, as you know, this building that we're in every day, you know, works in this. Interesting to tell the viewer, right. We call that, as you know, Bob, and this ship is there. So that when Georgie has a question, for example, like, who are these creatures? Where did they come from? The ship is like, well, let me tell you this. You know, the biological name of these creatures is such and such. And they came from this many parsecs away and they crash landed here. And now this is all there is, you know, and then. And so all of a sudden you're just like, oh, it's like being. Information just washes over you like a soothing wave.

A (47:17)

There also is like a really brilliant way in which is playing around with, like, how an outsider has questions that an insider never considers. Right. Vectal, this is just his people. This is where they live. This is, you know, he can think back however many generations. This is just who they are. And Georgie is the first person to be like, how'd they get here? Vectal's like, wait, what do you mean? What do you mean? This is where my people came from? What? And so I really. I think that's the other thing that's like really brilliant about the book is when you put a new, you know, like the fish out of water, right, which is Storgy, onto the ice planet. It can be a bit of a drag to have that person constantly not knowing or. Right. And so to put her in the position of learning things about him that even he didn't know. Right.

B (48:14)

I think it puts her. She's the brains of the operation. She's just, I mean, from the beginning, Georgie is a very clever character. Like, she gets a. I mean, she gets on this ship, she's abducted into this ship. We actually don't really know anything about the world. She came, like, what? She came from like, like Florida.

A (48:34)

You know what I mean? Yeah.

B (48:35)

She wakes up, she's like, well, it might be better than Florida. And like that's, you know, and that's that. And then, you know, and the other characters on the ship are all, you know, they all have their own sort of very distinct kind of. There are distinct personalities, but Georgie automatically becomes like leader.

A (48:54)

Yeah.

B (48:54)

And. And it's interesting because she's one of the fl. Last people to join to be a group. And she's sort of like, well, why are we just like tolerating this? Like, why aren't we fighting? Why aren't we, whatever. Like she has a real fire to her. And then there is this kind of when they land and she's the one who goes out and then she meets him and she's the one who's like asking questions, pushing him. She's always reminding him even before she speaks his language. Like, we have to go back up to the ship. Like I've left. She's very aware of like the, the women she's left like the world that she, like she has the promises she's made. She is the protector of this group.

A (49:40)

Yeah.

B (49:40)

She's very, she's a very compelling heroine because again, like the instinct, I think for a lot of authors in this exact situation would be to make her like weaker.

A (49:53)

Yeah.

B (49:53)

And she, she is so strong.

A (49:55)

Right.

B (49:56)

And then it makes sense of course that like she partner she is, she resonates with the leader of the clan.

A (50:05)

Right.

B (50:06)

So ultimately we know that Georgie and Vectel will take care of everybody. Like they're, they are, they are in on the same path. They walk the same path. And I think the other thing that's really interesting and I wonder a lot about whether this is because Ruby was in charge of this book.

A (50:28)

Right. Like I knew. Yeah.

B (50:30)

Like she was going to put this out, it was going to be self published. She could put as many as she wanted out. Right.

A (50:36)

Yeah.

B (50:37)

So she starts laying really interesting breadcrumbs right from the beginning. Like there is no hesitation here of like, will I get into their contract? I don't know.

A (50:47)

Right.

B (50:47)

Like she starts talking like she lays enemies out who like we never see over the course of this book, but we will, we expect to. Or we see them. What we get a glimpse of them. But we like know they'll return, they'll come back in it later.

A (51:03)

The bad aliens, you mean?

B (51:04)

Yeah, those like monkey creature things.

A (51:08)

Well, there's like the bad aliens who crash landed.

B (51:12)

It's like. And somebody says like they're gonna come back for us. They don't come back during this book.

A (51:17)

Sure. But like death's hanging out there and then on the planet themselves. They're sort of like the monkey like creatures, Meklecs or something. Right. And so, yeah, like there's dangers in the world as well. Of course. Yeah.

B (51:32)

But also. But like she doesn't concern herself with like putting those things. These are not, these are cheap Chekhov's guns for the series. They are not Chekhov's guns for this episode.

A (51:44)

Right.

B (51:45)

And in that sense it makes me think of. And I wonder, you know, there are a lot of Questions that I have for Ruby Dixon. I don't know her, but if I ever got a chance to speak with her, I have a lot of questions. And one of the big questions is, and I don't think this will resonate with you, Jen, but for people who are listening, who have watched the show Firefly, I often think, like, is Ruby a Firefly fan? Because the kind of laying of the seeds of the Reavers in Firefly, which are, like the big bads of these, like, terrifying. Very, like, very, very scary, like, villains in the context of that series who you almost never see.

A (52:28)

Right.

B (52:28)

I think you only ever see their faces one time. Feels very much like what Ruby's doing here. Like, she has these kinds of. This instinct to, like, drop a villain or drop a bad character or bad. A sort of scary creature.

A (52:45)

Yeah.

B (52:45)

Ominous. How about that? An ominous thing. And then just like, let it sit there and someday we'll get back to it. And we do. We always come back to it.

A (52:55)

Right.

B (52:57)

But I think this is a world that she. There is a fearlessness to this book and to the whole series that comes from, I think, being able to be in charge of the whole thing. Soup to nuts.

A (53:13)

Right, Right. Yeah, I agree. I think that the other thing that I really. Okay, so, like, the plotting of it is so tight and so pleasing and so fun, but it's also, I don't know, there's a way in which, like. Okay, so it's interesting because, like, that first scene on the spaceship, like I said, it's dark, it's scary. It's honestly really, like, intense. Right. Like, one of the women is dragged away, and, like, there's some bad aliens who sexually assault her, and they all, like, Right. Are terrified to speak for, like, you know, they're going to be essentially singled out. I mean, so it's really scary. And then once they, like, land on the planet, it. It's almost like. There's like a. Almost like a sitcom kind of, like, vibe to a lot of, like, what's going on. Right. So there's like an ongoing bit where Vectal keeps bringing her food. She's just like, fire.

B (54:15)

Yeah, you gotta cook that shit.

A (54:17)

That shit. And, you know, and he's like. In his point of view, like, why does she want me to ruin in this food?

B (54:24)

He keeps saying it. When he finally described the best moment, one of the best scenes in this whole book is when he describes humans to the rest of the aliens, right? And he's like, they. And one of the things he says is they Only eat food when you've cooked the flavor out of it. This week's episode of Faded Mates is sponsored by Blue Box Press.

A (54:49)

Hey, are you looking for your next happily ever after? Sarah? Just open the blue box.

B (54:54)

Oh, clever.

A (54:57)

That's their, their website doing the job for me.

B (55:00)

That's them being clever.

A (55:01)

It is them being clever. So everybody, Blue Box Press published 1001 Dark Nights and now that they've closed that sort of imprint, they're doing some really fun new refreshes for 2026. So we're talking about a couple cool things you can check out this week. So Jennifer Armentrout has special edition paperbacks of her Blood and Ash series. These are coming out with sprayed edges and embossed and glossy cover design elements. For those people that already love that series, you can just get some fun new prints of them from new reprints. And then we have Donna Grant's Dragon King series is going to be re released with new content under the Blue Box Press label as is Heather granted crew of Hunter and Cafferty and Quinn series. So this will also have like some fun new reprints, new content, sort of everything you can do to like just like get a fun refresh on some of these authors that you really love from the Blue Box Press family.

B (56:00)

Blue Box Press publishes contemporary romance, paranormal romance, romantasy and romantic suspense. So they really can deliver on whatever you are in the mood for, romance wise. You can find more information about all of these books and the other books from Blue Box Press at their website theblueboxpress.com that's theblueboxpress.com and if your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken there to check out these books. Thanks to Blue Box Press, Donna Grant, Jennifer Armentrout and Heather Grant for sponsoring this week's episode.

A (56:40)

Like, thematically speaking, there's like a lot of big things Ruby Dixon is like taking on and like discussing, right? So like one is of course about like freedom, right? Like literally like what is it you're free to do or not do both for, for both of them. And it's like, you know, the responsibility you have to yourself, like the things you want versus the responsibility to your people, right? And then I think like another big part of though is like as the books go on, especially the first, like five or six, what you get is like, okay, each individual love story is really set against the expanding like way the community has to change in response to these new members, all of whom have very different ideas about what it means to live a good life.

B (57:35)

Life. Correct.

A (57:37)

Right. And it's. It's truly fascinating. Yeah, right. It really, really is. And it's. And it starts off with the small stuff, right, about like, you know, you know, what I like to eat versus what you like to eat. But once they can all speak each other's language, like, right. Like there's these caves that they live in that are, like, warmer and they, like, rapidly outgrow, right, like, sort of the caves and have to, like, sort of create like a spin off society. And, you know, it's really interesting. It's like each time it's like a little bit of a different. I don't know, like. Okay, now I'm gonna put this pin in motion. Now I'm gonna put this one in.

B (58:16)

Yeah. And always with the sort of a fated mate story that cannot. You know, I talk a lot about that Pamela Palmer series whenever we talk about beta mates, right, because there's, you know, Pamela Palmer wrote this series. The first book was called Desire Untamed, Feral Feral Warriors, I think was the name of the series. And I love the first book in this series because the concept is all of the. It's all fated mates, right? Like, there's. It's a group of men, again, a lot of sort of gender essentialism in these. But, you know, a group of males and one woman who channels the sort of paranormal energy to all.

A (58:59)

They all have power.

B (59:00)

They're all shifters and they all have power. But, like, there's one woman in the. Who is in every generation and she's like, essentially the battery for all of their power. And she gains her power from, you know, being mated to one of these warriors, right? And they fuck and she gets powerful. Great, fine, no notes.

A (59:21)

But.

B (59:22)

But one of the reasons why I really love that book is because she's like, there's one sort of activated in every generation. The prior one dies. This lady's just like, living her life in the suburbs of D.C. and in comes a lion shifter. And he's like, you're our next battery. And she's like, oh, okay. And then he goes with. She goes with him. You know, he basically, like, packs her up and takes her, you know, to where they live and they. They mate. Like, they sort of. He's like, they are fair. They are feral for each other. On the way back to the thing, and he's like, we're definitely mates. Like, there's no question, like, the way that I feel about you, the way my body responds to you. Like, we're mates. It's. We just have to go through the ceremony for. It's like paperwork. And they go through the ceremony and she's actually mated to a different man in the group.

A (60:13)

Right.

B (60:14)

And like, there's this sort of like, shattering moment. And the reason why I bring this up is because I really love that push pull of fated mates. Like, you know, I. There's that Kate C. Wells. Kate C. Wells one where it's like the, the rejected mate one. And like, I love. We are fated mates, but it isn't working.

A (60:37)

Yeah.

B (60:39)

And how do we get around that? Like, and what does that mean? And how do, like, do we stay together? Do we know what is the push pull of it? And I think that this, like, resonance in this case in Ice Planet Barbarians, the book. These two are resonating for each other. They are hot for each other. It all works out. That's not a hurdle.

A (61:00)

Right, Right.

B (61:00)

The hurdle for this is, is Georgie going to choose this or is she going to spend the rest of her time on this planet, possibly forever, trying to get back?

A (61:11)

Yeah, right, right.

B (61:12)

And to what? You know, but I think, like, Ruby finds all the different permutations of fated mates in these books. And, like, there is. There are ones where, like, they don't like each other.

A (61:27)

Yes.

B (61:28)

You know, and what does that mean?

A (61:31)

Yeah.

B (61:31)

And how do we change? Like, how do we make, you know, I think last week we had Jane Ann Krentz on when she talked about, about, like, how shotgun weddings, like, really are like, you and me against the world. Like, you have to learn how to work together in order to survive. Like the marriage in those books. And I think this gets to that same push pull. Like, we, if our like creatures say it's us.

A (61:58)

Right.

B (61:59)

How much freedom do we have to ourselves? Yeah.

A (62:05)

Right.

B (62:06)

And as you said, I think all, almost all of the women in these books are like, I have all the freedom. Like, I come from freedom.

A (62:13)

Yeah.

B (62:14)

Yes. And the men are like, we need a society like you.

A (62:21)

Listen, I had a great time reading this book, but I, I would not say, like, the first one is like my favorite. Right. Like, and I think, like, I'm interested then in. And listen, I don't even know that I've read them all. You know what I mean? Like, I really not read all of.

B (62:39)

Them now, but I have read the first, like 10.

A (62:42)

Yes, I would agree, but I didn't read them all for this. But there are, there are ones that are like, I lean more towards. And I think it's really interesting because One of my favorites is one where essentially. Hold on, let me. I'm like. I looked this up because I wanted to, like, know the right title. And then, of course, I forgot. One of the things that I think is really interesting is like, kind of like, what's your favorite? Like, I wonder if it could be, like, almost like a mood ring. Like, your favorite is the one that says something about you. Okay, so Sarah mentioned earlier that there was, like, kind of women in pods. So basically what we find out is that the bad aliens who'd been kidnapping people were only supposed to take a certain amount of women, but they, like, realized that they could double dip. And so they had a bunch of women who were kind of loose and then other ones in these pods. And so at some point, they. These women go back and are like, okay, by the way, we have kind of keeping a little fun secret from you, which is that there's a bunch more of these women who have been, like, in stasis. Right. And one of my favorites then is that there's these two sisters who had been sort of in stasis, and. And Maddie. And, like, Lila. And Maddie had always been Lila's protector. I think Lila was the one who maybe had, like. Like, couldn't hear as well. Had, like, a disability. And her sister, like, essentially finds her mate first, and then Maddie is kind of like, but wait, I don't know how to be in the world if I'm not Lila's protector. And I'm not the one who. Right. Like, I've always been the one who figured it out first. And Lila was behind me, and now it's opposite here, and she's really kind of a mess. And meanwhile, her mate Hasan is the one who essentially, like, tried kidnapping someone.

B (64:41)

Yep.

A (64:42)

Lots of, you know, because he was so desperate for him.

B (64:45)

You gotta have listen, right? There are only so many. As I said, there are only so many versions of this story.

A (64:52)

Right. And he has been essentially out outcast. He has to still hunt on behalf of the clan, but he himself is not welcome anymore until he makes restitution for what he did. And then these two go off on an adventure together. And I really. This is one of my favorites because I think it really speaks to the idea of, like, okay, so what do you do if you're the outsider in this tightly knit group of. Of, you know, people, and you fuck up so badly that they're like, get out on the ice planet. Yep. Yeah, we're into it. Right. And so there are some that are just really more fun for different and fun. Right?

B (65:37)

So my favorite is. Actually, I realized I've read a lot more of these than I thought. Because my favorite is number 17, okay. And it's Barbarian seduction. And you can hear me talk about. This is the book I asked. I was on Ice planet Pod with Dani, and she said, pick whatever book. And I was like, it's number 17. And listen, here is why. Because I like to obviously edge myself pretty bad in romance and in this book, in Ice planet Barbarians, when then they get the group of aliens to go. Or barbarians to go back to the ship to rescue the women, there is a throwaway line where the. All the men are like, standing around and the girls are all like, coming out. And one of them resonates and Vector turns around and. Because Georgie has basically been like, hang on a second.

A (66:35)

Yeah, right.

B (66:35)

We bring all these assholes up there to this place where these girls, like, don't know anything about what's going on. They're gonna think it's open season. And it's not. Like, that's not happening. And Vectel, of course, and I want to come back around to heroes and like, what. How Ruby, like, writes this particular kind of hero. Vectel is like, absolutely not. You are in charge, Georgie. Of like, how this all goes. Like, I know obviously no one is allowed to touch any of these women until, like, without consent. And it's like articulated in a very clear way. So they get up there and they're all like. All these big blue dummies are standing around and the door opens and like, out come out come all these, like, women who haven't showered. It's fine and all. And they. And. And Vecty hears, yeah, somebody is resonating, like, yeah. And he turns around and he's like, who's resonating? And then immediately it stops. So I guess you can, like, control it. And so. And then. And nobody cops to it, right? And then 17 books later, we meet Marlene and Zenuck and Mar. This is the one. So Marlene was on the original. On the original ship, obviously. And she's like. She is probably the girl who is most. Most forward. Like, she is like, I. She's very happy, genuinely, like a. Like a kind of like, positive person, loves sex and is like, sees Zenuck kind of who is the most introverted, quiet, like, lives on the edge of the tribe. And she goes. She aims for him. And it turns out that he has been resonating to her since the moment he saw her.

A (68:33)

Like, I don't know if I read this one.

B (68:35)

And you won't like it because he's a virgin.

A (68:38)

Well, I mean, Sarah, I mean, I'm willing to, like, cut the man some slack since there literally are no ladies for him to be with.

B (68:45)

I guess that's true.

A (68:48)

It does seem a little bit different.

B (68:49)

You might like it because it does sort of ring true to the.

A (68:53)

Like that. What's it?

B (68:55)

Demon.

A (68:56)

Demon from the dark. Right.

B (68:58)

Demon from the dark. Malcolm.

A (69:00)

I'm willing to give this after dark. I'm. I mean, I guess some virgins must exist on the ice planet.

B (69:08)

Fine. Yeah. So he's a virgin. And also he's, like, shy and quiet and he doesn't, like, ever. He's. He does not make waves. And she's basically like, you. It's you. And he's like, it is me. And it's actually very cute. She's also French, which is fun because, like, again, it's sort of this, like, these girls came from all over the planet, so they can't all be Americans.

A (69:33)

Right.

B (69:35)

Anyway, I really like that one. Barbarian seduction. And I think that there is something very, like, fun about diving into a world. You know, obviously we started this podcast to talk about a paranormal world. And definitely, like every, you know, the bigger the paranormal series get, the broader the worlds. But it feels like what has. What happens in this series is it really does broaden. Like, yeah, she. You know, they turn a corner in this series and like, boom, there's a whole other tribe of people that they didn't know existed because they never left their case far enough to try until these women came and showed them and sort of forced them to do that to take the risk of adventure. And I love that for this series. I think this series does it. I think Ruby is really turning. She is really twisting the paranormal archetypes in a really interesting way. Like, these heroines are very strong, largely, and the heroes. And this is where I want to get back to. Vectel is built like an old school romance hero. He's the, like, chief of his clan.

A (70:57)

Yes. Right.

B (70:58)

Like, we.

A (70:59)

All I want to do is save them.

B (71:01)

Yeah, we've seen this before. Except he is so gone for her so quickly and, like, in such a really, like, innocent, trusting way. Like, the thing vibrates and so this is it. Yeah, I don't know. I've never seen one of these flat face, naked, like, hairless things before.

A (71:22)

But he is under a bush, though. Yeah, he.

B (71:27)

And that's when he describes it, when.

A (71:29)

He describes a little, like, tuft of hair or something and a Third nipple. He's like, what does this thing do?

B (71:36)

And when he describes it to all the other men, it's really gives. It's giving. In Sleepless in Seattle, when Tommy says to Rob Reiner, someone's want me to.

A (71:46)

Do it to her.

B (71:47)

Yeah, someone's gonna want me to do tiramisu to her, and I'm not gonna.

A (71:50)

Know what it is.

B (71:51)

Like, it really feels.

A (71:52)

It really does. That's true.

B (71:54)

Like that. Anyway, point is, there is a moment kind of of, I don't know, halfway through where they have, like this. They're inside the elder cave and she's just figured out, like, she's asking the cave questions and the ship is telling her, like, this is the story. And she's. This is when she really realizes, like, if she accepts this, the cooey and accepts him, like, that's the end of everything she's known. Like, it starts. Everything starts fresh again in this moment, right? And she's having a kind of, you know, understandable crisis of.

A (72:35)

Life, right?

B (72:36)

And he's like, you have to stay. And in his head, he's like, you have to. Like, I'm. We are partnered. Like, you're here. There's no leaving.

A (72:48)

Like the right.

B (72:49)

You stay now. And we love each other, right? And she's like, but I don't know you, and I don't know this place and this isn't my home. And you know, all the things. And Ruby, in that moment, like, this was. This is built, right? It's classic, classic built. It's built structurally exactly like old school romances, right? And in that. But in that moment, we're in his head, which is exactly where we should be.

A (73:15)

Yeah.

B (73:16)

And he said to us, right, well, he would go with her, right?

A (73:22)

Like, that was.

B (73:23)

That's it. Like, I mean, if she leaves the planet, he's leaving with her. And God knows what's out there, but.

A (73:29)

That'S the way it has to go, right?

B (73:30)

That's how it is. Like, if she chooses to leave, he'll leave with her. And it's like, so fresh. Which of course, now everybody listening who's started reading romance in the last five years is like, what are you talking about? It's so fresh.

A (73:45)

It is. It was. Yeah, right?

B (73:47)

This was really fresh. Like a hero who didn't have to be put through the wringer to discover this about, like, listen, in 2015 or in, you know, prior to that, the heroes always ultimately come to this moment. If you leave, I leave with you. Like, what you want is more important than Anything I could possibly want or need.

A (74:06)

Right.

B (74:07)

But that's endgame in earlier romances. And. And in this, like, Ruby really starts the work. I think this is not. And obviously it's not the first book, it's not the only book, but it is a book where she really lays it on the table that he is going to sacrifice for her, he'll do whatever it takes, and it's not even going to be difficult for him. Right.

A (74:31)

Yeah.

B (74:32)

And there's something very cool about that as a. And I think that's why these monsters, and I mean, alien romance, monster romance really had a really started boom after this series happened. And we've talked a lot about how monster romance and paranormal romance are not the same.

A (74:51)

Right.

B (74:52)

They do not live on the same branch of the tree.

A (74:55)

Right.

B (74:55)

Though I think a lot of people think they do. And that is because, like, in paranormal, the heroes are monsters and in monsters they look like monsters.

A (75:06)

Right.

B (75:07)

But they are actually heroes.

A (75:08)

Right? Right. No, I think that's exactly right. Yeah. I mean, I think the thing that's also really interesting about this series, right, and this book in particular maybe, is I was really interested in, I don't know, like, so there's. One of the other women is named Liz, and she is essentially like, kind of like Georgie second, you know what I mean? Like, she's the one who, you know, when. I think when Georgie first wakes up, is the one who's sort of like, don't make any noise and like, is kind of telling her what's going on. And she's the one who essentially tells Georgie, like, kind of like, what do you mean? You don't know why? You're the leader. You're the one who is coming up with a plan and not afraid to. To sort of pursue it. And I think it really also speaks to one of the things that I always have really loved about romance in a series, which is that you can.

B (76:15)

Show.

A (76:17)

Off characters for their strengths without having to make them all the same. Right. And so, like, Liz is the one who, like, recognizes, like, Georg, like, right. It, like, kind of recognizes what Georgie's up to. And in particular, essentially they're gonna, like, try and it's a very way back at the very beginning, they're gonna sort of try to escape the. The alien pod. Like, right. Georgie has come up with a whole fucking plan. And just as they go to, like, implement it, the. The. The ship, like, sort of crashes, right. So they kind of have a sense of what's going on. It really reminded me a lot Of. Of in some ways, like the. What did we call it? Right. What did we call it for iad? Like, Monster Island? No, what were we called? Right. Like, she's like, we're going to get out of here. And she has a whole plan, and a lot of the other women have told her that they're going to be a part of it. And yet when, like, push comes to shove, she sort of really realizes she's, like, alone.

B (77:25)

Yeah, she doesn't. They don't have the level of bravery that she does.

A (77:28)

Right. Or, like, the level of, like, listen, our lives are over anyway, so why not take this chance?

B (77:37)

Yeah, right. Well, also, do you feel a little bit there? I want. I want you to keep going. But I want to say here. Do you feel like that's a little bit. Again, very clever characterization because I think it comes partially from. From Georgie hasn't been on this ship as long as everybody else. She hasn't seen the shit that they have all seen.

A (77:56)

Right, right.

B (77:57)

I mean, she's seen some shit like those first. Listen, those first couple chapters. There's some very dark stuff in there.

A (78:04)

Yeah, yeah, there really is. And I think that that is. But I think, like, that's almost in some ways what we see is that inspires her rather than then shuts her down. Like, she's right. That's the part where she's like, listen, our lives are over anyway, so we might as well.

B (78:24)

It's a horror movie. If you're going to go out, go out fighting.

A (78:26)

Yeah, right. Like, it's like, I'm the final girl, only it's the beginning of the book now. What? Yeah, and I think, like, the part I like is, like, Liz, I think, is her, like, sort of counterpart who, like, Liz, essentially is injured. That's why, like, Liz doesn't go out, like, once they crash land, like, doesn't go with her. Liz is like, I'm going to stay back and try and keep everybody calm here. But there's this great part at the end where, like, I think. I'm pretty sure Liz's book must be next where she sort of says, like, sort of talks about how she was like an archer when she was in high school. And she really is like, when all of the other hunters are hunting this big thing, she's kind of like, I wish I had a bow and arrow. And you realize, like, oh, okay. So, like, George, what Georgie has is. Is, like the smarts and the. I don't know, like, the bravery. But what, like, Liz is gonna have is, like, actual Hunting skills. Right. Kira is the one, I think, who has, like, the, you know, like, already that, like, those first six women all have, like, something very distinctive that we can see is, like, gonna play a part in, like, their romance. And what I was sort of expecting is like, okay, well, in book number two, Liz is gonna want to be a hunter, but they're not gonna let her because she's a girl. You know what I mean? And then, like, well, what's gonna happen to not only their expectations, but ours as readers? Right. And I think that's why your vector point made me think of this. Like, we've seen this character before. We've seen characters like this before. What happens when they, like, run up against, you know, the rules of a society that they don't belong to? Will they be able to, like. Right. I mean, and I think that's why, like, the book is so genius in a way. Right. Like, I don't need to see Liz get shut down by, like, all the bad dudes at the archery station.

B (80:19)

Right.

A (80:19)

Exactly.

B (80:20)

No, we don't. And we don't see it. We don't see any of that stuff.

A (80:23)

No. Because the desperation of this small surviving band of aliens is such that all they want to do is survive. They are not willing to cling to their rules in order to do that. Right. And it's. I loved it. I loved it.

B (80:41)

Liz's book is next.

A (80:43)

Yeah.

B (80:44)

She is mated to Rahash, who is the, like, scarred, secret, silent Sarah MacLaine bait in book two, the book. It's possible that. Now, listen, it's possible it was Rahash who was resonating in that crowd, because I'm sure multiples were resonating in that crowd.

A (81:09)

Well, it is also interesting, like, one of the other things that happens is in the first couple books, not only did they come out fast in terms of their release date for readers, but the events of those books were all really tight. Yep.

B (81:23)

Yeah. The second book begins. She runs when they catch all the. When they catch the animal to do the.

A (81:30)

The cooties.

B (81:32)

The cootie. She runs because she doesn't want a parasite.

A (81:36)

Yeah.

B (81:37)

And he follows her because he knows they're mated.

A (81:40)

Yeah. And I think, like, then there's. And then there's a point where, like, it kind of slows. It slows down.

B (81:47)

Then it has to.

A (81:48)

Yeah.

B (81:49)

And, like, there's a whole thing that they. This is spring. Like, at some point, she drops. Like, oh, you're in spring on this ice planet. So we know, like, ultimately there's going to be. It's going to get worse. It's like oceans are going to be worse and there is like a whole one where they're, like, trapped in the cave in the snow, and they have to fight those little animals. Like, I mean, we. You get a lot.

A (82:14)

Yeah.

B (82:15)

I was thinking, you know, now with heated rivalry and Bridgerton coming out, I have, like, adaptation in my head. And I was thinking about, like, Ice Planet Barbarians, what does this look like? And then I was like, I actually think this is not a book that could be adapted easily because I think everything about it is so bananas, you know?

A (82:40)

Right.

B (82:40)

Like, it lives better in my head.

A (82:42)

Yeah, well, exactly. You know, I think the thing that is really fun about Ice Planet Barbarians, oh two Is. Is I've been thinking a lot about what it means when we say that something is like an interconnected standalone. And I think the amazing thing about these books is you really could just pick one up and figure out where they are on the journey to creating this new society together. But there's not really. You could really just do whatever you want. Everyone. Read whichever ones you want. Whichever ones sound good to you. You. Because, yeah, the world is sort of being built quietly in the background, but whoever is on the main stage really does take up all of the energy. And I think that it's. Yeah, it's just a really fun series.

B (83:35)

It is very fun. It's very fun. So Ruby Dixon wrote. Has written many, many of these and a number of other books as well. And so if you have never read a Ruby Dixon book, we have. Can we can assure you that they are very fun.

A (83:53)

They are super fun. Yeah.

B (83:54)

If you are an Ice Planet Barbarians fan and you didn't know about Ice Planet Pod, you still can. It does not. Dani does not release new episodes, but it does still exist. You can still listen to the early episodes of that podcast.

A (84:08)

Well, and what was really fun about that podcast is she had a different guest every time. So it was really like a kind of like who's who of romance in some ways. Some people were authors, some people were just readers, some people were reviewers. And so there was a whole sense of really getting all the different takes also on these books and what was happening with them. So, yeah, it's really fun.

B (84:33)

Yeah. I'm looking now to see who. Gosh, it really is of a time.

A (84:38)

Oh, yeah.

B (84:39)

Melinda from Romance Sparks Joy. Oh, Rest in Peace. Erin from Formerly of Heaving Bosoms. Melody of Heaving Bosoms. You, Me. Jenny from Wicked Wallflowers. Katrina Jackson. I mean, it's a. It's. It really is like 1999. Right.

A (85:04)

I'm sorry.

B (85:05)

20. 19. 2020. It's like a who's who of who was talking about romance then fun. Me.

A (85:11)

Oh, yeah.

B (85:12)

So this is a fun. It's, you know, it'll be a. A blast from the past for some of you and it will definitely be a fun listen for those of you who like the deep dive episodes.

A (85:23)

Okay. We have decided on our next read along. Although it will be a while from now.

B (85:29)

We have.

A (85:31)

I mean, I'm just saying that they have. Typically, we don't necessarily. Like, we have. Yes.

B (85:38)

I was like. I was like.

A (85:39)

Why do you act like you don't remember, Sarah?

B (85:41)

Because I didn't remember, but now I do.

A (85:43)

Okay.

B (85:44)

It's.

A (85:44)

Sincerely your inconvenient wife by Julia Wolf will be our next read along. This is part of the. Of a series called the harder they fall. And we talked about the third one. P. S. You're a intolerable on New Year's Milk and Eve. And Sarah and I both kind of like just read a bunch of Julia Wolf's books afterwards.

B (86:06)

I immediately went and I mainlined the whole series.

A (86:08)

Yeah.

B (86:09)

And I had a great time.

A (86:10)

Yeah. And so this one is the one that, like, we think it's my favorite. Yeah, it's your favorite. And so we're gonna be talking about that probably in March is my guess. I don't think it will really be anytime soon. It's gonna be a while.

B (86:24)

We have some trailblazers coming up. Don't forget, everybody. It's almost Derek Craven day, so it's time to be buying those gifts for your Derek Craven day partners. That's next week. The most important.

A (86:39)

You know what I feel like it's like, get your eyes checked. I don't know. Go to the eye doctor.

B (86:44)

Yeah. It's like. Yeah, that's good. It's like, when to change this. The batteries in your smoke detector. Maybe just craven day is when you change the batteries in something else.

A (86:53)

Sure.

B (86:56)

Anyway, that is coming up next week. We have a fun thing planned for that. And. I don't know, more fun things as we go.

A (87:04)

Yeah, of course.

B (87:07)

But we hope you're all staying safe out there. And we mean that in all ways. And if you are still under snow or under ice, we hope you are staying warm and you have good books to read and you have all your devices charging and.

A (87:24)

Yeah.

B (87:24)

I'm Sarah McLean. I'm here with my friend Jen Procop. We are fated mates. You can find us absolutely every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts or@thetamates.net where you can read show notes, where we put descriptions of where you can read descriptions of the podcast, all the links to everything that we sort of reference in the podcast. This week especially, there'll be lots of Minneapolis and Minnesota and Twin Cities references and organizations you can support there. We also list every week all the books that we talk about. So even the extra little books that we talk about this episode you'll see in Show Notes there. And while you're there, you can also check on our check out our collections which are built by listeners and other authors, real human people putting together discoverability group groups based on like microtropes and other things that people love. You can just click on collections when you go to faded mates.net to read those. We are, as I said earlier in the podcast, online at Faded Mates Pod, at Threads and Instagram and at Mates on Blue Screen Sky Jen is all over Chicago and and suburban Chicago through February. If you're in Philadelphia, don't forget that heated rivalry event on Valentine's Day and the links to that and my event in Rhode island in March will all be in show notes as well. So thank you so much. Thanks to everybody who's out there in the fight. We are with you, you in spirit and doing our best from our armchairs at home. And yeah, take care of yourselves everyone. We love you, Sa.