Summary:

Join The Book Babes as we chat with Romantasy and Sci Fi Romance author Catie O’Neill about her writing journey and process. We talk to her about her love of writing interest genre mashups. As an engineer, she loves writing STEM FMCs in her Sci Fi Romances and other strong female characters in her Romantasy books. She tells us about designing her own covers, and her connection with an incredible artist who creates gorgeous sprayed edges for her. She tells us about the very different MMCs in her why choose Romantasy series and which character is the most like her.

Catie’s question for listeners is: “Which type of MMC do you prefer? The morally grey bad boy or the kind considerate green flag character? Drop your answer in the comments or visit The Book Babes’ social media to answer there.

Support The Book Babes:

https://buymeacoffee.com/nikkijewell

https://buymeacoffee.com/albyblake

Music by Christopher Tallon

About Our Guest:

Growing up in upstate New York, I rarely saw females in STEM fields. While earning my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, I was often the only woman in the room. Those experiences now fuel my stories, featuring fierce female protagonists who aren't afraid to prove their worth in male-dominated spaces. Because let's face it—we've all had that moment when someone assumed we were the secretary instead of the engineer in charge.

When I'm not building worlds or crunching numbers in my infamous spreadsheets (yes, I'm that kind of organized), you'll find me hiking with my beloved Corgi, Kieran (named after the FBAA character—fellow book lovers, you know who I mean!). My other passions include experimental cooking (my crispy smashed potatoes are legendary) and tending to my vegetable garden.

To connect with Catie, follow her on social media:Website: https://catie1024.wixsite.com/catieoneillauthor

Insta & Tiktok: @catiereadsandwrites

Books: Amazon.com: Catie O'Neill: books, biography, latest update

Keep Up With The Book Babes:

Social Media: Backstagewiththebookbabes

Email: backstagewiththebookbabes@gmail.com

Links & Guest Author Applications: linktr.ee/backstagewiththebookbabes

Find Alby Blake & Her Unique Sports Romance Books:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_alby_blake/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alby_blake

Website: www.lovelunapress.com

Find Nikki Jewell & Her Spicy Sports Romance:

Social Media: @nikkijewell_books

Website: authornikkijewell.com
Event Links: ://linktr.ee/nikkijewellbooks

Summary:

In this episode The Book Babes chat with spicy contemporary romance author Kate Smoak. She also happens to be the founder and organizer of the fantastic Canadian book signing event Rose City Romance.

We talked with Kate about her extra spicy romance books and how she likes to subvert tropes and expectations. Things got a little spicy when we dug into her search history. But we also chatted about her nerves over her first ever book signing event. And how her experiences at signings led to her decision to organize her own romance event in Windsor, Ontario.

So, you get dual POV in this one, learning about Kate’s own books and inspiration as well as her event planner side.

Both the Book Babes are attending the signing in its second year, so we had a great time talking about the event.

Music by Christopher Tallon

About Our Guest:

Kate Smoak is a Canadian spicy contemporary romance author, event owner/organizer, and unapologetic book lover. She loves to write broken heroines and subverting expectations. As founder of the Rose City Romance, she loves to bring readers and authors together to share in the love of falling in love with a good book. When not writing her next love story or planning an event, you’ll find her cheering on other indie authors & creators, and reminding everyone that romance readers are the best!

Here’s where you can find Kate & The Rose City Romance Conference:Books: https://www.amazon.ca/stores/Kate-Smoak/author/B0CKPW9W9L?ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Author: www.katesmoak.ca

All the Kate Smoak links: bio.site/katesmoak

Author Socials: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads @katesmoakwrites

Event Site: www.rosecityromance.ca

Event Tickets: https://rosecityromance2026.eventbrite.ca

Event Socials: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Threads @rosecityromance

Keep Up With The Book Babes:

Social Media: Backstagewiththebookbabes

Email: backstagewiththebookbabes@gmail.com

Links & Guest Author Applications: linktr.ee/backstagewiththebookbabes

Find Alby Blake & Her Unique Sports Romance Books:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_alby_blake/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alby_blake

Website: www.lovelunapress.com

Find Nikki Jewell & Her Spicy Sports & Contemporary Romance:

Social Media: @nikkijewell_books

Website: authornikkijewell.com

Event Links: ://linktr.ee/nikkijewellbooks

Summary:

In this episode The Book Babes have a chat with the fantastic Canadian romance author, Hannah Brixton. She writes small town romance with neurodivergency, and mental health representation. We had an amazing chat with Hannah where we discussed everything from research into ocean themed toys to the constant exhaustion of an ADHD brain. We talked a lot about managing life and writing, and trying to get better at celebrating our book launches.

Hannah shared her story of how a real life landscaping project inspired her first book, and how her fictional small town evolved around this. She also shared her pride in being a Canadian author and evolving to embrace this in future projects.

Hannah is an artist and shared her process of creating her own book covers. Turns out since we filmed this with her, she’s starting creating premade book covers for other authors.

She told us about her recent foray into live events and the enjoyment she finds connecting with readers.

We also dug pretty deep into preventing burnout and not stretching ourselves too thin.

Overall, it was a great conversation with funny moments, real moments, and great connections.

Hannahs Question for Listeners: Do you have an interest in more stories set in Canada?

Music by Christopher Tallon

About Our Guest:

Hannah Brixton is a contemporary romance author who lives with her husband, three children, and two cats on beautiful Vancouver Island. A self-proclaimed word nerd, Hannah has a long-standing love of language. She loves writing neurodivergent characters and hopes to normalize mental health struggles through her writing. Her books are steamy romantic comedies with more serious topics woven throughout—romantic dramedies, perhaps—always filled with heart, spice, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Here’s where you can find Hannah:

https://www.hannahbrixton.com/

https://www.instagram.com/hannah.brixton

https://www.tiktok.com/@hannah.brixton.author

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/41609459.Hannah_Brixton

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Hannah-Brixton/author/B0CHDN9YDV

Keep Up With The Book Babes:

Social Media: Backstagewiththebookbabes

Email: backstagewiththebookbabes@gmail.com

Links & Guest Author Applications: linktr.ee/backstagewiththebookbabes

Find Nikki Jewell & Her Spicy Sports & Contemporary Romance:

Social Media: @nikkijewell_books

Website: ⁠authornikkijewell.com⁠

Event Links: ⁠://linktr.ee/nikkijewellbooks⁠

Find Alby Blake & Her Unique Sports Romance Books:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_alby_blake/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alby_blake

Website: www.lovelunapress.com