EPISODE · Jun 10, 2026 · 40 MIN
Steamy Regency, Morally Gray Men & the Busty Bodice Club — Kathleen Ayers on Writing Romance That Stays With You
from The Fresh Fiction Podcast · host Fresh Fiction Media
Bestselling Regency and Victorian romance author Kathleen Ayers joins Samantha Tennant to talk about leaving a 30-year career in media sales to follow a dare from her best friend — and ending up with a romance career she never saw coming. Kathleen shares how classic gateway novels like SWEET SAVAGE LOVE and THIS LOVING TORMENT shaped her love of historical fiction, why morally gray men are still the most irresistible heroes in any era, and what it was really like to write alongside authors like Cathy Maxwell and Jenna MacGregor for the Busty Bodice Club anthology. She also opens up about her process as a self-described pantser, the one fictional character who refused to stop talking to her, and why she will never apologize for being an unapologetic Ruby Dixon super-fan. Plus: Buc-ee's Beaver Nuggets, Nine Inch Nails concert tees, and the mysterious ancestor named Barbara who just disappeared from the family records.
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What this episode covers
She started writing to amuse herself, got dared by her best friend to publish, and now has a back list of steamy Regency and Victorian romances that readers devour on repeat. In this episode, Samantha Tennant sits down with Kathleen Ayers — bestselling author and member of the Busty Bodice Club — for a conversation that covers everything from the books that made her a romance reader in ninth grade to the fictional hero who kept interrupting her life until she finally wrote his prequel. Kathleen talks about her latest release, CURVES FOR THE SCANDALOUS DUKE, featuring the wonderfully awkward Josephine — a woman trying very hard to be special while accidentally destroying hyacinths and very nearly impaling herself on a wall. She shares what it was like to collaborate with a lineup of bestselling authors on a shared anthology world, her philosophy on morally gray heroes, why historical fiction is the perfect container for the fantasy of a domineering duke, and what’s coming next with The Vices of London trilogy and Outrageous in October. Plus: her writing process as a committed pantser, her monster romance endorsements, her go-to road trip snack (it’s Texas-coded), and the Nine Inch Nails T-shirt she wears to Pilates. Find Kathleen: Facebook Reader Group: Kathleen Ayers Wicked Wallflowers Website: kathleenayres.com Stay connected with Fresh Fiction: Newsletter (new releases, giveaways, author events): freshfiction.com/newsletters.php Video Book Club: freshfiction.com
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Steamy Regency, Morally Gray Men & the Busty Bodice Club — Kathleen Ayers on Writing Romance That Stays With You
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