Is romantasy dead? That’s the question we try to answer on our latest Short Stories episode. Ayesha gets the ball rolling by giving her thoughts on recent romantasy read, QuickSilver, and what booktok’s take is on Silver Elite. This leads us to question what exactly romantasy means these days and why all of the sudden it seems like newly published romantasy books are giving us…well, nothing. No plot, only vibes (if even that). After airing our many grievances with the genre, we try to end with recommending some romantasy books we do actually enjoy!

Let’s welcome our featured guest poet Aimee Donnell! Originally from Northern Ireland, Aimee is a York-based poet who recently released her debut poetry collection We Are All Creatures of Struggle. We chat with Aimee about her inspirations, her journey as a writer, her writing process, and more! At the end of the episode, Aimee leaves us with a beautiful reading of one of her favorite poems in the collection and some sneak peeks into her upcoming works!

Follow Aimee on Instagram @awriternamed_aimee and check out her book on Amazon or Waterstones.

For this latest episode, we spend time interviewing guest author Nehemiah Russell! Local to the DMV (or DC area for you non-locals), Nehemiah is the author and illustrator of Codename, a manga style comic book set in a dystopian world where a teenager’s future is determined by their assigned codename.

We talk to Nehemiah about his journey as an artist and writer, his storyboarding process, the importance of identity, and much more! We left our conversation feeling inspired not only by the story behind Codename but also by Nehemiah’s own path as an artist. If you’re seeking validation to take a leap of faith, whether it’s a career change or starting a new passion project, this is certainly an episode to listen to.

Follow Nehemiah on Instagram @nehemiahr and find his website here: https://nrussellweb.wordpress.com/