I'm finally sitting down to watch Heated Rivalry, and I think the simplest explanation for its popularity is that it's an adaptation that clearly respects romance as a genre.

The Thing (1982, John Carpenter)

My book "The Blacksmith's Bride" is part of the Smashwords 2025 End of Year Sale! Check out all the cool indie books for sale at 50% off at smashwords.com/sale #EOYsale25 #ebook #sale #books2read #indiebooks

a bit of a pivot for the newsletter this week! we're talking the real-life relationship between Hannah Cullwick and Arthur Munby, and what their play says about the society they lived in. amckenziewrites.substack.com/p/real-life-...

"this book is going to be a lot fluffier than normal" I say about a story in which everyone's moms are dying and their dads all hate them.

this is only literary opinion adjacent but it is definitely unhinged when I am stocking copies of a face-out book at the bookstore, I will put the fresh copies behind any copies already on the shelf, because they’ve been waiting their turn to be picked and I don’t want their feelings to get hurt

The discrepancy between the content of the Bridgerton books and their Netflix tie-in covers has been discussed already, but man oh man is it going to be awkward when they get to Francesca's book!

stephen king sure writes about love a lot for a guy whose whole thing is horror.

This week's newsletter is a postmortem on the Conjuring series, a franchise which managed to be a horror story, a romance, and tradcath propaganda all rolled into one open.substack.com/pub/amckenzi...

the sex scenes in this new book might be some of the best I've ever written. they might also be some of the most unintentionally revealing I've ever written.

I am so bad at book promo... but #booksky, THE SHOOTING SEASON is a cracker, suitable for #mmromance #historicalromance readers. Available in ebook, paperback and audiobook, narrated by @garyfurlongvo.bsky.social Cover art by @noahdeaart.bsky.social www.amazon.com/Shooting-Sea...

I think Written? Kitten! is struggling a bit

me: still has three books and a novella to write in my current series the devil on my shoulder: you should start writing a lesbian romance set at the Moulin Rouge

okay, back in the saddle, that's a good paragraph

I am one of the 14 authors who chose to leave the Polari Prize, and I find myself frustrated and saddened at the way this entire story has been represented. 1/

it's a special day :)

Show rec time!! We’re only 2 eps in so far, but Be On Cloud’s newest production ‘Shine’ is blowing me away. It’s a gay historical drama set in 1969, dealing with protest, politics, and (proscribed, complex) queer desire If you enjoyed ‘Fellow Travelers’ I definitely think you should check this out

Novel with a lesbian romance and mental health themes https://www.booksns.com/155620/ I'm looking for an urban fantasy OR realistic fiction novel, with a lesbian romance (no explicit scenes), that also explores mental health themes. I'd really appreciate some help, as I've been struggling to …

Today's the day! THE BLACKSMITH'S BRIDE is now available from all major retailers (and minor ones - ask your local indie bookstore!) Click purchase and immediately have 98k of friends-to-lovers class war yearning in your hands! Who doesn't love that kind of instant gratification?

'twas the night before bookmas, and all through the house . . .

I am not deliberately writing this novel as lesbian propaganda, but also. did I lie?

It's my birthday! And you know what would be a great present for you AND me? Pre-ordering my book ;)https://linktr.ee/amckenziewrites 🎂

I don't screenshot well lol

My episode of the Historical Romance Sampler Podcast is up! I read an excerpt from The Blacksmith's Bride, then chat with Katherine Grant about the end of feudalism, Robin Hood RPGs, and who gets an HEA in historical romance. youtu.be/tAA4TB_7pPE?...

I am a school librarian and I would love to restock the library with books and supplies. Please repost. Thanks so much. www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/...

why don't we have any better synonyms for "damp" than "moist" or "dank." it's making this sex scene really hard to write.

Advertise your account with a GIF.

set myself a goal to have a draft of book 2 finished by the time book 1 came out (next Wednesday) but I'll be honest guys, I don't think that's happening.

🐉 🌈📚 New LGBTQ+ book releases: August 3, 2025. 🔗 Find them here: bit.ly/m/QBR Happy reading, y'all! 🖤🤟🏼 #queerbookreviews #sapphicromance #queerromance #mmromance #mmromancebooks #lgbtbooks #mmbooksky #sapphicbooksky #queerbooksky #readqueerallyear #booksky #romancelandia

#books #booksky 📚💙 Interested in a bracelet inspired by one of your book covers? Each one is made with glass beads and love. ko-fi.com/s/6d7b4b34d7

portrait of the author juggling writing, book promo, work, and reenactment season this past month

Check out these new releases from TRW Authors @jacquelynmiddleton.bsky.social, Alison Mckenzie, @rianaeverly.bsky.social, and @robattigelli.bsky.social

you can even ask your library to order my book, and then not read it! I won't even be mad!

Tachyon's 30 year anniversary bundle includes two of my Birdverse books - Yoke of Stars (World Fantasy finalist!) and Geometries of Belonging (Le Guin Prize for Fiction finalist!) for all your Birdly needs. www.humblebundle.com/books/tachyo...

go for it

Pro-Israeli apologists for their crimes, seeking to portray every critic (including Jewish ones like me) as anti-Semites, often will ask, "Do you believe Israel has a right to exist?" My answer is "Do you believe these murdered Palestinian children had a right to exist?"

I cannot second this strongly enough. I'm not a librarian (haven't earned that. I'm a library aide) but Ben is *very* correct here. This also has the benefit of being a good hedge against the people demanding some things be removed from the library as well.

And this is (at least partly) why the Romance Con situation got so big. These books are HP brand extension exercises, reliant on letting readers and the industry know their direct connection to Rowling's work. If sales weren't dependent on that connection, why do these exist?

a somewhat belated newsletter post: what are tropes, and more importantly, are they the fault of capitalism? open.substack.com/pub/amckenzi...

I truly don't understand why you'd even want to promote your book as fanfic. Do you not feel like it can stand on its own? Do you WANT to be known as a cheap copy?

As a queer Scot who has watched Rowling decimate trans safety and rights in my own country, I personally find it deeply offensive to see people claim that they need to keep HP relevant because some queer people still want to read fanfic and buy Etsy stickers.

I understand this makes me a bitch but I truly have no sympathy for this notion that "HP fans who don't support Rowling need their own space to reclaim the books." Why are we so much quicker to appease this coddling than the people who Rowling's legislative fury is destroying? Read another book.

Two Harry Potter fanfics are on the NYT bestseller list. The author of one was uninvited from Romance Con because readers believe she's helping to keep JK Rowling relevant and profitable. The issue has exposed how HP fandom may never truly be separate from the bigot. I wrote about it for Pajiba.

Booked Eu Claire, a small convention based in Wisconsin, is offering their last author spot (for free) to an author who has to dropped out of #RomanceCon. #Romancelandia

Have just been made aware of the Edmund Glizzgerald

no, I said I wanted a tradewife. like a union electrician

this, I think, is a bit of a different argument - it's along the lines of "does the Bridgerton approach to race/racism help or harm," asking whether it's better to just ignore historical context or dig into it.

what in the entire homophobic fuck is this??

What scene in a movie gives you goosebumps every time you watch it? 🎥 youtu.be/Qxw1Tdeo8kY?...