The Mythic Mic Podcast

CONNECT WITH US

🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📚 Wanda Hellmund – @WandaHellmund

✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

Have tropes become more important than the actual story?

Welcome to another episode of Off The Shelf, Mythic Mic's monthly segment where we dive into bookish trends, deep dives, hot takes, and all things fantasy!

In this Off the Shelf episode, host Britt is joined by Mythic Mic team members Amara and Teresa Diaz to unpack the rise of trope-driven reading, BookTok marketing, microtropes, and the increasingly blurry line between using tropes to describe a book and using them to sell the entire story.

From enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity to fated mates, slow...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where sometimes getting murdered is only the beginning of your villain origin story.

This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Amara sit down with author Matteo Franco to discuss The Undertow of Evelyn Graymore, the first book in the Hearts of the Drown series, a dark paranormal romance Matteo describes as The Little Mermaid in reverse meets Jennifer's Body with the paranormal vibes of Twilight.

After Evelyn Graymore is murdered by a powerful billionaire and thrown into the Puget Sound, her rage summons an ancient ocean entity who offers her a...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where ancient legends are real, lost treasures are waiting to be found, and some tombs are better left undiscovered.

This week, host Sara Santillan sits down with author Natalia Hernandez to discuss The Lost Guardian, an Indiana Jones-meets-The Mummy adventure inspired by real Peruvian history, Incan mythology, ancient curses, deadly riddles, and the mystery surrounding the lost tomb of the last Incan emperor.

Santiago is a timid, history-obsessed archaeology student who grew up listening to his grandfather's stories about ancient Incan legends. But when his grandfather dies, Santiago disco...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where sometimes the child stolen by the fae grows up to become a little chaos bunny instead of an evil queen.

This week, host Bethany Amanda sits down with author Ann Aguirre to discuss The Hocus Pocus Handbook, a cozy fantasy romance filled with found family, grumpy/sunshine romance, he-falls-first pining, a road trip through Faerie, misfits challenging the powers that be, and one delightfully chaotic heroine.

Thea is the mortal child on the other side of a changeling story: stolen from the human world and raised among the f...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where immortality can be murdered, prestigious universities conceal rotten foundations, and ambition may demand more than anyone should be willing to sacrifice.

This week, host Bethany Amanda sits down with fantasy, science-fiction, and horror author Lynn D. Jung to discuss her dark-academia debut, Mothsblood!

Lynn shares her long journey from a multilingual childhood storyteller to landing three agents, surviving multiple submission rounds, and finally receiving her first publishing deal. She opens up about navigating publishing during the COVID shutdown, pivoting from young adult to adult fiction, and why persi...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where desperate wishes cost years of your life, mirrors become gateways for demons, and the creature everyone fears may be far less monstrous than the holy man hunting him.

This week, host Bethany Amanda and Mythic Mic Team Member Britt sit down with fantasy author Charlotte B. Plumb to discuss her highly anticipated gothic romantasy debut, Reap and Sow. 

Charlotte shares how reading His Dark Materials at thirteen sparked her desire to make complete strangers cry through fiction, why her first queried manuscript received little interest, and how she fo...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where sometimes the best fantasy stories don't need heroes at all.

This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan sit down with V.E. Schwab to discuss Victorious, the long-awaited conclusion to the Villains trilogy, a series Victoria describes as Magneto and Professor X meets The Secret History and a toxic college bromance where superpowers definitely don't make you a superhero.

From the book that helped save her writing career to the finale she waited eight years to be ready to write, Victoria takes us behind the scenes of Vi...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where the enemy commander taking you captive is complicated enough before he becomes your husband.

This week, host Sara Santillan sits down with author R.A. Raine to discuss Storm, a dystopian romantasy filled with lightning magic, feminine rage, motherhood, fae lands, an oppressive empire, an enemy commander, morally complicated choices, and a heroine determined to protect her children at any cost.

Storm is a 31-year-old pregnant mother who has spent her life in servitude to the patriarchal empire of Halo, a brutal society that controls women and their...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where cursed bloodlines hide beneath ordinary society, ghosts haunt college corridors, and one forbidden witch is about to become entangled with four dangerously broken heirs.

This week, host Sara Santillan sits down with bestselling indie and traditionally published author Lucy Smoke to discuss Hallowed Bones, the first installment in her Sons of Salem series. 

Lucy shares her nine-year journey from publishing a debut she later removed from circulation to building a full-time author career across multiple pen names, genres, and publishing paths. She opens up about stubbornness, rejection, one-st...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where morally gray vampires, fated mates, touch-her-and-die heroes, and a little leather never go out of style.

This week, host Bethany Amanda sits down with legendary paranormal romance author J.R. Ward to discuss Lover Enthroned, the newest installment in the iconic Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Her irresistible pitch? Hot nerd meets a queen. A literal queen.

J.R. takes us behind the scenes of more than two decades of the Brotherhood, from getting fired by her first publisher to building a series that has spanned more than 20 books...

Welcome to another episode of Banter & Books, the monthly Mythic Mic segment where host Amara and a special guest share spoiler-free reviews of the books they can't stop thinking about!

In this episode, Amara is joined by bookstagrammer Kris West to talk fairy-tale villains, dystopian video-game worlds, fated mates, magical academies, hidden identities, devastating cliffhangers, and the wonderfully chaotic world of why choose fantasy.

They dive into Blood of the Fairest by Morgan B. Lee, Codebound by Kendra Moreno, A Crown of Crimson and Crows by Tessa Hale, and Clash of Claws and...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where sometimes the heroine doesn't defeat the villain. Sometimes she becomes one.

This week, hosts Sara Santillan and Amara sit down with J.E. Caroline to discuss The Venom in Her Veins, a dark romantasy about a cursed fae woman fated to destroy the world and the dragon prince destined to kill her before she can.

🐍 What if your favorite romantasy heroine became the villain and loved it?
🐉 What happens when the man destined to kill you falls in love with you first?
🖤 And just how far can grief...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where forbidden magic, ominous prophecies, and ruthless silver-haired warriors are exactly our kind of problem.

This week, host Bethany Amanda sits down with Geneva Lee to discuss Harbinger, a dark, romantic slow-burn fantasy filled with star-powered magic, dangerous omens, political intrigue, forbidden attraction, and enough twists that almost everything is a spoiler.

Geneva takes us behind the scenes of the fantasy world she's been dreaming about for fifteen years, including the astrology-inspired magic system, ancient beliefs about birds and omens, and the influences that helped shape a story she d...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where mythological worlds collide, romance blooms in the most dangerous places, and every monster has a story.

This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara sit down with bestselling fantasy author Olivia Wildenstein to celebrate The Ice Beyond, the first book in her breathtaking new Empress of Thorns series.

Olivia shares her fascinating journey from self-publishing to hybrid publishing, the realities of navigating both indie and traditional publishing, and why perseverance—not overnight success—is the true secret to a writing career. We also dive into writing routines, perfectionism, character...

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNINGS ⚠️ This episode includes candid conversations about infertility and fertility loss, premature menopause, ovarian removal, unsuccessful IVF, hysterectomy, pregnancy and childbirth complications, loss of reproductive choice, death and grief, abortion, medical trauma, depression, and religious fear surrounding death and the afterlife. Please listen with care.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where heartbreak becomes a fatal curse, ancient towers preserve stories that empires could not erase, and healing begins when a woman finally chooses something entirely for herself.

This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan sit down with author Ova Ceren to disc...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where gods wage impossible wars, monsters aren't always who they seem, and fantasy asks what happens when everything you've been taught is a lie.

This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan sit down with bestselling fantasy author Adalyn Grace to celebrate her stunning adult fantasy debut, The Wretched Divine.

Adalyn shares her incredible publishing journey, from writing wolf role plays on Neopets and working on The Legend of Korra at Nickelodeon to becoming the bestselling author behind Belladonna. We also dive into the realities of modern publishing, balan...

Have ARCs gone from a bookish perk to a part-time job?

Welcome to another episode of Off The Shelf, our monthly segment where we dive into bookish trends, deep dives, hot takes, and all things fantasy!

In this Off the Shelf episode, host Britt is joined by Mythic Mic team member Amara and special guest Megan to unpack the increasingly competitive world of advanced reader copies, publisher influencer programs, NetGalley, street teams, and the book reviewer hustle.

From figuring out how to actually get physical ARCs to managing NetGalley ratios, follower counts, engagement...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where surviving the apocalypse is hard enough without adding forbidden magic, trauma, and a found family you never expected to need.

This week, Host Bethany Amanda sits down with author K.L. Speer to discuss Bones and Fangs, a post-apocalyptic romantasy series where civilization has collapsed, magic shouldn't exist, and one woman possesses a healing power that could make her invaluable or turn her into something others will exploit.

Kelsey also shares the incredible story behind Bones, from writing it simply because it was the story she wanted to te...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where love stories can begin in the most unexpected places, fate sometimes needs a little luck, and the right person can change everything.

This week, host Sara Santillan sits down with author and poet Michael Tavon to discuss his contemporary romance, I Want to Be Where You Are, a raw, poetic, emotionally honest love story inspired by how he met his wife.

Michael shares his journey from poetry to romance, including the life experiences that pushed him toward writing, the creative writing class that helped him build...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where ancient goddesses demand vengeance, warrior princesses enter trials designed to kill them, and the enemy making everything more difficult may become impossible to resist.

This week, host Bethany Amanda sits down with bestselling romance and fantasy author Sariah Wilson to discuss her Eye of the Goddess series. 

Sariah shares the extraordinary path that led her to publishing, beginning with a neighborhood fundraiser for her autistic son’s therapies and a reporter who recognized her talent from a press release. She opens up about entering indie publishing, selling only a h...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where deadly secrets, morally gray suspects, and murder mysteries are infinitely more fun when you add a little magic.

This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Megan Tromposch sit down with Mai Corland to discuss Verity Guild, a Heartless Hunter meets Knives Out romantasy murder mystery set in a world inspired by the ancient Roman Republic, where everyone has something to hide and no one is above suspicion.

Mai also takes us behind the scenes of her journey from civil litigator to author, the books that didn't find immediate succe...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where hidden worlds, Celtic mythology, and suspiciously attractive strangers are waiting just beyond the veil.

This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan sit down with author Christine Drummond to discuss Kingdom of the Owl, a modern-day Outlander meets ACOTAR romantasy filled with portal magic, Celtic mythology, and enemies-to-lovers, where unsettling sleep hallucinations might be something far more dangerous than they appear.

Christine also takes us behind the scenes of her journey from corporate marketer to  published author, including querying, switching agents, becoming the lead title for Gilded Wing...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where haunted opera houses, masked men, and enough questionable romantic decisions to keep us arguing for forty years collide.

This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Amara sit down with bestselling gothic fantasy author Erin A. Craig to discuss Our Strange Duet, her official reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera created in collaboration with Lloyd Webber Entertainment for the musical's 40th anniversary.

For anyone who has spent years wondering what Christine was thinking, what happened during all those missing months, or whether a few murders shoul...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where outlawed witches, hidden identities, and forbidden love make going to war significantly more complicated.

This week, host Bethany Amanda sits down with debut fantasy author Bethan Croome to discuss Reign, a dark, British folklore-inspired romantic fantasy filled with secret magic, medieval politics, dangerous creatures, slow-burn romance, and a heroine who disguises herself as a man only to accidentally get conscripted into a war.

Before diving into Reign, Bethan shares the unconventional road to her debut, from studying English literature and creative writing and earning a master's degree in wr...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where books become works of art, printers develop personalities, and missing out on one special edition can inspire an entire business.

This week, host Sara Santillan sits down with Sheree, the artist and owner behind Perfectly Edged, to discuss sprayed edges, collector editions, and building one of the most recognizable businesses in the bookish community. 

Sheree shares how her search for a Fourth Wing special edition led her to experiment with spraying her own books, and how encouragement from a lifelong friend convinced her to begin selling them. She op...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where cursed kingdoms, deadly enemies, and enough sexual tension to make murder complicated collide.

This week, host Bethany Amanda sits down with fantasy author Stacey Marie Brown to discuss her newest fantasy, White Raven, a dark, Viking-inspired adventure packed with lost magic, forced proximity, found family, deadly secrets, and two enemies who genuinely might kill each other before they ever admit they want each other.

Stacey takes us behind her fourteen-year writing career, from leaving her retail job after being told to choose between work and her f...

Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast! This week, host Bethany Amanda and co-host Amara are joined by book influencer and content creator Jaimee Johnson, known as ThtGrlReads, for an unfiltered conversation about Bookstagram, brutally honest reviews, paid partnerships, viral content, and the books actually worth the hype.

Jaimee takes us behind the account to talk about how a lifelong love of reading turned into a massive online platform, why she never planned on becoming a full-time creator, and what readers don't always see behind the polished world of book influencing. From the...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where humans dare to cross into the fae realm, ancient gods shape the fate of kingdoms, and epic fantasy reminds us why we fell in love with the genre in the first place.

This week, host Bethany Amanda sits down with fantasy author Malarie Weber to discuss her sweeping romantasy series, The Lies of Mortals and its highly anticipated sequel, The Edge of Darkness.

Malarie shares how a vivid dream sparked the opening scene of her debut novel, why becoming a Bookstagram influencer unexpectedly prepared her for self-publishing, and h...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where enchanted libraries hide dangerous bargains, sentient books offer forbidden power, and entering the woods may change the course of magic forever.

This week, host Sara Santillan sits down with fantasy author Analeigh Sbrana to discuss the Lords of the Wilds Duology, including Lore of the Wilds and Lore of the Tides.

Analeigh shares her unconventional journey from Bookstagrammer and aspiring indie author to landing an agent through a viral cover reveal and sending her book to auction only two weeks later. She opens up about querying for a yea...

Welcome back to Banter & Books, the monthly Mythic Mic segment where Amara and a special guest share spoiler-free reviews of the books they cannot stop thinking about!

This month, Amara is joined by Mythic Mic Team Member Teresa Diaz to talk alien death games, dystopian assassins, masked men, murderous berserkers, found family, comfort reads, and the very real problem of owning more books than you could possibly read.

They dive into Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, Heart of the Raven Prince by Parker Garner, Daggermouth by...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where fairy tales get a fresh twist, cozy romantasy meets unforgettable adventure, and even the kindest heroes can steal your heart.

This week, host Sara Santillan sits down with fantasy romance author Vanessa Rasanen to discuss her enchanting Immortal Reveries series, including Until the Stars Fall and Once the Skies Fade.

Vanessa shares her inspiring journey from engineer to full-time author, how Bookstagram helped launch her publishing career, and why writing became the creative outlet she'd been chasing all along. We also have an honest conversation about indie publi...

CONNECT WITH US

🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📚 MK Lobb – @Mk_Lobb

✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

CONNECT WITH US

🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📚 Louisa Carmody – @LouisaCarmodyBooks

✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where prophecies are taken dangerously literally, magical amulets can burn the wrong person alive, and the hero destined to save the world may be someone everyone overlooks.

This week, host Bethany Amanda and Mythic Mic Rep Teresa Diaz sit down with bestselling fantasy author Alyssa Day to discuss Nobody’s Quest, the first installment in The Nobody Chronicles. 

Alyssa shares her journey from high-stakes trial lawyer to full-time author, writing everything from romantic comedy and paranormal mysteries to bestselling Atlantis romances. She opens up about publishing fantasy romance before “...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where forbidden magic can get you killed, giant birds choose their riders, and sometimes the girl everyone tried to protect is ready to protect them back.

This week, host Bethany Amanda is joined by Mythic Mic team member Amara for a fun and heartfelt conversation with author KJ Altair about Feathers of Ash and Hope, the first book in the Flameborn series. Feathers of Ash and Hope is a romantasy filled with military academy trials, bird bonding, forbidden magic, hidden identities, and sacrifice.

KJ shares her journ...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where tragic lovers get another chance, corrupt families turn romance into war, and happily ever after is always worth fighting for.

This week, Mythic Mic Team Member Amara sits down with bestselling romance author Emily McIntire to discuss Burning Daylight, Forsaking Midnight, and her interconnected Defying the Stars series. 

Emily shares the unusual psychic reading that finally convinced her to write her first novel, her journey from indie publishing to becoming a hybrid author with Bloom Books, and why every author must treat their career like a business. She al...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where political marriages end in bloodshed, enemies make dangerously tempting allies, and some oaths are sealed with knives instead of kisses.

This week, host Sara Santillan sits down with acclaimed fantasy author Nia Davenport to discuss her dark standalone romantasy, Our Vicious Oaths.

Nia shares her unconventional path from studying biology and teaching for seven years to building a career across science fantasy, YA, romance, and dark fantasy. She opens up about teaching herself to write full-length novels, surviving shelved manuscripts and publishing rejection, and why BIPOC and queer...

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where feminine rage, morally gray heroines, and men who absolutely should have known better take center stage.

This week, host Sara Santillan is joined by co-host Teresa Diaz for a conversation with author Sheila Masterson about The Poison Daughter, her standalone enemies-to-lovers romantasy featuring a vigilante heroine with a poisonous kiss and the one man who somehow survives it.

Sheila takes us behind her journey from writing during lockdown to self-publishing seven books and becoming a hybrid author whose work is now reaching readers around the world. We talk...

Has book marketing become just as important as the book itself?

Welcome to the second episode of Off The Shelf, a new monthly segment where we dive into bookish trends, deep dives, hot takes, and all things fantasy! 

In this Off the Shelf episode, Britt, Bethany, and Amara unpack how BookTok, Bookstagram, special editions, influencer hype, preorder culture, and collector FOMO are reshaping the way books are discovered, bought, and even published.

From authors being expected to build platforms before release to readers choosing books based on sprayed edges and character art, the c...