Send us Fan MailRed circle deleted, so please enjoy this re-uploaded episode with the lovely Sloane St. James. 🎧 Get a FREE 30-Day Audible TrialWant to listen to more romance books without adding to your already unhinged TBR? Try Audible free for 30 days and get access to thousands of audiobooks — perfect for commuting, cleaning, or your daily hot girl walk.👉 Start your Audible Free 30-day Trial hereThis week on What the Smut Are You Talking About, Cortney sits down with romance author Sloane St. James to talk about her rapidly growing romance catalog, writing spicy scenes in unexpected places, and the research that goes into creating unforgettable book boyfriends.Known for her addictive sports romance books and hockey romance series, Sloane shares the story of how she started writing in 2022 during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and ended up publishing her debut romance novel after writing over 60,000 words in just one month.Throughout the episode, we dive into Sloane’s popular Lake Series, including fan-favorite titles like Before We Came, Strong and Wild, In the Game, and Stand and Defend, which blend hockey romance with unique plotlines like secret baby, enemies-to-lovers tension, and runaway bride drama.Sloane also shares details about her newest release Fight, the first book in a brand-new collaboration series about wildland firefighters (Hotshot crews). From researching wildfire response systems to working directly with a real firefighter to keep the story accurate, she gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look at writing romance with action, survival elements, and a little bit of chaos.We also talk about favorite romance tropes like forced proximity, second chance romance, enemies to lovers, and grovel-worthy heroes, plus the surprising reading phase that had Sloane devouring shifter romance books.If you love hockey romance, sports romance books, spicy contemporary romance, and behind-the-scenes author interviews, this episode is packed with writing insights, trope talk, and plenty of unhinged chaos.This podcast description may include affilaite links that will earn the creator a small commission.You can find Sloane's books here.Sloane's WebsiteSloane's InstagramSupport the show