Ever heard of playing through the injury (Nuuly induced sciatica)? That’s what Claire does this episode, and my god it’s magnificent. We dive deep into the subgenre of Cowboy Romance, reviewing Lyla Sage’s Done and Dusted, and we’re relatively rattled by our first rodeo. You should also listen to this episode if you want to hear the whole plot of Netflix’s Dept. Q from someone who was mostly on her phone while watching.

Well, it’s looking like this might be the summer we finally turn pretty. This week, Molly is visited by a witch on Long Island and it turns out she also has “an unsettling energy”. We also review My Oxford Year and continue our conversation about Carly Fortune. Plus, a hilarious writing exercise finds us writing erotica in an italian restaurant during biblical times.

This episode, we examine effective dialogue from some of our favorite films and books in pursuit of writing Good Chat. We hope this study will translate to our own work better than a hankie travels from nostril to eyeball (Claire should stop doing this). We also talk through some favorite recent reads including Sandwich by Catherine Newman and Beach Read by our lord and savior Emily Henry.

This week, Molly and Claire both get fooled — Claire by a married man and Molly by a Young Adult novel, again. Molly read Divine Rivals and found a new rival of her own. Meanwhile, Claire watched Sirens and Stolen Girl, both shows about young women who are lost in a sense. We also chat about creating flawed female characters, writing at the beach, and crafting the first ten pages.

Hey, Sharks! This week we’re pitching short form content ideas, seeking investors and consumers. Claire drops a new crush on an old man, Molly has her head in the slush pile, and Emily Henry eases our originality complexes (Great Big Beautiful Life IS The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but better! We’ll bravely say it!).

Love abounds this week as we reflect on what makes our favorite fictional couples work, how to transition bar banter from fraternal to flirtatious, and what happens when you give a ring bearer a lollipop (he’s gonna want another). We also talk about getting in Hugh Jackman’s jeans.

“Cutting a bob.” “Flotussy.” “Twinicide.” These are all phrases said for the first time ever on this week’s episode. We also review Emily Henry’s Great Big Beautiful Life (good!) and men reading performatively in public (bad!).

Claire’s been busy in The Pitt (still) and Molly’s reading Letters from Paul to the Ephesians. Meanwhile, we’ve reached our first deadline — 10,000 words. But here’s the thing, we didn’t. But we have good reasons!