A bookish podcast for bookish babes.
Hosted by Melissa, a former academic and long-time lover of fantasy, romance, and literature.
Join me every Monday for new episodes!
Where to find the pod >>
Instagram: https://instagram.com/inbedwithbookspod (https://instagram.com/inbedwithbookspod)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InBedWithBooksPod (https://www.youtube.com/@InBedWithBooksPod)
Email: inbedwithbookspodcast@gmail.com (mailto:inbedwithbookspodcast@gmail.com)
Fighting Fate and Learning to Love in Witch Daughter | Interview with Author Tanaz Bhathena
Join me and author Tanaz Bhathena to talk about her recent adult fantasy, Witch Daughter. A modern retelling of part of Ferdowsi’s epic, The Shahnameh, this book follows the princess Tahmineh and her relationship to fate. First, as she runs towards it and her marriage to Rostam, a famed warrior who she hopes can provide the protection she needs as a suspected witch. And later, after the birth of her son, as she desperately tries to avoid a prophecy where her son and his father fight each other on the battlefield.
Bhathena explores classic prejudices and patriarchy through the main character, Tahmineh, and the suspicions around her lineage. She explores what lengths a person will go to in order to secure their own safety, and then how that changes when those concerns have to include someone other than yourself. In all of her attempts to secure her safety, and then her son’s, Tahmineh also unknowingly works through the tensions she has around love, first through passion, and then through a slow burn and earned trust. Bhathena and I also discuss the research that went into writing this story. Tahmineh’s journey as a literary figure has shifted over the centuries, with suspected origins as demon or a witch, and was potentially sanitized for reader consumption. What does it mean to give this power back to her?
Buy Witch Daughter now: https://bookshop.org/a/54661/9781538780862 (https://bookshop.org/a/54661/9781538780862)
Learn more about Tanaz Bhathena here: https://tanazbhathena.com/ (https://tanazbhathena.com/)
Be sure to like, subscribe, and leave a review!
If you have an author, book, or topic you want to hear about on the podcast, then don't hesitate to slide into my DMs on Instagram or shoot me an email!
Subscribe to my newsletter to keep up to date on the latest podcast happenings: https://in-bed-with-books.kit.com/76d11f1d51 (https://in-bed-with-books.kit.com/76d11f1d51)
Where else to find me:
IG: @inbedwithbookspod
YT: https://www.youtube.com/@InBedWithBooksPod (https://www.youtube.com/@InBedWithBooksPod)
EM: inbedwithbookspodcast@gmail.com (mailto:inbedwithbookspodcast@gmail.com)
29 Sept 2026
Liminal Spaces and Influencer Culture in "Night of Madness" | Interview with Author Ryan Douglass
Join me and author Ryan Douglass to talk about his latest release, Night of Madness. When Jack Stanley, famed horror movie maker announces a competition with a $100k prize at the end, Mara knows that could be her ticket out of poverty. But once she makes it to the show, she fears that $100k may not be worth the cost.
Douglass and I discuss the theme of influencer culture, especially how it skews our ability to cope with trauma and our understanding of class. Mara’s main motivation is the cash prize promised to the winner, but that’s not the case for all of the contestants of Jack’s haunted asylum. We look at how Mara’s upbringing - living with her grandparents, abandoned by her father, less fortunate than those closest to her - become driving forces for her, even after the asylum becomes a true case of life or death. Using classic slasher tropes, Jack plays out his fantasies with a cast and a crew held hostage to the promise of money and begs the question, how far would you go?
Buy Night of Madness now: https://bookshop.org/a/54661/9781665983044 (https://bookshop.org/a/54661/9781665983044)
Learn more about Ryan Douglass here: www.instagram.com/ryan_souflee (https://www.instagram.com/ryan_souflee)
Be sure to like, subscribe, and leave a review!
If you have an author, book, or topic you want to hear about on the podcast, then don't hesitate to slide into my DMs on Instagram or shoot me an email!
Subscribe to my newsletter to keep up to date on the latest podcast happenings: https://in-bed-with-books.kit.com/76d11f1d51 (https://in-bed-with-books.kit.com/76d11f1d51)
Where else to find me:
IG: @inbedwithbookspod
YT: https://www.youtube.com/@InBedWithBooksPod (https://www.youtube.com/@InBedWithBooksPod)
EM: inbedwithbookspodcast@gmail.com (mailto:inbedwithbookspodcast@gmail.com)
25 Sept 2026
Death, Love, and Doing the Work | Interview with Poet Isabelle Correa
Join me and poet Isabelle Correa to talk about her recent release, “Portrait of a Person Who Pushes Love Away in Fear of Losing It.” The collection explores intergenerational trauma, religious myth, and pop culture in an intimate, cinematic interior life. Throughout the collection, Correa looks at the different ways we can corrupt our perceptions of love, and the power “no” has in healing that.
During our conversation, we talk about how Correa establishes Love and Death as opposing universal forces, and how that becomes a foundation for peeling back the layers on how love and pain can become twisted. We take a couple of tangents, to talk about similar lessons we were taught as kids in church, and then later to talk about our joint interests in tarot and astrology. We also dive into a subject we lovingly called “The Work,” as in, the healing work that we are blessed to be able to do now that those who came before us could not.
Buy Portrait of a Person Who Pushes Love Away in Fear of Losing It now: https://bookshop.org/a/54661/9781968451110 (https://bookshop.org/a/54661/9781968451110)
Learn more about Isabelle Correa here:
https://www.isabellecorrea.com/ (https://www.isabellecorrea.com/)
https://isabellecorrea.substack.com/ (https://isabellecorrea.substack.com/)
https://www.instagram.com/isabellecorreawrites/ (https://www.instagram.com/isabellecorreawrites/)
Be sure to like, subscribe, and leave a review!
If you have an author, book, or topic you want to hear about on the podcast, then don't hesitate to slide into my DMs on Instagram or shoot me an email!
Subscribe to my newsletter to keep up to date on the latest podcast happenings: https://in-bed-with-books.kit.com/76d11f1d51 (https://in-bed-with-books.kit.com/76d11f1d51)
Where else to find me:
IG: @inbedwithbookspod
YT: https://www.youtube.com/@InBedWithBooksPod (https://www.youtube.com/@InBedWithBooksPod)
EM: inbedwithbookspodcast@gmail.com (mailto:inbedwithbookspodcast@gmail.com)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
17,899
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.8 / 5
5 ratings
Spotify
4.9 / 5
7 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 68 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
74
Social presence
0
YouTube
72
Engagement
85
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