710. Writing Characters with Chronic Illness (Plus Restaurant Recs!!) with Riss M. Neilson

Riss M. Neilson joins me today to talk about her new romance, The Bridge Back to You. This is a second chance love story between two exes who unexpectedly inherit shares of the same restaurant – the restaurant that he runs, and that she kind of ran away from.

There is so much to discuss in this book: we talk about characters with chronic illnesses like endometriosis, or mental illnesses like OCD. We talk about the astrology of her characters and what insights she can gain from their charts, and then, she gives us a list of restaurants to try if we’re ever in Providence, Rhode Island. And Riss even expands my theory about which foods are the universal expression of human love.

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Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

You can find Riss M. Neilson on her website, RissMNeilson.com,  Substack, and on Instagram.

We also mentioned:

• “I was Prince’s Private Chef” – The Iconic Prince
• Episode 690. Disability in Romance with Lux Raven
• Ivy Wolk Reacts to Viral Selena Pictures – Reddit

And if you’re in Providence, Rhode Island, Riss recommends:

• Carolina’s Family Restaurant – Dominican cuisine
• Cap’t Loui – Seafood
• Ebisu – Ramen
• Ten Prime Steak and Sushi – don’t miss the bread pudding
• Baja’s Restaurant – fresh Mexican buffet

Support for this episode comes from Savage Bonds, book two in the Shadowmist Pack series by Evie Mitchell!

If you are looking for a body-positive slow burn romance with very spicy scenes, knotting, an emotional support glory hole, and shared psychic orgasms, listen up.

A gritty, paranormal shifter romance, Savage Bonds follows Lithia, the first female Beta of the Shadowmist Pack, after she is betrayed and imprisoned in a silver-lined torture facility.

Her only lifeline is a voice from the next cell: Kier, a nomad who has been held in isolation for three years. His sanity has been eroded after years of psychic assault, but when he connects with Lithia though a small hole in their shared prison wall, he finds an ally, and a reason to endure.

Together, they must navigate a brutal escape through a burning wilderness to the safety of her pack. And as the pack prepares to dismantle the organisation that imprisoned them, Lithia and Kier must decide if they are brave enough to claim a future built on more than just shared trauma.

While Savage Bonds is the second in the Shadowmist Pack series, it can be read as a near-standalone. One reviewer on Goodreads says, “I enjoyed this book even more than the first in the series! Lithia is my favorite. She’s such a baddie and I love her for it! The world building in this one is awesome too. If you like werewolf romance, this series is for you.”

And I think you need to know about the dedication from author E.V. Mitchell:

To the readers who saw a hole in a prison wall and immediately thought, “…yeah, I’d fist that.” You brave, horny disasters. You trauma-bonded, violence-inclined little gremlins. This book is for you.

Savage Bonds and the Shadowmist Pack series by E.V. Mitchell are available now in Kindle Unlimited, and in print on the author’s website, or in your local library – woohoo! Audiobooks are coming soon.