I spoke with Maren Riley, the dark thriller romance author of the Grave Series (Grave Obsession, Grave Possession, and the forthcoming book three) and Wrong Turn. We'll explore how love, obsession, and survival collide across the jaw-dropping twists of the Grave series. Maren gets candid about writing on-page trauma, hypersexuality as a lesser-talked-about survivor response, balancing horror with heat, and building a multi-book universe that leaves readers wrecked and wanting more. We also discuss why she refuses to fade to black when it comes to both the trauma and the healing her characters experience. We also explore dark romance, trauma survivorship, the myth of the perfect survivor, and how, for some readers, dark romance is an opportunity to process some of their own traumatic experiences in a safe space without the questions and judgment that the world can sometimes burden us with. Make sure to stay with us to the end, as Maren will share a beautiful love letter to Mallory, the FMC we have all come to know and love. If you crave twisty plots, morally (dark) gray main characters, and FMCs who claw their way back to power, this episode is for you.

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Connect with Maren Riley

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