Morally Gray Is My Favorite Color: Talese Nicole on A Beautiful Disaster, Love, Rage & Obsession

What happens when heartbreak, abandonment, obsession, and a whole lot of rage meet a woman who really does not like being left?

Author Talese Nicole joins LaCie Knight, Sloane, and Morgan for a funny, layered, and unexpectedly deep conversation about her psychological thriller A Beautiful Disaster.

⚠️ Spoiler warning: We get into major plot points and the ending, so read the book first if you want to stay unspoiled.

Talese takes us behind the story, from writing Nicole while she was genuinely angry to researching women who kill, talking through character psychology with her therapist (who the book’s therapist is based on), and building a heroine who can be loving, successful, vulnerable, controlling, and dangerous all at once. We also get into the wounds underneath Nicole’s choices, especially abandonment, the need to be chosen, and what happens when love starts to look more like possession.

Of course, we have to talk about Jamal keeping Nicole a secret, whether Nicole truly loved Eric or just loved finally being chosen, Eric ignoring some very obvious red flags, the symbolism behind the plants and fire, and Mickey, the moment some of us finally side-eyed Nicole. And yes, we get into that ending. 👀 We even try to settle the Verity debate: the letter or the manuscript?

Talese also shares what she’s working on next, why thrillers have her heart, and which of her books to read after A Beautiful Disaster.

Come for the thriller. Stay for the debate over whether Nicole is a villain, misunderstood, or just a flourishing Black woman whose exes should have stopped playing in her face. 😂

📚 Read next: Buried Secrets by Talese Nicole
📍 Catch Talese at Licensed 2 Thrill in Nashville, October 23 and 24
🌐 TaleseNicole.com | @LoveTaleseNicole

Follow us @urbanwhisperspodcast
Sloane: @sloane_bueller | Morgan: @morgstaysbook

Author S.M. Love joins LaCie, Sloane, and Morgan for a conversation about One Night Only, The Pink Room, and the Club Venus universe.

We begin with Taysia’s transformation into Tasty Ty and the survival instinct that pushes her through one unforgettable night at Club Venus. S.M. talks about writing women with confidence, humor, complicated lives, and strong circles of sisterhood, while showing that the women working inside Club Venus are much more than their occupation.

Then we move into The Pink Room, where the story becomes much more personal.

S.M. shares why she wanted control to initially look like care, why she gave readers access to Smoke’s perspective without excusing his behavior, and why Nas was never going to be written as Taysia’s rescuer.

As S.M. explains during the conversation:“You have to rescue yourself.”Leaving a harmful situation does not automatically mean the healing is finished, and supporting someone is very different from taking away their agency.

S.M. also opens up about her own experiences, the role therapy played in encouraging her to tell this story, and how Club Venus unexpectedly became her healing series, centered on survival, confidence, underdogs, and women finding their way back to themselves.

We also get a few hints about Book Three, what may be ahead for the Club Venus characters, and whether S.M. would ever want to see this world adapted for the screen.

Ultimately, the message S.M. leaves us with is simple:

You are your own hero.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of domestic violence, coercive control, emotional manipulation, financial abuse, trauma, and substance abuse.

Follow S.M. Love on Instagram @authorsmlove and TikTok @smlove_writes. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok @urbanwhisperspodcast.

Our summer break is over! Season 3 begins with author Anna J., and it turns into much more than a book conversation.

Anna joins LaCie, Sloane, and Morgan to talk about "Rainy Days", the romance she wrote after her divorce, and what it takes to find love, faith, and yourself again on the other side of a seventeen year marriage. She talks about healing without pretending you'll never be triggered again, learning to keep her own cup full before giving anyone the overflow, and why she wrote a man who is allowed to be vulnerable.

We also get into her twenty plus years in publishing. Anna left traditional publishing to build her own imprint, and she's direct about why. What an advance really is. What a publisher will cut and who they're cutting it for. What she'd never accept again. Her advice for writers comes down to going hybrid and never giving one house everything you have.

Plus music, faith, dating with intention, soul ties, what's next in the City Love Stories world, and why Anna J. refuses to claim writer's block.

Funny, honest, and exactly the conversation we wanted to open Season 3 with.

The conversation after the last page.

We close out this season welcoming Morgan back who was in Vegas for the AKA Boule and is deep in a reading slump. Sloane's been covering for half her office and DNF'd her latest read. And LaCie finally finished The Huntsman by Naima Simone
Then we got into it.

A federal judge is letting a lawsuit against Audible move forward because when you click "Buy Now," you may not actually be buying that book. You're buying a license that can potentially be revoked. We talk about what that means for your Kindle library, why PlayStation's move to all-digital is part of the same conversation, and how publishers have quietly updated books readers already purchased. Pretty Little Liars now references TikTok...even though TikTok didn't exist when the book was originally published. We also discuss DRM-free books, why Kobo Plus and Libro.fm deserve a look, how piracy hurts Kindle Unlimited authors, and the growing number of BookTok creators posting paid promotions without clearly disclosing them.

Books mentioned:

• The Huntsman and Ember: A Mafia Romance by Naima Simone
• Call Me Mrs. Taylor and Mr. & Mrs. Taylor
• Our Vicious Oaths by N.E. Davenport
• Count on Me by Leigh Carron
• I Love You Too Much by Jessica N. Watkins
• The Parlour Wife
• King's Gambit
• Santa's Little Pleasers by Ladii Nesha
• Wish Upon a Star and Last Christmas in NOLA by Cion Lee
• The Dillinger series and Where Secrets Find Solace by Kimberly Brown
• Crescent City Connections by Donald Charles

We're taking August off, but we'll be back in September. If you're in the Atlanta area, don't miss the Shop the Bookworms Festival, September 18-20. It's free!

Until then, tell us what you're reading...and please give Morgan something that'll finally get her out of this reading slump.

It is hot as hell in Washington, DC, Sloane is back, and this week’s reading list ranges from fae kingdoms and mafia families to emotionally heavy historical fiction and one of the most unhinged toxic couples we have encountered in a minute.

LaCie and Sloane break down their very different reading habits, when it is finally time to DNF a book, and why LaCie’s 3.75-star rating might still be somebody else’s five-star read. Because three stars does not mean a book was bad, and somebody else’s rating should never decide what you pick up.

Sloane shares her thoughts on Mind of a Maniac, A Love That Melted a Capo’s Cold Heart, A Halo Like a Frisbee, The Don, and Dolore. She also explains why she put down Desired by a Maniac and finally gave up on Anything Necessary for Her. Meanwhile, both LaCie and Sloane enter the Black fantasy world of Our Vicious Oaths, complete with rival kingdoms, violent prophecies, fae politics, and fine men with grills.

LaCie takes us through the complicated family at the center of Daniel Black’s Perfect Peace, followed by the betrayals, crime-family drama, and unfinished love story in Masterpiece’s A Don’s Love and A Capo’s Love. Then things get completely out of hand with Shae Sanders’ Call Me Mrs. Taylor and Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, featuring an obsessive stalker, a man who learns to appreciate her particular brand of crazy, and a relationship so toxic that retaliation might as well be their love language.

The conversation also touches on Katrina Jackson’s Beautiful and Dirty, Shvonne Latrice’s Applying Pressure, and Chenell Parker’s Can’t Let Go and My Little Secret while LaCie and Sloane compare some of their favorite possessive, messy, and deeply questionable fictional relationships.

Then the conversation turns to Children of Blood and Bone. We get into Tomi Adeyemi distancing herself from the film adaptation, the controversy surrounding Amandla Stenberg’s casting, colorism in Hollywood, Nigerian representation, and how much control an author actually has once the rights to their work have been sold.

Spoiler warning: This episode includes plot details from several books, particularly Our Vicious Oaths, A Don’s Love, A Capo’s Love, Call Me Mrs. Taylor, and Mr. and Mrs. Taylor.

Follow the conversation everywhere at @urbanwhisperspodcast and follow Sloane at @Sloane_Bueller.

Libraries are about so much more than books, and Tiffany Alston, also known as the Chief Librarian, joins Urban Whispers to talk about why.

In this episode, LaCie and Morgan sit down with Tiffany to discuss her 31-year career in librarianship, from shelving books as a teenager in Harlem to becoming a leader, mentor, coach, and advocate. Together, they explore the evolving role of libraries, book access, representation, community, banned books, leadership, and why everyone deserves spaces where they feel seen and valued.

Tiffany also shares the inspiration behind her company, Excellence Established, her podcast What's Next with the Chief Librarian, and the powerful reminder that inspired this episode's title: you don't have to earn permission to take up space.

Whether you're an avid reader, a lifelong library lover, or someone looking for encouragement to embrace your own voice, this conversation has something for you.

Connect with Tiffany Alston
📚 Instagram: @thechieflibrarian
🎵 TikTok: @thechieflibrarian
🐦 X (Twitter): @BooksAndBusy
📘 Facebook: Tiffany Alston
💼 LinkedIn: Tiffany Alston / The Chief Librarian

🎙️ Listen to What's Next with the Chief Librarian wherever you get your podcasts.

We’re back with another episode of Urban Whispers, and this week LaCie Knight and Sloane are joined by DMV romance author Britt W., author of Open For Business.

This conversation is all about Black love, healing, forgiveness, friendship, community, and the craft behind writing characters who feel real. Britt shares how writing became her outlet, why she takes storytelling seriously, and how she built the fictional town of Rubiel into more than just a setting. It is a whole community with history, tension, joy, mess, and room for more stories.

We get into Demi and Lyle, that opening betrayal, the emotional weight behind forgiveness, why Ruevielle matters, and what makes Britt’s books feel like “therapy sessions” for readers. Britt also gives a little peek at what is coming next in the Rubiel universe, including interconnected stories, more familiar faces, and a future novella.

Spoiler warning: We talk openly about Open For Business, so read the book first if you want to avoid spoilers.

Follow Urban Whispers: @urbanwhisperspodcast
Follow Sloane: @sloan_bueller
Follow Britt W.: @brittwonthepage / @nonelikebrittw

Website: BritWAuthor.com

#BrittW #OpenForBusiness #BlackRomance #BlackLove #RomanceBooks #BookTube #BookPodcast #AuthorInterview #BlackWomenAuthors #ContemporaryRomance

@morgstaysbookd returns after a packed few weeks, and we jump right back into books, life, reading slumps, and why some of these book festival prices are starting to feel like a car note.

@Sloane_Bueller is listening to a K.C. Mills secret-baby football romance and already has Enigma by C.M. Barnes and Our Vicious Oaths by N.E. Davenport lined up next. We also take a quick detour into Kennedy Ryan’s pseudonym getting mentioned on the Today Show and why so many romance authors write under pen names in the first place.

LaCie cannot stop talking about N.E. Davenport’s Our Vicious Oaths, a salacious, rivals-to-lovers Black fae fantasy with enough tension, betrayal, and fine men with grills to keep her locked in. She also talks Nek Mills, Daniel Black’s Perfect Peace, Chenell Parker, and why some authors make you stop what you’re doing and read the whole damn backlist.

@morgstaysbookd has been in her YA feels with Nic Stone’s Dasia, plus a gaslighting thriller that had her questioning everybody. She also has Britt W.’s newly released audiobook on deck for an immersive read.

Then we get into the real conversation: the 2027 Black Romance Book Festival prices. With @morgstaysbookd bringing her event-planning perspective, we talk sponsorships, hotel blocks, what is actually included, what is not included, and whether the math is really mathing.

We also compare the experience to events like Apollycon, the Bronx Book Festival, Alexandria House’s house party, local bookstore signings, and library events. Bottom line: we love Black romance, Black authors, and a good bookish experience. But if the dollar does not make sense, do not force it.

What we’re reading:

@Sloane_Bueller

• "Only For Me" by K.C. Mills
• Up next: "Enigma" by C.M. Barnes
• Up next: "Our Vicious Oaths" by N.E. Davenport

LaCie Knight

• "Our Vicious Oaths" by N.E. Davenport
• "Desired by a Maniac" by Nek Mills
• "Perfect Peace" by Daniel Black
• Backlist love: Chenell Parker, Kami, and Beverly Jenkins

@morgstaysbookd

• "Dasia" by Nic Stone
• On deck: Britt W.’s newly released audiobook, "Open for Business: A Ruevielle Romance"

📚 Books, links, and shout-outs are in the show notes.
📧 Reach us: urbanwhisperspodcast@gmail.com

Follow us everywhere, and don’t forget to like, subscribe, and leave a review.