Here For The Right Reasons: Author Q&A
Author Jodi McAlister shares what she’s watching/listening/reading
Australian romance author Jodi McAlister recently released Here for the Right Reasons, a rom com set on a dating show. But instead of idealizing the manufactured romance of the show, this book takes a look behind the curtain and asks “What if love blooms in the likeliest places?”
This book has wide appeal and is perfect for rom com lovers — regardless of whether you’ve ever seen an episode of The Bachelor. Unsurprisingly, McAlister does watch shows like this herself. So we wanted to know: what is this author watching, listening to, reading and enjoying right now?
Watching
I'm currently watching the most recent UK season of Love Island, a) for research in my academic life, and b) because I am an extremely classy person. ;) In terms of fictional TV, I've just ricocheted between two shows which couldn't be more different in tone: Yellowjackets and Virgin River.
And I'm always watching The Bold and the Beautiful. Always. Ever since I was 12. There are not many daytime soap die-hards left, but I am one of them.
Listening
I love a nostalgic recap podcast! Two that I always keep up on are Double Love (two Irish women delving deep into the strange and terrifying world of Sweet Valley High), and The Ampire Diaries (two friends who love The Vampire Diaries taking a total newbie third friend through it).
Reading
I read a lot of romance fiction, for obvious reasons. A lot of romance we read comes from the US, and while a lot of it is great, I'm really trying to branch out at the moment and read more widely, including more Australian-authored romance.
Some Australian romance authors I'm very much enjoying at the moment include Sarah Mayberry, Stefanie London, and Freya Marske. I'd also like to give a shout-out to Lucy Parker from New Zealand, my all-time favourite romance author — and we cannot fail to mention Anita Heiss, also published by Simon & Schuster, who has been an absolute game-changer in Australian romance and women's fiction with books like Tiddas and Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray.
I also read a lot of romance from the Philippines because of a major research project I have going in my academic life: I highly recommend authors like Mina V Esguerra, Carla de Guzman, Agay Llanera, Brigitte Bautista, and Six de los Reyes.
Check out Here for the Right Reasons here. Our Tandem Collective readalongs begin on 23rd August on Instagram and 29th August on TikTok. You can still join in with your own copy of the book! The digital readalong cards are online here, and email julianna@thetandemcollective.com if you’d like to be included in the DM group.
