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In this episode of Queer as Books: Author Spotlight, I had the pleasure of chatting with M.A. Wardell, the beloved author behind the spicy MM rom-com Teachers in Love series, including Teacher of the Year and Mistletoe & Mishigas.

We talked about his journey to becoming a published author, the challenges he’s faced, and his purpose as a gay man writing stories that matter. He shared where he finds inspiration for his characters, the themes and messages in his books, which book and character mean the most to him, and what he hopes readers take away from his work.

We also dove into his favorite spicy words to write, his upcoming projects, advice for aspiring authors, played a fun word association game, and so much more!

Author Spotlight: M.A. Wardell

In our first episode of Queer as Books: Author Spotlight, I had the pleasure of chatting with M.A. Wardell, the beloved author behind the spicy MM rom-com Teachers in Love series, including Teacher of the Year and Mistletoe & Mishigas.

We talked about his journey to becoming a published author, the challenges he’s faced, and his purpose as a gay man writing stories that matter. He shared where he finds inspiration for his characters, the themes and messages in his books, which book and character mean the most to him, and what he hopes readers take away from his work.

We also dove into his favorite spicy words to write, his upcoming projects, advice for aspiring authors, played a fun word association game, and so much more!


Quick Poll: To Hate-Read or Not to Hate-Read?

“Legend of the White Snake” by Sher Lee: Book Review #booktube #queerbooks #lgbtbooks #mmromance

📚🌈🐍 “Legend of the White Snake” by Sher Lee is a devastatingly beautiful love story ❤️.

“Legend of the White Snake” by Sher Lee: Review

The simple answer is that it would be a huge loss for me—not just because TikTok is my biggest platform with 11.1k followers, but because it’s the platform where I’ve felt most heard and seen.

What Does the TikTok Ban Mean for My Content?

🤡🌽 “Clown in a Cornfield 3: The Church of Frendo” by Adam Cesare might be my favorite of the series 🔪🩸 #booktok #orlandoreads #horrorbooks #clowninacornfield #slasherbooks 

🤡🌽 “Clown in a Cornfield 3: The Church of Frendo” by Adam Cesare might be my favorite of the series 🔪🩸

“Clown in a Cornfield 3: The Church of Frendo” by Adam Cesare: Review

📚🌈 “Kiss Her Once for Me” by Alison Cochrun is a delightful sapphic holiday romantic comedy 💘 #booktok #orlandoreads #sapphicbooks #romcombooks 

📚🌈 “Kiss Her Once for Me” by Alison Cochrun is a delightful sapphic holiday romantic comedy 💘

“Kiss Her Once for Me” by Alison Cochrun: Review

Due to the Fable app's racist AI debacle I've decided to move the "Queer as Books" Book Club to my Discord server.

Book Club is Moving from Fable to Discord

This was such a hard year to choose my top books because I read so many amazing stories! Honestly, making a top 50 would’ve been easier 😂. 

Books appear in alphabetical order.

My Top 15 Reads of 2024

📚🌈 A very queer after Christmas book haul 🎄 #booktok #orlandoreads #bookhaul 

📚🌈 A very queer after Christmas book haul 🎄

After Christmas Book Haul

📚🌈 Eliot Schrefer has done it again with “The Brightness Between Us”, crafting a sequel to “The Darkness Outside Us” that is both breathtaking and deeply moving. Was this sequel necessary? No. Was it what I expected? Absolutely not. Did I love every second of it? Yes, with my whole heart ❤️. #booktok #orlandoreads #bookrecs #scifibooks 

📚🌈 Eliot Schrefer has done it again with “The Brightness Between Us”, crafting a sequel to “The Darkness Outside Us” that is both breathtaking and deeply moving. Was this sequel necessary? No. Was it what I expected? Absolutely not. Did I love every second of it? Yes, with my whole heart ❤️.

“The Brightness Between Us” by Eliot Schrefer: Review

Check out my most anticipated books of 2025! From swoony romances to thrilling adventures and emotional stories, these upcoming releases are packed with everything I love.

My Most Anticipated Releases of 2025

Celebrating love and identity through queer stories.

Queer as Books

José Orlando

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I’m José Orlando, a Puerto Rican gay reader and reviewer who found healing and love for reading through queer books. Growing up without representation and discovering these stories in my 30s was life-changing. I began sharing my journey on TikTok, connecting with the amazing BookTok community. Now, my mission is to celebrate diverse, queer stories and champion authors—especially indie—so queer readers find themselves in these stories and allies can grow from them.