For the 10th (!!) episode of Be Cringe, I sat down with Brooklyn Rose to talk through her debut novel, Sex Positive (publishing on August 4th, 2026).
She’s a prolific writer and author with a stack of finished manuscripts and who queried her novel for about a year before deciding to self-publish. We talk about:
Why she started writing Sex Positive after noticing a theme to the questions she’d get from patients while working as a PA at Planned Parenthood
The querying process and what led her to self-publishing
Her ~150 Goodreads ratings (averaging over 4 stars), and what she’s learned from the 5-star reviews, the 1-stars, and everything in between
How self-taught self-publishing really is
Her writing, drafting, and rewriting process (and the mindset shift it takes to be okay with ‘killing your darlings’).
Having her mom and grandma read her romance novel, and their feedback.
I’ve got to be honest: I love this episode. I loved recording it, I loved listening to it while editing, and I loved recapping it so I could write my shownotes. I am so grateful Brooklyn gave us such an intimate look into her process, and I felt like this was a perfect 10th episode for Be Cringe.
Brooklyn and I spoke back in March, and when we decided we’d time her episode with the release of her book, I had a moment of panic. What if I don’t want to do this podcast in August? What if no one is listening?
I’m glad I made it, and I’m happy to report I do still want to do this. So thank you all for being here.
Find Brooklyn:
Website: brooklynrosewrites.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brooklynrosewrites
Substack:
Order Sex Positive:
Sex Positive releases on August 4th, 2026. You can pre-order from brookshop.org, Book-A-Million, and other places here.
And if you’re hoping to see Sex Positive pop up more locally, call your favorite bookstores and local library and ask them to start carrying Brooklyn’s book.
Thanks for listening to ‘Be Cringe’! Find us online:
Instagram: @becringepod
Substack: thismightbecringe.com
Listen to the pod: becringe.riverside.com
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